TARPS

Deep Fryer said:

I'll try and post some pictures of my place, my concern is that these pieces would become airborne when we have windy conditions or the rogue gust and end up in my living room, the back of my house where the wood's stacked is mainly glass.

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Screw the tin on the corners and then pick the wood from the middle until you feel the need to lower it.

Or you can just throw green uglies on top/ tie bricks with rope drapped over the top etc. If it blows off your stack it's gonna go ~3ft unless you have a tornado or hurricane and the tin will be the least of your worries.
They also sell some vinyl stuff as well. Either way someday you may decide to build racks and then you can secure it permanently.

Scotty Overkill said:

yeah, I was looking at that the other day. It's solid, not to mention that's where the heating season will start.....right in that corner. If it holds out for another couple of weeks, we'll be good to go.

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Saw the rebar holding it up - couldn't resist man.
Had to restack one of my 2013/14 oak stacks as it began listing and tipped in some winds we had a few weeks ago - happens to the best of us

I have never had any luck with tarps...just too windy for them to stay put without being torn. I used old tin to cover the tops and that worked alright, but after an ice storm I decided I really needed a woodshed. After looking at plans, cost and the time I had to work on it...I just had a metal carport put up and now I have a place to keep my firewood and my truck dry... Hope you find something that works for you...

We cut in winter, split in spring and stack right away. We do not cover until late fall or early winter; before the snow piles up for sure. Then we leave it set and let Mother Nature dry it for us.This picture was taken right after stacking a few years ago. Notice I hadn't yet cleaned up around the stacks. Some of that wood is still there.


We've used tarps and hate them. We've left wood uncovered. At present we are mostly using old galvanized roofing. We have lots. It works great and if you are concerned about wind, and you should be, screw it down to the wood and still put weights on the top. We typically throw some uglies on the top.

This is that same stack of wood. This picture was taken the following spring after the wood had been split and stacked. We really like the old roofing as it is easy to work with and does a great job.

btw, we dry all the wood outdoors and then in October we move about 3 cord inside the barn and that is the wood we will burn in the winter. Works good for us.

Thanks Deep Fryer. I learned from Scotty and zap.

Backwoods Savage said:

Thanks Deep Fryer. I learned from Scotty and zap.

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I think I learned from Zap and you, Dennis!

I've heard of laying large pieces of corregated cardboard under the tarp to cushion and protect it.

I use the ball bungees to hold my tarps down. They keep the tarp tight as the wood shrinks and are easy to loop over the end of a split.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...053&langId=-1&keyword=tarp+ties&storeId=10051

Ok... I'm convinced... no side covers this winter. Worst case I end up using some more Idaho Energy Logs.

Deep Fryer said:

Yes, this is a recurring scenario, I wound up using stakes from HD (like camping tent spikes) to anchor them otherwise theyll take off like some sort of kite, this ususally happens during a rather nasty rainstorm around here and if I'm lucky I'll be around to attend to it, otherwise the pile will get a really good soaking.

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It just gets old fighting with tarps...and Murphys law always gets you. Do yourself a really big favor and try and get a woodshed.

I like the rubber roofing too, it should last for a very long time. Call a rubber roofer, they probably have it for free as it is their scrap after ripping off an old roof, that may not be very old.

I think I may be in the minority on this, but I don't cover my stacks any more. I am fortunate that I do have room enough in my garage to bring in about a week's supply (pull my little trailer right in and park it in the garage) during the burning season. So if you are lucky enough to have a breezeway, porch, or garage area big enough for a few days supply, I find it is rare that I have to bring wet wood in, unless we have an ice storm, rain, or a warmup melting existing snow right at that time. I find this is the case even in winters that have a fair amount of snow, at least for our locale.

Scotty Overkill said:

I bought used rubber roofing at a local construction/demolition salvage company a couple weeks ago....here's a link to the post I made regarding the installation of it on my wood piles. I topcover my three-year seasoned wood in the fall, and I ONLY topcover what I will be using that following winter. All of my wood spends at least two years C/S/S with the weather on it.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/not-a-minute-too-soon.89616/

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Scotty- How long do the wood pallets last for you? I have been fortunate enough to get about 25-30 plastic pallets so far. They are hard to come by though. Wood ones are all around for the taking.
DeepFryer- I have a roll of galvanized sheet metal I believe was originally for a pool. It is about 45 feet running length by around 40 inches. Been trying to donate it to a fellow burner for some time with no takers as of yet. I come as far east toward you as Iselin and Caldwell at times. I am going to Caldwell Monday too. You want this stuff I will hall it to that point and it's yours for the taking.

mywaynow said:

Scotty- How long do the wood pallets last for you? I have been fortunate enough to get about 25-30 plastic pallets so far. They are hard to come by though. Wood ones are all around for the taking.

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MWN, they hold up pretty darn good. As I use the wood that is stacked on the pallets I inspect them for rot, breakage, and decay. When they go bad, I replace them, then I take the junk ones and cut them up and burn them in the firepit. So they are 100% recycled in the end. One recommendation though, if you can pick and choose, get the ones made out of ash and oak. The poplar ones don't hold up as long.

mywaynow said:

DeepFryer- I have a roll of galvanized sheet metal I believe was originally for a pool. It is about 45 feet running length by around 40 inches. Been trying to donate it to a fellow burner for some time with no takers as of yet. I come as far east toward you as Iselin and Caldwell at times. I am going to Caldwell Monday too. You want this stuff I will hall it to that point and it's yours for the taking.

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MWN, that's FIRST CLASS, you're a good dude. Deep Fryer, that stuff would be great for a top-cover. I'd be all over that.

Thanks Scotty. I have been stacking on these plastic skids a bit differently as of last year. I used to line them up and stack typical rows. Now I stack each one as a free standing unit. It helps me to deal with grade changes more easily; I dig up the high side to level the skid. My hope is that at some point I will have a smaller loader that I can use like a forklift to pick up whole skids and bring to the house. A couple straps and lift-deliver. Right now I have a dinosaur loader, Ford 755, that is too much to try and use for such useful tasks. Hoping to unload that soon and put the proceeds toward the Kubota.

mywaynow said:

Thanks Scotty. I have been stacking on these plastic skids a bit differently as of last year. I used to line them up and stack typical rows. Now I stack each one as a free standing unit. It helps me to deal with grade changes more easily

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That's a really good idea, I'd probalby do the same thing if I had a loader!

I use heavy tarps with eyelets. Some fabric bungy cords at every 3rd eye stretched around logs has worked great for me. One tarp 15x30 is what I use across half the pile, top only. I have that roll of metal, and a stack of galv roofing to pick from. I may try the roofing, but in high winds that stuff seems like it would go places. Tarps blowing in the wind is another thing altogether, vs sheet metal. If you change your mind and want that roll let me know. Caldwell in done , but Metucheon work is on the horizon.