Drying lumber on a covered concrete slab.

[firefighter ontheside]

I'm drying lumber underneath my 30x14 deck and the deck has a roof over it.  The stacks that are closest to the edge could occasionally get some rain blown in on them, but for the most part it's always dry.  I have been stacking the lumber on concrete blocks, but wonder if I need to.  Could I use 2x4's on edge to keep the lumber 3 1/2" off the concrete and save the blocks for weighing down the stacks?  Or perhaps pieces of 4x4 with stacking sticks on top of those?  Otherwise I'm gonna need a lot more blocks.

[scsmith42]

The problem with air drying close to the ground is that the air flow is reduced, as opposed to higher.  

If you were to stack low, I would suggest some box fans on low to help increase air flow over the bottom portion of your stacks.

[firefighter ontheside]

We would be talking the difference between 8" off the ground and 3.5" off the ground.  That doesn't seem very significant.  I have considered a fan or two back there anyway.

[Dave Shepard]

I personally wouldn't put 2x4 on edge. 4x4 with a stick is better. If you don't have plastic under the slab, moisture can come up through the concrete. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I went ahead and stacked today's lumber on blocks.  Concrete blocks are probably cheaper than 4x4's anyway.  I will need more blocks for the next logs though.

[YellowHammer]

My pallets have conventional 2x4 runners, and I stack on the concrete slab under a metal awning.  Works very well if you can get sufficient airflow.  My metal awning is open on 4 sides.  If one or two sides are blocked with walls, fans are important to exhaust moist air.  

    

[Ljohnsaw]

Concrete blocks are probably cheaper than 4x4's anyway.

Well, you can cut 4x4s for free...  I get all my concrete blocks for free off CL. The other day someone had 2 pallets of new blocks for free (must take all)!  It didn't work out for me to get them, not that I needed that many.

[firefighter ontheside]

PThis is true John.  I was referring to using treated wood, but I guess if it stays dry I don't need to.  
I'm considering making some sort of pallets to stack on to speed up my process.
Thanks guys.

[YellowHammer]

Conventional pallets with a top and bottoms can cause sticker stain issues, as does using 4x4's if they are in full contact with the wood it is stacked on, assuming you are going to stack pallets of lumber.  The contact area is high enough to cause sticker stain u deer the 4x4's.  I use skids or pallet made of 2x4's with no bottom layer, and a well spaced layer of 4/4 boards on the top, generally poplar, to lessen the chances of bug infestation.  The 2x4 runners rarely will cause contact sticker stain, and are positioned in line with my stickers.  Pallets or skids are wonderful for handling boards.  The wood comes off the mill onto them, and from then in, everything is moved by forklift.   

[PA_Walnut]

The 2x4 runners rarely will cause contact sticker stain, and are positioned in line with my stickers.  Pallets or skids are wonderful for handling boards.  The wood comes off the mill onto them, and from then in, everything is moved by forklift.  

Amen to this! We do the same...pallets are the way to go.  I have recently been hitting our new pallets (which are normally kd 2x4's from Lowes...fast and easy), with BoraCare immediately after assembly.  Pallets that may be stacked on the ground (stone) usually get pressure-treated, again to help with bugs trying to migrate upwards.

I also save junker boards during sawing to sticker on the top layer so that stacking-up, I don't really care about sticker stain on top layer.

I really try (like) to use Yellow's methods of no bottom layer, but I find that big/heavy loads aren't very forgiving to my forking-practices. (I use a tractor, not a forklift). If I get into one of them, or sit them down unlevel, they fold over. Recently have gone to larger/longer stainless screws $$$ to see if that alleviates some of it.

[PA_Walnut]

As Yoda Yellow has gracefully pointed-out to me, I need to move/keep my straps closer to the sticks in order to alleviate dips in my stack. I don't crank them down hard, but all small things, lead to success. Thx Yellow!