KD lumber stored outside

[Brian Penning]

A lot of lumber dealers I go to have their wood stored outside or at least in warehouses that are open during the hot humid summers.
So wouldn't KD lumber gradually achieve the moisture content of air dried?

http://www.canadianwoodworking.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif

[Kyle Kraft]

Yup, to some extent.

[Paul Johnstone]

Yes, they will absorb some water from the air.
It's my understanding though that as a result of the kiln drying process, the cells of the wood actually change a little bit, and they are less "sponge like". It's been a long time since I read the article, so I can't remember all the details.

[Scott Banbury]

As long as it's kept banded in tight stacks it would take a long time for anything except to top and bottom layers to absorb any significant amount of moisture.

[Jamie Buxton]

It depends on what kind of lumber you're talking about. Kiln-dried lumber intended for building furniture is generally dried down to the 8-10% level. However, kiln-dried construction lumber (y'know, softwood 2x4s and such) is generally dried only to 19%. That's dry enough to prevent mold from growing, which is good enough for the construction industry.