Kiln Drying Services, Pricing, and FAQs Sheet

You can… but I would typically advise against this practice. Patience and proper air drying beforehand are the absolute best practices to ensure minimum defects in material, such as cracks and warping. So, not only will you be taking chances with the quality of your material, but it will also cost more because it will need longer times spent in the kiln.

I recommend putting in the kiln from a fresh cut for cookies, crosscuts, rounds, or whatever else you want to call them. I have had better luck putting them directly into the kiln than trying to air-dry them outside. These pieces almost always crack (a lot), no matter how you dry them. I also recommend cutting these around 4-5” thick because it will help minimize cracking and help with the strength of the piece because short grain is easy to break.

Give us a call, email, or even text message, and tell us what you have that needs to be dried. Photos, dimensions, and the amount of slabs or lumber are very helpful information for us to give you pricing and other information. We will then give you a date on when we will have availability in future kiln loads and put you on the schedule if you would like.

This is a loaded question; typically, our thicker hardwoods at 2.5” thick take about 3 weeks after 9-12 months of air drying. We typically like to air dry no less than 1 year to ensure every bit of our slabs is fully dried to about 7-8% moisture content when we take them out of the kiln. Many hardwoods at 1” thick can be put into the kiln after only air drying for about 4 months and be fully dried after 3 weeks in the kiln. Softwoods can dry even faster! If you have any other questions about this, feel free to ask!

Yes, our iDRY vacuum kiln reaches temperatures that eliminate insects, larvae, and mold, ensuring clean, pest-free wood.

Unfortunately, we can not guarantee there will be no defects in the wood we are drying.

Some common factors include:

• Internal Tensions: Naturally occurring stresses within the wood can cause it to shift, crack, or warp as moisture is removed.
• Species-Specific Traits: Certain species are more prone to issues like checking (surface cracking) or bowing, especially thicker pieces or denser hardwoods.
• Grain Orientation and Density: Wood with varied grain or density may dry unevenly, leading to minor or unexpected changes.
• Moisture Distribution: Wood may have uneven moisture from air drying or exposure to elements, causing it to react differently in the kiln.

While we strive to minimize these issues, some level of movement or checking can happen due to the nature of the wood. We provide our best expertise and carefully monitor the process, but we can’t eliminate all risks.

We typically dry wood to 6-8% moisture content, ideal for furniture and indoor projects. If you need a different moisture level, let us know.