Kiln Drying Services

After your logs have been sawn into lumber, and air dried to 20% to 25% moisture content, the next step is kiln drying. Our kilns can dry your lumber to 8% moisture content, which is perfect for building furniture or flooring. We will also sanitize the lumber to kill any unwanted bugs. Give us a call, email or text and we can answer any questions you might have.

Air drying is the first step after you lumber has been milled.

Once your boards come off the mill they are stacked and stickered. Stickers are simply 1x1's we cut at 42 inches in length. The stickers are placed in between the rows of lumber and facilitate air flow through the boards. This helps the boards dry uniformly while also preventing mold and mildew from forming.

Note: Air drying can take varying amounts of time based on the species being dried. Pine and poplar usually air dry within a few weeks while hardwoods can take months. Air drying helps reduce the amount of time the kilns take to work and reduce the amount of money you would have to pay to have lumber kiln dried. It also reduces the chances for severe movement and warping of the boards while they are in the kiln.

Loading the lumber into our kilns

Once the lumber has air dried to 20-25%, it is time for the boards to be loaded into one of our dehumidification kilns. These kilns utilize dehumidification units, a heat pump, and fans to both dry your lumber down to 8-12% moisture content as well as sanitize the lumber by raising the temperature inside the kiln to a point where no insects or larvae can survive.

After that, it's up to you!

After the lumber has been dried and sanitized the boards are ready to be used for both indoor and outdoor projects. The standard pricing for kiln drying and sanitizing lumber is $0.65 per board foot. This price is for your standard 1x and 2x materials. Larger lumber such as beams or mantles will be dried on a case by case basis. It requires a lot of time and electricity to properly dry an 8x8 beam.