Rough sawn Hickory mantle question

[tomb]

I have a customer who has a 7" thick X 6' hickory live edge mantle piece.   It was only cut a little more then a year ago, they have kept it in the heated garage since it was cut.  My question is can this be installed above the fireplace, or does it have to finish drying first?  Thanks for the help!

[CX3]

Sounds like its already dry to me

[northwoods1]

That can't be nearly dry but depending on how it was cut out of the log, if its nice and straight grained or not, and the way it is intended to be installed it might be possible, just have to realize it will continue to dry for a while yet.

[Jim_Rogers]

(they) just have to realize it will continue to dry for a while yet.

And in continuing to dry it will check, crack and possibly twist and distort out of shape, depending on how it's secured to the supports.

[CX3]

Are you guys saying that a piece of wood that has been cut out for a year is not dry?  Please explain!

[shinnlinger]

"dry"is not just about how long a timber has been stored.  It also has to do with things like how it has been stored, where it has been stored and how big it is.

Some say a timber air dries an inch a year, I think it is a little quicker than that in ideal circumstances, but if it is even partially true,  that 6x7 timber still has a few years to go.  It has been in a heated garage, but was the heat on the whole time?  How hot?  has there been stuff stacked on it?  Has it been on stickers?  Has a fan been blowing on it?

SO basically a moisture meter is necessary if you really want to know and even then how do you check the interior moisture on a big timber?  It has been a while since I have seen a meter, so there may be better options now, but I think you have to bore it from the back side to get to the center and I bet it is pretty moist there.

You could weigh the timber and come up with a decent guess based on species or you could have it kiln dried.  Hemlock around here like to check as it drys and the first time a fire gets going in that house, it may very well move some and split, but depending on the house and decor that may not be undesirable as someone who likes live edge probably wont mind a check especially if they are providing the timber and know that it might split.

How did you want to hang it?

Dave

[northwoods1]

(they) just have to realize it will continue to dry for a while yet.

And in continuing to dry it will check, crack and possibly twist and distort out of shape, depending on how it's secured to the supports.

Exactly, it will continue to dry and might check, crack, or possibly twist or distort out of shape depending on the characteristics of that particular piece of wood. After 1 year in a heated garage the outer surface of it should be fairly dry and depending on what cut of the tree it is it could be relatively stable. Personally I think I would want a mantle to be well dried out because even if it is, when it's finally mounted above a fireplace it is sure to dry it out  :)more

[Ironwood]

Yup, not dry. five years perhaps.

Ironwood

[CX3]

Well my ignorance prevails.  Thanks.

[Thehardway]

Tomb,

I saw quite a few mantles for a local builder.  It really depends on the expectations.  Most of mine are sawn from green and in some cases wet logs and are installed with the full expectation that they are going to move, split, check, etc. the things that wood naturally does.  The builder and homeowner know this and therefore nobody gets too bent out of shape if the wood does :D

If the mantle gets too twisted I will replace it.  We are careful to mount it so that it does not destroy anything iin the drying process and that it can be easily replaced if need be. in most cases a slab on a set of corbels is in pretty good position to dry evenly and provided the log was millled fairly even they tend to dry without to much drama.  sometimes a kerf cut in the back of the mantle will be helpful in making them behave more predictably.

I do caution against running a fireplace full open for extended periods while it is still green as it could dry the bottom out too fast.

[clww]

If it were me, if given the choice, I would have the very rough piece of wood stored somewhere to dry out from 3 to 5 years. After that, I would work the wood (saws, sanding, planing) to it's final dimension, then let it dry another year. Check it once again and modify as necessary prior to installing it. Time is usually a commodity we never seem to have enough of, unfortunately.

[oklalogdog]

I've been told that Red Cedar dries faster than other woods - anybody have any ideas on that?

[pineywoods]

I've been told that Red Cedar dries faster than other woods - anybody have any ideas on that?

Don't know about "other woods" but I do know that erc dries pretty quick. The fact that it doesn't have much moisture to start with helps. Usually doesn't warp, cup or split when drying. I have gotten away with stacking it out in the bright sunshine with no cover..

[WDH]

It dries out much more rapidly in log form than other species.  Then, the lumber dries rapidly.  I have had some splitting in 4" thick stock, but a little of that is to be expected.  I cut some recently and it was air dry in a month.  However, the logs had been cut down for 6 months or better, so a good bit of moisture loss had already occurred.  I have no other measured data, but I believe that thick ERC will dry in half or quarter of the time versus hardwood, i.e. oak, maple etc.

[oklalogdog]

I am sawing ERC now,stickering, and stacking it.  The logs were cut in the winter and it's hot and dry here now.  A neighbor told me that my cedar lumber would be dry in 2-3 weeks.  Is that possible?

[witterbound]

How thick is it?  I worked with some 5x5 cedar material a few years ago, that had been stickered and under cover for about 6 months.  It was not anywhere near dry. 

[oklalogdog]

2 X material - 2 X 6's, 8's, 10's and 12's