A few questions about seasoning...

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Straz85

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Oct 20, 2014
29
Holliston, MA
1) How long can I leave the wood on the ground before stacking? I have a couple cords worth of rounds on the ground. I'm splitting it all by hand, so it's going to take me a couple months to get through it all. I just don't want it to start to rot or get infested with bugs.

2) How close can I leave it to the house? I'm building a wood shed before next winter. I figure the closer it is to the house, the easier it is to get to. I have a great spot right behind my garage, but I don't want to invite too many critters near my house. I would probably be transferring wood to the wood shed in October-ish.

3) How much of a difference does putting a tarp over the wood while it's seasoning make? I'm constantly fixing the tarps I have on it now. I have them weighted down, but when it's really windy, I always have to fix them. It's very annoying.

4) Should I occasionally be checking the wood while it's seasoning for bugs? I do have it all on pallets, is there still a concern?

Thanks!
 
it can lay on the ground for quite a while
I never stack right against the house a few feet at least the main thing is you want as much sun and air movement as possible that will dry it faster
I feel top covering is important many dont but i need to dry fast so i cover the top as soon as i split it. Do not wrap the whole stack though
I dont worry about bugs they will burn just fine
 
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bholler said:
I disagree totally if you are trying to get something dry wouldn't keeping it dry be a good start? Yes it will dry with out a top cover but it will dry much faster with one
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Might depend on where you live. Top covering here in the summer might do more harm than good, we don't usually get a whole lot of rain thru summer & it will dry faster on top with air moving across it.
 
maple1 said:
Might depend on where you live. Top covering here in the summer might do more harm than good, we don't usually get a whole lot of rain thru summer & it will dry faster on top with air moving across it.
Click to expand...
Yeah i can see that but really if you top cover only it really does not limit air movement much and still lets the sun get to most of it as well. I don't see that in most cases it hurts anything and unless like you you get very little rain it will help speed things up.
 
I've used tarps to cover wood temporarily when I'm splitting to keep snow off or saturating rains. I don't think tarps benefit the drying process.
I think tarps hold moisture in the ground surface which makes moist air. Like a greenhouse.
Can you stack the rounds sideways?
Its extra work but I believe some element of drying happens. Until you can get to it, when the weather is good.
I split wood like my neighbors bale hay, when the sun is warm and dry. The splits go under tin roofing asap to avoid mold staining. The tin just barely covers the tops of the stacks, mostly keeping snow, leaves and direct rainfall off.
 
I agree with you on all of that applestister but i split when ever i have time. I dont care if it is raining or what. I top cover with tin as well but if i run out i will cover with plastic stapled to some 2x4s and it works fine
 
bholler said:
Yeah i can see that but really if you top cover only it really does not limit air movement much and still lets the sun get to most of it as well. I don't see that in most cases it hurts anything and unless like you you get very little rain it will help speed things up.
Click to expand...

I likely shouldn't have used the word 'harm'. More like just might not dry as fast - don't think it would actually cause harm or make it worse. Unless the whole stack is tarped. I see that too sometimes around here - not sure how the moisture is supposed to get out with the stack totally wrapped with tarp.
 
maple1 said:
Unless the whole stack is tarped. I see that too sometimes around here - not sure how the moisture is supposed to get out with the stack totally wrapped with tarp.
Click to expand...
Yeah i see it allot to doesn't make any sense at all
 
1) How long can I leave the wood on the ground before stacking

Where on the ground ?
In the middle of a field likely well over a year and it might start rotting from ground/moisture contact first.
In the woods where termites can find it in weeks ? Not very long.

2) How close can I leave it to the house?

Although I've never seen any bugs or critters in my stacks I have found a eaten acorn here and there, so something at least sat for a while and had lunch. There are some concerns even with mulch right up against a house so firewood is probably not a good idea.


3) How much of a difference does putting a tarp over the wood while it's seasoning make?

If all my oak was picture perfect defect free elements resistant heartwood I'd leave it uncovered. It's not, so I don't. I top cover with recycled corrugated plastic panels which are prone to being blown away by the wind so I weight them down with heavy duty pallets. It mostly works. punky splits don't get wet and spend no time drying out. That's nice when they freeze in the Winter too.

4) Should I occasionally be checking the wood while it's seasoning for bugs?

If your stacks aren't too close to the house the critters that enjoy feasting on bugs will do that for you.:)



Thanks!
 
If you build your woodshed close to the back of the garage, and have an exit at the back of the garage, you might consider building a covered walkway between the two to make things easier in the winter when the weather is ugly.
 
I'd make sure the back of your garage gets plenty of sun and wind to promote drying and seasoning.
 
Wow, lots of responses. Thanks for all the info. A couple points:

-I use a 3' wide roll of plastic sheeting to cover the wood, so the sides aren't covered

-The wood shed I would be building wouldn't be for seasoning the wood. I would move the wood that has been seasoning for 18-24 months there around October for the winter. So the sun wouldn't get to it in the winter, but there would be airflow through it.

Thanks again for all the info!
 
Big Chris said:
You can Rent a splitter for 55$ a day and knock out a few cords ..... Covering isn't really important over the summer... Good luck
Click to expand...

Around here it would be 90+/day. I thought about it, but I enjoy splitting wood, so I'm going to stick with my axe.
 
"How long can I leave it on the ground?" - depends, this can be very species dependent. Woods like osage and honey locust - darn near forever. Heck, they used to bury them in the ground for fence posts. Stuff like hickory or willow will melt in front of your eyes.

Tarping the wood? You will get every possible answer to this question.;lol What I have found personally...if you are moving dried wood into a wood shed -it ain't gonna make a hill of beans difference. Surface moisture on wood is a whole different critter than interior moisture. Rain will dry off of that wood at just a slight less rate of drying off of your driveway. Punky or compromised wood might be the exception to this.

Bugs? Bugs generally like the wetter woods. If the stuff going into your shed is dried for use, there isn't gonna be a whole lot to worry about. Powder post beetles are about the only exception that I know of. In many years of stacking dried wood in my 100 year old wood framed building (an old "wash house"), I have never seen signs of any bug attack on the structure.
 
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Straz85 said:
1) How long can I leave the wood on the ground before stacking? I have a couple cords worth of rounds on the ground. I'm splitting it all by hand, so it's going to take me a couple months to get through it all. I just don't want it to start to rot or get infested with bugs. Depends . . . but generally . . . you can go several months without any issues.

2) How close can I leave it to the house? I'm building a wood shed before next winter. I figure the closer it is to the house, the easier it is to get to. I have a great spot right behind my garage, but I don't want to invite too many critters near my house. I would probably be transferring wood to the wood shed in October-ish. My woodshed is maybe 20-25 feet from the house and my wood processing area and stacks are about the same distance. I have had no issues with bugs or critters . . . I mean to say I see evidence of critters in the stacks with nests, acorns, etc., but I've had no issue with them in the home. I also keep a stack of wood on my covered porch, but I generally wait until the temps are at or below freezing before moving the wood to the porch. The only time I have seen a problem with bugs was with carpenter ants in areas of the house exposed to water which lead to rot . . . and firewood had nothing to do with those infestations.

3) How much of a difference does putting a tarp over the wood while it's seasoning make? I'm constantly fixing the tarps I have on it now. I have them weighted down, but when it's really windy, I always have to fix them. It's very annoying. My own feeling -- if I was cutting and stacking with the expectation of burning in a year or so I would definitely top cover. If I was 2-3 years out I wouldn't worry too much about top covering the stacks.

4) Should I occasionally be checking the wood while it's seasoning for bugs? I do have it all on pallets, is there still a concern? I wouldn't worry too much. Once split and stacked it seems as though the only critters I see are the borers (particularly with the pine) . . . you can often hear them munching away . . . I don't worry too much . . . figure as long as they're eating the pine they'll not bother with my house.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Even if you store rounds stacked under cover and well air circulated, with the bark left on, it start to rot a little.
That's why the bark comes off a log after its been laying around for a month or two. Big deal? Probably not, but now the bad fungi that rot the wood fiber is established, so if you keep storing the logs the same way, the fungi will keep "eating"...
Now it is only a matter of how far you can accept it to go.
I took down a fir tree on my property a couple years back, but I left an 18" 30 ft tall stump for later. About 15 month later, I cut down stump, and 100% of the sapwood was severely rotted. A lot of It broke apart when I tried to split it, and, of course, all the bark fell of when the 30-footer hit the ground...
Different tree species need different time to process this, soft wood do it faster than hardwood, sapwood does it faster than heartwood, at least on Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock.
When building a log house, you have to get the bark off the logs immediately after they are cut, to keep them "healthy".

If you cut down trees for firewood, that you can't process immediately, you can strip bark the logs...
Then you don't even have to split the smaller ones for seasoning.
randbarkad-ved.jpg
 
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Straz85 said:
1) How long can I leave the wood on the ground before stacking? I have a couple cords worth of rounds on the ground. I'm splitting it all by hand, so it's going to take me a couple months to get through it all. I just don't want it to start to rot or get infested with bugs.

2) How close can I leave it to the house? I'm building a wood shed before next winter. I figure the closer it is to the house, the easier it is to get to. I have a great spot right behind my garage, but I don't want to invite too many critters near my house. I would probably be transferring wood to the wood shed in October-ish.

3) How much of a difference does putting a tarp over the wood while it's seasoning make? I'm constantly fixing the tarps I have on it now. I have them weighted down, but when it's really windy, I always have to fix them. It's very annoying.

4) Should I occasionally be checking the wood while it's seasoning for bugs? I do have it all on pallets, is there still a concern?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
The best thing is to get it off the ground, ground moisture will induce rot, no one answer each species is slightly different.
I do not stack against house most of my wood is at least ten yards away- winter fuel is stacked in a garage- but this stuff is very dry
Top tarp is fine nothing down the sides preferably with an air gap of a few inches above the top of the wood- that way moisture can vent.
Mother nature pretty much takes care of for you-
 
Straz85 said:
Around here it would be 90+/day. I thought about it, but I enjoy splitting wood, so I'm going to stick with my axe.
Click to expand...


As an additional option you can buy an electric log splitter at Home depot for $270. They work great and are just a bit slower then the gas ones. I have done about 6 cord with mine and it has done almost all that I have thrown at it. I also like how it is portable and quiet.
 
akkamaan said:
Even if you store rounds stacked under cover and well air circulated, with the bark left on, it start to rot a little.
That's why the bark comes off a log after its been laying around for a month or two. Big deal? Probably not, but now the bad fungi that rot the wood fiber is established, so if you keep storing the logs the same way, the fungi will keep "eating"...
Now it is only a matter of how far you can accept it to go.
I took down a fir tree on my property a couple years back, but I left an 18" 30 ft tall stump for later. About 15 month later, I cut down stump, and 100% of the sapwood was severely rotted. A lot of It broke apart when I tried to split it, and, of course, all the bark fell of when the 30-footer hit the ground...
Different tree species need different time to process this, soft wood do it faster than hardwood, sapwood does it faster than heartwood, at least on Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock.
When building a log house, you have to get the bark off the logs immediately after they are cut, to keep them "healthy".

If you cut down trees for firewood, that you can't process immediately, you can strip bark the logs...
Then you don't even have to split the smaller ones for seasoning.
randbarkad-ved.jpg
Click to expand...
I remember Port Angeles from the Twilight movies.
 
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