Wait, your buddy used a dehumidifier and the doors actually split? That's wild. I mean I knew drying wood too fast was bad but I didn't think it could crack them like that. So maybe slow and steady is the way to go then. And yeah checking insurance is smart, I hadn't even thought about that angle. If the supplier's negligence caused the damage that could be a different story entirely. Guess it's worth a phone call at least.

That "stuck in the shop" part is rough. Had a buddy who threw a dehumidifier in the room with his warped doors. Dried them out too fast and they split right down the middle. Might be worth checking your insurance policy. Some policies cover materials stored on site if they're damaged by the supplier's negligence. Could save you the fight with the box store.

Question whether it's really that impressive though... you just ate old freezer food, not exactly revolutionary stuff.

Man @the_sam nailed it with that compaction thing, that's exactly what happened to my cucumbers last year. I tried the same shortcut with some leftover garden bed soil and those poor plants just sat there looking pitiful for weeks. After I swapped them out for a proper potting mix they took off like crazy, it was night and day. The roots need that loose texture in containers or they just suffocate, learned that one the hard way just like you did.

Same thing happens with house signs. I see people cram a dozen words on a for-sale sign and nobody reads half of it. Sometimes the simpler message just cuts through all the noise.