Kiln Dried Lumber Moisture Content

Kiln drying is a standard practice in wood production mills and serves to efficiently bring green lumber moisture levels down to workable range moisture content levels that will not end in the myriad of problems that can be caused by excess moisture levels in wood.

Kiln dried lumber moisture content.

Kiln dried lumber is lumber that has been heated in a kiln so that it has a low moisture content when the drying process is complete the lumber usually has a moisture content of between 6 and 8 making it significantly dryer than green lumber or air dried lumber. Southern pine lumber can be gradestamped as kd19 when it has been dried in a kiln to a maximum moisture content of 19. Moisture sections and stress sections are cut from each kiln sample to monitor the overall process of drying to target moisture content without any drying defects. Tape up these holes after you use them.

Further moisture reduction occurs when you move the boards indoors where they ll eventually reach their equilibrium moisture content emc. Wood drying also seasoning lumber or wood seasoning reduces the moisture content of wood before its use. When the price of kiln dried lumber is compared to that of solar kiln dried lumber the profit margin is noticeably higher. Without a kiln you should try to achieve an air dry moisture content of 15 20 percent.

There are two main reasons for drying wood. I cut a few small access holes to control the dehumidifier and to test the woods moisture content in various places. When the drying is done in a kiln the product is known as kiln dried timber or lumber whereas air drying is the more traditional method. All seams need to be sealed with vapour barrier tape to hold the moisture in.

The emc equals a point where the wood neither takes on nor loses moisture due to the atmosphere. Rough sawn green lumber with a high moisture content easily can be dried in a solar kiln to reduce moisture content to 6 to 10 percent. Kiln drying 12 6 drying mechanism 12 6 drying stresses 12 7 dry kilns 12 7 kiln schedules 12 8 drying defects 12 9 moisture content of dried lumber 12 10 moisture control during transit and storage 12 14 plywood and structural items 12 14 finish and factory lumber 12 15 dimensional changes in wood 12 15. Many hardware stores and lumber companies stock such lumber for their clients and this type of wood is ideal for a wide range of.

This generally means that the average moisture content of the lumber will be close to 15 with some pieces somewhat drier and some pieces somewhat wetter. For more information the principles described in this fact sheet are important elements of the efficient utilization of wood products. Kiln dried lumber lumber should read as having moisture content from around 8 12 which is a standard moisture content for furniture grade kiln dried lumber.