Air Dry versus Solar Kiln + Tips for articles for newbie

[mccartyls]

I currently live on an acre in in older neighborhood and have a large number of old pines in my back yard. Large pines that you could make a couple telephone poles out of each of them. By my count I have about 30 in my backyard alone that I really am not that fond of. I need to remove several to give good line of sight to the south for the solar pool heater I plan to install on the roof. I also want to build a garden shed on the property back there. This is what got me enamored with the idea of building my garden shed out of the wood from the pines I needed to remove anyway. There is a guy who has a mobile sawmill here in the Jacksonville FL area that I have been in touch with and the cost seems close to what it would cost me to buy the lumber but the question comes in about drying the wood properly.

I have read a bunch of articles on solar kiln drying and construction ideas around that, but I would like some feedback on whether this is just a time saving issue or can I just sticker them in my garage and have the lumber ready in a couple months instead of 3-4 weeks? With the humidity in FL would I ever get them dry enough without a kiln?

I was reading a post on here about solar kiln construction and they were talking about a pineywood design but I did not see a link to this design anywhere and I would like to see it as well if you could be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

That said, since I am really just a novice on this whole topic I would enjoy any additional links to info to further my education on the topic.

Also if you have any links to some awesome garden shed plans I could check out, that would be cool as well. I am looking for something in the area of 10X20 on the large side to 10X12 on the smaller side. I want to park my riding mower in there and all my garden supplies, etc.

Thanks for allowing me to join your group!

Shawn

[Tom]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Shawn.

Assuming that your trees aren't full of nails, you probably have some of the most choice Yellow Pine available.  They are probably Loblolly, Slash, or Longleaf and would make excellent lumber.

You will, of course, need the room to handle the milling and drying.  Some urban yards aren't big enough but for a little bit of that.  If you do have room, and want the trees gone, turning them into your own lumber makes all the sense in the world.  While Jacksonville building inspectors might have a few considerations about the non-graded lumber going into the structural portions of your house, It would still make good material for shelving, paneling, decks, out-buildings, and things of that nature.

You won't really need a kiln, just air-dry the lumber to about 19%, or less (six or eight weeks), and get the stuff you want to use outside, pressure treated.  Two local companies do that.  They are Wood Treaters and Southern Lumber.   

Be sure that you clean the sawdust off of the lumber before you take it for treating.  The sawdust messes up their treatment-solution tanks.

Dry the lumber again after it's treated to minimize shrinkage after it's been fastened down.

[thecfarm]

mccartyls,welcome to the forum.You will have some work on your hands to get rid of the brush too. Are you cutting the trees down yourself?
I always enjoyed the looks of this cabin. I wanted to build one,but have not yet,

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,41083.0.html

Would look real good with a riding lawn mower in it. I have a building now with a plywood floor in it. I keep my tiller and garden tools in that. If I ever do build this cabin,I will leave some space between the floor boards to allow the dirt to go through so I don't have to sweep the dirt up.

[Planman1954]

Hello there. I'm the guy that' building the pineywoods design. I spent half a day with him today. He did some metal working for me on trailer parts. I'm adapting them to fit the base of the kiln so that I can move it around my yard. I actually started whittling on some of the 6x6 base beams this afternoon. I'll probably start for real on it Monday. I'll take a lot of pictures step by step, so that others can build the thing. It is a great design, studied by engineers who shake their heads when they realize the high temps that it achieves. Be patient, and by the end of the next 2 or 3 weeks, there should be enough info on my thread to build one yourself (If all goes well....If not, I guess I'll leave out all the mistakes!!).

[pineywoods]

I was reading a post on here about solar kiln construction and they were talking about a pineywood design but I did not see a link to this design anywhere and I would like to see it as well if you could be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

If you go look in my photo gallery you will find some pics and a couple of rough drawings.  Unfortunately I didn't make any pictures during construction. I built 2 of these kilns and they are a bit different from run-of-the-mill solar kilns, but they do work well, especially if you put a cheap room de-humidifier inside. Made a couple of mistakes, but Planman's version will correct those. Just hang in there. Planman is a very detail oriented person, he will have plenty of pics and drawings here shortly

[trapper]

Take pictures of the mistakes also.  Mite help others from making the same ones. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never done anything.

[WDH]

Piney,

In your ideal design, would you still go ventless?

[pineywoods]

Piney,

In your ideal design, would you still go ventless?

Most likely yes. If I had the de-humidifier definitely yes. To some extent it depends on climate. In drier climates, venting might be ok. But here in the humid deep south, air vented out of the kiln will have to be replaced with outside air that's so wet very little drying will take place. That's whats behind the notion that a solar kiln won't dry lumber below 12%.

[mccartyls]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Shawn.

Assuming that your trees aren't full of nails, you probably have some of the most choice Yellow Pine available.  They are probably Loblolly, Slash, or Longleaf and would make excellent lumber.

You will, of course, need the room to handle the milling and drying.  Some urban yards aren't big enough but for a little bit of that.  If you do have room, and want the trees gone, turning them into your own lumber makes all the sense in the world.  While Jacksonville building inspectors might have a few considerations about the non-graded lumber going into the structural portions of your house, It would still make good material for shelving, paneling, decks, out-buildings, and things of that nature.

You won't really need a kiln, just air-dry the lumber to about 19%, or less (six or eight weeks), and get the stuff you want to use outside, pressure treated.  Two local companies do that.  They are Wood Treaters and Southern Lumber.   

Be sure that you clean the sawdust off of the lumber before you take it for treating.  The sawdust messes up their treatment-solution tanks.

Dry the lumber again after it's treated to minimize shrinkage after it's been fastened down.

It is good news that the trees here will likely make good lumber. I wish I knew more about the tree varieties I would let you know what type I am looking at. I actually live in Orange Park and luckily live at the end of a cul de sac with a large pie shaped back yard. I also have a 3 car garage and with your feedback that I can likely air dry in a couple of months I was considering using one of my garage bays to store the lumber in while it dries. You comments about the uses for the lumber reminded me I need a new deck as well, so yet another use! I was browsing the forum prior to joining and noticed that you were in the Jacksonville area. Knowing that you would have plenty of knowledge about the companies and resources that I might be able to utilize was a big decision on joining up. I appreciate your tips about Wood Treaters and Southern Lumber I will reach out to them when I get the lumber milled.

I had read somewhere that cutting down the trees in the fall reduces the sap level and reduces drying time. Is there truth to that?

[WDH]

No truth about the sap in the fall.  A tree's internal moisture content is relatively constant.