How would you stack this wood?

[lugoismad]

My moms boyfriend is selling me his wood furnace to heat my house with, and helping me get some wood. He buys cutoffs from a local lumber mill, and can get a whole trailer load for $75. They are roughly 4"x6" and 1 to 2 feet long. He's been using them to heat his house with for years with the furnace he's selling me, so I know that'll work great.

He uses 3 trailer loads to heat with all winter, and my house is less than half the size of his, so I'm going to get 2 to play it safe.

However, he just throws them in a section of his unfinished basement to cure for the summer. I don't have a basement, and I have 2 cars in my garage, so I need to stack them in the backyard. I live in town, so I want to make it look as clean and neat as possible, because I don't want complaints from my neighbors. I just moved here and don't want enemies.

He claims he tried stacking it one year and they didn't dry out well enough to burn good, so he's always just piled them ever since. But I want to stack them so I don't kill all the grass in my backyard, I want to stack them on the sidewalk along the back of my house and next to my deck. How would you stack wood like this so that it drys properly?

Thanks!

 

[mtarbert]

First of all....if you can get wood like that at a decent price...buy at least two years worth at a time. Then get yourself some pallets and a lose cover. Split the cutoffs and stack them neatly and as high as you can. Just cover the top and a couple of feet on the sides. You should be comfy all winter

 

[lugoismad]

First of all....if you can get wood like that at a decent price...buy at least two years worth at a time. Then get yourself some pallets and a lose cover. Split the cutoffs and stack them neatly and as high as you can. Just cover the top and a couple of feet on the sides. You should be comfy all winter

How it works is, you leave your trailer at the place, and they dump all their cutoffs and scrap in it till its full. Then you come pick it back up in a week or two.

So I take it the pallets allow air under it? And should I use a black cover so it heats up more?

Yeah, I plan on getting as much as I can. He only gets enough to heat for a year, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Theres no sense in not getting enough to heat for the next few years, with as cheap as it is.

This summer I plan on working my ass off at work and getting some Good Overtime in, and buying a $1000 beater pickup and a trailer, so I can go get stuff like this myself.

 

[Burd]

Can you stack them in a cross pattern Lay down one row with at least one inch gaps in between each peaice laying your boards The opposit way with on inch gaps. The bigger your gaps are the more air you will get. Also try rotating your rows 6" Then your 4" then 6" Your wood is going to be very flat and squared
so you should be able to stack your wood pretty high. Keep in mind the more air you can get around the wood the better it will dry Maybe cover the top row when it's going to rain other wise let the sun and wind get to it . Do you have any kind of idea of the moister levels in them end cuts. If you could find that out you could make your stack tighter.From what I have read you would like to have levels around 20% look around your nabor hood see if any one else is burning.
In this world it only take on ass hole to rouin a good thing.
Goood Luck with the new heater

 

[lugoismad]

Can you stack them in a cross pattern Lay down one row with at least one inch gaps in between each peaice laying your boards The opposit way with on inch gaps. The bigger your gaps are the more air you will get. Also try rotating your rows 6" Then your 4" then 6" Your wood is going to be very flat and squared
so you should be able to stack your wood pretty high. Keep in mind the more air you can get around the wood the better it will dry Maybe cover the top row when it's going to rain other wise let the sun and wind get to it . Do you have any kind of idea of the moister levels in them end cuts. If you could find that out you could make your stack tighter.From what I have read you would like to have levels around 20% look around your nabor hood see if any one else is burning.
In this world it only take on ass hole to rouin a good thing.
Goood Luck with the new heater

Thanks man. I think I'll get some pallets and stack them like you suggest on top of the pallets.

I don't know if anyone else burns around here, I moved in after it got warmer.

 

[Burd]

Look around back yard for other wood piles or stainless chimenys coming out of roof tops most times them chimenys are conected to a burner.It become a habit looking at other people homes to see if there burning our not. I guess I had worst habit

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree to stack it outdoors. Do not try to stack it really tight as you need air circulation. Just stack it tight enough so it stays stacked. However, DO NOT cover that wood this summer, even when it rains. Wait until fall to cover the wood and then, only the top and not the sides. What you want is for moisture to evaporate. With it covered, that stops most of the evaporation.

I do not understand why some guys cover their wood pile when it is going to rain and then uncover it. Even if you get 3" of rain, that moisture quickly dries off and won't soak into the wood.

So don't cover the wood during the summer (unless you are in the Pacific NW or spots of it). Just let it be. Then late fall or before fall rains begin go ahead and cover it and leave it covered through the winter or until the wood is gone.

btw, we sometimes leave some wood uncovered for over a year with no harm done! At present we cover the wood piles with old steel roofing which does a decent job and is easy to handle. We also use some tarps but that is not the preferred way to cover wood.

 

[brooktrout]

Stacking cutoffs is a pain in the butt, because they are dimensional and the flat sides against each other REALLY slows down seasoning. So, the crisscross method is the way to go, but it is time consuming.

 

[JustWood]

I burn bocking and tie cutoffs from my mill also. I have found that they need to sit in a pile (unstacked) for about 2 years .Then I move them into the woodshed (stacked ) around march or april of the spring before it is burned. If you stack them uncovered ,rain will soak down through the pile and NEVER dry out between the tightly stacked flat pieces.

Get ALL the wood you can NOW. Many mills and pallet shops are shut down or on cut back hours. I shut the mill down the first of the year and all my firewood advertising has been pulled from the papers. Any inventory or contracted firewood is only being sold to established customers on my list. I have alot of potential new customers pissed off at me because I can't fill their order but I have to take care of the people who have helped build my business over the last 20 years.

Just some friendly advice. Get all ( 2-3 years supply-don't worry about the neighbors) you can at that price because once Joe Public sees heating oil at $5 or $6/gal. and everybody jumps on the woodburning wagon the price of wood will go up or the mill may be shut down.

 

[lugoismad]

I burn bocking and tie cutoffs from my mill also. I have found that they need to sit in a pile (unstacked) for about 2 years .Then I move them into the woodshed (stacked ) around march or april of the spring before it is burned. If you stack them uncovered ,rain will soak down through the pile and NEVER dry out between the tightly stacked flat pieces.

Get ALL the wood you can NOW. Many mills and pallet shops are shut down or on cut back hours. I shut the mill down the first of the year and all my firewood advertising has been pulled from the papers. Any inventory or contracted firewood is only being sold to established customers on my list. I have alot of potential new customers pissed off at me because I can't fill their order but I have to take care of the people who have helped build my business over the last 20 years.

Just some friendly advice. Get all ( 2-3 years supply-don't worry about the neighbors) you can at that price because once Joe Public sees heating oil at $5 or $6/gal. and everybody jumps on the woodburning wagon the price of wood will go up or the mill may be shut down.

My moms boyfriend will only help me get the one years supply with his truck and trailer. But I'm looking for a truck on ebay, theres an F150 I've been keeping my eye on, that I'm going to buy for myself.

I'm also not too concerned about not being able to get wood, where I work at theres all the free wood in the world, it just has to be cut and split.

 

[Todd]

I use to burn something similar that I picked up at a pallet manufacture. They came in 4"-6" blocks anywhere from 12" to 20 " long. I use to stack it criscross with gaps between each piece. I bought it in April and it burned pretty well by Oct. It seemed to dry well because there was no bark at all. As long as there are some gaps between each piece and a good 6" between rows it should be fine.

 

[RedRanger]

I use to burn something similar that I picked up at a pallet manufacture. They came in 4"-6" blocks anywhere from 12" to 20 " long. I use to stack it criscross with gaps between each piece. I bought it in April and it burned pretty well by Oct. It seemed to dry well because there was no bark at all. As long as there are some gaps between each piece and a good 6" between rows it should be fine.

Yep- if ya don`t criss-cross it , will take forever to dry. Tightly packed takes forever for the moisture to evaporate. I refuse to burn that stuff anymore cept for the shoulder seasons. My 5 cords of that stuff is just laying out under tarps-which I uncover when the wind blows and the sun shines.

Unlike real cordwood, it will really soak up the moisture if ya let it get wet. (no bark to shed the moisture). In the woodshed, I intersperse it with my splits and rounds, works for me. :cheese:

And in Oct. I mostly just go and get it from under the tarps and burn it like that until the real winter comes. Now, of course, being retired, I have the time to feed the insert every couple of hours when I choose to burn that stuff exclusively. But really, for the biggest bang for your buck you should mix it with your splits and rounds./

 

[Todd]

The only problem with this stuff is you never know what kind of wood your getting. When I got this wood it was all different kinds of hardwood, so they say, and you couldn't tell what kind because there was no bark. I think most was soft Maple and I could tell there was plenty of pine thrown in there as well. But at $35 per 4'x4' pallet it wasn't that bad a deal.

 

[lugoismad]

Theres 3 average truckloads.

I don't think I'm going to stack it, just tarp it like that. I seperated it into big and small pieces. But they are too oddly shaped to be able to stack easily.

Next year I'll make a gravel pad to put them on instead of ruining my grass.

I plan on getting 15 - 20 before the end of summer.

 

[RedRanger]

. I live in town, so I want to make it look as clean and neat as possible, because I don't want complaints from my neighbors. I just moved here and don't want enemies.



Thanks![/quote]

Tarping is best with that stuff. Hint-spend a couple of extra bucks and go for a green tarp that kinda blends in.. Don`t get the ugly blue ones. :coolsmile:

 

[lugoismad]

Tarping is best with that stuff. Hint-spend a couple of extra bucks and go for a green tarp that kinda blends in.. Don`t get the ugly blue ones. :coolsmile:

Good idea. I made an attempt on stacking it, but barely made a dent in the 3 truckloads in 2 hours of stacking. Its not like split wood where you just kinda toss it into a rough stack.

 

[gpcollen1]

Why not just make a bin out of pallets. One on bottom and 4 sides, then just toss them in. Make it bigger if you want or make multiple bins...

 

[lugoismad]

Why not just make a bin out of pallets. One on bottom and 4 sides, then just toss them in. Make it bigger if you want or make multiple bins...

I think theres a bit more there than that. However I am thinking about going and getting some 5 foot tall wood fence sections from lowes, once I get all the wood to the house. I can just put a wood fence around it to box it in and make it less of an eye sore.

I put another half hour into stacking today. Theres no way I'm going to be able to stack 15 truck loads of this stuff without going nuts. Its not like firewood where I can just kinda toss it onto the stack.

 

[mikeathens]

I burn a lot of that stuff, too. I pick through the pile and get all oak, hickory, cherry, and sugar maple. Costs $25/ton, so with my dakota and 5'X10' trailer, typically get 2 tons. Takes about an hour for me to load a piece at a time when picking through it.

I back up to my timber frame barn (designated wood shed) and chuck them into the corner. No stacking. They will never dry. Tried it my first year of burning.

They are dry enough to burn after a year when loosely piled.

In your case, the gravel pad or pallets would be the way to go, and just pile them on. A scrap piece of sheetmetal might be good over the top, but no tarp.

If this is something you're going to stick with, what about a simple structure - 6x6 or 4x4 treated posts with a metal shed roof. You would just need to place headers on each end, lay your rafters across, purlins, and then a nice metal roof. Open sides. Shouldn't cost too much to do, and makes it really nice to not have to knock snow off in the winter.

 

[lugoismad]

I burn a lot of that stuff, too. I pick through the pile and get all oak, hickory, cherry, and sugar maple. Costs $25/ton, so with my dakota and 5'X10' trailer, typically get 2 tons. Takes about an hour for me to load a piece at a time when picking through it.

I back up to my timber frame barn (designated wood shed) and chuck them into the corner. No stacking. They will never dry. Tried it my first year of burning.

They are dry enough to burn after a year when loosely piled.

In your case, the gravel pad or pallets would be the way to go, and just pile them on. A scrap piece of sheetmetal might be good over the top, but no tarp.

If this is something you're going to stick with, what about a simple structure - 6x6 or 4x4 treated posts with a metal shed roof. You would just need to place headers on each end, lay your rafters across, purlins, and then a nice metal roof. Open sides. Shouldn't cost too much to do, and makes it really nice to not have to knock snow off in the winter.

I have a 2 car garage and only plan on keeping one vehicle in it and using the rest as a workshop. I'll keep enough for a week or two in there, so I don't have to go knock snow off my wood at 2am when I want to stoke the fire up.

 

[Ken45]

Is this kiln dried wood, or rough cut unseasoned? Everyone talkd about seasoning it, but if the wood is used for nice products (unlike making pallets), then it's very likely already seasoned and all you have to do is keep it dry!

In that case, I would say stack it nicely on pallets and cover it. If it is unseasoned wood, then you need to dry it out (season it), But if it's already kiln dry, then all you need to do it to keep it from getting wet.

Ken

 

[lugoismad]

Is this kiln dried wood, or rough cut unseasoned? Everyone talkd about seasoning it, but if the wood is used for nice products (unlike making pallets), then it's very likely already seasoned and all you have to do is keep it dry!

In that case, I would say stack it nicely on pallets and cover it. If it is unseasoned wood, then you need to dry it out (season it), But if it's already kiln dry, then all you need to do it to keep it from getting wet.

Ken

its pallet wood and unseasoned. About half the pieces are visibly green. If I make a wood shed for it, I'll need to somehow mount a box fan in there, so theres some constant air flow drying it out.