My stacks are off the wall

[SolarAndWood]

I stack 20' wide and 10' high against a block wall on a stone base. I intentionally bias the stack into the wall. For some reason, this year the top of the stack is a foot off the wall at the top. The only thing different is it was stacked much sooner after being dropped/bucked/split than usual. Is this uneven drying or am I missing something?

I've got two rows in so far and am going to try and push it back against the wall with the loader but I doubt its going to work. Restacking is probably the only thing I hate more than stacking.

I am thinking I might make a pallet shelf about 6' up to stabilize the stacks. Anyone try something like this?

 

[smokinj]

I Hate Stacking!

 

[SolarAndWood]

Heard that Jay. I see a windrow in my future.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Definitely the drying process can cause this. It is one reason when I stack outdoor the stacks stay at 4'. After the wood dries and we put it in the shed then I'll stack as high as I can reach.

 

[thewoodlands]

Heard that Jay. I see a windrow in my future.

Get the level out! :cheese:


zap

 

[LLigetfa]

In your case, it could be frost heaving and not so much uneven shrinkage that is the cause. Heat from the foundation can cause moisture to go through freeze/thaw/freeze cycles. That is why frost heaving is worse when there is some melt.

I stack over 9 feet high in my shed on a concrete slab so I know that frost heaving is not an issue for me. I do however see more shrinkage on the exposed face which can cause the stacks to lean.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I do however see more shrinkage on the exposed face which can cause the stacks to lean.

That is sure what it looks like. The whole 20' width is pretty uniform with the error getting worse as you go up. You probably wouldn't notice it if the stacks were 4'.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Heard that Jay. I see a windrow in my future.

Get the level out! :cheese:


zap

Haven't figured out what I am going to do with the 25K pounds of wood being held up by the ceiling of the shed. Hopefully the side of the splits facing the wall will catch up in the drying process and the stack will replumb itself :coolsmirk:

Maybe I'll try strapping a sheet of plywood across the face of the loader and see if that works.

 

[loon]

cool setup solar ;-) just dont let the foot slip off the clutch eh

 

[SolarAndWood]

I doubt my little tractor could do anything more than scuff the siding. Underneath is a block building all the up to the old flat roof I set the trusses on.

 

[LLigetfa]

Judging by your other thread, How soon is too soon to stack? A shrinkage thread… I take it this stack finally fell over. Stacked in January and the one-sided shrinkage toppled it? The nay sayers that say wood doesn't dry in Winter would be quick to call BS on this one.

 

[SolarAndWood]

The nay sayers that say wood doesn't dry in Winter would be quick to call BS on this one.

Yeah, I learned 2 lessons with this one. One, shrinkage does matter when you are going 10'. Second, given some sun and a lot of wind, wood definitely dries in the winter. This was fresh cut just before Thanksgiving, sat in the heap under many feet of snow for 2 months and then was stacked under the roof for a month.