Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Jun 29, 2008 05:22pm | #1

   Your waiting time will depend on the storage environment (temperature, humidity, etc.).  Since pine is a soft wood, it may season fairly quickly (a few months) and a moisture meter would let you track it's progress.

   Hopefully, you have (or will) coat the ends of your boards with some thick primer paint which reduces the amount of checking, splitting, and cracking you can get from uneven curing.

   I would also think twice about storing it in your garage.  You may be setting up an all-you-can-eat buffet for termites or other undesirable critters.  I would build my stack away from any structures by laying down some sleepers and building the stack.  Cover it with a tarp or some junk plywood pitched for water runoff while it "cooks". 

2. 
   dkellernc | Jun 29, 2008 05:58pm | #2

   I'm going to suggest that you leave it in your garage for the time being.  Unless, of course, the tree was dead when it was felled - which might indicate termite or carpenter ant infestation.

   I'm assuming you live in the Eastern U.S.  If that's the case, you've a bit of a problem with white pine cut this time of year.  It's quite wet, and unless it's stored in a relatively dry (non-humid) location while it loses it's free water, it will mildew.  White pine is notorious for this, and once it happens, almost nothing will remove the ugly blue stain on the wood (it's not just on the surface, but completely through the plank).

   For that reason, I'm going to suggest that you install a small de-humidifier in the garage, which will keep the ambient moisture down on the surface of the wood and prevent the mold growth.

   If you don't have a moisture meter, you can check the water content of the wood the old-fashioned way.  Cut a piece about 3"X3"X2" and weigh it on a kitchen scale.  Record that weight, and place the piece in an oven set at about 200 degrees F.  Come back and weigh the piece every hour or so until you get the same reading over 3 intervals (this lets you know when the wood is completely dry).  Calculate the moisture content by subtracting the dry weight from the original weight, and dividing this number by the dry weight.  This will give you the moisture percentage, and it should be less than about 12% before you can reasonably build anything with it and expect it to stay in one piece.

1. 
   revtlang | Jun 29, 2008 08:05pm | #3

   Thanks, I live in St.Paul Minnesota so termites are not a problem and I have a moisture meter so I will keep an eye on it. The garage is a bit big for a dehumidifier but I was told to put a fan on the pile and open the window.

1. 
   dkellernc | Jun 30, 2008 07:11pm | #4

   I'm not sure I'd suggest putting a fan directly on the stack.  You'd like any wood that you're air-drying to go about it relatively slowly to prevent the wood from "case hardening" or checking.

   You could, of course, place the fan so that it blows against a wall and sets up a fairly gentle all-room circulation.

   You'd also be surprised what the modern low-temp dehumidifiers are capable of.  I use a Maytag low-temp dehumidifier that's about 1'X1.5'X2.5' to bring the humidity down in my 1100 sq. ft. basement shop in North Carolina (i.e., extremely humid).  It'll typically pull a 70% R.H. at 75 degrees down to 45% in about 2 hours.