Wettability of Sitka spruce timber stored in a Scottish sawmill yard

Kiln-dried and air-dried Sitka spruce battens were exposed to outdoor weathering within stickered, close packed and wrapped packs and at the upper surface of these packs. A four-week exposure period was used in James Jones and Sons Ltd. sawmill yard near Aboyne, NE Scotland. The wettability of batten samples removed from the packs of timber was determined by a drop contact angle method using a video tape technique. Timber exposed to air drying before weathering in the experimental packs generally had a greater wettability than kiln-dried timber at the end of the exposure period. However, kiln-dried timber stored in stickered packs developed a greater wettability than similarly stored air-dried timber, suggesting that the kiln drying process increased the susceptibility of timber to developing increased wettability. Close-packed timber protected from sunlight and rain water, by covering the upper surface of the pack with microporous plastic sheeting, maintained a lower wettability than unprotected close-packed or stickered timber. Fungal spoilage was unlikely to develop on timber stored in pack types which developed high timber wettability, the storage conditions leading to an increase in wettability were adverse to fungal development. Kiln-dried timber stored in stickered packs in the sawmill yard may become particularly vulnerable to fungal attack if subsequently exposed to damp conditions in service.