Kiln & Sterilization Services
Our Dehumification Kilns safely and efficiently dry lumber & live edge slabs. They also use heat to kill insects and dormant insect eggs.
Pine and Poplar Lumber
We can dry, sterilize, and set the pitch in 1 inch green pine boards in 8 days. If you plan on turning your pine or poplar lumber into shiplap siding or tongue and groove flooring, you will need the boards kiln dried.
Hardwood Lumber and Live Edge Slabs
We recommend that hardwoods air-dry down to less than 28 percent moisture content before placing the lumber into the kiln. That cuts their time in the kiln in half. For thicker live edge slabs, we recommend that they air-dry down to 22 percent before placing them into the kiln. The most common hardwoods we kiln dry are Red and White Oak, Walnut, Maple, Cherry, and Hickory.
Sterilization of Barn Beams
Sterilization of Barn Siding
We sterilize barn wood siding to be used for all kinds of purposes inside your home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most frequent questions and answers
How much does it cost?
The costs vary depending on the species, wood thickness, and moisture content at the time it enters the kiln. Generally speaking, we charge $.06 per board foot per day. With 1 inch green pine, that tends to work out to be $0.48/board foot. With 2 inch green pine, it works out to be $0.96 / board foot. On the other end of the cost spectrum, you have oak. It takes the longest to dry, which is why we recommend letting it air-dry down to less than 28% moisture content first. The lower the moisture content, the less time it spends in the kiln. For example, if the moisture content of your one inch oak is around 24%, the total cost will be around $.96 per board foot to kiln dry. Give us a call and we can give you an estimate of the costs for your lumber.
How long does it take to kiln dry?
Like with the costs, the time in the kiln depends on species, wood thickness, and moisture content at the time it enters the kiln. Pine is the fastest to kiln dry, and oak takes the longest. We dry oak on a schedule, because if you try to dry it too fast, you will just damage the wood. Thick walnut live edge slabs do present a bit of a challenge on occasion. They can ‘stall’ on you while kiln drying, you then have to apply additional heat at certain intervals to ‘break the stall.’ This can add to the time it would normally take to kiln dry the slabs. For example, we have had 2.5 inch walnut slabs in the same kiln at the same time. Some of them dried in 45 days. Others in the same batch too 90 days to dry because of the stall.
Are there any other costs associated with kiln drying?
Yes. There are three scenarios where there might be additional costs. 1) Sometimes we charge a ‘stacking and stickering’ fee. It takes time to properly stack and sticker lumber to be dried. We do charge a fee in the following situations: 1) the lumber is not stacked and stickered when it is brought to us; and 2) the sticker spacing is too wide. We apply a lot of weight to our kiln stacks. This helps to keep the top boards from warping. Additionally, we tend to keep our stickers between 16 and 18 inches apart in the kiln. For some species of wood, having it spread out any farther is inviting opportunities for the wood to warp in the kiln. 2) If the wood has to be air-dried on our property, we sometimes charge a small storage fee while it air-dries. 3) If the wood remains on our property for more than one week after being removed from the kiln, we have to start charging a storage fee because it is taking up space on the property where we might otherwise might be air-drying lumber. The charge is $0.06 per board foot per week.
Is there an up front fee?
Yes. We require a 50% deposit based on our estimate of the costs.