Staging wood next to stove

[woodmiser]

Can you all show and/or tell what you use to hold your staged wood next to your stoves? I am going to have to get something to put the wood into that looks decent and doesn't spill dirt all over the floor every time I touch the wood.

 

[bluedogz]

I have a small rack that the Mrs. bought at some Country Ripoff store that holds a dozen splits or so. All the rest is outside the door to the stove room, about 8' from the stove. A canvas log carrier holds the dirt as the wood travels.

Also, we keep a $2 dustpan next to the stove for a quick sweep-up that can be tossed right into the firebox.

 

[basswidow]

I have a really big rubbermaid bin from Home Depot that works great. It's the same color as my stone hearth and it holds a full 24 hours of splits. Any dust, dirt, bark, doesn't go on the floor - it's in the tub. Keeps the Hardwood floors neat and scratch free.

 

[onetracker]

I have a really big rubbermaid bin from Home Depot that works great. It's the same color as my stone hearth and it holds a full 24 hours of splits. Any dust, dirt, bark, doesn't go on the floor - it's in the tub. Keeps the Hardwood floors neat and scratch free.

same

 

[Fod01]

Galvanized 5.5 gallon oval tub. Fugly. Holds the next reload. I'm hoping to put together some classy looking woodbox in the near future.

 

[Constrictor]

i keep a brand new full size trash can with lid on it. i spray off bugspray around the rim every few days before i put the lid on. There are always a few bugs in the wood.

 

[Wood Duck]

I have a big circular rack made of wrought iron. I got it for $1 at a garage sale slightly broken and never fixedx it. When it has wood in it you can't tell that one of the feet is cracked and wobbles when the rack is empty. It looks nice and holds enough wood for about two or three days, but it does nothing to control the bits of bark and dirt that fall off the wood. It would be a mess over carpet, but sitting on the tile it isn't too big a problem because it cleans up easily.

 

[hemlock]

I've got a metal tube type thing that holds a little under 1/2 a face cord. In this weather, it holds enough wood for about a week or so. Having one that holds a decent amount lets the wood dry out nicely by the fire. If I get a chance, I'll post a pic. It would be fairly easy to rig something up.

 

[CountryBoy19]

My wife, bless her heart... wants the mess on the floor... She wanted a rack that let the mess get on the floor, but was up off the ground high enough so she could sweep under it...

We have one of those big 40" round hoop things. Bought it for $20 a big lots. It's cheap, and crappy, but you wouldn't know that just by looking at it from a distance. We're happy. It will easily hold a 2 week supply of shoulder season wood. Not sure how long that will last once we get into the heart of winter though...

 

[zzr7ky]

I use a few 5 gallon plastic buckets. My daughters are able to manage them without too much trouble.

They work great unless the dog decides to 'rescue' a small round for toy duty...

Mike

 

[firefighterjake]

Woodbox built out of scrap tongue and groove boards. Black cat not included.

 

[velvetfoot]

Looks real nice!

My wife also goes along with this carrier. It's high enough so that it be swept underneath. It's very convenient to bring in wood from the garage.

 

[nate379]

I have a wood box about the size of the one with the cat near it. I put wheels under it, wheel it out to the front porch, fill it up, wheel it back to the stove. I put a towel in the bottom of teh box to stop melting snow from leaking on the floor. Holds 2-3 days of wood.

 

[DanCorcoran]

"My wife also goes along with this carrier. "

So, what're you asking for the two of them?

 

[PapaDave]

velvetfoot, I've looked at that one. Would work real well for me. Where'd you get yours?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wood stays outdoors until ready to be put into stove.

 

[Waulie]

I just built a simple rack with 2X's. It holds about a day and half worth. It is high enough to sweep under. Frankly, a broom and dust pan near the wood stove is a necessity anyway, IMO. I spent $9.00 on the wood and it looks like it. But, when filled with firewood I find the simplicity beautiful.

 

[jlow]

Store mine in the other fireplace I use for grillin' every once in a while.

 

[velvetfoot]

PapaDave, I got my cart from Harbor Freight, but they don't sell them anymore.
They sell it at Northern Tool: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200362039_200362039?cm_ite=172916&cm_pla=Logging>Logging Accessories&cm_cat=Nextag&cm_ven=Aggregates

 

[Gary_602z]

Store mine in the other fireplace I use for grillin' every once in a while.

Did you know your dog is not moving? :lol:

Gary

 

[blacktail]

Big plastic tub. $4 at Walmart. I got two of them. One sits by the hearth, the other is in the garage only a few feet away.

 

[Beer Belly]

Our wood is brought into the garage and stacked on a pallet....about 2 weeks worth, but I never let it get less than a 5 day supply....they also get wire brushed before stacking....brought up to the stove, and kept by the Hearth in a Canvas Carrier from Christmas Tree Shop for $4. We do get a little mess, but like some here, just sweep it up and throw it in the firebox

 

[woodmiser]

I've been using a canvas carrier also. I slide it into a wicker halfround basket next to the fireplace. I am looking at a better idea. I'm beginning to think a nice wood box and use the plastic bins. That way the bins lift out of the box with the mess and you can have another ready to go. The box will look nicer than just a big plastic storage container.

 

[snowleopard]

Can you all show and/or tell what you use to hold your staged wood next to your stoves? I am going to have to get something to put the wood into that looks decent and doesn't spill dirt all over the floor every time I touch the wood.

I took a set of Stack-it Brackets and 2x4's last year and made a temporary rack that fit in the corner of my sunroom, about 6' from my stove. Come spring, I dissembled it. This fall I took the lumber outside, and rattle-canned it a mottled brown, just enough to knock the raw off the wood, and then I assembled the unit again, but this time screwed it together. It looks surprisingly good for as inexpensive as it is, and the paint job looks good with the irregular glazing on the Mexican tile floor. I keep it next to a window, where's it's visually obscured a bit by a small couch (actually patio furniture that Lowes marked down on deep discount one year that we didn't have a summer).

I bring my wood in via cargo sled, which holds about three or four armloads, and doesn't appear to scratch the tile. Each week I bring in a sled load of birch splits, and stack this between the rack and the wall at one end. I add birch to the fire when I need long burns, and my consumption of this will increase as winter gets colder. I then bring in my other wood and fill the rack. Small pieces/kindling goes under the couch in cardboard flats I get from Sams Club (the big flats used for fruit and vegatables). They are colorful and kind of cheering, and I rotate them out with new ones occassionally when I haul food home from the store. This is where I also tuck the hearth tools I use: a rubbermaid dustpan and a big, stiff wallpaper paste brush that I use to clean ashes with, and a spatula and fork from a barbeque set. (Dixie told me I had to take these out of my sig line because it was dropping the tone of the place around here--insert appropriate Jeff Foxworthy one-liner.)

During this weather, I make it from weekend to weekend with inside wood, and that suits me. When it gets really cold, we'll have to refill midweek, and that's still fine by me. When I refill, I take care to do it about a day before I need the wood, and move the last of the dry wood to one of the fruit flats that sits behind the stove (beyond clearances, of course). That way the wood can be as much as 100 degrees warmer before it gets burned, and any surface moisture on it has a chance to evaporate. Bugs aren't a problem to speak of with the wood I'm burning, so I don't mind the inside storage.

A closed container such as a tub wouldn't work well for me because I need the wood exposed to air and room temps. I get some bark spillage and dirt after the transport, and under the rack. I pull out the rack and sweep before reloading the rack, and after I'm done with the sled loads (it takes about three sledloads to fill the rack, four to overfill). The sled gets loaded from the under-deck stash outside the door at the other end of my sunroom, and I am ridiculously pleased with the setup.

Last year we were hauling wood from stacks out in the woods left behind by PO, and would stash a few weeks at a time in each run. This winter I have (at last) two cords of spruce under the deck, and another cord-and-a-half of birch under the garage eaves, and this weekend I hope to get the rest of the wood I have around here worked up and under cover (front porch has plenty of room for what's left). I'm rambling a bit here, but I'm so happy to have enough wood for the winter, and under cover, and a working system in place I just went downstairs to build up the fire this morning, and had all the dry, warm wood I could need inside. It took time last year to come up with this system, and thinking things through, and poking around asking questions on the forum to get to that point. I'm glad I did, though, because when the unexpected emergency came and I had to switch over to burning 24/7, it was no step for a stepper. It would have been a much more painful transition without all the little pieces of the puzzle in place. This year, with the wood under cover and plenty of it, I'm in high clover.

I think my rack looks kind of cutesy--Teenthing2 complimented me on the job I did and the way it looks, and he's a tough sell. It was $20 for the bracket and a few bucks worth of lumber, and I can `repurpose' the rack in the summer to hold plants. It doesn't meet your qualification of not spilling dirt all over the floor, but it effectively hides the mess until I'm ready to do something about it. The tradeoff for me in the air circulation around the wood is worth it. Not a big problem, as the wood I've got now is very dry, and will shed some bark, but that's about it. I just do the best I can to keep things clean around that area, and accept the fact that there's going to be a bit more clutter during burning season.

Inserting a picture of what things looked like last winter (camera is down so I can't give you a fresh picture). It was during a prolonged cold snap, and I was doing some wood drying inside, so `pardon the mess'. It's a lot better this year--dryer wood, fewer boxes, no wood leaning up against the trim to dry. My point is that sometimes you do the best you can, and refine your system as you go along. As your wood gets better, you have less mess.

 

[tamarack]

My dad made this box as a Christmas gift a few years back. Yep - some of those skis are my old ones.
I've had a few friends wanting to hire my dad to build them something similar.

Its full of tamarack & birch now.