"PipeDown" wrote in message
k.net...

Wood like any material (even metal) is subject to thermal expansion but
sealed dried wood (excepting defects like knots and checks) should not
warp or split just sitting in a typical indoor setting.

By stable I did not mean "perfect and dimentionally unchanging" I mean it
is unlikely to split, warp, check or crack. Sure any piece of wood can
have a hidden defect but afterall, I was generalizing


Wood moves very little with temperature. It's humidity and moisture that
cause it to expand/contract.
Obviously, with higher temperatures, there's likely to be more humidity so
the two do go hand in hand in a funny sort of way. Interestingly enough,
as wood ages, it moves less even in the presence of humidity. We're
talking in terms of years here.
Paint generally seals off moisture pretty well, hence the movement is
limited. I would recommend that whatever you do to the exposed
wood, you do to the other sides as well if you want to ensure it doesn't
move.

I've always found it interesting that homebuilder's and such talk about
houses "settling". It's actually nothing more than the change in moisture
in the wood that causes your walls to crack and the odd popping sound. If
they used well dried wood in the first place, this would be minimized.
Cheers,
cc