Green Lumber concern in underground shelter

I'm worried about what I just did.
I'm building Mike Oehler style earth integrated shelter.
I started a small portion of a wall using fresh cut hemlock lumber (2 x 10's).
Polyethlyne on the back, cardboard behind that, then back filled with gravel & dirt.

Will the lumber dry out properly from the air exposed side? Or will it mildew/rot?

What will actually happen is questionable.  Like you, I have concerns.  Frankly, I would be more comfortable with dry wood coated with something to inhibit mold growth.  The only time I have taken on the use of green wood in a serious project was for siding on a cabin. That worked out ok. But, there was plenty of air circulation.

so jason.


When you say fresh cut. Does this mean the tree was fallen on Monday and than on Wednesday the tree was cut up into lumber?


Or do you mean the tree was fallen 1 year ago and it was just cut up before you used it?


Which one? can you give us more detail please :)

I have returned to a hemlock log that was down for perhaps 9 months and found the underside rotted to mush, several inches into the log.. Obviously in contact with wet ground is worse than your situation, but it left me with a very poor opinion of the durability of hemlock. No other wood in my region would rot nearly that fast.

jordan barton wrote:so jason.


When you say fresh cut. Does this mean the tree was fallen on Monday and than on Wednesday the tree was cut up into lumber?


Or do you mean the tree was fallen 1 year ago and it was just cut up before you used it?


Which one? can you give us more detail please :)

Not sure as I boght rough cut lumber from an amish mill.
But the wood was really white in color, super heavy & very damp.

By the way, I just took down the wall and will let the wood naturally dry out before redoing it.

You might want to check out a Japanese wood burning technique called shou sugi ban. It’s visually best on Cedar but you can use it on most wood including Hemlock. It produces a layer of carbon that preserves and waterproofs the wood and as a bonus keeps mold and bugs away. It also looks really cool and all you need is a blow torch which is a lot of fun.

Jason Vath wrote:

jordan barton wrote:so jason.


When you say fresh cut. Does this mean the tree was fallen on Monday and than on Wednesday the tree was cut up into lumber?


Or do you mean the tree was fallen 1 year ago and it was just cut up before you used it?


Which one? can you give us more detail please :)

Not sure as I boght rough cut lumber from an amish mill.
But the wood was really white in color, super heavy & very damp.

By the way, I just took down the wall and will let the wood naturally dry out before redoing it.

sounds like a great idea jason. No point creating future problems.

We have about 1000 BF of 1x10 balsam wood drying inside our house. Our back room is filled with the stuff. We are hoping to get it to the driest point possible before we put in on the walls. time time time

Good luck!