Safe distance for wood from house - Newbies to the wood heating world

scottandnat said:

We just bought our first home with an indoor wood burner. We have been getting a lot of wood later to help us through the winter and now we are debating on where do we stack the wood. We do have a nice building on the back corner of our property to store the wood. BUT we do live in northern Ohio and the snow tends to drift, and with the way our property sits there would be some drifts between the barn and the house.

We have been told to build up the wood outside the back door in what used to be a landscaping area. Our concern by doing this is bringing termites towards the house. The home inspector said DO NOT STORE IN GARAGE for that purpose.

Is there a safe distance for us to build the wood pile near the house and what suggestions for building it to help prevent termites does anyone have?

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Welcome aboard,

We live in termite/ant city (Pine Barrons of NJ) so we keep the piles about 30 feet from the house. Once you build up a decent 2 year supply don't get real anal about your stacking.

As long as you don’t have a heated garage, you should not have a problem with termites once the temps have dropped and they have become dormant. You should not keep firewood stored in or near the house/garage during the active ant/termite season. You should be able to bring about a 3 day supply into the house without any signs of larve.

We load up our front screen porch area with about 3 cords and we make sure it is emptied by spring. We just had a pest inspection and no signs of critters and the house was built 1975.

This is a place for a plethera of information, so read and enjoy,
Jim & Kathy

I keep a supply of wood behind the house next to the attached garage. Up to about a cord fits there nicely. If the weather is going to be exceptionally crummy, I bring about a day's supply at a time into the garage. I don't keep more than about a days worth in the garage though, for the exact reason of trying to reduce the bugs that I bring in.

-SF

Our wood is piled a good distance from the house and buildings. We have a carport and in front of the car is a porch that leads into the house. It is now time for me to build a stack of wood next to the porch (actually I have a small pile now but the big pile is yet to come). When cold weather sets in, we build a big stack, as high as the eave of the carport and we build it in two rows. That way we not only have wood very close to the door but also have a very effective wind blocker. It has worked for us for years. Once March 1 rolls around we then quit bring wood to the porch and just use off that pile. When burning season is done, sometimes I have to take a bit back to the wood pile but usually we burn it all up and have to get more.

Doing our wood this way keeps the insects away from the house and, as stated, gives us a wonderful wind blocker from those harsh north winds in January and February. It also keeps the snow off the porch.

I built a covered wood shed (open on the sides) about 10 feet from the garage, that will hold about 6 cords. As long as you keep the wood stacked up off the ground and covered so that it will dry out you should have little trouble with bugs of any sort - Termites need moisture to live on, and a dried split just doesn't supply enough. Dried firewood is a surprisingly hostile environment for bugs, about the only things I ever find in my piles are spiders.

Gooserider

Some other hints:

Ask your local cooperative extension what damaging bugs are in your locality.

Often you do not see bug infestation but they can be there; look for small piles of their waste along the edge of the wood pile.

Try not to bring home bug infested wood.

If you do decide to burn infested wood, bring it into the house and burn it immediately.

Do not store wood where there is water or moisture availabilty, termites need water close to where they live.

Clean around wood piles kept close to the house, leaves and debris will attract them.

scottandnat said:

We just bought our first home with an indoor wood burner. We have been getting a lot of wood later to help us through the winter and now we are debating on where do we stack the wood. We do have a nice building on the back corner of our property to store the wood. BUT we do live in northern Ohio and the snow tends to drift, and with the way our property sits there would be some drifts between the barn and the house.

We have been told to build up the wood outside the back door in what used to be a landscaping area. Our concern by doing this is bringing termites towards the house. The home inspector said DO NOT STORE IN GARAGE for that purpose.

Is there a safe distance for us to build the wood pile near the house and what suggestions for building it to help prevent termites does anyone have?

Click to expand...

Don't know if there is any really safe distance. You either: 1) already have termites in the soil and they're attracted to the wood or 2) you bring them onto your property in the wood. The best things to do are to 1) elevate the wood a few inches above the ground 2) don't bring wood into the house unless it goes from your arms into the fire or is in protective/sealed tubs in the home and 3) if you're really worried, treat the soil 360 degrees around the wood pile such that if they escape from the wood and get into the ground, they'll be killed

Termites already in the wood are no hazard after you move the wood, as the nest is underground. They will die soon after being cut off from the nest. I don't think termites can sense wood from a distance, so I don't think storing in a garage is a big deal. If the termites find the wood, then they were already in your garage. In that case, it may distract them from eating your framing!

Carpenter ants are another story - they do nest in the logs, and you might not want to bring them into the garage. But usually they are long gone after you split the wood.

I've had termites in the house (unrelated to firewood), and I had the perimeter treated with Termidor a couple of years ago. So now I just go ahead and stack right around the house (don't have a lot of good alternatives). Before that, I did find several mud tunnels leading up into my stacks, so it can be an issue. Now I try to leave a visible gap between the wood and the house so I can look in there from time to time and look for mud tunnels or other signs of life. Generally I see spiders, holes and sawdust from borers, and the occasional small mammal nest in there.

One issue no one is talking about is fire. If you live in an area that has anykind of fire season than your wood should be 100' from the house. Build your wood shed away and just keep enough for a few days near. That way if you leave the wood there in the summer you can throw it into the house to remove the fire hazard quickly. Thats right the safest place for combustables when a forest fire is coming is in your home. You should of course make your home as fire proof as possible. If you wait to pile the wood until fire season is well over than you can keep this winters supply near. This assumes you will use it all up before summer.

Just not next to your house. I keep all my wood on skids, and some of the skids supported be landscaping stones. This will keep the bugs out of the wood, and allow air to get to the whole pile of wood.

I keep 1 1/2 cords in the garage and the rest in the back yard...1/2 a mile from the house... and take it in on snowmobile. Makes a good outing for me and the kids.
Dan.