Milled Wood Drying Time

[BrianS]

I will be having some Black/Red Oak milled on property, most is standing or laying dead.  How long do i need to air dry the lumber before I can use for a building project?  Planning on using stickers and drying outside but want to start my shop project and using as siding inside and outside. Thanks for any insight.

[WV Sawmiller]

Brian,

 What is your location? Will it be under cover? How much air flow and sunlight? How thick will the lumber be?

 There are a lot smarter people than me on the forum than me about drying wood but these are some basic questions they will need to help answer your questions.

 Welcome to the forum. 

[starmac]

I can't comment on your oak, but my spruce it depends on how far it is from the mill to the wall I want to put siding on, for the drying time. This is for outside walls only though.

[BrianS]

It will be outside and I live in central Illinois.  It should get plenty of airflow as I plan to sticker the stack. It will be different sizes but min of 1 inch thick. 

Thanks for help, love the forum.

[jaygtree]

rule of thumb around here is to let boards dry one year per inch of thickness. i use them when i need them though even if water squirts out of them when i pound a nail in them.  jg