Seasoning of timber

Seasoning of timber

Seasoning is the process of drying timber to remove the bound moisture contained in walls of the wood cells to produce seasoned timber. Seasoning can be achieved in a number of ways, but the aim is to remove water at a uniform rate through the piece to prevent damage to the wood during drying (seasoning degrade).

Seasoned timber has an average moisture content of around 15% or less.  (It is permissible to have occasional moisture readings as high as 18%, but the bulk of any package of seasoned timber will have a moisture content of less than 15 %.)

Seasoned timber tends to have superior dimensional stability than unseasoned timber and is much less prone to warping and splitting in service. In higher grades of timber, particularly hardwoods, the process of seasoning can enhance the basic characteristic properties of timber, increasing stiffness, bending strength and compression strength.