Question about wood covers

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warno

Minister of Fire
Jan 3, 2015
1,237
illinois
Everyone suggests covering the stacks after stacking but I'm wondering what the actual point is? Is it to simply keep the rain from falling on the top of the stack? Because most pictures of stacks I see are only top covered. Can't rain still get in through the sides? Is anyone covering the whole pile sides and all?
 
From my experience, if you tarp the entire stack, moisture from the wood can't escape easily and you have more problems with rot, insects and mold. You don't want any of those. You need good air circulation throughout the wood so it can dry, so always leave space between the stacks and allow the air to blow through. Some find that not covering your wood, especially for the first year makes little difference but most agree that you want it covered for the last year.
I made a 2 foot overhang on my wood shed to keep rain out but I still get some rain and blowing snow on the wood. It dries off pretty fast.
 
From my experience, if you tarp the entire stack, moisture from the wood can't escape easily and you have more problems with rot, insects and mold. You don't want any of those. You need good air circulation throughout the wood so it can dry, so always leave space between the stacks and allow the air to blow through. Some find that not covering your wood, especially for the first year makes little difference but most agree that you want it covered for the last year.
I made a 2 foot overhang on my wood shed to keep rain out but I still get some rain and blowing snow on the wood. It dries off pretty fast.

X2
 
I season my wood uncovered. The wood that will be burned this coming season gets covered sometime in late August or early September after a long stretch of hot weather without rain. The idea is to get it covered before autumn rains and subsequent snow hit it.
 
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My stacks are all bordering my woods line so I top cover to keep the leaves out when they fall, and obviously the rain too
 
I have everything stacked under roof. Open on all sides. I like not having to deal with snow covered stacks when I go to pick up a load too.
 
Top covers keep dry wood dry. Yep, the ends will get wet but the rest won't.

While rain won't hurt it, wood that's been rained on can be difficult to get burning. The moisture must burn off first and that's a waste of heat. That moisture goes up the flue and condenses. It can contribute to creosote buildup.

Top covering also eliminates the hassle of splits freezing together. And who wants ice melting from firewood on the living room floor? ;)
 
I have a drying station, a holding station and a using station.......
The drying station is single racks of newly split wood, sits in the sun and wind uncovered til it gets to 20% MC or less! then I move it to an area under a deck, this is not top covered either. Then in September I fill my using station, very soon I will be tarping this wood so that it stays completely dry throughout the winter. This particular area gets a lot of wind so the tarps do not hinder the wood from getting damp.
Personally I would never cover wood unless you need to keep it dry so that you can use it. This works well for me. I am using 3 year old red oak that is at 12% MC this year....... image.jpgimage.jpg
 
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If you orient your piles so the end of the piles face prevailing winds, rather than the sides, and top cover, you will get hardly any precipitation on or in your wood.
 
I cover for 3 reasons, one is not all my wood is solid, meaning that there is punky wood mixed in with good stuff. Two, I have all the free scrap metal roofing I could ever need. Three, my personal preference is for firewood that looks like kiln dried lumber. I like the firewood to not look weathered.
Strictly an esthetics thing and not a drying time thing.
 
I top cover everything as soon as it is split and i stack single thick and split small and i get my wood below 20% much faster than most do here. I have oak dry in a little over a year. Yes wood dries fine without a cover but it takes quite a bit longer
 
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