Do you really have to cover your stacks?

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NordicSplitter

Minister of Fire
May 22, 2011
541
Western,NY
Do you really have to cover your stacks? I mean if you know for sure your not going to use any of the wood from those stacks this year......what's the point?
 
No. They are your stacks so you are allowed to do whatever you want.
 
NO-- what would you do that for?
 
I do to keep the snow off the wood (haul less snow into the house that way.)
 
NATE379 said:
I do to keep the snow off the wood (haul less snow into the house that way.)

But the OP said he does not need the wood this year. I say... Don't cover it!!

I never cover mine at all. I keep about three night's worth of burning on the front porch. Anything wet will certainly be dry by the time I burn it. But then, I don't worry too much about snow down here.
 
Do you really need to cover your stacks? I hope not, because I don't. It would be nice to have a way to keep the snow off, but the snow doesn't soak the wood, it just is a nuisance that I can live with.
 
NordicSplitter said:
Do you really have to cover your stacks? I mean if you know for sure your not going to use any of the wood from those stacks this year......what's the point?

If you check out how sawmills handle air-drying of lumber, you'll find a strong preference for covering the stacks, even though it is a bother & nuisance. They want to reduce the MC to their target without the setbacks incurred by re-wetting the wood.
It's a safe bet that production of fungi is not a goal of theirs.

You don't have to cover. "It's your money." I just don't like to see months of drying rolled back in one rainstorm, and I don't find fungal fruiting-bodies attractive.
 
NO, and "months of drying rolled back in one rain storm" aint gonna happen.
 
We got 15 feet of snow last year. I can tell the difference in the Fall cut between what made it under a roof last Fall and what didn't. However, after a couple hot dry months in the wind, the difference has gotten a lot smaller. So, given the snow that comes off the lakes, it might be worth it if you aren't that far ahead and need every bit of drying advantage you can get. Now that I am a few years ahead, I don't think I am going to bother to cover it until the Fall before I intend to burn it. And, that is more for convenience during the heating season than anything.
 
I only cover that which I will be burning in the current heating season between the woodshed, and the racks under the deck, everything else can be cold and shivver through the winter. Then next fall, reload, rinse, repeate.

Shawn
 
oldspark said:
NO, and "months of drying rolled back in one rain storm" aint gonna happen.

Agreed. Wood that is cut at Mills to be sold is also kept dry for other reasons (All include keeping it Dry because it helps with the end use/Warping, Checking, Etc).

It has been said before, "Wood is not a Sponge". We all know who said it. Will the wood take on a little moisture after/during a Storm. Yes. But it has been proven to quickly "Burn" off. Keeping just the top covered in the Winter will help a lot. You wont have to deal with the Snow and what "little" moisture it does absorb.

If you want it to Season a little quicker. A shed, with Very good ventilation and would probably be best facing the South. May Dry your wood a little faster. If you only have this year to do it in. But if you get several years ahead. Leaving them outside would be fine. Forum member Skyline has been posting Topics about wood that is Covered vs Uncovered, Very In-Depth.

Read the Thread here. Says a lot about M/C levels, weight of wood, etc. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/76692/


That said, I have a shed and am currently filling it for this seasons burning. This being my 1st year with a woodstove, I am trying things that some of the members have "Suggested" to me, that have been burning for years. I have had a Fireplace since owning the house. Only burned a little over a Cord a year in it. So I kept it all on the porch. Wife wants it off the porch, So its going in Stacks outside and the Wood for this year I am currently rotating into the Shed. I am still experminting also. Everyone has what works best for them. Whats good for Goose aint always good for the Gander.
 

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Certainly you do not have to cover a wood pile. However, we do cover the wood after the first summer and fall's initial drying. I believe the wood will dry faster with it uncovered but after that big quantity of moisture comes out that first summer, I like to cover the wood. Should one need to get wood from the stack during the winter, or whenever, it is nice to not have to handle wet wood. If it is covered, then you won't have to handle it. If it gets covered with the entire winter's snowfall and then melts mostly in a couple days, that is a lot of water to pour onto the wood and although wood is not a sponge, that amount of moisture might cause some problems including mold, which I don't want to bring into the house.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Certainly you do not have to cover a wood pile. However, we do cover the wood after the first summer and fall's initial drying. I believe the wood will dry faster with it uncovered but after that big quantity of moisture comes out that first summer, I like to cover the wood. Should one need to get wood from the stack during the winter, or whenever, it is nice to not have to handle wet wood. If it is covered, then you won't have to handle it. If it gets covered with the entire winter's snowfall and then melts mostly in a couple days, that is a lot of water to pour onto the wood and although wood is not a sponge, that amount of moisture might cause some problems including mold, which I don't want to bring into the house.



Be glad when I get as far ahead as you, heck them pictures of that petrified wood probably came out of your oldest stack. Longest my wood so far has sat before going in shed is 2 summers no mold yet.
 
NordicSplitter said:
Do you really have to cover your stacks? I mean if you know for sure your not going to use any of the wood from those stacks this year......what's the point?

I sure hope I don't have to cover them . . . otherwise I've been doing it all wrong for the past three years. ;)

As stated by many others . . . as long as your wood has good ventilation and you're not burning the wood this year a little bit of water and/or snow will not make a whole lot of difference if you truly are not planning on burning the wood this upcoming winter.
 
Like many have mentioned I'll throw a tarp (rubber roofing) over the pile that I'm pulling from shortly before the burning season.

I also keep about 2 face cords stacked in the basement about 10ft from the stove - this certainly takes care of any surface 'wetness'.
 
If wood is not a sponge, then why are diapers, sanitary napkins, animal bedding and artificial sponges made from wood? Why do cabinet makers take so much care to allow for wood movement in response to humidity, movement that can destroy poorly built carcase construction. Why is air-dried lumber always dried under cover?

If the object is to bring down moisture content, then how can there be any advantage to allowing the wood to get rained on every few days? It may be that your uncovered stacks dry and burn adequately, but i just can't believe that the wood can possibly be as dry as wood that has never been wetted since the day it was stacked. As you may have guessed I do cover my wood. It's not expensive or hard to do and it makes me feel better when we have periods of rainy weather. Of course, if you cover in a way that traps moisture, you're doing more harm than good.
 
I never top cover my stacks until five minutes after I get through through stacking.
 
I'm not beyond convincing that wood that is repeatedly wet and dried ultimately dries quicker. Van der Waals bonds between water molecules attract and will suck each other along (out of the wood). I'm not advocating that a completely soaked wood stack is ideal. I'm always amazed at how dry the stack is down it's height after a rain anyway. I cover my accessed stacks in the winter because of snow anyway. Cheers!
 
What happens to untreated exposed wood on your house? It will rot. In your case you are only talking one year but if you have softer woods in there like Poplar or Pine and they are not in full sunlight you will get mold and some signs of rot. I learned this the hard way. My oak was fine but the stack that was covered was dryer. Keep in mind that the cover no cover issue will depend on where you live, your rain/snow fall, wind, sunlight, type of wood and how long until you need it.
 
I HATE dealing with snowy/frozen/buried in ice woodstacks. But stuff you wont be using this year??? No matter...do what you will.
 
shawneyboy said:
I only cover that which I will be burning in the current heating season between the woodshed, and the racks under the deck, everything else can be cold and shivver through the winter. Then next fall, reload, rinse, repeate.

Shawn


LOL! This.
 
One of the reasons that I cover my stacks that I don't really see people mention is that my yard is very wooded and all times of the year (especially fall) there is a lot of debris coming off the trees that get in all the nooks and crannies that start rotting and set up mold and nastiness. If my wood was in an open field or I could stack it far enough apart to get at each stack I probably wouldn't cover it as the rain doesn't bother me too much and if it snows here (3 or 4 times a year) it usually only lasts a day or two.
 
Wood cut this year will stay in stacks in an open field for 2 years, uncovered. Somewhere in late summer or early fall of the year it's to be burned, I wait for a few days where we have no rain and there is lots of sun and wind.
The wood is pretty darn dry by this time and into the woodshed it goes where it will get no more rain or snow.
My days of dealing with tarps and wet/frozen wood in the dead of winter are gone.
If I knew then (when I first started burning) what I know now, I would have replaced the existing stove with an EPA stove, stovepipe and class A, built my hearth platform, ordered enough c/s/d wood for 3 years while I still had the money to do so, and built the woodshed. Then, I would have done what I did anyway........ordered log loads, to get even farther ahead.
Anybody have a "Wayback" machine?
 
PapaDave: I'm with you on the ordering of log lengths and getting a jump on the next year and the one after. I have enough split and stacked wood for this season and a good amount for next.
 
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