drying wood (naive question)

[Greg Schlitt]

I've only been WW-ing for a couple years;
until now using kiln-dried stuff. I'd like
to being buying green wood and drying it myself
(a lot cheaper!)

My question is: folks seem to suggest that it be
air-dried outside (in a dry place) with stickers and all for a year so so,
and then brought inside into its destination
environment to acclimatize for another
few weeks. But my shop is not heated (a garage)
I have no place to store the wood itside the house itself. Is a few weeks in the garage enough?
I live on the West Coast.

Thanks for the tips.

[Ken in Regina]

Check this out.

Home Drying Lumber (http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/forestry/g60.htm)

[Ken in Regina]

Here's a quote from the Minnesota Dept of Natural Resources:

"To air-dry your freshly sawn lumber, separate each layer of boards with stickers (one by ones, 4 feet in length). The stickers should be dried wood or they could stain your lumber. You should space the stickers every 2 feet, perpendicular to the lumber. Place the outside stickers as close to the ends of the lumber as possible and limit your pile to 4 feet wide. Store the lumber under a roof and air-dry it for two years, preferably on the south side of a hill or building."

[Ken in Regina]

And here's a really comprehensive one that you can save:

Drying Wood (http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for55/for55.pdf)

[Norman]

you can speed up drying time by placing wood in an empty green house. but be sure you have good ventilation so wood won't dry to fast it will warp and crack.