protecting beams?

[moosehunter]

We are building a "shack" in the woods. 12'x12' with a 5' covered porch. It is a slow process and I need to protect some of the wood from the elements while we build.Some of the wood will be exposed inside of the shack when it is done.
How can I keep the wood looking fresh? There is a 6"x8"x 20' ridge beam and 2"x6" rafters that will be out in the weather while we build and showing on the ceiling when it is done. At first I thought of Tompsons water seal but that might not let me stain it later to match the rest of the interior and I don't know about the chemicals inside the building. It will be a guest house/ get away with bunk beds - don't want to make any one sick!
Any thoughts?
mh

[beenthere]

mh
You might just have to make some decision and take your chances.
Don't think there is anything in Thompsons water seal that will harm anyone. Thompsons wood protector may have some preservative in it that the water seal doesn't. Likely some wax in the water seal that may have an effect on future stain, but don't think so if the stain is oil-base. Maybe pick your stain and do that now.
Other possibility would be do nothing now and rely on bleaching to remove any mold that comes from exposure when finished, and then stain over that.
Another possibility would be to treat with a borate now to ward off any mold degrading the wood.

Sounds like a fun project but a bit of a gamble given the time element.

[isawlogs]

 What kind of wood will you be using ???

[Don_Papenburg]

Blue tarps.

[isawlogs]

 Problem with the tarps is that the snow melts and sticks on it whern it freezes then thaws and moisture seeps through and the wood gets stained .
You could wash the wood with bleach before closing it up to get it white again if using pine , spruce ... Or another option it to sand blast with corn husk that'll work too.

[Brad_bb]

You don't say that it's green wood, so I'm going to assume that It's fairly dry.  With green you might give it a spray with a 10 percent bleach solution to prevent mold.  In either case, you want good airflow, and to keep them out of the sun.  That means to stack and sticker properly, and now trap moisture with a blue tarp, in my opinion.  If using a tarp, you'd need to creat a tarp roof above your pile.  Don't forget that a lot of moisture comes up from the ground, and wrapping a pile with a water proof tarp can then trap moisture.  I can't believe it when someone covers a classic car outside with such a tarp.  They're making it rust faster.
  A tarp won't last too long usually.  It gets beat up by wind  and sun. 

[beenthere]

mh
Guess I was thinking you wanted to protect the beams that were erected and standing in the elements.

Do you have a pic of progress so far?

[moosehunter]

I knew someone would ask for pics!! Soon. I am trying to protect the wood from the time I assemble the roof until we can cover it. I am planing 1x6 ship lap hemlock for the ceiling with 2" foam insulation then metal roofing.
I am using hemlock, I spent last Sunday sanding the big ridge beam, it looks really good. I will start planeing (sp) the 2x6s this weekend or next. The plan to put up the roof system after the first of the year.
The wood is all air dried for at least 6 mo., most much longer.

[LeeB]

You could hit it with a pressure washer after putting up the roof and before drying in. It wouldn't really change the moisture content much.