TIL how much a single cedar post can shrink in a dry season

I was re-tensioning a fence I built two years ago in Boise and measured a full quarter-inch gap on a gate post. I found the stat in an old forestry service bulletin about wood movement. Anyone else have to adjust for this much seasonal movement?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

reeseperez6mo ago

Tbh a quarter inch is wild. I've had to redo a whole section of fence because of that kind of movement.

5

susan1306mo ago

Yeah, that's why my gate only works half the year. Feel your pain, @reeseperez. Wood just has a mind of its own.

3

jana_scott6mo ago

Wait, really? I've never had wood move that much on me. I mean, my back deck swells a bit in summer but a whole quarter inch like @reeseperez said seems like a lot. Maybe it depends on the type of wood or how it was dried? Idk, my stuff just gets a little tight or loose with the seasons.

5