Custom Kiln Drying: Simply “the Best”

For Industrial / Wholesale Customers

Expertise You Can Trust

Cypress Wood and Lumber’s (CWL) lead principal, plus senior managers and team leaders have over 80 years of combined experience in kiln drying a variety of wood species. With a national reputation as recognized experts in kiln drying, CWL ensures the highest quality in our kiln drying process.

Importance of Kiln Drying

Stability and Quality: Lumber that is kiln-dried (KD) is more stable, which is why we sell KD Cypress that is dried down to a moisture content of 12% to 14%.
Fresh-cut Cypress can have a moisture content as high as 65%. As the lumber dries, the moisture content drops and shrinkage occurs.
Controlled Conditions: We kiln dry Cypress under carefully controlled conditions, allowing shrinkage to occur before processing, resulting in wood that will cause issues after installation.

Basics of Kiln Drying – Water Removal

Free Water: The first water removed during drying is free water, which is the water in the cell cavities, occurring when moisture content is above 25%.
Fiber Saturation Point: Once free water is removed, the moisture content is at the fiber saturation point (FSP), approximately 25%, meaning the only water left in the wood is water that is chemically bound up between the cellulose fibers of the wood.
Shrinkage: At the moisture content drops below the FSP, shrinkage begins and continues until drying stops when the wood reaches 10% to 12% moisture content. Be assured, KD cypress we sell is pre-shrunk and ready for service.

Potential Problems with Air-Dried Cypress

Inconsistency: There is no true definition of the moisture content of air-dried lumber. Some producers state that their cypress is air-dried down to 16% moisture content, but because air-drying is not done under controlled conditions in a kiln, moisture varies significantly from board to board. This inconsistent variation inherent in air-dried lumber often leads to stability issues such as warping and movement of joints after such lumber is installed.
Beware: Cypress that is not kiln dried may continue losing moisture and shrink once installed in a home or business.

Kiln Drying Cypress Beams

Availability: We regularly receive requests for kiln-dried Cypress beams and have the expertise to provide this service, which is rare in the industry. Because so few firms (if there are any others) have the expertise to kiln dry cypress beams, the industry practice is to sell cypress beams rough green.

Theory of Kiln Drying

Dry Kiln Theory: For every species of wood there exists a level of moisture that can be safely removed every day without damaging the wood and its cell structure.
Rule of Science: We understand this rule of nature and apply it to the practice of kiln drying to achieve excellent results.
Dry Kiln Schedules: Factually, kiln schedules vary according to:

Species and density of wood
Inbound moisture content
Thickness of the wood
Type of kiln and fuel

Kiln Management Complexities: Kiln drying is a complex operation, the success of which depends on knowledge and expertise gained by years of experience.

We manage our kilns the “old fashioned” way.
We place moisture samples in each kiln and take daily readings.
We equalize and condition as long as needed.

Kiln Capacity: Three dry kilns with 190,000 BF of capacity on a 4/4 basis.

Specialization

Hard-to-Dry Hardwoods: We excel at drying dense imported hardwoods.
Fixing Other’s Mistakes: As an example of our expertise, we successfully equalized the moisture in ten container loads of a dense, imported species of 8/4 lumber which ranged in moisture from 8% to 35% when it arrived at our mill. After equalization, our customer was pleased to say that 90% of the wood was usable, saving him from taking a $ 200,000 loss.

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For Rates on Kiln Drying and other Services: Feel free to reach out!

For Retail Customers:

Small Volume Drying: We offer kiln drying services for small volumes (e.g., minimum of 1,000 BF) if and when we can accommodate them alongside larger commercial kiln loads. Contact us with your needs, and we will try to assist you!