rant and a question

[tombo]

had 400 quid worth of cherry delivered this morning, bloody muppets sent it out on an open truck and it got wet good half hour in the rain (heavy). Driver of the truck didn't have a clue but i don't suppose it was his fault . If i hadn't already paid for it i would have refused delivery.

So whats the collective opinion, will the wood be usable any time soon or do i have to argue with the supplier to get new stuff? Also anyone in my area (wirral) with a moisture meter maybe some science can put my mind at rest..

Tom

 

[stairman]

First thing to do is stack the timber in stick (dont know if that is the right term) but have 20mm sticks between each layer of wood as used to air dry timber. I would expect only the outer bits of wood to be soaked. Make sure you don't dry it out to fast

Sorry a bit to far away, I have moisture meter (to get a correct reading you should measure 300mm from the end and in the centre of the wood)

Hope it all works out ok

 

[Scrit]

Paid for or not I would have sent it back and demanded a replacement load. Now you are faced with the problem of drying the timber out all over again. If you are buying hardwoods a moisture meter, even a cheapo £30 one, is essential.

Scrit

 

[tiler99]

I would be calling the supplier and asking if thats the way he delivers if so i wouldnt buy there again. But i would ask for it to be replaced.

 

[stairman]

I would agree with Scrit & tiler99

Ask the supplier in a calm nice voice if that is the way he feels timber should be delivered?

Then if they answer yes! go off on one :evil: well you won't be using them again will you

If answer NO then ask for replacement so that you can get on with the work

 

[tiler99]

£400 is a lot of money :x Give them a call, express your anger but as Stairman says " in a calm voice" If nothing else get a discount.

 

[Freetochat]

I am with the others, paid for or not the load would have been returned. I hope when you signed for the timber you endorsed the delivery note with the damage (ie. wet). Just in case the transport is a different company to the supplier.

 

[tombo]

spoke with the supplier today, and they were very apologetic but could not get a decision on swapping the wood as the main man was out for today. Lets see what happens tomorrow, in the mean time i have just bought one of these from woodcraft in orlando with the exchange rate what it is right now its a good time to buy.

tom

 

[Shultzy]

Hi tombo, at what stage is the exchange rate calculated. Is it by the credit card company and how is the customs duty paid, off your credit card?

 

[dennyk]

Hi Tombo
I have sent you an PM

edit

I have a moisture metre for you

 

[Losos]

Here's what usually happens:-
a) The credit card company applies the exchange rate at the time when the transaction is 'processed' by them, that may or may not be the date shown on your statement.
b) The exchange rate used will NOT be the same as that published in the FT or other newspapers etc. and of course it will be in the card companies favour!!(That's the first place where cheap American goods get slightly less cheap )
c) If arriving from OUTSIDE the EU the 'import duty' and 'VAT' will be applied by Customs & Excise at the point of entry and collected (On their behalf by the Post Office or carrier) on delivery to you. Sometimes you will have to pay before delivery (This is the second & third way that cheap American goods get slightly less cheap
d) Finally there is freight cost, usually paid when ordering, this is the fourth way in which goodies from the good ol' USA get slightly less good
Still, sometimes if the value is low that Customs & Excise just 'forget about it' and if the weight is low then the carriage can be worth it. Even with the card company skimming a bit on the exchange rate it's still worth it........sometimes, but not often

 

[tombo]

i expect it to cost in the region of £160, plus i have a friend over there right now who will bring it back for me :roll: just have to wait a week before i get it...

Tom

 

[David C]

Not Good at all but,

If it was only wet for half an hour it probably won't take that long to loose the moisture gained.

David C

 

[Sgian Dubh]

It's maybe a bit irritating to you Tom, and the stuff should ideally have been delivered to you in a covered vehicle. I'd say the company owes you a small apology, but I wouldn't expect to get your money back

I wouldn't get too excited about the rain that fell on it. Wood, being hygroscopic, meaning it gains and loses moisture in an effort to reach equilibrium moisture content (EMC) with the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air. Wood has another important property, i.e., the hysteresis effect. This, simplistically, means there is a time delay between a change in the surrounding RH (or actual water on the surface of the wood) and a change in the wood moisture content (MC). There's a time lag.

Even heavy rain for half an hour will have very little real effect on changing the MC of the wood, and any significant change would be restricted to no more than 2- 4 mm deep. To fix the problem (if you haven't already done so) is immediately sticker the planks up so that dry air can circulate around them to remove the shallow penetrating surface moisture. Two or three days stacked like this should dry out that outer shell to what it was before it got wet.

A second reason for immediate stickering is to get the surface MC down below 20% as fast as possible to prevent the slight chance of the dry rot mould (specifically) getting a grip. All other moulds need much more water than this for a great deal longer for the spores to hatch, but 20%MC in the trade is known as the 'dry rot safe MC.

After you've dried off the surface moisture I think you'll find you can just get on and use the stuff. Slainte.

 

[Losos]

Tom.........Ohhhhhhh, that's the way to do it wish I had a freind who visited the US regularly and comes back with half empty suitcases