A good foundation is critical to successfully drying wood.
Air drying hardwood lumber.
Proper stacking of lumber for air drying involves building a strong foundation careful placing and spacing of the boards in the stack and providing roof protection figure 1.
As long as the air temperature remains above freezing then the wood can make progress on drying.
We offer an express kiln drying system also as an option for drying your lumber.
As a very rough estimate it can take 6 to 9 months to properly air dry 1 inch thick red oak hardwood lumber.
This will accelerate the drying and keep it more even throughout the lumber pile.
Lumber is stacked in a special way to maximize the surface of each piece of lumber exposed to the air and to support each piece so it will dry straight and without unnecessary warping.
Kiln drying your lumber is the best way to get the most out of the your hardwood lumber with the least amount of effort and space.
Robert mcguffy has headed up the wood drying sequence at the anderson tully company s vicksburg mississippi hardwood processing facility for decades.
At an additional cost your hardwood lumber can be dried in a matter of days.
Depending on the species and your climate it can take from 2 to 12 months to bring 4 4 lumber from green to air dry 12 to 20 percent moisture content depending on your location.
If you re planning to use the lumber for outdoor projects airdrying outdoors is fine.
Keep a fan circulating air around the pile until it reaches your desired moisture content.