Typically you can achieve a moisture content of 10 15 percent by air drying alone although this will vary according to your local climate.
Air drying lumber in attic.
How to air dry lumber find a knowledgeable sawyer.
Lumber is air dried first.
Sticker lumber on hard surface ground floor or 2nd floor of shop.
You can air dry 4 4 lumber indoors from 15 percent to 8 percent in a single heating season.
See monitoring the stack page 51 air dried wood contains no internal stress.
Allowing lumber to passively sit at a given humidity level in order to obtain a desired emc air drying may be the simplest and least expensive method of seasoning wood but it is also the very slowest.
Do some research on the drying schedule for the type of wood you are considering drying.
The thicker the wood the longer the drying time.
That made it much easier for me to hoist all of those boards into my attic for longer drying time and storage.
Instead of bringing the lumber to the heat i set up a box and with fans and hoses sucked the attic air to the lumber.
Here is how it works successfully for me.
Robert mcguffy has headed up the wood drying sequence at the anderson tully company s vicksburg mississippi hardwood processing facility for decades.
Air drying lumber over time can help reduce stress in boards.
At this complex the largest of its kind in the u s robert has the responsibility for air drying and then kiln drying about 70 million board feet of hardwood every year.
Water in your attic can damage wood.
You might get a lot of degrade in the lumber.
How to dry out an attic.
Drying times can vary significantly depending upon wood species initial moisture level lumber thickness density ambient conditions and processing techniques.
After reaching 20 moisture content stack the lumber in a place where it can remain for an extended period of time until it reaches a point of equilibrium.
Though attics are typically hot and dry a leaky roof or pipe condensation or severe weather can cause water to enter your attic.
Here are some tips and cautions.
When you airdry lumber it s not unusual to lose up to 10 percent or more to drying defects.
Lumber defects occur when drying is too rapid which leads to surface checks and end splits or when drying is too slow which results in sticker stains and discoloration from fungal growth because air drying is at the mercy of the weather drying rates are difficult to control.
Remember you don t have to bring in the whole stack at once.
Just bring in enough to satisfy your needs for the coming year.
Wood will reach an equilibrium air dry mc or emc at that rate but it will continue to lose moisture and shrink when brought indoors.
Since we are planning to use these resources the idea is to air dry the lumber until it will give up no more moisture without assistance and then look at different ways to complete the drying process.
I ve had small stacks of wood drying in the attic the basement and the garage.
Also air drying for a period of time prior to loading it in the attic might be a good.
