Another row gone

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LLigetfa

Minister of Fire
Nov 9, 2008
7,360
NW Ontario
My woodshed is divided into two halves and I usually load it in five sections. On the two ends I have two rows each and in the middle I have three rows all of which run N/S. Each N/S row is about a cord. I then in-fill between the ends and the middle with rows running E/W. These in-fill sections are about 3 cord each if I fill it right up to the rafters. I don't crib end the in-fill sections so they need the N/S rows to hold them up which means the in-fill needs to come out first.

Using a bit of ASCII art, it looks like this:

= =||||= = =||||= =
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= =||||= = =||||= =
= =||||= = =||||= =

I found that if I completely fill the woodshed, depending on how I take it back out, I may end up with wood left over that then gets trapped behind the new wood I put back in because the shed only has two access points from one side. I tend then not to fill it completely but just put about as much as I think I will use in one season on each side, so two years worth total instead of the three years worth it can hold.

I try to take from the centre rows last as the middle most row could be assigned to either year and is reacheable from either side without disturbing the adjacent row holding up the non-cribbed in-fill on the other side. Invariably, I seem to always misjudge how much wood I will use and end up either trapping older wood in behind newer or have to move and restack it on the other side. Remember that I keep two years worth in the shed so what I am taking from at the time has already been "finishing" in the shed for over a year after the time it spent outdoors.

Anyway... it looks like I misjudged again this year. I took more from the centre section and have a full row left on the end section. That means I will have used at least one cord less than anticipated this Winter. I will not be putting any new wood in the shed for some time as there is more than enough there for next Winter and I don't feel like moving the left-overs from one side to the other. I need to completely empty the shed at some point anyway to do some remediation work on it as the frost is jacking the posts.

The 10 cord I'm bucking up now, will all have to be stacked outside where it will stay until the Fall of 2013 before getting moved to the shed. I guess I will need to scrounge up some more pallets and clear a new spot for the stacks. It will also mean that the wood I will burn in 2013/2014 will not have spent a year being "finished" in the shed, having recently come from the outdoor stacks.

Maybe I should build a new long and narrow shed like what Carb_Liberator has and solve all my inventory rotation problems and not have to move and restack as much.
 
Any way to modify the existing shed to allow more access points? Cheers!
 
Once the in-filled areas are emptied, they form corridors to gain access to the rest of it. What I have essentially on the side of access is a door as shown in the pic. Given the layout, more doors wouldn't help.

The modification was so that I would not have to build crib ends. The N/S wood stacks slot right in.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vGJ_wF2HPhA/SlErgxC8TsI/AAAAAAAAAbM/C5dRE30xRVY/s640/100_0359.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-R29spuZGVdA/SlErqzOjk5I/AAAAAAAAAbU/9er6dAhYo9I/s640/100_0360.JPG
 
Your build appears sturdy enough to use the walls to stack up against. Why not straight row stacks with the middle being consumed first to create a walk way splitting the building into a left and right "half"?
 
That is esentially what I have with two walkways, one on each half. Maybe my ASCII art isn't clear enough.
 
LLigetfa said:
That is esentially what I have with two walkways, one on each half. Maybe my ASCII art isn't clear enough.

Ya, I must not be getting a clear pic of your issue. To me it looks pretty straight forwards. 2012 on the left 2013 on the right. Refill 2012 after the burning season is over. Rinse and repeat.
 
Jags said:
LLigetfa said:
That is esentially what I have with two walkways, one on each half. Maybe my ASCII art isn't clear enough.

Ya, I must not be getting a clear pic of your issue. To me it looks pretty straight forwards. 2012 on the left 2013 on the right. Refill 2012 after the burning season is over. Rinse and repeat.
Ja, that was the plan except the other way around... 2012 on the right and 2013 on the left. I didn't follow it to a T though, in so far that what is left over would get locked behind the newer wood I refill with. I should have left a full cord in the middle section but what I have is a full cord on the outer row. I know I can take wood from the outer row to top up the row in the middle and then continue to take from the outer row to burn, but I struggle with a bit of vanity.

That outer row is visible from the house and leaving it intact makes the shed look full. For years I had a cord of Aspen/Poplar in that outer row and finally burned it at the end of one season. Maybe I should cut a bunch of splits about 2" long and make a permanent curtain for that side! LOL

Now I ask you, doesn't it look better full than empty?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a6FKoaqC9D0/TSne1Lu9lTI/AAAAAAAAAsI/LZ3ji-3n9jA/s640/100_0601.JPG
 
LLigetfa said:
Maybe I should build a new long and narrow shed like what Carb_Liberator has and solve all my inventory rotation problems and not have to move and restack as much.

That was my thought process too.
I used C_L's basic design (I consider it the "gold standard" for wood shed design) when I built it. Old shed became dry storage (it had access to wood issues & no air circulation.)
My plan is 1 year outside in single rows, then to the shed for 2 years.
Shed is 3 sections each holding 5 or so cords. Long & narrow, roughly 8' X 48' about 7' high.

Hope to get the "plan" fully in place this or next year. Lots of work to get 2 & 3 years ahead.
Thinking about your method of getting a log load to reduce the fuel & time to get there.

Nice shed by the way :)
Full is great but empty means you got lots of heat for the work you put into filling it. Both are good :)
 
LLigetfa said:
Now I ask you, doesn't it look better full than empty?

They all do, LL. They ALL do.
 
I love that wood crib......and yes it looks great when full, all those little splits nestled snugly with that two feet of snow on the roof and ground......
 
what about putting identical doors straight across from the existing doors? That way, next year you could use the wood on the opposite side of the shed while the side you used last year/year before was restacked/seasoning? Just a thought.......
 
Scotty Overkill said:
I love that wood crib......and yes it looks great when full, all those little splits nestled snugly with that two feet of snow on the roof and ground......
Ja, and those little wisps of snow at the interections of the lattice. That pic was taken in January 2011 and the wood you see there is what I'm burning now. It was put into the shed in the Fall of 2009.

Since the in-filled section is the first to go, putting a door on the other side wouldn't help. I don't think I can improve on how I lay up my stash given what I have. I need to remediate the shed sooner or later and for that I will have to empty it.

If I borrowed from Carb_Lib's design, I would build the shed only about 5 feet deep (3 rows of wood) and 50 feet long (5 sections each 10 feet long). Then I would stack the wood in fresh split and not have to restack.
 
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