One of the things we do is custom mill & kiln dry timbers for Timber Frame structures.  In this case, contractor used traditional Timber Frame joinery to build a classic outdoor space for the homeowner.

The contractor gave us several months notice so that we had the time to source the right logs for the job.  The structure had White Oak for the posts and Southern Yellow Pine for the beams.  Once we had the logs, we milled them and let them air dry for a couple months before moving them into the kiln.  We only needed to get the moisture content on the Pine down to 12% because it was going to be outside anyways.  At the end of the cycle, we sterilized the lumber to make sure any dormant insect eggs were killed.  For the White Oak, we could not get it down much on moisture content, but we were able to heat treat it for insects.