About the Landscape Juice Network

Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.

LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry

LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.

For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.

Moisture Content of treated timber

Earlier this week, I purchased some treated D-rail and bevelled rail to make a gate (for a relatively agricultural application) from local builders merchant, where it is stored outside.

As happens with this sort of stuff, I noted that this lot was relatively heavy when loading, particularly the bevelled rail, so when I got home I tested for moisture content and found it was 40%, excluding surface moisture.

In this instance I am quite happy to let it cure in its application, but do any of our resident experts have any observations on a desirable %moisture for timber before use for external building purposes?

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • the moisture content of treated wood will vary greatly. If it been freshly treated it will normally be heavy. To be honest sticking a moisture meter in it is a wasted exercise. Its going to be used outside and will change its content greatly over the seasons. In the middle of the summer it could be very low in moisture content and then by the middle of winter exceptionally high. Thats why you see the gap between deckboards vary so much over the seasons. I find you have to allow a lot greater tolerances for the movement of the wood. As another example i never use the softwood handrail and spindles, which slot into the top and dbottom handrails, for decking as from my experiance looking at other installations, the spindles ending up working out of the handrails and coming away very quickly.

  • Over 20% is high from my memory; that was what my supplier used to aim for as a maximum.

This reply was deleted.

Trade green waste centres

<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-WQ68WVXQ8K"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-WQ68WVXQ8K'); </script>

LJN Sponsor

Advertising

PRO Supplier

Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Haileybury School, has praised the Dennis ES-34R battery-powered rotary mower for its sustainability, quiet operation, and exceptional performance.

At the prestigious independent school in Hertfordshire,…

Read more…