Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Seasoning timbers

White pine timbers (8" x 8" mostly)are being cut as I post this. I will use them in a 12' x 16' garden shed. How long should I plan on letting the timbers season? Is there any rule of thumb or can I just get started cutting the jointery? Thanks in advance for your posts.

You must have a good can opener, because you just opened a great big can of worms!

This is something that, when you get right down to it, is really as much about opinion and personal preference as anything else.

My own opinion happens to be don't worry about seasoning them. But there are many others who differ on this I know, and they have good reason. I'll let them explain their positions.
But my biggest point is that in the past, builders did not season their timbers, or at least did not do so often.

Cut joints right away, before the timber drys out and gets harder.

Hi Skip,

Eastern white pine has one of the lowest shrinkage rates amongst all of the timbers from which you could make a choice and so you are probably quite safe to proceed without undue concern.

Regards

Ken Hume

Hello everyone tonight

Well this is controversial topic for sure but one should use common sense in determining the answer.

For starters if you think about it the timbers for an historic barn or other building was never seasoned for any length of time--probably cut and hewn in the winter when there was no sap in the timber, and then framed in the spring, with a raising in the early summer or fall

seasoning wood in the atmosphere (spaced) takes approx 1 season for every inch of thickness, and then providing what use it is intended for more seasoning would be the norm, exterior use like siding --no further seasoning, interior use another season indoors would be the norm, a furniture maker would need wood further seasoned for multiple seasons indoors to climatize to room humidity which would vary again depending on the environmental factors, and the tightness of the home.

We always seasoned lumber outside -spaced- 1 season, and then stored in an open shed for air flow, it was surprising how dry the lumber would be after 2 seasons, we often used it at this point for some interior work, but remember our historic homes were heated with humidistats, heated only when the humidity level called for heat to remove humidity. It was strange because you might go in a building when it was raining outside, and the furnace would be running to up the temperature to remove humidity. We had equipment to store humidity readings so that once in a while we could check to see if the humidity was being kept constant in the furnished houses, really important for the well being of the priceless historic furnishings. It was also really good to trace how staff was handling the overriding manual heating during the course of the winter months

NH

There is no need to season the timbers at all as Ken said, in fact for what you are describing, it is preferable to work green timber (as Jim said).

Historically, I think that timbers were only seasoned for the highest status buildings (and not always then) not for domestic buildings.

NH:

One question.

What do you consider a season?

I consider a season 3 months as there are four season per year.

Jim Rogers

two months in the log, to relieve the stresses of conversion from tree to log,
then two months after cutting into timbers, to show which timbers are going to twist, bow, crown..
This would be my ideal schedule, but there have been lots of times when I have cut joints into wood that was standing yesterday.

An exception to this rule of feasibility in lead times necessary to realistically season timber, is bracestock. Given a predictable (read that full) schedule, the time necessary to adequately season typical 3 by stock for braces is sometimes a possibility...

And given my druthers, I'd prefer dry or at least partially dry stock for braces.

Hi Will,

"druthers" ?

Regards

Ken Hume