EC

[Charly Lima]

I am planning to harvest a number of oaks in my forest this winter, can anyone advise on the best way to dry oak? Should the timber be stacked for a while before cutting it into planks or can it be cut directly after felling?

 

[Åsa Lund]

According to my uncle, you should saw dried timber so that the boards do not warp later. If you cut down trees with leaves on them, the leaves help to draw the moisture out of the wood.

 

[Charly Lima]

Thank you for the response, I have always thought that you should fell trees when it's cold in the winter because there is no sap in the tree. Maybe a good idea to fell at this time of year... but there's a lot of hassle with tons of leaves.

 

[Åsa Lund]

That's exactly why people cut trees in winter, I believe
Easier
If you are using the wood for firewood, it's not the same process to dry it before processing as for timber

 

[vectrex]

Planks should preferably be sawed immediately. For oak specifically (which resists rot relatively well), it doesn't matter much if a year or so passes from when it's felled until the logs are sawed into planks, but there is no advantage to doing so either. A whole log dries extremely slowly if ever. What you should keep in mind is to seal the cut surfaces of each log as soon as possible after felling to reduce the risk of drying cracks at the end grain. When the planks are sawed, they should be stacked with spacers, protected from precipitation, and then air-dried first outdoors for a year or so, and finally indoors during the winter months for a few months to achieve woodworking dryness.

 

[Charly Lima]

Thanks for the tips... I think I'll fell the oaks this winter and cut them into planks. I have renovated a "torkvind" outbuilding where I can stack and store quite a lot of lumber. I know that furniture-dry lumber should have a moisture content of 8-12%, but how much or how little should it be for laying a floor indoors for example? and if it takes 10 years to dry, well then I guess it will be the grandchildren who get to lay the floor... ha ha

 

[vectrex]

Thanks for the tips...I think I'll fell the oaks this winter and cut them into planks. I've renovated a "drying storage" outbuilding where I can space and stack quite a bit of wood. I know that furniture-dry wood should have a moisture content of 8-12%, but how much or little should it be for laying a floor indoors, for example? and if it takes 10 years to dry, then it might be the grandchildren who'll lay the floor...ha ha

A floor indoors is some of the wood that needs to be the driest, especially if you will have underfloor heating.

It's the thickness that determines how long it takes (and also heat, humidity, and air circulation), but if we consider 25mm thick floor planks, they can be dried in a year without problems. However, you should consider that in an unheated outbuilding, it almost doesn't dry at all from October -> Feb, at least not in southern Sweden. Cut it now in winter and stack it in your outbuilding. By late next autumn, you should bring it into a heated space to dry down the last bit, from 17-18% down to <10%. If that's the case, you should be able to lay the floor by April-May 2021.

 

[kashieda]

Where are you, CL? If you're nearby, we might be interested in some planks once they've dried, if you have any leftover.

 

[Charly Lima]

A floor indoors is one of the timber that needs to be the driest. Especially if you are going to have underfloor heating.

It is the thickness that determines how long it takes (and also warmth, humidity, and airflow), but if we consider 25mm thick floorboards, they can be dried in a year without issues. However, you should consider that in an unheated outbuilding, it hardly dries at all from October -> February, at least not in southern Sweden. Saw it now in winter and stack it in your outbuilding. By late autumn next year, you should bring it into a heated space to be able to dry it down the last bit, from 17-18% down to <10%. In that case, you should be able to lay the floor around April-May 2021.

Thanks for the tip. How dry should the wood be if you want to renovate an unheated outbuilding barn, for example?

 

[Charly Lima]

Where are you, CL? If you're nearby, we might be interested in some planks once they're dry, if you have any to spare.

I am located on the border between Blekinge and Småland, contact me on this forum at the beginning of 2020 then I'll know how much timber I have and how much I can spare.