Would you cover your wood IF?

[mol1jb]

Hey all,

I am in the process of designing my wood area at my new house. I have an area in mind that gets almost full day south sun exposure. My first thought was to build a wood shed but that would mitigate most the southern sun exposure. Now I am thinking of just leaving it in a pile uncovered for most of the year and tarp it in the winter. Any setups like this?

 

[Sprinter]

Hey all,

I am in the process of designing my wood area at my new house. I have an area in mind that gets almost full day south sun exposure. My first thought was to build a wood shed but that would mitigate most the southern sun exposure. Now I am thinking of just leaving it in a pile uncovered for most of the year and tarp it in the winter. Any setups like this?

There are a few things wrong with that approach. The most important factor is allowing air to circulate through the stack. You'll never get dry wood out of a pile (if you really mean a pile vs a proper stack).

The second is keeping water off. Even one summer rain will infiltrate the stack and set you back. A lot of people do top-cover their stacks with varying degrees of success. You never want to completely cover the whole stack because then moisture just accumulates and can't escape. Even top coverings will allow a lot of rain into the ends.

Sun exposure isn't that important unless it's part of a passive solar kiln setup. I've seen wood that is gray and checked on the surface but still way too moist on the inside. Again, it's air circulation that does the drying. Sure, that can be accelerated with a solar kiln, but it's the circulating heated air that's doing the work.

Build the shed and never worry about it again. The best site would be an area exposed to the wind. Warmth from sun exposure can then help if you can get it. What I built was a hoop-house style shelter with gray pvc pipe hoops and the heaviest tarp I could find to cover it. It's about 6' high at the middle and the tarp only goes down to about three ft above the ground at the sides. The ends are open. That hybrid design allows the sun to heat the inside enough to help but allows air circulation and fully shelters the rain out. But you'll never regret building any properly designed shed.

 

[TedyOH]

Any setups like this?

Yes, this is what I do, although I stack, this seasons wood is at 18%. I'm starting to believe wood sheds are overrated in our area (midwest), pacific north west is probably another story.

 

[Sprinter]

Yes, this is what I do, although I stack, this seasons wood is at 18%. I'm starting to believe wood sheds are overrated in our area (midwest), pacific north west is probably another story.

That is a good point. I usually shy away from advising people about these matters if I'm unfamiliar with their territory and individual needs. But there are a few points that are pretty universal. As long as you know the goals, there are various ways to achieve them. I'm a proponent of the notion of "whatever works for you". (I still encourage a proper shelter when one is possible, though...)

 

[heavy hammer]

We have never covered our wood, me or my father always been just stacked off the ground in an area with good wind and sun exposure. A shed probably would be nice, but just don't know if it really needed for our setup. If you have the space I say go for it not like it would hurt.

 

[Lakeside]

Most of my wood is not covered, this was my first year tapping into the 3 year seasoned stuff moved into a wood shed. Yes the woodshed stuff was nice 15 %. I am a big fan of get three years ahead and move two years outside wood to inside the wood shed for the last year now. Tarps can be a pain. Think air circulation if you go for a shed.

Keep it simple and within your budget.

 

[Sprinter]

We have never covered our wood, me or my father always been just stacked off the ground in an area with good wind and sun exposure. A shed probably would be nice, but just don't know if it really needed for our setup. If you have the space I say go for it not like it would hurt.

Do you even top-cover it with metal roofing material or something? I have one stack that I top-cover with plywood because I've overloaded the shelter. I could see that it would be adequate in a better climate than ours, but it's inconvenient, having to shuffle the top covers around and so on. Frankly, I can't wait to get it all burned to I don't have to deal with it anymore. Same with a temporary tarp cover stack I had the first year. As Lakeside said, it's just a pain.

My philosophy still is that a good structure that is permanent or semi-permanent is the best way to go if possible, even if strictly unnecessary. They just look better and are nicer to use, and easier (once built, of course).

If you (the OP) are overloaded with work and time what with the new house and all, go ahead and get some wood up and stacked and drying right now whatever that takes. You can tackle a shed project later. That's exactly what I had to do the first year.

 

[Sprinter]

Most of my wood is not covered, this was my first year tapping into the 3 year seasoned stuff moved into a wood shed. Yes the woodshed stuff was nice 15 %. I am a big fan of get three years ahead and move two years outside wood to inside the wood shed for the last year now. Tarps can be a pain. Think air circulation if you go for a shed.

Keep it simple and within your budget.

That's not a bad plan at all. Have a small shed for the upcoming year and fill it every year with the outside stuff. The only problem with that is the extra work of restacking. But a shed large enough for three year's worth is a big shed. That's one reason I built my shelter the way I did. It's 13 ft wide by 24 ft long and 6 ft high. I probably would never have built a real shed that large. (and I still have overflow!)

 

[Firefighter938]

90% of my wood is stacked uncovered. I do have a stack with some punky wood in it so I top covered that. In the fall I top cover the wood I plan on burning that year. Falls here are normally very dry to start off with. I try to get my wood covered before the winter rains move in. This has worked well for me.

 

[drz1050]

Dealing with tarps sucks, especially when they're all covered in ice & snow... That's the main reason I want to build a woodshed here.

 

[Sprinter]

Dealing with tarps sucks, especially when they're all covered in ice & snow... That's the main reason I want to build a woodshed here.

I actually have firewood stored in three different locations: My main hoop shed 6-7 cords, about a cord under plywood cover, and some older wood that was under a tarp for a few years.

The 1-1/2 cords that was under a tarp was a remnant from the first year. It was uncovered for over two years and dry at the end of it's last summer when I covered it completely. Normally, you wouldn't want to do that, but it was already dry so didn't have anything to lose. It had a bad winter, though, with high winds blowing it off a few times, hard rains, the tarp tore up and rain re-wet the whole mess. It was the worst of the three locations. I still can't use some of it, but I'll put it under the shed for following years. I think I'll park my motorcycle in that space (covered and under a shed, of course...)

The cord under plywood was pretty dry when I put the plywood over it at the end of last summer (abnormally dry summer). I've been using it off and on since Fall. Mostly it maintained its low MC and I have no complaints except that some of the wood near the bottom was damp. But it is inconvenient to deal with the covers every time I go out to gather some splits.

The shelter has been problem-free, took 55+ mph winds, holds over 6 cords, I just walk over and pick the stuff up. It's all dry, all around.

Just my experiences. If I lived in Phoenix, it may be a different post.

 

[mol1jb]

Yes, this is what I do, although I stack, this seasons wood is at 18%. I'm starting to believe wood sheds are overrated in our area (midwest), pacific north west is probably another story.

To be honest, in my last setup I didnt cover until winter with a heavy duty tarp because that was all I had. I am also located in the Midwest and the last 2 years I had good success even with not much sun exposure. I did have good wind exposure though. I think I may just start with stacks and then if I find a real need I will build a shed in the future.

 

[heavy hammer]

No I do not top cover. Once burning season starts I try to keep a couple weeks worth in the garage give it time to dry out a little more. A wood shed would be nice but I can stack a couple months worth on my back porch that is able to avoid much of the elements from the roof overhang.