How long should wood be ‘seasoned’ for?
Length of seasoning is almost irrelevant, so be careful when being told how long wood has been ‘seasoned’ for. This is simply because if trees have been cut down and left in the forest without being split into logs, they will hardly dry. There is a reason why trees have bark – to stop the moisture escaping. To ‘season’ properly, wood needs to be cut and split into small logs to increase the surface area for drying and stored under cover with good air flow. Also different species will dry at different speeds. For example softwoods such as pine and spruce will dry quite quickly and so will ash which is a quick drying hardwood. Denser woods such as oak, beech and apple will take much longer to dry.