Hey all,
I wanted to ask for feedback on my timber drying method. I have several 12-15 inch diameter oak posts that I am drying. I have them stacked crisscrossed in several layers with gaps between the logs and sitting on some cedar boards off the ground. I have covered them with some black plastic left over moisture barrier and a tarp. The plastic hangs down to the ground to keep fresh air from flowing through. They are sitting in the sun so it gets hot in there, but my thinking is that it's not the heat, it's the humidity! (which should remain high under the tarps). I plan to occassionally spray water under there to make sure.
The wood seems to be checking pretty badly. Especially the posts that we de-barked. I was going to de-bark all of them right away to discourage insects (have a lot of powder post beetle around here), but now I am thinking I will leave the bark on and just spray with insecticide, then de-bark in the fall shortly before we need the posts for construction.
Appreciate your comments. -paul
(oh btw, we did moisture seal the log ends, and now I have also moisture sealed where we de-barked)
