Cover Your Wood Along the East Coast!

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ClydesdaleBurner

ClydesdaleBurner

Member
Dec 5, 2007
145
South Coast, MA
I realize its a bit late for this, as it is pouring rain right now in most parts of the Northeast. But I was wondering how many people saw this storm coming and covered their wood? I cover mine last night thinking that I might be burning within the next month and I didn't want 2-3" of rain messing up my dry wood.
 
unfortunatley most of mine is still in a pile on the ground... uncovered. :(
 
Good advice. Covered mine yesterday but that is what will be stored in anew woodshed I'm building. The rest of my wood is already in another woodshed with 1/3 cord in the garage. Let winter come!!!! By the way what is the suggested distance between the top of the liner and the metal chimney cover?
 
I saw the storm coming too and covered all my dry wood with tarps and strapped them down to keep the wind from uncovering them. I'll probably uncover the wood when the storm is over to dry out whatever may have gotten through. I can easily pull the tarps over the wood before the nesxt rain storm, the tarps are tied to the top rail of the chain link fence the wood is stacked along, so i just pull it over the pils and bunjee it down to the pallets below.
 
I just leave it un covered all the time because it seems the blue or brown tarps available locally are just junk. They wear out and just become mesh filters in no time at all. They just leak water anyhow. Is there something better out there that doesnt wear out in a matter of months? I thought about metal roof panels over the top of the stacks but Im afraid of the kids running into the edges and getting cut. What are you all covering the piles with?
 
Covered it yesterday afternoon.
 
brought enough onto the porch to get me through the weekend, but did not cover anything.
 
Although I'm an advocate of leaving my stacks uncoverd......when it gets down to the end of Sept and they're forcasting 4-6" of rain over the next two days, I did cover the tops of the first two cord I plan on burning. I also covered the top of the small stack of junk pine I supliment with this time of year.

The other two cord I'll leave uncovered and I will uncover everything once the monsoon ends.

On a side note, I use a 100' roll of 50 mil black poly I got at HD.
 
I've covered/uncovered as the weather changes (rain/shine). I use a large "brown whatever tarp", my wife hates the blue ones.

I agree the cheap tarps last no more than one year, but I usually find some "sale" buys and pick up a few from time to time. I've used the rolles of clear (guess 5 mil) and it dies on one year too. The benefit I find in the tarps is the tie-down holes. I tile weights to hangers and when I roll the tarp over, I simply hook the hold downs, quick and easy. Thus, being easy, I generally have my store of wood under cover in wet weather, open in dry weather.
 
Put the tarp over my setup a week or two ago and just finished putting all the wood in place. I have a 10 x 20 heavy duty canopy that was damaged so now it is 10 x 12 and has a 6' high stack of wood underneath. Most of the wood will stay dry but the wind will blow this rain around for sure.
 
I actually covered one of my piles with two of those green corrugated fiberglass roof panels, the kind you see on a green house. They were about $15/piece at Lowe's and the nice thing about them is if you put them on a slant on your wood pile the rain runs right off them... no pooling of water like on the tarps.

As for keeping them from blowing away. I just drilled some holes in the corners and tied them down. I also plan on stiffening them by adding some pieces of 2x4 wood to the undersides. That way they won't be so flimsy.

Plus I've noticed when its sunny out they act like a green house and it really gets quite warm under them, so I figure this is drying out the wood nicely. And they don't look too bad either.

The panesl are similar to the roof of this wood rack... I attached a picture, not sure it will show up. Sorry if it doesn't.
 

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Adios Pantalones said:
Those 10 x 0 tarps are really flimsy. I find that another dimension or 2 beefs them up considerably.
Click to expand...

Sure, it requires an infinite number of them to cover anything, but at least nobody complains about how they look, because nobody can even see them. Rick
 
fossil said:
Adios Pantalones said:
Those 10 x 0 tarps are really flimsy. I find that another dimension or 2 beefs them up considerably.
Click to expand...

Sure, it requires an infinite number of them to cover anything, but at least nobody complains about how they look, because nobody can even see them. Rick
Click to expand...

I hear ya. Like trying to keep warm by burning amish phone books.
 
I covered 2 days ago....thank goodness...it's pouring here.
 
fossil said:
Adios Pantalones said:
Those 10 x 0 tarps are really flimsy. I find that another dimension or 2 beefs them up considerably.
Click to expand...

Sure, it requires an infinite number of them to cover anything, but at least nobody complains about how they look, because nobody can even see them. Rick
Click to expand...

You sonsofwitches....fixed it...
 
You know..... In this day of age it is always a good idea to cover your wood.
 
Doh. I forgot. I just moved a cord closer to the house to get ready for the burning season. We got pounded today. :/
 
covered mine last night in the dark... my top is easy but when blowing rain is forcasted i do the front.. that was tough in the dark .....i am sure water got in but nothing that won't dry quick.... don't know why i worry so much when I should only burn half of it this year anyways.. the other half i should stop stressing about.. but with my luck it would be a cold winter and i would get screwed!! i took off the top only because we had like 15 days without rain ... but now the top will stay on always .. unless we the longe range shows another 15-20 days of sun!
 
One cord under a blue tarp (pronounced Blue Taaahp, the official lawn ornament of the State of Maine) and four more only covered on top. I cut some scrap utility lumber to 36 inch lengths and set them on top of the 18 inch wide piles every four feet or so. Then I rolled out some 4 mil clear 3 ft wide poly drop cloths and stapled 'em up good to the 36 inch supports. I'll leave 'em like this until after the leaves are all down and cleaned up, then cover 'em up with some old pool covers I have, they seem to be a bit tougher than the standard blue tarp.

-Sheepdog
 
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