Covering The Wood

The repeat topic of whether or not to cover the wood stacks is not the focal point of this Thread, so if you are tempted to go into THAT debate again, I ask you to kindly stifle the temptation.

This is just a blog about the way "I" chose to do it. That's all.

I kept the wood uncovered all summer, ..........and now that the leaves are falling (and we were concerned about Hurricane Earl, which never materialized), I decided to at least put the tarps on the TOP of the stacks.

Here's a couple of pics of the current situation.......I'll pull the sides down when winter hits:

-Soupy1957

was at a garage sale last weekend and scored a piece or rubber roofing material. it cost me $2 and it is about 12'x about 6'. it replaces the ratty pieces of plastic that were on top of one of the stacks . it should last a long time. i use bricks to hold down the top covering mainly because they are here and not used for anything else. have a great weekend, pete

I cover if we are expecting allot of rain or snow.

Why you would want to put the sides down when winter gets here. That is one of the worst things to do and is totally unnecessary. Are you afraid the snow might hit this side of the piles? Even if rain hits the sides of the piles it will not harm anything. It dries in a matter of hours.

After I posted the above, I thought about the recent rain we had. In 2 days we received 1.3" of rain. I recall passing a couple of our wood piles and seeing they were wet. The reason I noticed is that I intend to take some of this wood along on our trip. I figured I'd wait until the ends of the wood was dry. Two hours later I passed the wood piles and everything was very dry. No, it doesn't take long.

Right on target !


The repeat topic of whether or not to cover the wood stacks is not the focal point of this Thread, so if you are tempted to go into THAT debate again, I ask you to kindly stifle the temptation.
This is just a blog about the way “I” chose to do it. That’s all.
I kept the wood uncovered all summer, ..........and now that the leaves are falling (and we were concerned about Hurricane Earl, which never materialized), I decided to at least put the tarps on the TOP of the stacks.

Can't resist the temptation. Unable to stifle. :lol:

The practices based on the theories of seasoning are many. Except for using tarps over stacks, they all work OK. Excuse the unstifled tempation.

Practice #1:
Do as little as you can. Leave the splits in a rough pile where you split. No stacks. Leave uncovered ALL the time. Use pallets, crushed stone, concrete base. Sweep snow off when needed. Works well for some.
Easy, but................Please, no Holz whatever.
Some where, some have said that the rain displaces the more viscous sap. Possible. Who knows.

Practice #2:
Nice, neat, easy on the eyes stacks covered by solid material ( ply scraps, metal/fibreglass/asphalt roofing ) . Never those disposable, 1 year cheap blue/green/black tarps ( UV )on top or over the sides to trap mold, critters, water, snakes. They disintegrate, blow, are ugly.
Those piles do give you the chance to stand back and admire your handiwork again, and again, and ....

Practice #3:
Build it. If you use wood for heating, build a wood shed or two. Google for simple, quick, inexpensive plans.

Tempation gone.

Rain won't, but total submersion in water for a very long time could do that if the tree is freshly felled and bucked. But who'd want to? There's BTUs in that sap once it's dried out. The idea is to get the water out, not the sugars.

I do nothing except to stack it with a much air movement as I can get on it. Cover it? Never have, never will. But I won't make a recommendation to follow my way or get into a debate about it so as to honor the request in the OP. ;-)

I cover mine now in the fall. So that when it snows I can scrape it off as my wood sits on a platform.. so with 7 green cords I don't wanna take a chance of it breaking/collapsing..... also when the leaves come down don't want them in the stacks
My winter stash comes up to the house I tarp it but try to leave a side open .... I hate when ice gets on the wood

I think I'll do it the way I've been. It seems to work for me. For the few times I cover it ther are no problems.

Like Jeremiah Johnson said after building his 2,500 sq. ft. cabin BY HAND, "It'll have to do." :lol:

Love your "tarp," Rick.

I cover mine in late fall, (yep sides down) to keep it from getting burried in snow, no problems and been doing it this way for a long time.

Me too!

Ja, me too except I only cover the top, not the sides. Never been much of a problem.

that works nicely...
I bury mine...

Soupy I think that's one of the neatest applications to cover the rows that I've ever seen....esp the overhang. Nice work.

Im not covering mine. If they call for snow I'll just load up the front porch with a few weeks worth of splits. I've ready too many post about people bitching about tarps blowing away and ripping apart lol.

I keep my stacks uncovered, I think they look better and I do not have to hassle with snow and ice on the tarps. I then move some in the basement and some to a wood rack I built with a roof over it that is close to the house. It is nice to know when it gets cold and snowy I have about a month's worth of wood close and dry and no hassle with the stacks. I am thinking about moving some under my deck after I put a corrugated roof over the piles. But the tarps I found to get tough to deal with when the ice comes.

I top cover from September on...until the wood runs out

Mine are covered too. Tops and about a foot down the sides only with tarps and bungie cords. This is the time in the fall that we get alot of rain. If a tropical storm or hurricane is coming - I don't see a problem with covering it. I just don't want soaked wood later when I need it and have to wait to dry it out.

I don't understand this stacks uncovered thing. When I left mine uncovered and it rained, water got trapped under the semi-loose bark and made burning a PITA. And that trapple moisture would not dry in just a day or two or three. Perhaps its the catalyic converter in my stove that was the problem. I need bone dry wood and that means covered months before burning.

Here's how I do it . . . in keeping with Soupy's "rules" for this thread.

First year . . . wood is cut, split and stacked outside. Left uncovered, but up on pallets to season for a year or so.

Second year . . . wood goes into the woodshed . . . but isn't used unless Hell freezes over and I run out of my primo wood . . . although this hasn't happened yet.

Third year . . . I take out each piece of wood and fondly recall our time together . . . from the time I cut down the tree to the last moment we shared as I gingerly stacked it in the woodshed . . . and then I unceremoniously toss it into the Oslo and enjoy the heat.

Its uncovered for the seasoning process not before it is taken inside to burn, mine is uncovered until late fall, and I do not cover wet or green wood it has to be dry.