Solar vs. dehumidifier kiln for shack lumber

[CTSap4Maple]

I am milling a white pine on site for my shack, and want to reduce the drying time for the timbers and boards (without cracking them, of course). A solar kiln is not optimal, as it requires me to build a shack, to build a shack. I do like the dehumidifier option in the link below as it only requires a dehumidifier, small frame, plastic sheeting and a fan. I could set that up in my garage after a few months of air drying. Looks like it was set up for wood for furniture though. Any thoughts if it would work to get the WC good for timberframe construction? Many thanks!

http://m.instructables.com/id/Kiln-Dry-Lumber-At-Home/?ALLSTEPS

[K&GMapleProducts]

There is a thread for drying and processing on this site as well as sawing, logging and forestry, everyone is very helpful.
http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php

[jimsudz]

I personally would just air dry the lumber and timbers. The timbers will take quit a bit of time but w pine is a milder wood that won't check a lot. The most important thing is to make sure you stick it right. I would stack your timber first with a larger stick 2' apart then your 4/4 on top with a thinner stick 18" apart. Key is start with good base that is on a flat plain, any curve in stack will dry with curve.Key is stick over stick, take your time this is important for good flat lumber. Put a lot of weight on top and cover just the top so air can get through the stack. I would stack out side so wind can blow across the stack. If you stack inside you may get bluestain because lack of air movement.In a good relatively dry summer you could dry 4/4 w.pine in about 6 weeks. the timbers will not be real dry but it will be dry enough to timber frame.I have a homemade dehumidification kiln that I use for hardwood. I'll let 4/4 sit on sticks for a month that load the charge and will be dry in another month. Don't use a real wide stick or you will get sticker stain no more than a inch wide, and use dry sticks. A little tip is stack good side down less staining on the bottom of the board.Here's a few pics I cant find the ones of the charge in the kiln sorry. Cant stress enough how important the initial stacking is. Hope this will help. I do have a 3m ebac kiln id like to sell.

[maple flats]

A temporary solar kiln is easy too. Just make a tent frame large enough to cover the wood (stacked the same as shown above), then place a clear poly sheet over it, held up off the lumber. Then make a door on each end, also temporary. Have the long side of the "kiln" facing south. Mount a 20" window fan to blow into the "tent" and open the door at the other end. This will dry the wood quite well and much faster than air drying. You will not get the splitting common in hardwood. If your supports were close enough to prevent the plastic from touching the wood, you'd use the fan for exhaust, but if poorer supported, use the fan to push air into the structure. This structure can be fairly light weight, made of green lumber and temporary.

[GeneralStark]

Cut the frame green. Air dry the siding and other material stickered on a level base and just cover the top. Do board and batten so it won't matter if the wood moves.

Don't over think this.

[maple flats]

On that thought, mine was put up green, except the PT posts. I have board& batton siding. The batton is overlapped so about 2/3 of the batton is on the "nail" side, the other 1/3 covers the space + some of the next board. That way the siding is ready to dry, or expand/contract after it is dry as weather conditions change.

[Michael Greer]

I like lumber stacked and stickered out-doors...no fans, no cords, and a free breeze 24/7. Cover stacks with roofing metal (well tied down) and wait. I built some big heavy sawhorses, and like to stack on them to get a bit further from the ground.

[BreezyHill]

I am milling a white pine on site for my shack, and want to reduce the drying time for the timbers and boards (without cracking them, of course). A solar kiln is not optimal, as it requires me to build a shack, to build a shack. I do like the dehumidifier option in the link below as it only requires a dehumidifier, small frame, plastic sheeting and a fan. I could set that up in my garage after a few months of air drying. Looks like it was set up for wood for furniture though. Any thoughts if it would work to get the WC good for timberframe construction? Many thanks!

http://m.instructables.com/id/Kiln-Dry-Lumber-At-Home/?ALLSTEPS

What I like the best is ship lap siding. way less time installing, seals far better and is easy to do with a dado blade on a table saw.

This takes relatively dry lumber and a simple solar kiln can be made from 2x4 stock and greenhouse plastic. I did a 2 story 30x30 building in 45 days on a wagon frame All wood was stickered and covered with plastic.

Next month we start cutting lumber for greenhouses for the Cornell design structure. North end wall will be ship lapped. End wall will have to be installed prior to Aug 17th as that is the date the oldest son and his girl friend return to college. Greenhouses are for her...Horticulture and Business major. Lumber all stacked & stickered on wagon frames, parked on the greenhouse site and grass mowed tight to the ground. Box fan at one end, covered with greenhouse film and ends buried with lime stone...lime is cheap for us...quarry 2 miles away. 1" black plastic pipe is installed in a small trench from outside of the plastic tent to a Delaval 73 vacuum pump. Vac on 24/7 during a week of sunny weather and the wood will be bone dry at the end of the week.

We have done this methoid for silage for many years and works awesome. Read of a farmer building a barn this way and is a huge time saver.

Moisture condensates on the ground and grass and is used by the grass regrowing. Fan is to circulate the hot air across all the wood and help remove the water vapor.

Lumber needs to be dry to be painted before it is erected for a greenhouse or it will not last long. Customer has a dozen or more of these greenhouses and the first one is around 20 years old is as strong as day 1. He has never lost one from snow load or wind.

Nobody plans to fail...They just fail to plan.

Help rebuild a barn that burned, he used green siding and green battens. Two years latter we took of all the battens and slide the boards together. They shrunk so much there was gaps in the hay mow siding letting in snow and rain. 90x40 south wall was the worst all 90 feet was redone east dried slower and was ok and west was redone. Sucked! Think it over many times so you don't have to redo any job twice. The things you do for family.

My dads full time job after being a Surge dealer was an industrial arts teacher...he did house design class and then wood shop til he retired. He told me we needed to do the south wall last and let the siding sit and dry as long as possible; but the owner wanted to get the south first and then the two ends then the long north side. I ended up marrying the owners daughter...and now my sons help put hay in that same barn and hear stories of how bad it was moving siding when we should have been baling hay when we were teenagers.

Also take lots of pics of everything to show the kids in the future. Many great evenings looking at old pics!

Ben