The Home Depot

The Home Depot on North Westridge Drive carries tools, lumber, hardware and building materials for St. George. Lumber is the department where a little knowledge changes the outcome most, because two boards with the same label can behave very differently once they are in a wall.

Background

Dimensional lumber is sold by nominal size rather than actual size - a two by four measures an inch and a half by three and a half - because the nominal figure describes the rough sawn dimension before drying and surfacing. More consequential is moisture content. Lumber stamped KD or S-DRY has been kiln dried or air dried to nineteen percent moisture content or less; unstamped or green lumber has not. Wood shrinks as it dries, and it does not shrink evenly: movement across the growth rings is roughly twice the movement along them, which is what makes a drying board cup, bow, crook or twist rather than simply get smaller.

In a climate as dry as this one, wood delivered anywhere near nineteen percent will keep drying in place, so a framing member installed wet can move noticeably after the drywall is on. The practical technique in the aisle is to pick up each board and sight down its length from one end, rotating it, which reveals a bow or crook immediately in a way that looking at the face never does. Checking the end grain is worth a moment too: boards cut through the center of the log, where the rings run corner to corner, are the most prone to twist. And material bought for interior work is best stored inside for a while before use rather than cut the day it comes off the rack.

See also home builders and handyman and repair services. The directory lists all Hardware Stores.

Nearby: Hi-Tech Coatings, Royalty Auto Glass, Burt Brothers Tire & Service.