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Construction grade lumber

Al killian

Al killian

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1,940
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Floydada, Tx
I have a stack of logs that I am haveing made into construction lumber. Most of it will be 2x4's and 2x6's. Question is, how long do they have to air dry for construction use? There is close to 800 bdft of pine and 1200 bdft of poplar.
 
One year per inch is considered normal for air drying. You might shorten it some but then you run the risk of it warping. And you don't want a wall with a warped stud!
 
Jeff Horton said:
One year per inch is considered normal for air drying. You might shorten it some but then you run the risk of it warping. And you don't want a wall with a warped stud!
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I agree, but that also is with a grain of salt in that it depends on what conditions the lumber is kept and the type of weather it is enduring, Sticker stacked in an enclosed barn will dry quicker than Sticker stacked and covered with a tarp. A barn with sides and door will dry quicker than an open shed roof. As well as metal barn will dry quicker than a wood barn, Old barn quicker than a new barn (dry dirt beneeth) Barn on bottom of hill will have more moisture than barn atop a hill. A lot of influences going on in the drying process. One year per inch is minimal but a good refference. (each year must include a complete summer)
 
It really depends on what you want to use it for. If it's truly "construction lumber" (meaning: general purpose use), you don't have to wait until it's reached typical indoor equilibrium. I'm aware of homes that have been built with lumber just off of the mill. The warping that typically occurs while drying is constrained by the structure itself.

I do agree that for hardwood (or softwood too for that matter) used in a furniture application, one inch per year is a good rule of thumb. However, this can be somewhat species dependent.

Keep in mind, if you do desire to use this material in a permitted construction project, the material will need to grade stamped by a licensed professional.
 
Bill Simpson said:
I agree, but that also is with a grain of salt in that it depends on what conditions the lumber is kept and the type of weather it is enduring, Sticker stacked in an enclosed barn will dry quicker than Sticker stacked and covered with a tarp. A barn with sides and door will dry quicker than an open shed roof. As well as metal barn will dry quicker than a wood barn, Old barn quicker than a new barn (dry dirt beneeth) Barn on bottom of hill will have more moisture than barn atop a hill. A lot of influences going on in the drying process. One year per inch is minimal but a good refference. (each year must include a complete summer)
Click to expand...

Bill you left out the sun shinning on the north face of a garden gnome:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
The local sawyer will grade stamp it for any that is needed. Most of the places only require stamping if you are building a whole house out of it. I was thinking that 6 month would enough for it to dry as construction lumber uaslly is not the same mc as furniture grade. This is why I wanted to ask someone with more knowledge on this matter. Some of it has already be drying since august inside a dry barn, stickerd and low moister. Maybe I will have to buy a meter to check it.
 
Don't forget to mill it oversized just in case you need to plane it or joint it to remove any warpage after drying.
 
We have our own sawmill so just about everything we build comes from lumber right off the sawmill. Spruce/Fir/Pine you may want to let air dry a bit, what they call surface dry, stamped (S-dry) which is only a few weeks out in the open air.

Some woods though you want to build with green. Hemlock is one of them. After Hemlock dries out you cannot drive a nail through it without splitting the wood. Hemlock is unique in that when you drive a nail in it green, it slides right through, but after the wood dries, the wood shrinks so tightly around the nail that its impossible to pull. In fact the wood will bust up before the nail pulls out. Its so bad that when doing remodeling in old hemlock houses, its easier to pound the nail in then to try and pull the nail out.

Unfortunately we never use Popular for building lumber. We tried it a few times and found the shrinkage on the wood is a real problem. It left gaps and even pulled the building out of straight, square and plumb. Hopefully you will have better luck however.

Here is a link from my website regarding air drying. There is some good information on drying popular in there too.

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/Wood-Drying-One.html
 
The pine we have is hemlock. This what 90% of the farmhouses around here are made from. I have built sheds in the past with kiln dried poplar, just never air dried. The poplar is going to the kiln this weekend and going to let it get cooked. Thanks for the links and help.
 
Yeah its the same way here. The old timers loved their Hemlock. My Grandfather built everything out of it, and swore by it, while he only swore AT Spruce.

Spruce floated down the rivers better though since it was light, along with White Pine and that is why Spruce and Pine ruled the woods her in New England.

Around the turn of the century Spruce gained popularity even more when a New Hampshire sawyer placed a board against his barn and had a hail storm beat it to pulp...literally...which proved to make great paper. The long, long fibers that spruce and fir consist of, combined with very blonde wood means it made white paper very easily.

This day and age, its a weight thing. Hemlock is heavy and few carpenters want to struggle with it, though in most ways Hemlock is superior. It also takes the weather much better then Spruce. It also mills a lot better on the sawmills...especially the bandsaw mills of today. I used Hemlock in my original house, but for my shop chose Spruce just because I have so much of it. Here is a picture of some of that Spruce being sawn into lumber.

Good_Bad_Log-215x141.jpg
 
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