Holz Hausen

I know everybody has an opinion about the Holz Hausen stacking method, but I am a believer. I have done 10 of them the last two years, and the wood has been dry when time to burn and the stacks don't fall over. I have zero investment in wood storage structures. Here are two of them.

Once I am ready to burn, I use a carry-all I made for my tractor to transfer to the house. The carry-all has wheels on the bottom and can be moved around the garage when loaded, by hand. It holds a little under half a cord.

I do to top cover with heavy, clear plastic to keep the water, leaves, etc. off the pile. I cut some small holes in the plastic to allow air to move out the top. Most of what I cut is standing dead, so I usually only need to have the wood in these for about a year. I have one that is all oak from a tree that blew down last summer. Plan on letting it sit for another year, and will burn it starting fall 2015. Overall though, they work well and are easy to build once you get the hang of it. Most of mine are about 8' diameter, and 6' high. They hold a lot of wood.

I get about 2.5 cords in one stack. My carry-all is 5x4x4 (80 cu ft), which is .625 cords. Accounting for air space when loaded, I am probably around half a cord. I can get five full loads per stack.

Everyone I have talked with has differing opinions on what dries faster. I have allowed mine to sit for at least a year, so I really am not trying to see how fast I can dry the wood. For me, I wanted a way to stack my wood that was sturdy and didn't require me putting more money into a structure of some kind. So, I made these and just throw a piece of clear plastic over the top to keep the water out and debris off. I do cut a few holes in the plastic to allow the "chimney" effect, but not sure how much that actually does.