Finally my planks arrived after 1.5 months delayed. I was told that it's a dark red Meranti wood from Malaysia.
Please help comment whether it is a real one, as I have no idea whether it is just Meranti or dark red Meranti.
Mine is a 1 inch thick and 8 inch width type. It's more common to use 1*6 inch.
From the appearance, it is freshly cut and the wood is still very fresh. Which mean we have to air dried it for at least another two weeks, due to the heavy rain in our area right now. It also means that my BH will be delayed for at least another two weeks! Sigh!
We heard so often that mold is a real headache for BH.
One preventive measure is when the plank arrived, we need to store it correctly in a clean and well ventilated place. Don't just leave it in a corner on a wet, dirty floor within the unfinished house full of cement dust.
If it is freshly cut, the moisture content in the plank is still very high. We should know how to lay it properly with air gap between each and every one of them and away from the wall. This way, the moisture can evaporate out easily and thus prevent the mold forming between the contact of each plank.
If you are not taking good care of storing these fresh wood, what you might encounter is a black mold deep in the wood grain found more intensely on the area that 2 pieces of wood are in contact or found on the low quality piece of wood which is normally will be weighed much lighter than the good quality ones.
Although after you have dried the wood plank properly, it still does not guarantee that you can say goodbye to mold for good. If the condition in your bird house is still hot and too humid, mold still can grow. But this time, it is the white mold, not the black mold. White mold can grow on the surface of the plank, all it requires is a certain level of moisture deposit on the surface of the plank. So make sure you monitor and control the humidity level in your bird house properly.
