Question on Storing Wood

brothermarkinter · Jul 8, 2014

Hello everyone!

I first have to say I'm excited about my first post. I have been watching these forums and gaining advice from them since last year but I have yet to ask a question upfront.

My wife and I live in a small apartment. I kept wood on our balcony last winter but I failed to season it properly (I mistakenly only seasoned it for a few months instead of 6 months plus). However I am wondering if I will be able season my wood at all due to the high humidity that is in Houston during the Spring, Summer, and Fall months. Does anyone have any experience seasoning wood in a humid climate?

For a bit more information we have a fireplace that we use as a primary heat source in the winter. YES I know that many of you will say that it is an inefficient system and I will agree with you 100%. However winters are very mild here in Houston and last winter it worked out great for us. Our bills dropped so much during the winter that we were beyond happy and didn't consider turning on the electric furnace even during one of the coldest winters Houston has had in recent years.

Thanks ahead of time! I look forward to spending many years in this forum particularly when I accomplish my goal of living in a home with a boiler system and a wood stove ::-)

HotCoals · Jul 8, 2014

Welcome!

Well you should be ok if the wood gets down to 20% MC..would not want to see the percentage be much higher.
Of course you're not burning in a secondary burn stove..for that matter no stove at all. Just keep a eye on the flue..make sure it is fairly clean.
Is it clay tile lined?

brothermarkinter · Jul 9, 2014

HotCoals said:
Well you should be ok if the wood gets down to 20% MC..would not want to see the percentage be much higher.
Of course you're not burning in a secondary burn stove..for that matter no stove at all. Just keep a eye on the flue..make sure it is fairly clean.
Is it clay tile lined?

It is not clay tile lined. It is actually metal lined instead. Not sure the pros vs cons on this kind of liner.
I've scheduled for the chimney to be swept and general cleaning of it already just to get it out of the way. It really isn't that dirty though from last year surprisingly but I still want to get into good habits and have maintenance and check ups done on it at least once a year

HotCoals · Jul 9, 2014

brothermarkinter said:
It is not clay tile lined. It is actually metal lined instead. Not sure the pros vs cons on this kind of liner.
I've scheduled for the chimney to be swept and general cleaning of it already just to get it out of the way. It really isn't that dirty though from last year surprisingly but I still want to get into good habits and have maintenance and check ups done on it at least once a year

Good deal that you're on top of it!
So you must have a zero clearance fireplace I'm guessing?

brothermarkinter · Jul 9, 2014

Yup! Just an average zero clearance fireplace. The firebox is a tad larger than some of the newer fireplaces I have seen in newer homes but mine is still much smaller than the fireplaces I grew up with. Still though it worked great for us last winter

I've thought about putting in a tube/blower system to increase it's efficiency but I am not convinced that the benefit would be greater than the cost.

Parallax · Jul 10, 2014

I would imagine heating in Houston would be a breeze. Sort of like heating a house in Tucson, where I used to live. No one there does so. Rich people may have a fireplace but it's mainly for show and rarely gets used unless one is crazy enough to run it with the a/c running full bore.

I'm new to all of this so don't take anything I say as anything other than a guess, but given your short seasoning time I wonder if you might benefit from getting some pine or other softwood which might dry out more quickly. I've been cutting and splitting Douglas fir for the last few months and am amazed by how fast it seems to dry once sheltered from the rain. Many splits are noticeably lighter than when I cut and split them a couple of months ago.

Nick Mystic · Jul 10, 2014

I'd be a bit cautious about storing much wood on an apartment's balcony. Those balconies aren't built to support but so much weight. I know they look quite sturdy, but I've talked to architects who say they don't build all that much reserve into them.

dougand3 · Jul 10, 2014

brothermarkinter said:
Does anyone have any experience seasoning wood in a humid climate?

It just takes splits longer to dry in a humid climate. Sun and wind on the stacks on the stacks helps. Northern AL/Southern TN can be quite humid. I season at a minimum: Pine and cedar - 10 months. Silver maple and poplar - 12 months. Locust - 18 months. Hickory - 24 months.

Woody Stover · Jul 10, 2014

Equilibrium moisture content for Houston stays pretty close to 14% year-round. Wood should dry fine there, especially since it's always warm.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf

Nick Mystic said:
I'd be a bit cautious about storing much wood on an apartment's balcony. Those balconies aren't built to support but so much weight. I know they look quite sturdy, but I've talked to architects who say they don't build all that much reserve into them.

They might build 'em this way in case you want to get rid of a mother-in-law. ;lol

Rickb · Jul 10, 2014

In my experience. Working 18 months or so in Houston while it was humid, they have an almost constant breeze. Stick with soft woods and you should be fine to season in 4-6 months.

Dix · Jul 10, 2014

I lived in Houston back in the 80's (and Texas City and La Marque <stinky water !!>

). Humid as hell in summer, but, as mentioned above, usually a decent breeze.

Alot of soft woods there, as well as hard woods going up North to Conroe. Once ya get north of the "Loop". Things should dry fast.

Think outside of the box for storage. Down at the landing inside, outside the front door, etc. Should increase your capacity.

Welcome to the forums !!

smokedragon · Jul 11, 2014

brothermarkinter said:
Does anyone have any experience seasoning wood in a humid climate?

Me, me, me.....I do.
Very similar climate to you (85 - 95 degrees every day, 1003% humidity)

Soft woods are the way to go for quick drying. I can cut down a living pine tree and have it season over the summer usually. Split small helps a lot. If you keep the splits smaller, they will dry MUCH faster.

brothermarkinter · Jul 11, 2014

Parallax said:
I would imagine heating in Houston would be a breeze. Sort of like heating a house in Tucson, where I used to live. No one there does so. Rich people may have a fireplace but it's mainly for show and rarely gets used unless one is crazy enough to run it with the a/c running full bore.

I'm new to all of this so don't take anything I say as anything other than a guess, but given your short seasoning time I wonder if you might benefit from getting some pine or other softwood which might dry out more quickly. I've been cutting and splitting Douglas fir for the last few months and am amazed by how fast it seems to dry once sheltered from the rain. Many splits are noticeably lighter than when I cut and split them a couple of months ago.

Heating in Houston is a breeze. Winters are very mild here and only last 3 months at most and we rarely see very cold weather. My wife and I don't even use our built in furnace as 1) We don't like forced air heating and 2) We simply don't see the point of heating our apartment 24/7.

I imagine that wood dries out very rapidly out in AZ! I've been out that way before and the air is very dry there. I'm hoping that when August comes around and we hit over 100 that it will be easy to dry out the wood.

On another note most homes here have a fireplace interestingly but few use it at all. Those who use it the most are those who install some sort of a gas log system but there are a few odd wood burners…not many. I've noted that some people are installing an electric firedog system into their fireplaces which is not something I understand that well but if it works for them then go ahead…..

Nick Mystic said:
I'd be a bit cautious about storing much wood on an apartment's balcony. Those balconies aren't built to support but so much weight. I know they look quite sturdy, but I've talked to architects who say they don't build all that much reserve into them.

I won't be storing THAT much wood on our balcony. I used maybe a 1/3 of a cord of wood last winter and I think I might use up to 2/3 a cord this winter. Anything beyond that would probably be excessive for my heating needs. My balcony is concrete and very sturdy and stable. It should not have any trouble with the weight

smokedragon said:
Me, me, me.....I do.
Very similar climate to you (85 - 95 degrees every day, 1003% humidity)

yeah I'm ready for the winter season already. I dislike summer weather such as this so much. I've already had to block out a few windows to keep the sun from turning the place into an oven….

Thanks for the tips on using soft wood everyone! Pretty much this entire area is filled with pine and oak so it shouldn't be difficult to stock up what I'll need. It's great to know that there are others who live in humid environments who are able to season to prepare properly for the winter .

Thanks again for the welcome guys! Greatly appreciate your help as well

brothermarkinter · Jul 11, 2014

Woody Stover said:
Equilibrium moisture content for Houston stays pretty close to 14% year-round. Wood should dry fine there, especially since it's always warm.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf

This is a fascinating article. Thanks for the link!

Parallax · Jul 11, 2014

brothermarkinter said:
Heating in Houston is a breeze. Winters are very mild here and only last 3 months at most and we rarely see very cold weather. My wife and I don't even use our built in furnace as 1) We don't like forced air heating and 2) We simply don't see the point of heating our apartment 24/7.

I imagine that wood dries out very rapidly out in AZ! I've been out that way before and the air is very dry there. I'm hoping that when August comes around and we hit over 100 that it will be easy to dry out the wood.

On another note most homes here have a fireplace interestingly but few use it at all. Those who use it the most are those who install some sort of a gas log system but there are a few odd wood burners…not many. I've noted that some people are installing an electric firedog system into their fireplaces which is not something I understand that well but if it works for them then go ahead…..

When I was in Arizona, there were fireplaces but virtually no wood stoves or inserts. They were more for atmosphere than heat, though they did through off heat on cool nights. The nicer homes tended to have them. My home did not. Now that I'm in Washington I've invested in a nice home, but it's my first. I've always liked the idea of heating with wood but it didn't make sense until I moved to a cooler climate. In Houston, you probably will be an "odd wood burner." It may not make as much practical sense as it does elsewhere. But if you enjoy wood burning, why not?

smokedragon · Jul 12, 2014

brothermarkinter said:
Pretty much this entire area is filled with pine and oak so it shouldn't be difficult to stock up what I'll need.

Many will tell you oak takes 3 years to dry, but I find it to be 2 full years around here (if it is green when you cut it). The pine will dry in 1 year, less if it is dead/fairly dry when cut. If can make room for it, try to get some oak for future seasons.

Seems odd that so many would have real wood fireplaces that far south. You don't see much new construction around here with fireplaces, and we have much more winter weather and more wooded area......Oh well, give people what they want and charge them extra for it ::-)

Parallax · Jul 12, 2014

My parents had a custom home just outside of Phoenix with two fireplaces -- one in the living room and one in the family room. Was a really southwestern place with vegas across the ceilings and as support beams, sautilla tile, a big flat roof. Days could get well north of 110 in the summer. One could run the fireplaces at night in winter and that was about it. What was considered a huge woodpile would, to us, seem a joke. One pecan tree cut up and split was enough for years.

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Question on Storing Wood

brothermarkinter

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HotCoals

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brothermarkinter

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HotCoals

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brothermarkinter

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Parallax

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Nick Mystic

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Dix

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brothermarkinter

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