Process of turning oak into flooring for hobbiest/novice

[WDH]

Air drying white oak in Georgia will take a minimum of 9 months.  I have air dried a lot of it.

[Don P]

Window ac's have a drain pan, run a tube from pan to bucket and Bob's your uncle. You'll corrode the coils and vent the coolant to atmosphere faster than a purpose built unit especially with acidic woods but yes it is the same thing. A home DH or AC would need controls to avoid checking green lumber, it will shrink the surface around the still swollen core too fast if run 24/7. Once AD you can pretty much turn it on and let it run.

[Georgia088]

So, even with a dehumidifier kiln, 10 months to a year would be about how long it would need to dry? I just do this as a hobby and I have never looked into see who could dry wood around here...
just curious wdh, how long does it take to air dry SYP here in GA? Does drying times vary a lot between species?

Thanks!

[fishfighter]

Sure does. SYP air dry take about 5-6 months here in Louisiana to get down to around 11%. All depends when I saw it. ;D Red oak and water oak take about a year to get to 11% air dry. Again, it all depends on what time of the year I saw it up. This is only for 4/4. I do keep my stacks thin, about max is 20" and use 1" stickers. I cover my stacks with 28" or 36" metal roofing and nothing on the sides. When I set up a stack, the board ends, I set them east/west. I find that helps drying and keeping any direct sun off the boards. Also, I find it best for air flow too.

[WDH]

In Middle Georgia, green SYP will take about 8 - 10 weeks to air dry to 15% under cover with fans. 

[Ianab]

Does drying times vary a lot between species?

Yes, and climate / season has a big effect too.

White Oak is a slow drying species, it just seems to take a long time for the inside moisture to migrate to the surface and evaporate. And trying to rush the drying will lead to case hardening / surface checking etc (and ruin your wood) Kiln drying should be faster than air drying, but you need some sort of control so you don't dry the wood too fast, although some species aren't as fussy. Pine etc you can basically dry as fast as possible, so that might only be a few days in a high temperature kiln.

Other species like most "cedars" dry quickly, often only weeks to air dry them.

And of course is you live in a cold humid swamp or rainforest, drying anything takes longer.