Drying Pine (Need Opinions)

[Northern Porter]

Today I tore through about ten pine logs and milled it all in to dimensional lumber IE: 2x6 and 2x4's mostly, which I intend to use for my new garage. My question is, will I be ok after stickering and stacking the lumber for a month in New Hampshires June weather to begin building with it? I was told today this would be ok by an individual who has a lot of milling experience in New York. If anyone has any thoughts, it would be appreciated.

NP

[Tom]

In Florida's humid and hot weather, 6 to 8 weeks will take 2x material down to about 19%.  that's not only usable, but dry enough to take pressure treating and dry enough to handle the weights of most construction loads.  I'd bet that you would get pretty much the same results in New Hampshire if you cover it and stack it in a place with a good air flow.

[Northern Porter]

Thanks Tom! Im assuming the lumber should be covered with tin or something comparable to keep the water off only?

NP

[Tom]

Yeah, nothing like a tarp that would hang over the edges.   There are some pretty good examples of drying procedures and stacking on the forum.  Search for Air Drying and stuff like that. 

[Gary_C]

The time will depend on the natural relative humidity in your area. Even the location of the stack like on the top of high ground or down in a valley where you would get a lot of dew at night.

Idealy where there is good airflow and some cover so the rain can't rewet the stack yet allows the sun to shine on it during the day. That's why air drying sheds will be in the open areas with a roof and no side walls.

If you have a reasonably good facility, you probably can use it after a month. It would be a good idea to borrow a moisture meter if you have to and check to see if the wood is below 20 percent moisture before you use it. If you can't find a meter use the oven dry test.