wood storage

[donn12]

I have several trees that have been cut up into sections 2-5 feet. They have not been split yet and while I would like to do this eventually I am wondering what the best way would be for me to keep them from rotting. I am thinking about putting them on pallets or a couple of long tree sections uncovered. If I just stacked them on the ground would it only be the bottom pieces that would get messed up? When is the wood too rotten? Should a rotten piece be removed from the stack asap or does it not matter? Thanks in advance - My getting this cleaned up will make my place look much better!

 

[gladehound]

#1 get as much of it off the ground as possible
#2 Stack in criss cross pattern if possible.
#3 If you can cover the top without trapping moisture then do it but DO NOT JUST THROW A TARP OVER A PILE OF WOOD ON THE GROUND doing so can make it rot faster. A suspended cover that allows lots of air circulation is best.
#4 Make sure it is in a sunny and windy spot on your yard. The less protected by trees and structures the better.

The pallets are a good idea. Good luck!

 

[DavidVT]

Not sure if you goal is clean up or extending the life of a heating source?

If it is just cleanup , advertise the free wood and save yourself the work of splitting and storing it.

As to storage, we built a super simple three sided shed from scrap wood and put old matching roof metal on top. The back walls are just open studs to allow airflow. The side walls are covered with matching old roof metal. The floor is just stone. It holds about 5 cord. (later we doubled the size)

 

[flyingcow]

I like the idea of stacking it on pallets. Thats what i do. No need to cover, will dry fine and less of an eyesore. I burn 7 cord a year, and my wood dries to 17% or less MC stacked on pallets.

 

[Gordon Gould]

They have all given you excellant advise. Off the ground, good air circulation, sun, and protected from the rain if possible. The only other thing I might do in addition, especially if it is birch or some other wood with water tight bark, is run a chain saw groove the length of the log just deep enough to get thru the bark. This will make the bark fall off when it dries and your wood will keep much better.

 

[dmccarty]

Getting the wood off the ground is a good idea as is cross stacking the logs.

Some wood like Red Oak takes many years to rot. I have Red Oaks down which Fran blew down almost 15 years ago. The trunks have shrunk in diameter but they will burn and burn well. I burned some this season.

Other woods seems like it almost instantly rots.

It seems if the wood starts growing mushrooms then the firewood quality is diminished. The rotten/mushroom eaten wood can be harder to split since can just junks off and does not split. Having said that, I will split it and burn it.

Later,
Dan

 

[jmanatee2]

We heat with wood, every year we go through about 3 to 4 cord. We have an area that when full holds 6 cord. We cut and burn 24" logs not 16" but it wouldn't matter either way

What we did was buy 8 2"x4"x12foot Pressure Treated and laid them on the ground 2 end to end 4 row and stretched two rows of pallets across them with a 6" space between the two rows. So we have a total of 16 pallets in two rows (8 each) with about 6" of space between them.

We then stack wood 4 rows of 24" logs 24' long 4' feet high. We cover just the top with tarps.

Each year we start taking wood from the opposite end of the pile. Each year we refill the pile. This way we are always burning the oldest wood first

This has worked very well for us. Our wood never gets rotted The Pallets have lasted very good (Because they are sitting on the PT) We do have to replace one or two every year because the slats get broken from walking on them

 

[keegs]

As David_VT suggested, it's not clear what your intentions are for the wood.

If the wood was recently cut I'd be considering its use for next year's heating and in that case I'd be cutting it into smaller rounds and getting it split. You want to get it off the ground. Check out firewood storage racks at the local home center. They're usually around $25. Or you can stack it up on pallets but it may not look as neat. You should throw a plastic tarp over it too to keep it dry.

If you're not sure what you're going to do with it, dithering could leave you with a pile of troubles so don't dither.. :laughing:

You might consider putting it on Craigslist ...as is you could can get something for it....maybe some beer money or better. :thumbsup:

 

[donn12]

I want to keep the wood and eventually use it for firewood.

I am in a big hurry to get it off the ground. Will make a big difference if I split it later? What if some has started to rot?
Thanks for the great info!

 

[KennyG]

I want to keep the wood and eventually use it for firewood.

I am in a big hurry to get it off the ground. Will make a big difference if I split it later? What if some has started to rot?
Thanks for the great info!

If it starts to rot, throw it away. It's really hard to get it dry enough to burn well if it's rotted. The only reason to split it quickly is that drying doesn't really happen on larger logs until they are split.