Hey all, just looking for suggestions, this will be my first full winter burning wood. I have a few cord stacked outside and I’ll be bringing as much as I can in after the first freeze, I have a lot of space in my dry basement. The remainder will stay outside until I need to bring more in. I leave the wood mostly uncovered in the warmer seasons outside but I’ll cover it before the snow starts flying. I had it in my mind to just tarp the tops of the stacks to keep snow off, now I’m thinking something more solid like plywood might be better to I can basically leave it in place and pull wood out from under it when needed. Is one cover better than another? What do you guys do with your outside wood in the winter? Thanks!
Cover Suggestions for Burning Season?
- Thread starter emsflyer84
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I use salvaged roofing tin weighed down with rocks and old cement blocks. I leave a bit of an overhang around all sides. In my mind anyway, this allows maximum airflow while still protecting my stacks from rain and snow. If I overhang the tin 4-5 inches, the faces of my stacks rarely get wet.
My stacks are structured that I can pull from the middle and leave the cross stacks at either end to hold the tin up. When I can commit the time to taking in 2-3 cartloads at one time, I'll remove the tin and take down the end stacks.
My stacks are structured that I can pull from the middle and leave the cross stacks at either end to hold the tin up. When I can commit the time to taking in 2-3 cartloads at one time, I'll remove the tin and take down the end stacks.
Tarps definitely leave much to be desired, especially when you are chipping away chunks of ice to be able to lift the tarp off the corner of the stack. I found even a piece of plywood with a tarp on top was better since the plywood prevents the tarp from sagging between stacks. Ultimately if you are serious about burning wood, you should think about building a wood shed at some point. It just makes life so much easier. By the way, if your area gets any significant amount of rain during the spring/summer it's best to keep your stacks top covered all the time. It really speeds up drying.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Many of us like to have two places to store wood:
1. Processing / aging area: this is where you split and stack the wood to season for 3 years. Preferably away from the house, due to bugs, critters, mess, etc.
2. Your daily usage: Usually a covered porch or patio area, where you might just store 1 - 4 weeks worth, and can retrieve in your bedroom slippers and bathrobe.
Now, on the processing area, I went with tarps and plastic sheeting for my first few years, until I got a good handle on my usage and process flow. There were lots of moving of pallets and experimenting with layout, until I worked out the perfect system for my own usage and equipment. I see too many recommend going right to building a shed, and have seen too many "would've / should've" posts here from people who built a shed before really having a few years to understand their needs. I'd recommend at least 3 years before you think about building a shed.
So, in the meantime, plastic sheeting works, but must be replaced every season. The UV from the sun will cause it to break down and split after one year. Tarps can last a bit longer, but ultimate suffer the same fate. If you're lucky enough to come into some free corrugated or rubber roofing, that seems to be the preferred approach for everyone without a shed. Plywood has some of the same benefits, but can be awful heavy to arrange atop a tall stack, at least in full sheets, unless you're staying thin.
1. Processing / aging area: this is where you split and stack the wood to season for 3 years. Preferably away from the house, due to bugs, critters, mess, etc.
2. Your daily usage: Usually a covered porch or patio area, where you might just store 1 - 4 weeks worth, and can retrieve in your bedroom slippers and bathrobe.
Now, on the processing area, I went with tarps and plastic sheeting for my first few years, until I got a good handle on my usage and process flow. There were lots of moving of pallets and experimenting with layout, until I worked out the perfect system for my own usage and equipment. I see too many recommend going right to building a shed, and have seen too many "would've / should've" posts here from people who built a shed before really having a few years to understand their needs. I'd recommend at least 3 years before you think about building a shed.
So, in the meantime, plastic sheeting works, but must be replaced every season. The UV from the sun will cause it to break down and split after one year. Tarps can last a bit longer, but ultimate suffer the same fate. If you're lucky enough to come into some free corrugated or rubber roofing, that seems to be the preferred approach for everyone without a shed. Plywood has some of the same benefits, but can be awful heavy to arrange atop a tall stack, at least in full sheets, unless you're staying thin.
Yes, emphasis on *think about* building a wood shed. Everyone must suffer the tarps for a few years to fully appreciate the need and the benefits that a future woodshed will bring.
I would not bring as much as I can because I had room for it. Even dry wood contains a lot of moisture that can add to the basement's humidity and promote dampness, mildew and mold. Another issue is that there are lots of critters living in and under the bark and by storing the wood indoors, they will awaken from their long winter nap and be active in your home. I recommend you bring more more than a day's use into the home at a time.
I think a lot comes down to what can you afford to do. and what materials you have available to you. I would love to build a wood shed, but since I don't even have a tool shed, I would build one of those first. I am using a bit of everything right now. I have some wood stacked under an old Tree Fort I build for the kids when they were younger, I have some covered with thick Rubber roofing material my Bro-in-law gave me, Some is under tarps, I have some more under Dollar Store Shower curtains. (yes they have held up for over a year) I have one stack that has plywood scraps with the shower curtains on top. My wife already thinks I go overboard with 'Wood' related stuff, so I need to do low key upgrades. I had built a removable wood ramp/platform to help get my in-laws in/out of our house for the holidays. Now that they have both have passed, I will probably disassemble it and use the materials to Upgrade my wood coverings.
Im sorry to hear about your lose. I truely am, Im in the same boat. I use an old plastic garbage shed, but no roof , so its tarped. It sucks kinda, but gets a lot of air. I have wood under my porch too, and on pallets, with tarps. Just brush the snow off as it comes, itll work fine.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
No need for all caps on "OLD", Bill! My house was already older than your house is now, back when your house was built! But I still don't like bugs in the house, and see no reason to invite them. Wood stays outside, until it's carried in and fed directly to the stove.
Here's where I store up to a cord of wood at the house, the rest is kept about 300 feet away, where I process and store the bulk of my wood. This keeps the critters and bugs far from the house. The door you see in the photo below was installed 1734. Porch above was added 1775.
Caw
Minister of Fire
Ashful
Minister of Fire
lol... half that! I was doing nearly 10 cords per year for awhile, but I think I did only 6 cords last year, which felt much more sane. Assuming this winter will be a little cooler than last, probably more than 6 cords, but I will aim to never get back to 10 per year.
Caw
Minister of Fire
Yeah I'm expecting to use a bit more this year too. Last year was very light. I'm expecting 3.5 to 4 cords total burned.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I don't need 0F and wind, but I sure would like to see some snow this year. Last year was a total bust for the east coast.
I suspect the guys out west are hoping for the opposite. If I remember correctly, they got hammered last year.
I suspect the guys out west are hoping for the opposite. If I remember correctly, they got hammered last year.
