Blue in SYP logs

[jrkimroxie]

Is it OK to use logs with blue in them? They were cut Jan. 2010.  I'm milling them to 6"x6"x16' cants for my log home project. By the time I get to the cant most of the blue is gone, but are the 1" cuts outside the cant ok for use on interior of home?

[Don K]

It does not hurt the wood or give off any toxins. I have some white pine logs in my home that blued a little. Stained up just fine. We have that a lot down here in the south.

Don

[WDH]

Yes, if it is just blue stain and the wood is solid and sound, there should be no limitations on the structural integrity of the wood.  The stain is caused by a fungus that infects the tree after it dies or is felled.  It happens quickly, in a matter of days, when the temperature and humidity are high.  It is a natural process that always will occurs if enough time elapses or the environmental conditions are conducive for it.

In the South, many of the log inventories held by the large pine sawmills get staining in them if the logs sit in the pile more than 10 days to 2 weeks before sawing. 

However, they may be blue from the stain above, but if the logs have sat too long, the decay fungi may have set in and some wood decay may have occurred.  That is why you to go beyond just the blue color and check that the wood is sound and not punky. 

[Magicman]

I have sawed hundreds of thousands of board feet of dimensional framing lumber from blue logs.  One of the first signs of rot is an orange off color tint in the lumber.  I've discarded many logs when I see this.