How Dry is Home Depot Lumber? Testing Box Store Kiln Dried Lumber

How dry is Home Depot lumber? Specifically, how dry is kiln dried lumber from Home Depot and Lowe’s? I took hundreds of moisture readings from kiln dried 2x4’s and kiln dried 2x6’s with the pinless Wagner moisture meter and found out exactly how dry the “dry” box store wood is.

[eagleandwolfphoto]

Very grateful for those with the tools who do this kind of well researched testing and make the results available to those of us who aren't similarly equipped. Yes, I know this is a semi-sponsored video - I'm sure Cam didn't pay full retail for this, so props to both him and Wagner for promoting a video that helps us all.

[bobbygale]

The thing to remember with Lowe’s and Home Depot is that not all of their lumber is stored inside and the stuff that isn’t stored inside isn’t always under a cover outside, so sometimes it’s exposed to direct elements.

[woodcraft_cz]

When it comes to price I see it like this, I got stung on a £700 slab of poplar due to it being wetter then I thought. If I had the meter sooner I would of saved myself £700. This experience has proven a good moisture meter invaluable

[raybod]

In Chicago, all the wood is incredibly wet and some twists so it's useless when it dries. The best wood can be bought in the late winter because its off season so the wood sits in the store while the winter air dries out the wood.

[jasondenson]

I just wanted to say thank you for providing so much info to the new wood worker. I would not have even guessed that moist or damp wood would have been an issue. I can only assume this also applied to building decks and such? I live in Colorado so it is already dry as the Mohave here. Does putting the wood in the shade still apply for this region?

[scoobydog]

I bought 2by4s the other day at HD. After cutting and making my project they did shrink. A few years ago I’ve seen wood that was soaking wet. My hands were wet from the wood. I did not buy and of it. But the lumber from Canada was very dry. It seams the best.

[Otto-W]

Home Depot and Lowe's have lumber contracts by region, the stores in the area you tested are mostly coming from the same lumber mill. The biggest difference is what happens tomorrow the lumber after the mill and how long it's been since it's been cut.

The kilns at work hold 165k BF, even within the same kiln there will be a difference in moisture content depending on air flows.

[babyboomtown]

All the HD wood both 2x4 and 2x6 would have came from Stimson Lumber in Forest Grove. I don’t know where Lowe’s sources their wood from now, maybe Hampton in Tilamook. There are mill numbers on the grade stamp. You can reference the mill number on the WWPA website to find where they came from.

Having been in the industry for awhile, you would be surprised with how inconsistent lumber mills are at drying wood.

White wood is hemlock, spruce or Douglas fir. It is also stamped on the wood.

[TERRORoftheLORD]

Relative humidity where we live is almost 19%. That is why any firewood below 20% is considered dry and ready to burn. It would be really hard to keep lumber at 9% after kiln drying.

[cchelsoi]

I understand you shouldn't use wood from lowes or home depot for furniture at your level, but could I use thinner wood for making coaster with resin?

[williamfouts]

Excellent information. Thank you!
Been building stuff for a while, really starting to get into more projects. I've used Pine, SPF, Cedar, Lodgepole, WW- white wood that is basically fir, Doug Fir, some oak and screwed about with other wood. Yeah, getting started quite often means using what you can find and/or afford. Humidity- actually the lack of it in the Upper Shasta Valley, can raise havoc. Most of my wood- new (at least to me) gets put in the shop for about 2 months to acclimate- weighted down with drier wood, sacks of pellets, shoeing anvil- whatever- and allowed to soak.
On another note- you have mentioned on more that one occasion about social media. I'm guessing mostly YT, FB and Instagram. I've been really hesitant about FB and Instagram. I know I need to get some exposure, but have you had any negative issues- not the trolls per se- but issues with the platforms or shutdowns for unknown reasons? And is your 'personal FB/Instagram feeds separate from your 'business' Blacktail Studio page(s)? Thanks you again for the great video's, links, info and cool, dry humor. Nobody likes excitable pilots.

[jimserhant]

Wait…You didn’t tell me which word to start my comment with to show I watched the whole video. What am I going to do?!?!??? 😱. Seriously though, thank you for taking the time to share the knowledge, I find that whenever I go to HD, I’m usually telling the employees more about a product on their shelves than they could tell me.

[marktieman]

I just purchased a 6x6 from Home Depot and it was the best one in the stack or bay. It had so much water in it it was nearly impossible to lift. And I’m a 6’6” guy 280 lbs, not a week guy. WTH Home Depot.

[codacreator]

EMC. That's awesome! Thanks, Cam!

[jeffvoght]

Sir, I really enjoyed the video. I'm a beginning woodworker who knew nothing about wood moisture. I found out the hard way with a pine glue-up for a small coffee table.It shrank like almost 1/4". What kind of moisture reader could you get in the 100 to 150$ range? I like the idea of sitting the wood in your garage for a couple of months. Thank you for the video. Very informative. I subscribed.

[kuntalkuilaya]

Cam, I have a question. How worthwhile is an off-grid solar kiln in terms of drying wood (if one wants to bring the moisture down to 6% to work with) ? Internet is full of information, but saw nobody to test the wood periodically with moisture meter and update to viewers. Is drying a 3.5 - 4.0 inch thick slab/cookie in solar kiln for 3-4 months worthwhile? Looking forward for your views on this. P.S., pl keep up the good work!

[michellecruz]

I'm building an outdoor tabletop. I'm in Florida with very humid weather. Am I supposed to let the wood dry outdoors?

[jordanribis]

Is there a pinless meter you would recommend that is slightly more affordable? Like you said for the hobbyist the $500 model is a bit much. But I still think having one would be an excellent tool to have. I would like to avoid one with pins and damaging if possible. Thank you for all your content and knowledge you put out!! It is incredibly helpful and informative and very much appreciated!!

[andriy_moskalyk]

Hi Cameron, as always a great vid. Every time I watch ur channel I’m buying a new tool. LOL!!! U cost me a lots of money!!!…😅

[pt]

Do you still use this moisture meter? Seems like this one is real good just a little pricey. Any other one you would recommend for someone just starting woodworking?