Dried Timber

­how to specify correctly

2010 Version 1.0

1
Contents

Preface........................................................................................................................................ 3
Wood quality and drying quality................................................................................................ 4
Selection of a suitable target moisture content........................................................................... 9
Moisture content measurements – EN 13183 .......................................................................... 17
Shrinkage and swelling of wood .............................................................................................. 22
Measuring drying stresses, ENV 14464................................................................................... 24
Drying quality according to EN 14298 and ENV 12169 ......................................................... 26
Take care of the timber............................................................................................................. 35

© European Drying Group (EDG) and COST E53 2010

based on previous rights provided by SP Trätek

Editor: Johannes Welling

Illustrator: Claes Folkeson and Lea Knaack

Download sites: www.timberdry.net

www.coste53.net

2
Preface
COST E53 focuses on „Quality of Wood and Wood Products“. Besides techniques for
scanning round and sawn timber for wood properties and grading of sawn timber into
different use classes methods and strategies for assessment of drying quality are important
topics. In order to enable the European wood industries and the users of sawn timber to
specify and control drying quality of sawn timber products a number of CEN standards have
been edited and published recently. Up to now these standards have not yet been fully
implemented, understood and accepted by the various players.

Under the leadership of J. Welling, Johann Heinrich von Thuenen-Insitute (vTI), WG 2 in

COST E53 has taken over to task to inform the sector by reviewing and modifying a brochure
on drying quality, which had been published in 1996 by SP Trätek in Swedish language. For
achieving the goal of producing a document which can be used all over Europe the Swedish
text was updated by B. Esping, translated by J.-G. Salin, Y. Steiner, H. Forsen, V. Tarvainen
and V. Möttönen. The English mother version of the document was reviewed by a small task
group consisting of J. Welling, J.-G. Salin, J. de Corte, K.-M. Sandland, R. Nemeth, G. Milic,
G. Knaggs. Pictures were redrawn by L. Knaack, graphs were up-dated by A. Behrens.

Sincere thank is given to European Science Foundation for providing the framework for
COST Action E53 and bringing together all persons and institutions that have supported this
work without having received any financial compensation. SP Trätek has granted the
copyright to COST E53 and to EDG to enable translation into various European languages
and to secure a fast spreading of this brochure at lowest possible cost.

The pdf-version of this document in the different European languages is provided free of
cost. It can be downloaded from the COST E53 web-page (www.coste53.net) or from the
EDG web-page (www.timberdry.net). Copying and circulation of this information is welcome
as long as origin and source is correctly cited and the content is not changed.

The editors of this leaflet have done their best in referring to and in interpreting of recent
literature and standards. Nevertheless the document may contain errors. The editors refrain
from taking any kind of responsibility or grant warranty for losses arising from using this
document.

Hamburg, March 2010

Johannes Welling
(for the editing team)

3
Wood quality and drying quality
The “drying quality” concept actually covers many factors. Some of these depend on the quality
of the wood itself, others on how the drying process has been performed. Some factors are easy
to describe and measure, some are more difficult but often more important for the producer and
for the user of the wooden product. Wrong mean moisture content, moisture content variation
or drying induced stresses belong to this group – they are not visible but represent a clear
disadvantage.

Difference between quality and quality

Examples of factors related to: Wood is a biological material and each piece of wood is
unique, in the same way as each person is a unique
Wood quality individual.
Resin pockets Timber properties such as shrinkage, straightness,
Reaction wood / juvenile wood tendency to check, moisture content, visual appearance
Knots etc. reflect the character of the timber. If one characteristic
Mechanical properties feature is too pronounced, a piece of wood may be
Grain direction unsuitable for a certain purpose.
Density One of the most important properties, as far as timber is
Shrinkage coefficients concerned, is the moisture content. Wrong moisture con-
Frost shake tent is the most severe drying defect. Wrong moisture
False heart content in combination with certain properties or charac-
teristic features, may lead to drying defects. As an exam-
Drying ple, the timber deforms more or less if it continues to dry
Deviation of mean MC in finished beams or in a piece of joinery. The greater the
from MCtarg slope of grain or reaction wood, the greater the distortion
MC variation within a timber batch (twist, spring/crook, bow) that will occur as the moisture
MC variation in the timber cross content changes. If the timber moisture content ordered
section deviates too much from the moisture content which the
Drying induced stresses timber attains in the final product, a quality defect will be
Drying checks created. The deviation is due to two drying errors: (1) The
(surface, internal, and end-checks) mean moisture content of the timber batch deviates too
much from the target (required) moisture content and (2)
Others the variation in moisture content in the batch is too high.
Wood mould Wrong moisture content does not need to be due to the
Discolouration fact that the delivered batch differs from the specified re-
Resin flow quirements, but the requirements may be incorrect or even
Knot with cracks missing. It is too common that the buyer orders “50 x 100
Twist, bow, spring mm studs” without specifying the moisture content
Size deviation according to the standard EN 14298. Timber deformations
may be reduced, but not eliminated by actions in the
drying process. An increased drying temperature, top
loading and pre-twisting of the boards during drying can
be mentioned as examples.

4
 We are concentrating in this booklet on moisture content
and drying stresses as it is more complicated to assess the
quality regarding these factors than the other quality
factors. Other drying defects as for instance resin flow,
changes in knot appearance, discolouration and mould are 300

thus not discussed in this booklet.

200

Target moisture content 100

The target moisture content, i.e. the required moisture
content, indicates the suitable moisture content in the 0
wooden material when the product is used or produced. 2 4 6 8 10 12 % 14
When ordering timber it is thus advisable to give a target
moisture content for the batch. It is, however, in practice Fig.2. All measured moisture
impossible to exactly hit the target moisture content, due content values for a timber batch
to the fact that the present moisture measurement are put in the columns above. For
techniques lack precision, and the wood itself exhibits a instance the column for 7%
certain variability. contains all 260 pieces that fall in
According to a rule of thumb the mean moisture content the range 7,0-7,9%. If all the
of a batch will approximately deviate from the target up to column values are connected a
1/10 of the target value, i.e. with target values 12% and so-called normal distribution
18%, the batch mean value will be within about 12±1,2% curve is obtained and then an
and 18±1,8% respectively, see Figure 1. ordinary pocket calculator with
statistical functions may be used
for simple calculation of the
standard deviation, s.

300
Fig.1. Variation of average MC around the target of 12
and 18% MC; left: narrow, right: wider variation 200

The moisture content variation within a A

100
timber batch
B
0
A further important characterization of the moisture 2 4 6 8 10 12 % 14
content is the variation between individual boards in a s
2s
batch. The variation arises due to natural differences in the Fig.3. If the moisture content
material and depending on how uniform the climate in the values are normally distributed, it
kiln cross section is. The variation can be considerably holds that the orange area A
reduced by an equalising phase at the end of the drying (mean ±s) covers 68% of the
process. moisture content values in the
The moisture content variation in a batch, i.e. the spread batch. In practice the yellow area
in the moisture content, is close to normally distributed B is used, i.e. mean value ±2s.
and thus symmetric in relation to the mean value and it is Then the limits within which 95%
then correct to give it using a statistical measure of spread, of the moisture contents are
i.e. the so called standard deviation, s. The standard located are given. In the graph
deviation is best described by the graphs in Fig. 2 and 3. this corresponds to 8%±3%
(2s=±2·1,5) with 8 being the mean
value.

5

Fig.4. Recently dried timber with
a mean moisture content of 16%.
The variation in the cross section
illustrates the moisture content
gradient. Re-sawing a piece of
timber with a gradient in the
moisture content gives pieces with
differing surface moisture
contents.
Variation within the timber cross section
The moisture content variation in a cross section of a
piece of timber is due to the fact that drying process
moves inwards from the surface, i.e. the surface is drier
and the internal parts are wetter. In practice it may be
equally important to specify these variations in moisture
content, as well as the spread in moisture content within
the whole batch. But these quality factors have so far not
been used in product specifications. The moisture content
variation in the timber cross section is often called
moisture content gradient. Re-sawing timber with a
moisture content gradient in the cross section gives pieces
where one side of the piece has a higher moisture content
and the other a lower. It is important to avoid this
drawback, for instance when gluing components or plates.
The most common example is a joint in glulam – where
the gluing performance starts to deteriorate for differences
higher than 2% moisture content between the lamellas.
Fig.5. In gluing, for instance panels for furniture, the
result is at risk if the difference in moisture content
between two adjacent lamellas is higher than 2%. For
glulam beams the maximum allowable moisture content
difference between lamellas is 4 % (EN 386).
6
Drying induced stresses

When green wood is dried, the outer parts of the wood

piece start to shrink at the same time as the inner parts
retain its moisture and volume. The result is that the outer
parts either strain in an elastic or plastic manner (the latter
is called casehardening) or crack. In properly controlled
drying, there will be strain and creep in the outer parts
with no cracking, cf. Fig.6. When the inner parts later in Fig.6. As green timber dries,
the drying process start to shrink, the outer overstretched tension stress (blue arrows)
parts become too “big” for the internal volume. Normally develops gradually in the surface
this happens when the average moisture content in the layer, at the same time as
cross section has reached 18-14%. Then the outer parts try compression stress (green arrows)
to stretch the inner parts and the inner parts try to develops in the inner parts. If the
compress the outer parts. The outer parts resist the tension stress exceeds the strength
shrinkage in the inner parts. This creates drying stresses in of the wood a drying check will
the timber. Compression stress will thus occur in the occur.
surface layer and tension in the inner parts, see Figure 7. If
the timber later on is stored in a warehouse by the supplier
or the customer, the moisture gradient in the timber cross
section will decrease. A smaller moisture gradient means
in reality that the moisture content in the inner parts will
decrease further and normally the surface layer will absorb
more moisture from the ambient air. The inner parts try
thus to shrink even more but is resisted by the surface
layer, i.e. the drying stress level increases. The Fig.7. After drying at the sawmill
compression stress in the surface layer increases further, to, for instance to a cross section
due to the overstretched outer parts. Checks generated moisture content average of 12%,
earlier in the surface may be pressed together and are no the inner parts of the timber have
longer visible. reached about 14% while the
The level of drying stresses can be indirectly obtained by surface layer is about 6%. As the
measuring the stress induced deformations in a so called timber surface layer has been
“slicing test” according to ENV 14464. More details are overstretched in an earlier part of
found in section “Case-hardening measurement”. If the the drying cycle, then tension
timber has been conditioned in the kiln at the sawmill in stress develops in the inner parts
order to reduce the drying stresses, then the moisture as these start to shrink. The more
content gradient is reduced as well – which also is a the moisture content evens out in
prerequisite for a stable timber. the cross section, the higher
stresses arise.
The higher the temperature during the timber drying, the
more stretching occurs and the higher residual stress in the
dried timber is the result. If the timber is not conditioned
correctly the stress increases as the moisture gradients
level out after the kiln. The timber will more or less
deform during a subsequent cutting process in the fibre
direction (board direction). Because of that a so called
slicing test should be done as a quality control measure on
delivery, cf. the section “Case-hardening measurement”
and the standard ENV 14464.

7
 Drying checks
As mentioned above, checks can develop as the timber
starts to dry in the outer parts – surface checks. End
checks develop because green timber dries much faster
from the end surface than perpendicular to the grain.
Checks can occur both in living trees (usually in big logs)
and due to inappropriate drying conditions. Checking is
not further considered in this booklet, because checks are
defined and measurements well described in the normal
timber grading rules.

Distortions
In addition to the previously mentioned distortions of
spring, bow and twist, cupping of the timber may also
occur. Cup develops because shrinkage in the direction of
the annual ring is about double compared to shrinkage
across the annual ring. Cup is hardly apparent at about
20% moisture content but increases more and more at
lower moisture contents. Cup is more pronounced in wide
timber than in narrow timber.
After re-sawing the amount of cup is dependent on the
level of casehardening. This is because the stress-induced
cup is combined with the normal shrinkage-related cup,
see Fig.8. Timber for boarding is often re-sawn from
thicker dimensions.
Timber prone to twist, such as timber sawn close to the
pith, can be taken care of by top loading or by reversed
pre-twisting during the drying process at elevated
temperatures.

Fig.8.
Cup

Bow

Twist

Crook /Spring

8
Selection of a suitable target moisture content

In addition to the fact that there is a maximum allowable moisture content level for avoiding
mould or rot in the wood, it is obvious that the moisture content from the beginning has to be
adapted to the climate where the wood will be used, in order to avoid problems from
shrinkage, deformation/distortion, gaps, checks etc. Consequently some target moisture
content values have been selected that are considered suitable for use in practice for
different purposes.

Equilibrium Moisture Content

The moisture content in wood depends on the relative EMC %

humidity (RH) and the temperature (T) in the surrounding 30
air. If a piece of wood is placed in a room with a constant
25
climate, then the moisture in the wood will gradually
attain a moisture content that is in equilibrium with the
20
climate (T and RH), the so-called Equilibrium Moisture
Content (EMC). If the wood moisture content is lower 15
than the value corresponding to the surrounding air RH,
then moisture is absorbed by the wood and it swells. If the 10
wood moisture content is higher than the equilibrium
moisture content, then moisture is released and the wood 5
shrinks. The wood moisture content is adjusting towards
the equilibrium moisture content. The red curve in Fig. 9 rh %
shows the equilibrium moisture content for different RH in 0 20 40 60 80 100
the temperature range 5-22oC.
Fig. 9. Wood attains an equili-
brium moisture content that is
The time required for attaining equilibrium depends on governed by the surrounding
the temperature, initial moisture content, difference relative humidity and tempera-
between initial and EMC, thickness, species, density and ture. Some species may deviate
whether there is a moisture protecting surface treatment. from the average curve (e.g.
The climate is in practice seldom constant but changes in Robinia and Teak show lower,
time and the wood is all the time adapting to the prevailing Larch and Poplar show higher
climate. In order to avoid too much shrinkage, swelling, EMC).
cup or twist, it is necessary to dry the timber to a target
moisture content that approximately corresponds to the
annual mean equilibrium moisture content. Wood tends to
approximately reach the same equilibrium moisture
content for a given RH.
It is thus possible to present a relation between RH and
timber equilibrium moisture content, seen as the red curve
in Figure 9.

9
 EMC %
Different climates
22 The climate surrounding a piece of wood thus
90 determines its moisture content. As the climate changes
20
the wood moisture content will also gradually change. The
18 most important climate parameters are temperature and
RH, i.e. the amount of vapour in the air. Although it is the
16 80 RH that primarily determines the wood moisture content,
the temperature has indirectly a great importance. This is
14
70 due to the fact that a change in temperature will strongly
12 influence the RH. If the temperature is changed, but the
60 RH is kept constant, then the change in wood equilibrium
10 moisture content is however small, as seen in Figure 10.
50
8
For a given temperature in the surrounding air the wood
40 equilibrium moisture content is determined by the air RH.
6 30 If the temperature is changed, the RH will normally be
changed too and thus the equilibrium moisture content. A
4 20
temperature change from 20oC to 40oC will decrease the
2 10 equilibrium moisture content about 1 %-unit if the RH is
kept constant. But in practice the equilibrium moisture
rh %
0
0° 10° 20° 30°
content will decrease much more as the RH in a room at
the same time will strongly decrease due to a temperature
Fig.10. If the RH is kept constant increase. This can be seen in a Mollier-chart for humid air.
(red lines) then the wood equili- As an example; in a sealed room with RH 80% and
brium moisture content (EMC) temperature 10oC the equilibrium moisture content is 16
changes only slightly when the %. If the temperature is increased to 30oC, the RH will
temperature changes. Example: if decrease to 23% and the equilibrium moisture content to 5
an air dehumidifier is put into a %. The equilibrium moisture content is thus decreased by
cold storage/timber storehouse 16 - 5 = 11 %. Another example: If the temperature is in-
and set at RH 60 %, then the creased from 0oC to 30oC in a body of air that at 0oC has a
equilibrium moisture content will RH of 60 % then the RH at 30oC will be 9 %. For a higher
change only 1 %, even if the air temperature the more vapour can be held by the air.
temperature v aries between 0°C (RH is defined as the ratio of actual vapour content to the
and 30°C. maximum possible vapour content at each temperature.)

The indoor climate in heated buildings is relatively dry

in the winter, i.e. the RH is low, while the outdoor climate
at the same time is rather humid, i.e. the RH is high. It is
important to find out the correct RH in each individual
case; there may for instance be humidifying devices. In
swimming baths, in un-heated summer cottages in winter
time and in similar premises, the RH is relatively high.
The outdoor climate varies a lot during the year, but also
during one day. In summertime, in a warm and dry
afternoon, the RH can be about 50 %. As the temperature
decreases in the evening, the RH may rise to 90 %. It is
thus important to find out the RH level in each individual
case – and the outdoor RH varies geographically too.

10
 The wood tends all the time to adjust to these variations in the
climate. But the timber dimension and type of surface treatment may
strongly influence how fast the wood moisture content adapts to the
actual climate. Thicker dimensions react more slowly to sudden
changes in the climate. A paint/varnish coating will slow down the
timber moisture absorption/desorption. In some constructions, such as
outer walls, outer doors etc., the climate may vary a lot between the
inner and outer sides of the object, depending on the time of the year.
EMC % rh %
28
26 90
24 80
22
70
20
18 60
16
14 50
12 40
10
30
0 Month
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
Fig.11. Monthly average values for relative humidity RH (red) and
equilibrium moisture content EMC (blue) for wood in Stockholm
during a whole year. The dotted line represents the annual average
equilibrium moisture content

As guidance when drying timber, it can be said that for indoor use in
the Nordic countries – with heated ambient air – the target moisture
content should be 8 - 9 %, i.e. slightly below the annual mean value
according to Figure 12. A wooden product for indoor use should thus
be produced with a target moisture content between 8 % and 9 %. The
product should retain its quality for all monthly average moisture
contents during the year in the country in question. If the timber is
intended for outdoor use, sheltered from rain, the target moisture
content should be 15 - 16 %. This corresponds to the normal climate
variations in the Nordic countries, from spring-summer with the driest
climate to autumn-winter with the wettest climate, as seen in Figure
11.

For some wooden indoor products, such as construction timber,

glulam, inner lining etc., a higher shrinkage/ swelling movement than
for joinery may be allowed. Such products should be as straight as
possible and a higher target moisture content than the annual mean
equilibrium moisture content is allowed, i.e. a target moisture content
12-14 %, c.f. the chapter “Target moisture content selection by the
wood industry”. At lower moisture contents the risk of greater twist in
the timber increases. There are product standards for many common
wood products.

11
 Many times the target moisture content is given in an unclear way in the product
standards – often as an absolute demand, which is not correct. As mentioned earlier, it is
not possible for the sawmill to dry every piece of timber to the same moisture content.
There will always be a deviation in the mean moisture content from the target moisture
content (ordered moisture content). There will in addition always be a variation in
moisture within the batch, even if the sawmill has performed a moisture equalisation
phase. It is thus not possible to buy timber for which the seller to 100% can guarantee that
the moisture content is within given limits. In Europe a standard – ENV 12169 – has been
developed that makes it simpler for the buyer to select a certain quality level and to verify
it, in a statistically correct way without complicated statistical calculations, as will be
discussed later.

Selection of suitable moisture contents

when using wood indoors and outdoors in
Sweden
To avoid checks and distortion a wooden product or
construction should not shrink or swell too much due to
the climate. Wood should because of that, when installed,
have a moisture content that corresponds to the annual
mean equilibrium moisture content. Such a target value
can be determined from the graph to the left. An example
for southern Sweden (Malmö) in November

Outdoors: RH = 88% (average for Nov.)

Equilibrium moisture content is about 21%
Indoors: RH = 32% (average for Nov.)
Equilibrium moisture content is about 6,5%

These values are only valid if no additional moisture

occurs, such as from cooking, evaporation from people or
animals, bath, washing etc. This additional moisture may
in Malmö increase the RH by 18 %, i.e. from 32 to 50%.
Fig. 12. Alignment chart for the This corresponds to an increase in equilibrium moisture
determination of equilibrium mois- content from 6,5 to 9,5% according to the green curve.
ture content from climate data. Red In Malmö during summer the corresponding equilibrium
line = Luleå, blue line = Malmö; moisture content change is 12 -> 15% with windows and
full lines = RH outdoors, dotted doors shut.
lines = RK indoors In northern Sweden (Luleå) the equilibrium moisture
content is slightly lower – indoors in November 3,5% and
increases to 6,5% due to additional moisture and in
summer the corresponding values are 10,5% -> 14,5%.

12
Conclusions

When producing wood products in Sweden for indoor purposes, the moisture content in the
timber should correspond to the average annual equilibrium moisture content – including
additional moisture sources, i.e.11 % in southern Sweden and 9 % in northern Sweden or 10
% for Sweden in general. From a practical point of view, it is often an advantage if the
moisture content is slightly lower than this theoretical value, as a joint will open from
shrinkage but can withstand some compression from swelling. It is thus probably better to
instead of a target of 10 % to use a target moisture content of 8-9 %. According to the same
reasoning should timber in unheated rooms have a target moisture content of 15-16 %.

Example of suitable target moisture contents in European countries

The aim is that the target moisture content for a wood product should correspond to the
annual average equilibrium moisture content (EMC) in the place (indoors or outdoors) where
the product will be used (rounded off to the next whole number). This annual average varies
between countries but it is quite similar in many countries. Table 1 gives a simplified
overview of EMC-values for some European countries. The average EMC is the average of
EMCs in January and July. A better alternative is to find the EMC’s for each month and
average them.

Table 1. Rough target moisture contents for wood products outdoors in some European
countries.

Country EMC % EMC % EMC % EMC % practical

January July annual average annual average
Iceland 21 19 20 17 - 18
Great Britain 20 16 18 16 – 17
The Netherlands 20 16 18 16 – 17
Poland 20 15 17,5 15 – 16
Germany 20 14 17 15 - 16
Norway 18 16 17 15 - 16
Spain 16 10 13 11 – 12
Greece 15 9 12 10 - 11
Turkey 16 8 12 10 - 11

To determine the correct target moisture content for indoor wood products tha local/regional
heating and air conditioning habits have to be taken into account. Please note that within
countries and regions substantial regional differences may occur.

13
Target moisture content selection by the wood industry

At the moment (2008) the wood using industry has developed a number of EN-standards
that, inter alia, describe the moisture requirements for wood products, Table 2.

Table 2. Today’s moisture content requirements from some product standards for wood
products (2008). The MC expression used in the standard is shown in bold. In some cases
MC requirements have to be recalculated to match the MC specification system described
in EN 14298 (first column of MC specification.

Sawn and planed timber – components or end Moisture content

products EN 14298 MC range
Timber in joinery (EN 942)
- internal use, heated buildings > 21°C 8 ± 2% 6–10%
1 - internal use, heated buildings 12-21 °C 11 ± 2% 9–13%
- internal use, unheated buildings 14 ± 2% 12–16%
- external use 16 ± 4% 12–19%
Wood flooring elements (EN 13228)
2 - individual elements 9 ± 2% 7–11%
- individual chestnut elements 10 ± 3% 7–13%
Timber planks and semi-finished profiles
(EN 13307)
3
- internal use (e.g. doors, stairs) 9 ± 3% 6–12%
- external use (e.g. doors, windows) 12 ± 3% 9–15%
- weather exposure (e.g. fences, stairs) 15 ± 3% 12–18%
Hardwood floor boards (EN 13629)
4
- individual element 9 ±3 % 6–12%
Softwood floor boards (EN 13990)
5 - for internal use, heated buildings 9 ± 2% 7–11%
- for other uses 17 ± 2% 15–19%
6 External windows, door leaves and door ≤ 16%
frames (prEN 14220)
Internal windows, door leaves and door
7 frames (prEN 14221)
- heated buildings ≤ 13%
- unheated buildings ≤ 16%
Machined softwood profiles with tongue
and groove (EN 14519)
8
- internal use 12 ± 2% 10–14%
- (MaritimePine) (11 ± 3%) (8–14%)
- external use 17 ± 2% 15–19%
Machined hardwood profiles (EN 14951)
9 - individual panelling element 10 ± 3% 7–13%
- individual cladding element 15 ± 3% 12–18%
Machined softwood profiles without
10 tongue and groove (prEN 15146)
- internal use 12 ± 2% 10–14%
- external use 17 ± 2% 15–19%

14
 Unfortunately the MC requirements
expressed in these standards do not always
comply with the requirements described in
EN 14298 “Sawn timber – Assessment of
drying quality”. This standard should be
used and referred to when buying timber
for further processing and the building
industry. By applying the standard
specification of drying quality is
facilitated. Correspondingly, wooden
products can be manufactured from timber
with greater dimensional stability. The cost
of such timber with better drying quality is
only slightly more expensive, but the
higher price is justified by the higher
quality. The dimensional stability is
improved as the drying induced stresses
and the moisture gradient are minimized at
the same time as the moisture content
spread in the batch gets smaller. Then it
also becomes easier to hit the correct target
moisture content.
An additional benefit of using EN 14298
is that the timber buyer does not
necessarily need to perform a full moisture
content check. Both types of moisture
meters (resistive and capacitive type, on-
line and hand held) have a lower
measurement accuracy as compared to the
oven drying method . Nevertheless both
types are widely used in industry because
they are non-destructive, easy to use and
rapid. The order of magnitude the
measurement inaccuracy (see the next
chapter) is about 2 % MC.
Many sawmills are today able to dry
timber with a high precision – provided
that they have got precise requirements
regarding the moisture content specified,
i.e. expressed according to the new
European standard EN 14298. Distinct
requirements will lead to increased
competition between suppliers because it
becomes clear which sawmills can fulfil a
certain quality level. A sawmill/supplier
may also more easily find out where the
shortcomings are. Established techniques
15
are available for achieving a high drying
quality. Using modern equipment and
techniques the sawmills are able to hit the
target moisture content within the ranges
given in table 3 for the different moisture
content classes.
The standard was put together by
industrial specialists and wood moisture
content researchers in Europe. It was also
formulated according to the drying
technology available today for sawmills.
This technology can produce considerably
better dried timber than was possible
earlier. The standard EN 14298 refers also
to the method of selection as described in
TS 12169 (Criteria for the assessment of
conformity a lot of sawn timber). This
standard for “conformity” stipulates how to
statistically confirm that a delivered lot
fulfils the drying quality the buyer has
ordered. The seller and the buyer of timber
do thus not need an arbitrator in a dispute.
Both these standards are now included in
the standard contract “Softwood Contract
Form” that is used in the Nordic countries,
UK and Ireland.
EN 14298 helps the joinery, flooring,
panelling industry etc. to order timber that
suits their requirements with respect to
moisture content.
The standard is put together in such a
way that it is easy to perform a reliable and
unambiguous inspection of the drying
quality delivered. That is why EN 14298
and ENV 12169 use the so called
standardized quality control system based
on attribute control (Yes/No decision)
instead of the alternative variable control
(statistic calculation with measured
values). Values from the attribute control
can be converted into variable control
values, that in some cases may better suit
sawmills/suppliers. Many sawmills are
already using the parameters of variable
control in delivery assessments, i.e. mean
values and standard deviation.
 According to the new standard EN 14298
the customer may choose a target moisture
content between 7% and 18%. However, in
order to decrease the number of MC levels,
the business sector should select a few
important target moisture content values
that can be used for the most common
environment (see Table 3). The business
sector should as a suggestion prioritize the
six target moisture contents given in the
following table (expressed according to EN
14298 “Standard drying”).

Table 3. Suggested target moisture content values for Europe

Target Standard deviation (s) Examples of the environment where the

moisture when MCtarg is hit/max product is going to be used
content % deviation from MCtarg,
%
Indoors, heated buildings, internal joinery,
7±1 1,1/0,7 floors in northern Europe.

Indoors, heated buildings, internal joinery,

10±1,5 1,6/1,0 floors in central Europe

12±1,5 2,0/1,4 Outdoor joinery in southern Europe

15 -2/+1,5 2,4/1,7 Indoor/outdoor for certain products in Europe

16 -2,5/+2 2,6/1,5 Indoor/outdoor construction timber in Europe

Indoor/outdoor construction timber in Europe

18 -2,5/+2 2,9/1.9 (however, risk of mould for a surface
moisture content ≥ 18 at 20oC during 4 weeks
(pine))

When selecting target moisture content

levels for wooden products the annual
average equilibrium moisture content should
be the starting point. It is recommended that
this annual average value is reduced by 1-2
%-units, as discussed earlier. The sawmills
do not normally produce all moisture
content levels, unless a very big order (ca
100 m3) is obtained. It is thus convenient to
group the most common target moisture
content levels according to Table 3 and
adapt the order to these levels.

Fig. 13: Average equilibrium moisture

contents in European regions

16
Moisture content measurements – EN 13183
In this chapter the method for determining the average moisture content of a piece of timber
by three different methods is described. These methods have been standardized in three
European standards and are included in standard contracts, for instance in NORSO F (for
the Nordic countries, UK and Ireland). In the chapter Drying quality the methods for
determining the average moisture content and the moisture content variation/standard
deviation for a batch of timber using these measurement methods are described.

Three measurement methods

There are several methods for the
measurement of the moisture content in
wood. The three European standards for
moisture content measurement are as
follows: EN 13183-1 Moisture content of a
piece of sawn timber. Part 1: Determi-
nation by oven dry method, EN 13183-2
Part 2: Estimation by electrical resistance
method, EN 13183-3 Part 3: Estimation by
capacitance method. The standards are not
only valid for sawn timber, but also for
planed or timber machined in another way.
One of the goals with these standards is
that the measurements should be done in a
similar way in both the delivery and
acceptance controls.

Differences between measurement methods

The oven dry method is the reference
method. With that method the MC of the
whole cross section of the piece of timber
is determined. The other two methods are
indirect methods that measure a part of the
cross section. This results in an estimate of
the MC. Measurements using the reference
method require a rather long time, while
the indirect methods are faster but have a
lower accuracy. The capacitance method is
generally inferior to the resistance method.
If a batch of timber is controlled, it is
recommended to use an indirect method
first – preferably the resistance method. If
the moisture content seems to deviate too
much from the target, then the checking is
continued with the oven dry method. When
the indirect methods are used, the meters
should always be correctly calibrated
according to the wood species in question
and the wood temperature, in order not to
have excessive systematic deviations from
the reference method. Resistance meters
should be calibrated for each wood species
against a standard resistance block
approved by research or certification
institutes. Some of the capacitance meters
have a kind of a calibration unit (normally
not controlled or certified for the actual
wood species by any independent body).

17
Moisture content determination with the oven dry method/reference
method according to EN 13183-1
The measurement should be performed in the following way:
 Cut a sample of at least 20 mm in the
fibre direction, at a distance of at
least 0,3 m from either timber end. If
a defect such as knot, resinous wood,
bark etc. occurs, then a sample fur-
ther in from the end is taken, until a
sample free from defects is obtained.
For a piece of timber shorter than 0,6
m the sample is taken in the middle
of the piece.
 The sample is immediately weighed
using a scale with a resolution of 0,01
g to determine the mass of moist
wood G1. For samples above 100 g a
scale with a resolution of 0,1 g may
be used.
 The samples should be put into a
ventilated oven. Each sample is then
dried in the oven with a temperature
of 103±2oC until the weight does not
change more than 0,1% between two
successive weighings two hours apart
(in practice after 8-20 hours depen-
ding on oven size, sample size,
Fig. 14: Follow up of action for conduction the oven dry method for determination of
moisture content
18
heating up time, heating power,
number of samples in oven, etc.).
 In order to achieve a high measurement
accuracy for timber that contains a high
amount of volatile compounds (resin),
the sample can be dried in vacuum
(pressure < 100 Pa) at low temperatures
(max 50oC) or in a desiccator
containing a hygroscopic substance.
 The sample is then immediately
weighed to determine the oven-dry
weight, G0.
 The moisture content MC expressed as
a percentage is then
MC = (G1 - G0)/G0 x 100% or easier to
calculate
MC = (G1/G0 – 1) x 100%.
 The result is rounded off to the nearest
0,1 % MC. (The standard states that the
moisture content should be denoted by
the Greek letter ω, but in practice most
often the old notation u or the
abbreviation MC is used.)
Estimation of the moisture content by the electrical resistance
method according to EN 13183-2

About the measuring instrument

The resistance moisture content meters wood temperature compensation. Where

found in the market are of various designs. no species and temperature correction
The measured electrical resistance is switches are avaible, correction tables
transformed into moisture content. The provided by the meter manufacturer have
relation used for a species may be differ to be used.
depending on the brand of the instrument. The electrodes of the meter should be of
For Scots pine (Pinus silvestris) and a type that can be hammered into the wood
Norway spruce (Picea abies) a type of and be long enough to penetrate to a depth
resistance box has been developed by SP of 0.3 times the timber thickness. A length
Trätek and European Drying Group of about 25 mm is generally enough.
(EDG). With such a box all types of Wood treated with salts-based
resistance meters can be checked. preservatives will generally give meter
The electrical resistance method is readings that are too high.
suitable for the measurement of moisture The measuring accuracy has been
contents between about 7 % and 30 %. For specified by the Technical Research Centre
moisture contents above 20 % the of Finland, VTT, in an extensive survey.
measured values become increasingly Measurements were carried out with 17
more unreliable. different meters. In the research study it
The electrode contact area will slightly was shown that in the moisture content
influence the moisture content reading. range 16-18 % the meters with long
The moisture gradients in the timber measuring tips (8 mm) on the electrodes
influence also the results of the measure- gave up to 3 %-units higher values than
ment. Electrodes are thus insulated, except those with short measuring tips (3 mm).
for the slightly thicker tip. The insulation This means that for measurements with
prevents wet surfaces from influencing the different measuring tips, specific
measurement. calibrating values in the calibration box
A resistance meter should be equipped have to be used.
with settings for wood species and with
1000000

Fig 16. Example of the

100000
relationship between moi-
sture content and resis-
Resistance (MOhm)

10000
tance for Nordic Pine
1000
with 95 % confidence
limits. The test material
100 had been kept in a
model constant climate during a
10 2.5 % conf. interval long time. The measuring
97.5 conf. interval
data
error is greater at higher
1 moisture contents.
8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Actual moisture content of wood (%)

19
Measurement according to EN 13183-2
The following measurement procedure shall be used:
 Calibrate the instument with an approved resistance box.
 Set the species and wood temperature correction or correct
the measured value with the aid of the correction tables
delivered with the instrument.
 Drive the electrodes into the face side of the piece, normally
along the fibres, at a distance of at least 0,3 m from either
end of the piece (or at the mid point of pieces less than 0,6
m long) and at a distance of 0,3 times the width from one
edge, so that the tips of the electrodes penetrate to a depth of
0,3 times the thickness of the piece (see Figure 15). The
measurement area shall be free from resinous wood and
features such as bark, knots and resin pockets. If such
features exist, the measurement shall be taken at the nearest
clear area towards the centre of the piece.
 Record the reading after it has been displayed for 2-3
seconds.
 The moisture content reading shall be expressed at least to
the nearest 1 percentage-point moisture content.
 Increasing the number of measurements in individual test
pieces does not increase significantly the accuracy of the
result when estimating the moisture content of a lot or Fig. 15. Measurement (estima-
consignment. tion) of the average moisture
 If necessary, for example when estimating the moisture content of a piece of timber
content of a single test piece, or estimating the moisture according to EN 13183-2. Depth
content of a very small lot, sampling and testing frequencies of electrode penetration is 0,3
should comply with those given in Table 4. times the timber thickness (c),
 The individual test results should be recorded together with distance from edge is 0,3 times
at least the following: specification of the lot of timber width (b) of the board, distance
(number, internal coding, supplier, customer... etc), species, from end (a) is 0,3.
dimensions, date, type of instrument used, species setting,
temperature setting, penetration depth.

Table 4. Number of
Number of tested pieces Number of measurements
measurements (accor-
per test piece
ding to Annex A in
1 3 EN 13183-2) if a lot
contains less than five
2 3 pieces
3 2
4 2
5 2
>5 1
Measurements should be taken at random along the length
excluding 0,3 m at each end (or at the mid point of pieces less than
0,6 m long). All measurement results should be noted.

20
Estimation of the moisture content by the capacitance method
according to EN 13183-3
About the measuring instruments
Moisture meters using the capacitance
method as the measuring principle can be
classified into hand-held and in-line
moisture meters. The measuring principle is
based on the fact that wood and water have
very different dielectric constants (єwater ≈80,
єwood ≈ 4). When wood which contains
moisture is placed between the plates of a
capacitor, the capacitance of the capacitor is
changed.
In principle, capacitance type moisture
meters are able to detect water in wood over
a much wider range of moisture content than
is possible with electrical resistance type
moisture meters. As the capacitance method
reacts to the amount of water in the vicinity
of the capacitor plates of the instrument, the
method is heavily affected by the density of
the wood to be measured.
Let’s assume timber with an average
density ρ0= 400 kg/m3 and a moisture
content of 12%. This timber contains 48 kg
of water per m³. Density in the lot of timber
varies from ρ0= 320 kg/m³ to ρ0= 550 kg/m³
which corresponds to 38 kg and 66 kg water
Measurement according to EN 13183-3
In the case of hand-held capacitance type
moisture meters good contact between the
measuring plate and the surface of the
timber is crucial. An air gap strongly
affects the reading. Wet surface also has a
negative effect on the reading even though
the overall effect of surface moisture
content on average moisture content may
be very small. Positions where to measure
moisture content on the timber are similar
to those described in EN 13183-1.
21
per m³ respectively. As the measuring
result of the capacitance type moisture
meters is linearly related to the amount of
water (and not to the moisture content
percentage) the very strong impact of
density variation becomes obvious.
Capacitance type moisture meters must
be calibrated for density and not for
species and temperature. The inherent
natural density variations in assortments
of timber are the major reason for the
apparently lower accuracy of the
capacitance type moisture meters.
Capacitance meters are also affected by
the moisture content distribution in the
piece of timber to be measured.
Nevertheless, the reading of a capaci-
tance type moisture meters is estimating
the average moisture content of a piece
of timber whereas the electrical
resistance type meters estimate the local
moisture content between the tips of
insulated electrodes or the wettest region
in contact with the non-insulated
electrodes.
It is more difficult to check or calibrate
capacitance meters. In case of in-line
moisture meters, also the geometry of the
measuring set-up strongly influences the
measuring result. This is the reason why
capacitance type in-line moisture meters
have to be calibrated at the site where they
are used and for each species and
dimension of sawn timber. Annex a in EN
13183 describes a procedure how to
determine and express the accuracy of an
capacitance-type moisture meter.
 Shrinkage and swelling of wood
Wood shrinks and swells different amounts in different directions. Changes are smallest in
the fibre direction and largest tangential to the annual rings. Different species move
different amounts when the moisture content changes. This has to be taken into account
when moisture related movements are critical for the product.

Orientation and moisture movement

Maximum shrinkage in each direction occurs when the

moisture content decreases from ca. 30 % down to 0 %, i.e.
absolutely dry wood. 30 % moisture content represents the
so called fibre saturation. Down to this level the moisture
leaving the wood is free water located in voids of the cell
structure. Shrinkage will not occur until the water located
in the cell walls – in the fibres – is removed.
Fig.16. Cupping is positive
(concave) on the outside face A
and negative (convex) on the
inside face B. The negative
cupping at B is larger than the
positive cupping at A.

Axial radial tangential

The Table 5 shows average values for the maximum

shrinkage as a percentage when the moisture content
changes from 30 % down to 0 %.

Table 5. Values for total shrinkage in %

(from green to oven dry)

Species Axial Radial Tangential

Pine 0,4 4,0 7,7
Spruce 0,3 3,9 8,3
Birch 0,6 5,3 7,8
Beech 0,3 5,2 10,9
Oak 0,4 4,5 8,9

Fig. 17. Standard sawing pattern
producing main product and side
boards
Dimensional changes depend on the amount of the MC
change and the location of the board in the log. Move-
ments are smallest in the axial direction and largest in the
tangential direction. Cup is the most common manifesta-
tion that wood has different deformations in different di-
rections. Minimum cupping is in boards with vertical
annual rings. The wider the board is and the closer to the
pith it is cut the larger is the cupping. Such boards are

22
sawn radially from a log. This requires a special sawing
system.
Within a species the wood density clearly affects the
amount of shrinkage and swelling. This is seen in Fig. 22.
The same dependency may be used for spruce also.
Because shrinkage and swelling are proportional to the
moisture content change it is possible to calculate
dimensional changes in any moisture content interval
between 0 and 30 %. Please note that the values presented
are averages and the deviation can be large even between
pieces taken from the same tree.

Calculation of moisture related

movements
Fig. 18. No cupping will take
To be able to calculate the moisture related movement of place in radially/quarter sawn
wood, the variation in climatic conditions must be known. timber (left hand side). The closer
Because the moisture related movement of wood is to the pith and the wider of the
proportional to changes in moisture content of wood, it board, the larger is the cupping
must be calculated from variation in climate conditions by (piece on the right). A wide and
using the changes in the corresponding equilibrium thin centre piece will show high
moisture content of the wood. Sawn timber has a big cupping.
variation in wood density and therefore a big variation in
shrinkage/swelling as well, as can be seen from Figure 19.

Example how to calculate shrinkage: Assume a table-top

of pine wood, width 1000 mm, glued from boards with
annual rings parallel to the flat side. How much will the
table-top shrink if the relative humidity changes from 60%
in autumn to 30% in winter? We are interested in the
moisture related movement in the tangential direction; the
direction where the moisture movement is the largest.
According to Figure 12, the equilibrium moisture content
is 11% and 6% for the relative humidity of 60% and 30%,
respectively if the indoor temperature is 20°C. The
corresponding change of moisture content is 11-6 = 5%. If
the moisture content of pine wood changes from 30%
(fibre saturation) to 0%, the shrinkage in the tangential
direction is 7,7% (see Table 5). The shrinkage of the table-
top will be: 7,7/100 × 5/30 × 1000 mm = 12,8 mm
Fig .19. Shrinkage of pine in the
It should be pointed out that the calculations like this are
tangential (green curve) and in
inexact, because the variation between individual sawn
the radial (red curve) direction for
timber pieces can be remarkable. However, these rough
different basic densities (oven dry
calculations give a good conception of the actual moisture
weight/green volume) according
movement.
to F.E.Siimes, Finland 1938

23
 Mostly, the growth rings curve in the cross-section of sawn timber. A good estimation of the
average shrinkage for the width and the thickness of timber sawn is 0.25 % per 1% decrease
in moisture content. For this reason this value is given in a number of European standards.
The applicability of this rule of thumb for some standard dimensions of sawn timber can be
seen in Figure 20.

Fig .20. Dimensional change (shrinkage and swelling) in mm of different dimension if

moisture content changes for 1% (average for pine and spruce)

Measuring drying stresses, ENV 14464

The residual drying stresses in the dried sawn timber are perhaps the most important factor
for the drying quality. The drying stresses will lead to material loss and rejection after
longitudinal cutting and further processing. For example, case-hardening can occur in 22 ×
125 boards after they are cut parallel to surface and planed from 50 × 125 sawn timber. In
order to control the material a slicing test method has been developed, and sawmills have
made investments on conditioning phase in the drying kilns to reduce the stresses.

Case-hardening measurement
- How to do a slicing test
The degree of deformation, due to drying stresses, can be measured by sawing a 15 mm
wide slice, a so-called slicing test, from the sawn timber piece. When a sawn timber lot is
controlled for drying stresses, a larger number of specimens have to be taken.

Slicing test procedure according to ENV 14464:

- Saw a 15 mm thick cross-section with a tension wood). Avoid resinous wood. If

circular saw, see figure 24. Each sample
is taken 300 mm from each end. If the
timber is shorter than 600 mm the sample
can be taken from the middle.
- The case-hardening sample should be
free of bark, knots, resin pockets and
reaction wood (compression wood/
such defects exist cut out the case-
hardening sample at the nearest faultless
area towards the sample middle.
- If the board is wider than 100 mm there
are two possible ways to carry on: a) cut
the sample to 100 mm and measure gap
directly by putting the slices on top of

24
 each other, b) use a measuring jig as
shown in Fig. 21.
- Each sample is divided in the middle,
parallel to the board surface, into two
pieces. Use a band saw, circular saw or a
knife and hammer. Mark the pieces with
1a and 1b.
- Place the two pieces from the case
hardening sample in a plastic bag and
seal it. Store the sample in room tempe-
rature for 24 hours (softwood)/48 hours
(hardwood) to equalize the moisture
gradient in the sample. The measuring of
the case hardening gap is preformed
when the equalization is finished.
- Use a measurement jig like the one in
figure 24. If the sample is between 75
and 100 mm wide use a jig with a
distance of 75 mm between the 10 mm
thick emplacement pins.
- The measuring of the case-hardening
should be performed with a calliper, a
dial indicator or a wedge with a
resolution of 0,1 mm.

Fig 21. Procedure for carrying out a slicing test for assessment of case-hardening
according to ENV 14464

The pieces from the case hardening sample are placed in the measuring jig so that the split
surfaces are facing the 10 mm thick alignment pins. The case hardening samples annual rings
should be oriented in the same way as when the case hardening sample was split, see figure
24. Measure the gap width. Subtract the alignment pins thickness from the measurement,

25
for example if the measurement is 12,3 mm the gap will be 2,3 mm with 10 mm thick
alignment pins. If the measurement was done with 75 mm between the emplacement pins the
value is multiplied with the factor 1,78, i.e. the case hardening gap is 2,3 x 1,78 = 4,1 mm.

Requirement level
Up to now limits for case-hardening are not defined for different products. ENV 14464 only
describes the assessment procedure but does not set any limits.

The following casehardening levels suggested:

LOW: 80 % of the samples with case hardening gap < 1 mm

MODERATE: 80 % of the samples with case hardening gap < 2 mm
SEVERE: 80 % of the samples with case hardening gap < 3 mm

For example, material for furniture, joinery and floors of high quality should have a low
case hardening level. Such wood should also have a target moisture content adapted to the
products environment and a small moisture content variation, read under the heading
“Selection of a suitable target moisture content”.
Strutural timber which will not be cut lengthwise parallel to the flat side does not require a
low level of casehardening. Moisture content requirements are also not so strict because
higher MC can be accepted.

Reduction of casehardening
Sawn timber which is conditioned in a proper way at the end of the drying process is free of
stresses. The stresses in sawn timber decrease during conditioning by using an appropriate
conditioning temperature and relative humidity regime. By raising the moisture content in the
surface layers the compression stress in the surface layers is increase so that the permanent set
(plastic deformation) which was generated during initial stages of the drying process is
reduced or even reverse. Simple equalising moisture content does not result in a reduction of
case-hardening. To achieve a good conditioning a sharp increase of moisture content in the
surface is necessary. Conditioning is effective if the EMC in the kiln is raise at least 1-2%
above the target moisture content level. It sounds simple, but requires a great deal of technical
expertise, time and additional energy. Due to the fact that the conditioning substantially
increases the quality of the sawn timber, modern sawmills have made investments which
enable them to produce conditioned sawn timber with low level of case-hardening.

During storage of timber, moisture content gradients will level out over time. Without a
proper conditioning treatment at the end of the drying process stress level will not decrease
but increase considerable. Therefore, waiting is not a solution to the case-hardening problem.

26
Drying quality according to EN 14298 and ENV 12169

Principles in the two recent standards for quality control of dried

timber
EN 14298 was developed to facilitate specification and control of drying quality for
producers and users of sawn timber. In using EN 14298 one starts by determining a relevant
requirement for the target moisture content and the maximum deviation of the mean moisture
content from the target moisture content in a delivered batch. The target moisture content of a
batch has to be distinguished from the mean moisture content of the delivered batch. In
producing dried timber there are limits regarding how well a sawmill/supplier can hit the
target moisture content. People in the wood trade have to realize that they almost never get
timber with the desired moisture content but that the moisture content will always deviate
more or less.
As an example the allowable interval for a target moisture content of 12% is in EN 14298
for “standard drying” given as ±1,5%, i.e. the average moisture content of a batch should be
within 10,5...13,5 %.
If a heavier demand than the “standard” demand is desired, then this can be defined by
using the procedures described in EN 14298 – but it requires a lot more work and efforts from
the sawmill/supplier, and – of course this will result in a higher cost/price. Drying and
conditioning/equalizing have to be performed in high efficiency kilns by competent kiln
operators. Such drying quality is called in EN 14298 “specific end use drying”.
The moisture content requirements in the EN standards listed in Table 2 have been
presented in two comparable ways. The ways of expressing the moisture content in the
standards are presented in bold. In EN942, EN 13228 and EN 13629 requirements are
presented as 6-10% and in the others as 8±2 %, which is the same thing. It is important that
the industry has a single way to express the moisture content. In addition, the moisture
content levels in several product standards are different for products that anyway will have the
same surrounding climate in the end use. This indicates that the requirements in the different
standards have been determined by different working groups. There should have been a better
coordination between groups. The groups have determined the requirements for different
products in different and equal environments and expressed these in different ways. In
addition, the severity of the requirements is different for similar products and similar end use
climates. This means that the supplier has difficulty in delivering a suitable drying quality to
the buyer of timber. It will be difficult to find timber that fulfils the “extreme” quality
requirements and, if fulfilled, the price will be high.
In addition to the target moisture content and the maximum allowable deviation of the
average moisture content from the target, the requirements regarding the moisture content
variation in a delivered batch have been standardised in EN 12298.
Table 2 gives the moisture content requirements as a moisture content range expressed
using integer numbers. The way the requirements are written in the product standards it
means that 100% of the timber should be within the given range. Normal technical
requirements are not expressed in this way if it results in very high costs to fulfil the
requirements. Further, a control of each single piece would be required – which is possible
only using on-line electric moisture content meters. (These have however a low measurement
accuracy between ±1 % and ±3 % MC depending on moisture content level. To use the oven

27
dry method instead would be unreasonably costly and not possible, because it is a destructive
way of assessing moisture content.)

In order to avoid the drawbacks from 100% requirements, wood moisture content experts
have decided to express the requirements as in the drying quality standard EN 14298. There
the quality assessment standard CEN/TS 12169 is used, which has been put together
especially for the wood sector, but in general follows normal industrial quality assessment.
This means that one, in a statistically correct way, allows a maximum amount of non-
conforming pieces. As an example, one can allow that only x % of the random sample
moisture content values are within 1,3 times the target and 0,7 times the target moisture
content.

Acceptance control step by step

A quality assessment and sampling system for using AQL1 principles in accordance to
CEN/TS 12169 with moisture content requirements according to EN 14298 will be described.
For “standard drying” AQL 6,5 shall be used and for “specific end use drying” with higher
quality requirements AQL 4 can be chosen. In some cases, when a lower quality can be
accepted, AQL 10 can be chosen. In addition the deviation from the target moisture content
may be selected within reasonable limits, i.e. what the sawmill is able to produce. This means
that instead of the variation 1,3 x target moisture content – 0,7 x target (as in C), another
range may be selected, for example 1,2 x target MC – 0,6 x target MC.

A single sampling is carried out according to steps A to E. Double sampling is carried out
from step A to F. Single sampling requires a greater number of pieces to be tested, whereas
the double sampling consists of a two stage sampling, the first one with a comparatively small
sample and the need for a large sample only if no definitive decision could be made.

Table 6. Standard drying according to EN 14298 – Allowable range of the average moisture
content of a lot relative to the target moisture content

Allowable range of average moisture

Target moisture content %
content around target moisture content %
7 - 1/+ 1
8 - 1/+ 1
9 - 1/+ 1
10 - 1,5/+ 1,5
11 - 1,5/+ 1,5
12 - 1,5/+ 1,5
13 - 2,0/+ 1,5
14 - 2,0/+ 1,5
15 - 2,0/+ 1,5
16 - 2,5/+ 2,0
17 - 2,5/+ 2,0
18 - 2,5/+ 2,0

1
AQL - Acceptable Quality Level: This is usually defined as the worst case quality level, in
percentage non-conforming pieces, that is still considered acceptable.

28
Single sampling: Standard drying (standard quality)

A. Note the target moisture content you have ordered or which you wanted to achieve in the
drying process. (Shall be between 7 % and 18 % according to Table 6).

B. Note how much the average moisture content of the lot can deviate from the target
moisture content according to Table 6.

C. The number of packages to be inspected from the delivered lot is given in Table 7. By
dividing the sample size, as given in Table 8 (single sampling), by the number of packages to
be opened, the number of test pieces per package is obtained. Round off the result to the
nearest lower integer number. If the number of pieces does not agree exactly, select the extra
pieces at random. The column for AQL 6,5 in Table 8, shall be used for standard drying. This
means that 93,5 % of the pieces in a lot of timber should have a moisture content between
1,3 x the target moisture content and 0,7 x the target.

D. The first piece of timber to be measured in each package shall be located in the second
layer, because - according to EN 14298 - the outer layers shall be avoided.. The piece to be
measured in this layer is determined randomly (e.g. by throwing a dice). For example, if the
dice shows the number three, then it means that the third piece from left shall be measured,
see Fig.25.

E. To find the next piece to be measured another random number is chosen, e.g. 4. Now every
fourth piece is selected for testing, until the necessary number of test pieces per package is
reached. The results (number of non-conforming pieces) from all packages are summarized
and compared with column A for AQL 6,5 in Table 8 (standard drying). That way the status is
obtained for the whole lot, i.e. “conformity” or “non-conformity”.

If the delivery does not fulfil the requirements above, the lot should be rejected.

Double sampling: Standard drying (standard quality)

Instead of sampling in one stage according to Table 8, sampling can be made in two stages – a
so called double sampling, Table 9. This can reduce the number of sample pieces by half if
the first sampling fulfils the promised/expected quality requirements according to Table 6.

Double sampling is performed first as above (steps A to E) and after that continued according
to F below.

F. The measuring result after the first sampling can be “conformity”, “non-conformity” or
“uncertain” with reference to the agreement. If the result is “uncertain,” that is when
measuring results are between A and R in Table 9, a second sampling is carried out. The
result is added to those of the first sampling and compared with the values in the row “Total”
in Table 9.
In order for the lot to be accepted, the number of “non-conforming” pieces of timber has to
be equal to or less than A, and it is not accepted if the number of “non-conforming” pieces is
equal to R or more.

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Table 7. Standard and special drying according to CEN/TS 12169 and EN 14298 – Number
of packages to be opened. *NB If these packages do not contain the number of pieces
required in Table 8 and 9, the necessary additional packages shall be opened

Number of packages in the lot Number of packages to be opened

1 1

2-5 2

6-11 3

12 or more 4*

Table 8. Standard and special drying – Sampling plan by different AQL, single sampling.
(S = Number of pieces to be selected for testing; A = Maximum number of non-conforming
piece in the samples)

Total number of AQL 4 AQL 6,5 AQL 10

pieces in the lot
S A S A S A

100-150 20 2 20 3 20 5

151-280 32 3 32 5 32 7

281-500 50 5 50 7 50 10

501-1 200 80 7 80 10 80 14

1 201-3 200 125 10 125 14 125 21

3 201-10 000 200 14 200 21 125 21

10 001 or more 315 21 200 21 125 21

For “standard drying” AQL 6,5 is used and for “specific end use drying” with higher quality
requirements AQL 4 can be chosen. In some cases, when a lower quality can be accepted,
AQL 10 can be chosen.

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Table 9. Standard and special drying – Sampling plan with different AQL, double
sampling. (S = Number of pieces to be taken out; A = Maximum number of non-
conforming pieces; R = Minimum number of non-conforming pieces for the lot to be non-
conforming; First = sample size in the first measurement round; Total = full sample size
including first measuring round).

Total number of AQL 4 AQL 6,5 AQL 10

pieces in the lot S A/R S A/R S A/R
100-150 First 13 0/3 13 1/4 13 2/5
Total 26 3/4 26 4/5 26 6/7
151-280 First 20 1/4 20 2/5 20 3/7
Total 40 4/5 40 6/7 40 8/9
281-500 First 32 2/5 32 3/7 32 5/9
Total 64 6/7 64 8/9 64 12/13
501-1 200 First 50 3/7 50 5/9 50 7/11
Total 100 8/9 100 12/13 100 18/19
1 201-3 200 First 80 5/9 80 7/11 80 11/16
Total 160 12/13 160 18/19 160 26/27
3 201-10 000 First 125 7/11 125 11/16 80 11/16
Total 250 18/19 250 26/27 160 26/27
10 001 or more First 200 11/16 125 11/16 80 11/16
Total 400 26/27 250 26/27 160 26/27

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

Fig.22 Selecting pieces in a package (240 studs) by acceptance control. Example: 1) The
first piece (no 3) is chosen randomly from one side of the package. The next throw of the
dice (here 3) indicates that every third piece is selected for testing. Pieces in the outer layers
(red) should not be selected. One extra piece is tested to yield 31 pieces.

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Example of acceptance control – single sampling – special drying,
low requirements
A lot of sawn timber has been delivered to an end user of sawn timber. He had ordered
“special drying”. He had selected a target moisture content 15 %, but will accept -3%/+3%
instead of -2/%/+1,5%. His quality expectation are not high, he accepted AQL 10. The lot
consists of 3600 pieces (studs) in 15 packages. Each package contains 240 studs.

According to Table 7 four packages are to be opened. According to Table 8 for AQL 10 a
total of only 125 pieces instead of 200 pieces in standard drying are to be inspected, that
means 125/4 = 31 pieces per package. 31 times 4 is 124, therefore one extra piece has to be
taken at random from one of the packages. The quality controller selected 3 as the first
random number. His second random number also was 3. Starting with stud no 3 in line 2 he
now selected every third stud for testing until he reached 30 per package. In one of the
packages he selected one extra stud at random as can be seen in Figure 22.
If more than 21 out of the selected 125 samples are “non-conforming” (see Table 11), the
lot is “non conforming”, which means the lot is not accepted. Otherwise it is “conforming”,
which means the lot is accepted.

Example of the acceptance control – double sampling – standard

drying
A kiln operator has to check conformity of a consignment with the quality requirements
fixed in a contract. 10 packages, each comprising 120 oak slats for manufacturing of solid
parquet floor have to be delivered to the customer. Target moisture content is set to be 8%;
“standard quality” has been ordered.
According to table 6 average moisture content of the lot must be within the range of 7%-
9%. 93,5% of all pieces are expected to be within the limits of ±2,4% (8% x 0,7 / 8% x 1,3)
around the target moisture content, this means between 5,6 % and 10,4%.
The lot consists of 1200 pieces, in 10 packages. According to table 7, three packages have
to be inspected. The quality controller decides the use the double sampling plan in trying to
minimize testing efforts.
According to table 9 he has to select randomly 50 boards from three packages for the fist
testing. He decides to inspect every board in every second row until he reaches 16. From
package number 3 he tests 2 additional boards.
In the fist sample he calculated a mean of 8,8%, which was close to the allowable limit. In
addition he found only 5 boards which showed moisture contents higher than 10,4% (8% x
1,3). None of the inspected boards showed moisture content below 7% (8% x 0,7 = 5,6%)
would have been the lower acceptance limit. Therefore, the lot can be considered conforming
after the first sampling.

Let’s assume that in the fist sample the quality controller had found an average moisture
content of 9% and/or 8 boards with a moisture content higher than 10,4% (upper allowable
limit 8% x 1,3), the sample would have to be classified “uncertain”. The quality controller
would have had to test another 50 boards, bringing to total number of test pieces to 100. After
summing up all results, the mean moisture content was 8,8%, with 15 non-conforming boards
(MC > 10,4%). Based on this result the lot would have been considered “non-conforming”.

32
To produce right drying quality according to the new EN-standards
As mentioned earlier, it is often more suitable for the dried sawn timber producer to do an
on-line delivery control in the production. It becomes more and more common that the
moisture content is measured by a capacitance meter at the sawmills. The accuracy of the
measurement is not so high for each sawn timber piece – but the accuracy of the mean value
is the same as the calibration accuracy of the measuring instrument. It is important that the
mean value is as accurate as possible in order to pass the requirement on the deviation of the
moisture content. The base of new standards is that the bigger the deviation is from the target
moisture content, the stricter requirement is put on the standard deviation of the moisture
content.
The sawmill has to do an extensive equalising of the sawn timber in the kiln if the average
moisture content deviates too much from the target moisture content.

As the dried sawn timber producers measure the average moisture content and the
corresponding standard deviation of moisture content, the use of the statistical quality
measuring system based on “variables” (individual measurements) instead of “attributes”
(Yes/No) can be recommended.
In Table 10 the requirements in the standards EN14298/ENV 12169 are transformed to
values for a control scheme based on variables. The requirements in Table 10 are for standard
drying. Table 11 shows a proposal for the requirements in case of “special drying”.
If the average MC is lower than the target MC, a higher stdv can be accepted, if the average
MC is higher than the target MC the allowable stdv must be reduced.
Table 10. Standard drying. Use of the average value and standard deviation (stdv) of
moisture content at delivery control instead of the acceptance inspection according to EN
14298 and ENV 12169.
Examples of allowable
Demand according to EN 14298
stdv for MC
Ordered Allowable Lower Upper
Max. allowable stdv
MC variation limit for limit for
when target MC is hit
(target of average 93,5 % of 93,5 % of
exactly
MC) MC the lot the lot
7 -1.0/+1.0 4.9 9.1 1.1
8 -1.0/+1.0 5.6 10.4 1.3
9 -1.0/+1.0 6.3 11.7 1.5
10 -1.5/+1.5 7.0 13.0 1.6
11 -1.5/+1.5 7.7 14.3 1.8
12 -1.5/+1.5 8.4 15.6 2.0
13 -2.0/+1.5 9.1 16.9 2.1
14 -2.0/+1.5 9.8 18.2 2.3
15 -2.0/+1.5 10.5 19.5 2.4
16 -2.5/+2.0 11.2 20.8 2.6
17 -2.5/+2.0 11.9 22.1 2.8
18 -2.5/+2.0 12.6 23.4 2.9

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Note: It is common that sawmills in their process evaluate the moisture content variations in
timber lots by calculating the standard deviations. Also at an acceptance control by the timber
purchaser this method can be used. In case of dispute control according to the AQL-method in
ENV 12169 is valid. If supplier’s value for stdv (standard deviation) is below the value in
Table 10 (AQL 6,5), the supplier has apparently fulfilled the MC requirement.

Due to limitations in measuring high moisture contents during the drying process deviations
between measured and actual results may occur in industrial practice. Here, the well
developed calculation programs for kiln drying processes may offer some help. These
programs can often estimate the average final moisture content better than the electrical
moisture content meters in the kiln.

Special drying, preferred target moisture content

When selecting the drying quality for wood products like windows, staircases, flooring and
special studs it is recommended to use the values in Table 11 which are a bit more strict than
those in table 10. The bold target moisture contents 8, 12, and 15 % are preferred MC values.
If an “old” product standard demands that target MC 9 % should be used, it is appropriate to
use the preferred MC of 8 % instead as target moisture content. Following this scheme a three
MC class system could develop which may help producers and Buyers to reduce the manifold
of possible MC specifications to an acceptable limit. Timber with a target moisture content
other than those preferred MCs marked in bold, it will be more expensive and more difficult
to obtain.

Table 11. Special drying. Use of the average value and standard deviation (stdv) of moisture
content at delivery control instead of the acceptance inspection according to EN 14298 and
ENV 12169, preferred MC values are marked in bold.

Examples of allowable
Demand according to EN 14298
stdv for MC
Ordered Allowable Lower Upper
Max. allowable stdv
MC variation limit for limit for
when target MC is hit
(target for target 93,5 % of 93,5 % of
exactly
MC) MC the lot the lot
7 -1.0/+1.0 5.3 8.8 0.9
8 -1.0/+1.0 6.0 10.0 1.1
9 -1.0/+1.0 6.8 11.3 1.2
10 -1.2/+1.2 7.5 12.5 1.4
11 -1.2/+1.2 8.3 13.8 1.5
12 -1.2/+1.2 9.0 15.0 1.6
13 -1.3/+1.3 9.8 16.3 1.8
14 -1.4/+1.4 10.5 17.5 1.9
15 -1.5/+1.5 11.3 18.8 2.0

Drying stresses according to ENV 14464

In the drying quality standard EN 14298 it is stated that requirements may also include the
amount of residual drying stresses. How these requirements should be defined is given in the
section “Measuring drying stresses, ENV 14464”.

34
Take care of the timber
Timber that has been dried correctly in the sawmill deserves to be taken care of at the
construction site and in industry. Proper storage is therefore important in order to prevent
moist timber being built in, risking mould and rot and to avoid material waste and rejection in
the joinery and furniture industries. Here is some short advice on how to avoid quality
reduction during storage.

Storage in industry
Timber that has been dried at the sawmill is often
delivered bulk stacked, i.e. the timber is packed without
stickers between the different layers of timber. Packages
are kept together by steel bands and may be covered by
different materials.
Wood in bulk stacks incorporates a large amount of
water, which means that it takes a very long time for the
timber inside the package to adapt to the surrounding
climate. The timber in the outer parts of the package can
absorb moisture if the wood moisture content is low and
the plastic cover does not cover the whole package.
Storage of timber packages, with low moisture content,
should therefore be done in conditioned storerooms. A
unheated storeroom with dehumidifier is suitable. The best
guarantee for stable timber moisture content is to keep the
package intact and not break it until shortly before use.

Fig.23. A dehumidifier makes sure the air moisture

content corresponds to the right equilibrium moisture
content. The equilibrium moisture content should be the
same as the preferred average wood moisture content
and the finished products moisture content.

It is important to have good control over the climate in

the storeroom and in production premises. The conditions
should be controlled.

35
 The reason for this is that, if not controlled, it can be
difficult to keep the timber dimension and shape, within
the intended tolerances, during production and installation
of the products. The surrounding conditions are even more
critical if the products consist of different wood species or
are combinations of solid wood, board products and
veneer or metal parts in combination with wood. In
addition the demand increases on a controlled climate
through the whole production if materials and components
are intermediately stored.

Storage at construction

Protection against ground moisture

The packages should be placed on bearers. The support
should allow use of forklift trucks and good ventilation.
Floor battens of used railway sleepers are often used.
If a timber package is covered up outside with a
tarpaulin it must be ventilated, firstly under the package
against the ground, but also preferably at the top of the
package.

Protection against precipitation

The timber package should be protected against
precipitation. This can be done in different ways:
Under roof: In storage packages can, without cover,
stand completely unprotected. If there are no walls, the
package should have a simple paper- or plastic cover.
Covered packages: On the market there are systems for
covering packages that are so waterproof that they can
remain outdoors without losing their protective effect, on
condition that the cover is not damaged so that water is
prevented from penetrating into the package. If a stored
package is found to be leaking, the package should
immediately be placed under roof, opened and stickered.

36
Protection against UV-radiation
Packages with transparent cover should not be placed in
the sun for longer periods. The sun dries the timber on the
exposed side, leading to checks, and moistens the timber
on the shady side. The risk is that after a while it will start
to grow go mouldy.
Timber that is left in the sun without cover starts to
deteriorate on the surface, which will turn gray.
Timber that is to be given a coating must not be exposed
to UV-radiation. Only a few weeks exposure reduces the
the adhesion of the coating.

Protection against dirt

The timber should be stored so that it does not get dirty
from e.g. splash from roofs or neighbouring roads.

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38