Wood shed/storage question

[Adze39]

Starting to plan out building a wood shed in the spring. I was thinking of building a structure with 2 bays to hold 2 seasons of wood. Initial thought is having each bay be 8x8x8, which would hold 4 cords. Knowing that I might need more than that (got a new, more efficient stove this year so I'm unsure how much I'll actually need), I was thinking of going bigger as opposed to multiple sheds.

The question I have, is there a general rule of thumb about not going past a certain depth with a shed? And does anyone know how going more than one cord deep affects the seasoning of the wood?

Thanks.

 

[Firefighter938]

Starting to plan out building a wood shed in the spring. I was thinking of building a structure with 2 bays to hold 2 seasons of wood. Initial thought is having each bay be 8x8x8, which would hold 4 cords. Knowing that I might need more than that (got a new, more efficient stove this year so I'm unsure how much I'll actually need), I was thinking of going bigger as opposed to multiple sheds.

The question I have, is there a general rule of thumb about not going past a certain depth with a shed? And does anyone know how going more than one cord deep affects the seasoning of the wood?

Thanks.

I don't have a shed, yet, but I think most people season outside and bring dry or mostly dry wood to the shed. Packing it in the shed significantly lessens the air movement and slows drying.

 

[Adze39]

Well it wouldn't be an enclosed shed... More to keep rain, snow and leaves off of the wood

 

[begreen]

Our shed is deep but has lattice sides to allow plenty of ventilation. We do load it with mostly pre-seasoned wood though. It had to be deep to accommodate 3 cords per bay. Otherwise it would have to be a very long shed.

 

[Kristen]

I have a deep barn. The "walls" have gaps between each horizontal board to let the wind through, and the open-entrance to the barn faces the prevailing wind offset by about 30 degrees, so it gets plenty of through-air which then hits the rows of stacked wood at an angle.

The rows in the shed go from front to back - so each log faces across the front. I don't think it would matter how "long" / "deep" each row is, the air clearly moves between the rows, and it must be going "through" each row enough to shift the moisture as they logs seem to dry just fine.

 

[peakbagger]

If you don't mind keeping some long poles set aside there is a option where you cut a branch about 2.5 lengths of fire wood long, then stack the piles about a half a log length apart. About half way up the pile lay in one of these long pieces every few feet and about every foot in height. You can do that with multiple rows and its keep the piles from falling over and it leave plenty of room for air to circulate.

 

[mrdinks]

The more bays the better, that way when you empty one you can start refilling it. Otherwise you have to wait till half your sheds empty.

 

[Zkx14]

Watching this thread... I'm sure my stove could benifit from me doing a better job storing wood. Have some stacked, piled etc. None under cover. The only thing saving me is I can stack about 1/2 cord in the basement. I try to get it in when it's been dry out for a few days. I often run a fan on it.
Just saw the 'Show us yours- wood shed' sticky. Looks like a great place to find something I can use here.

 

[Kristen]

I'm sure my stove could benifit from me doing a better job storing wood

From my own experience the difference (in fuel used, and heat generated) between my 1st year, with 1-year-old firewood, and then the following year with 2-year-old firewood, was huge. Apart from the extra heat output the use of less fuel means less splitting, less carting, less boiler loading and, if you ever have to currently light more than one fire a day, or re-stoke an existing boiler load, then it also means fewer re-loadings

For the same reason we only burn hardwood; it costs me a bit more to buy, just slightly more in haulage [for the extra weight], but it is less cutting, splitting, hauling and boiler-loading thereafter.

 

[jeffesonm]

I went 8' x 36', three bays, about 5 cords each if you stack it 6' high. No walls but 18" overhang on all sides.

 

[hamslam42]

Initial thought is having each bay be 8x8x8, which would hold 4 cords

This would be 4 cords tightly packed, but if you are planning on seasoning in the shed, you will want to allow some space between rows so you would end up with less than 4 cords. As someone else mentioned here, I believe most people season outside and then move the seasoned wood into a shed for drier storage for burning that season. If that is the case, wood can be pretty tightly packed.

I built a 6' x 26' woodshed this past summer (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/firewood-shed-my-summer-project-woodstock.147468/), and my plan was to stack and season in the shed. I wanted to leave about 6 to 12" between rows, so I can get 3 rows. For ventilation, I have the floor 12 - 24" off the ground, and the deck boards have about 1/2" space between them. The front is open, and the sides have cedar siding but I louvered them so there are air gaps between. My calculated "realistic" seasoning cord volume was about 66% of the max "theoretical" cord volume if it was stuffed to the gills with wood.

This is all great in theory of course...and I don't know yet how well wood will season in there. Others on this forum expressed concern that it won't season as fast I was hoping it would...only time will tell. The one point I'm trying to make though is that you will need ventilation...and if you are planning on seasoning wood, you'll need more ventilation than what you would need for just storing the seasoned wood you're going to burn for this year.

Good luck, and if you haven't done so yet, check out the "Show us yours! Wood shed" forum...I got lots of ideas from there for my build.

 

[Jeffm1]

Starting to plan out building a wood shed in the spring. I was thinking of building a structure with 2 bays to hold 2 seasons of wood. Initial thought is having each bay be 8x8x8, which would hold 4 cords. Knowing that I might need more than that (got a new, more efficient stove this year so I'm unsure how much I'll actually need), I was thinking of going bigger as opposed to multiple sheds.

The question I have, is there a general rule of thumb about not going past a certain depth with a shed? And does anyone know how going more than one cord deep affects the seasoning of the wood?

Thanks.

I too am designing and planning on building a woodshed next spring/summer. I am going to build a fenced in yard that will extend out from my existing backyard fence. The woodyard, as I call it, will be used to season my wood out in the open in the sun and wind. Then after a year or two when it is good and dry I will move it into the shed. The shed will be a used to store and protect seasoned wood not to season it.