New wood shed, and how do you rotate stored firewood?

[deezler]

Think long term. I need to keep the amount of handling down to a minimum as I am in my late 60's. I will no longer stack wood over and over again or handle split wood multiple times. I used to load split wood into the Ranger or pickup, then stack in a pile, and then stack it into the Ranger or pickup to move to the garage, and stack it again....grr! Each piece stacked 4 times before putting it into the log carrier to the house.

My current plan:
How to make Portable Firewood Pallet Racks - YouTube

I use 5 cords a year so will need 15 units to store 1 year of wood. Each unit requires 11 sq ft of ground space. 165 sq ft of covered area. A 20x21x9 steel carport will cost $2000 installed. It will hold over two years of wood.

http://allsteelcarports.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MI-Region-CARPORT.pdf

Wood will go from the splitter into the cut down pallet as it is split. These pallets will be moved to the carport for seasoning.

Stacking wood is the most useless activity in the process of using firewood, and it cannot be mechanized, so I am trying to minimize it.

Heck yeah Don. This is also nearly my exact plan. A metal carport seems to be about the cheapest way to get a durable roof over a large area. My loader is also fairly limited in lift capacity at the moment (having to clamp on forks over the bucket edge). A new Kioti 3510 with quick attach pallet forks would surely solve that, but gotta convince the wife first. Right now I use various pallets and wooden crates, under tarps or old plywood sheets for rain protection which doesn't always work. Lots of my firewood grew mold even as it was kept dry this summer - grrrr! But most of these pallets/crates I can't fill up all the way, or I can't pick them up with the forks. Probably can only lift about a 1/2 face cord right now - not good enough!

 

[shooterdon]

Deezler,
The carport permits better air flow so I doubt mold will be a problem. Many of the sheds people build fail my needs as they require hand stacking.

A neighbor has some tin roofing off a house. I have thought about making a 12X32 structure using that reclaimed roof tin. That would hold 32 of those cut down pallets. Two deep on each side and 8 pallets long.

 

[geteh]

After Christmas, I got to looking at all my firewood stacks and decided to build a wood shed to try and consolidate and neaten things up in the future. I did a lot of research on the internet looking at designs and what other folks had done, and ended up going with a pole barn structure. All the designs I saw that integrated a raised floor into the structure had issues with sagging, and trying to support the weight of the firewood on the footings of the poles was really not practical anyhow (the weight of the wood far exceeded snow loads we normally design footings for). So I ended up doing a pallet-style floor that sits inside the pole barn structure but floats independent of it. It's supported by a base of compacted crushed gravel. I doubt it will settle, but if it does it won't impact the pole barn.

I made the structure 6' x 16' with 12" overhang all around (so roof is 8' x 18'). The roof has a 3:12 pitch and uses 5V metal. I can put three stacks of wood in the 6' depth with about 5-6" air space between the stacks. All together, this will hold about 2.5-3 cords of wood. If the shed works out well, I will build another one next year and another the year after, eventually replacing my separate stacks with three sheds.

Here's the basic pole barn structure:

View attachment 588208

Then gravel base added, as well as side slats:

View attachment 588207

Finally, with pallet-style floor (floats independent of the poles):

View attachment 588206

One thing I fussed over was how to divide the wood storage up so that I could work into a stack front to back and free up space for reloading. I season my wood for two years. Typically, we begin burning firewood in November, when I transfer seasoned wood to our front porch 1/3 cord at a time sheds near me. Then I start reloading the newly-empty stacks with green wood (for use two years later) in January and February. So in the November-January timeframe, I want to start freeing up stacks for reloading.

What I ended up doing is making several "book end" style dividers that I can put in the wood shed and use to divide up a stack into 4' wide sections. With a divider on each stack, I can clear out a 4' section, front to back, and make it available for reloading. Not sure this is the best solution, but time will tell. Since the dividers are not fixed in place, I can move them out of the way when working front to back and only set them in place as needed to reload.

View attachment 588210

View attachment 588209

Finally got the first side filled up today, that's about 1.3-1.5 cords.

View attachment 588211

Already, I am wishing I made this a three-bay shed, which might have helped me manage inventory and reloading better on a two year seasoning schedule. With three bays, I could have a bay for this year (burn now), next year (burn in 1 year), and green wood (burn in 2 years) and not have to fiddle with freeing up space to reload wood. That would leave one of the bays empty over the summer, but I'm sure I could find a use for that.

Anyhow, that brings me to my question -- those of you with wood sheds, how do you manage seasoned wood and green wood and rotate your supply? I am so used to working with single 1/3 cord stacks out in the open that I am left scratching my head at the best way to rotate supply in a shed where you're stacking several rows deep.

I build my first firewood rack this winter and I am in the process of building another. Post a picture of YOUR firewood rack or shed!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Yep, I am an IBC tote guy to limit the amount of handling I have to do. Pull splitter right next to bucked wood, goes straight into IBC tote tossed in not stacked, tractor moves it around and to house for usage. Simple tarp to top cover the IBC to keep it dry. I know this would not work for some of you guys that burn 6 cords a year as an IBC loose stacked like this only holds a face cord or slightly less. But for me it is perfect, as I only burn a couple totes max per season. If I had to stack and restack and restack my firewood I would probably give up on it. I like the touch as few times as possible firewood method. Just got done splitting 2 mixed totes of oak, cherry and hemlock for next year.

 

[newkiotiguy]

Yep, I am an IBC tote guy to limit the amount of handling I have to do. Pull splitter right next to bucked wood, goes straight into IBC tote tossed in not stacked, tractor moves it around and to house for usage. Simple tarp to top cover the IBC to keep it dry. I know this would not work for some of you guys that burn 6 cords a year as an IBC loose stacked like this only holds a face cord or slightly less. But for me it is perfect, as I only burn a couple totes max per season. If I had to stack and restack and restack my firewood I would probably give up on it. I like the touch as few times as possible firewood method. Just got done splitting 2 mixed totes of oak, cherry and hemlock for next year.

This is the method I go with also. It's so much easier. I had 48 totes full before we started burning this fall. All separated by species. Ash, oak, cherry, and elm. I bring 1 tote inside my garage at a time and use a cart to bring it in the house from there

 

[HawkinsHollow]

This is the method I go with also. It's so much easier. I had 48 totes full before we started burning this fall. All separated by species. Ash, oak, cherry, and elm. I bring 1 tote inside my garage at a time and use a cart to bring it in the house from there

WOW!! 48 totes! You went all in on the tote method. I don't blame ya, if you have a tractor to move them it doesn't get any easier.

 

[ToBeFree]

This is the method I go with also. It's so much easier. I had 48 totes full before we started burning this fall. All separated by species. Ash, oak, cherry, and elm. I bring 1 tote inside my garage at a time and use a cart to bring it in the house from there

Question - Do you cover them?

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Question - Do you cover them?

I cover mine with a simple tarp over the top so there is plenty of air flow through the tote. I pile them strategically towards the top so there is a hump in the middle so the tarp sheds water to the sides. For the one at the house I have built a roof structure that goes over the IBC to keep the wood dry.

 

[hkbirdman]

This is the method I go with also. It's so much easier. I had 48 totes full before we started burning this fall. All separated by species. Ash, oak, cherry, and elm. I bring 1 tote inside my garage at a time and use a cart to bring it in the house from there

I'm also a believer in IBC totes. I've got 32 totes and burn appx. 5 cords per year. I just place the empty totes next to the splitter and split wood goes directly from splitter into the tote - but I stack my wood into the tote. A 275 gal. tote will hold 3/8 of a cord if it is stacked. I also built a reinforced deck off the rear of my house that will hold 4 totes of wood - and then use the tractor to put the totes up onto the deck. Now the wood storage area and the wood stove is on the same level - so no more climbing stairs with arm loads of wood, etc. My back and knees are much better off from the experience.

 

[ToBeFree]

I would cove

r them. Would you cut the front side to make getting bottom wood easier to get to?

I saw one picture the guy used part of the plastic as a cover.