Anyone store their wood in the basement?

[snowfreak]

Last year was my first full year of burning wood. I burned about 5 full cords and ran out of wood the second week of March. The bulk of my wood is stored in an outside garage with easy access. We have a below ground 2 stall garage that we only use one stall. The house is a modular and has support beams running through the middle to support the main beam. I wanted to have the ability to store all the seasoned wood inside out of the elements. The two stacks pictured are roughly 1.5 full cords. That puts me at 6.5 cords of seasoned, out of the elements stacked wood. In the summertime the garage always feels damp and sometimes develops condensation when it's extremely humid out. During the fall and wintertime the dampness and condensation become a non issue. I just stacked the wood in the garage about 2 days ago but was curious if anyone else stores wood in their basement or similar garage. I'm hoping the wood does not absorb any extra moisture. The garage is heated but does not kick on very often. This will be the first wood to be burnt. If the wood seems a bit too damp this year I can get a dehumidifier just hate too add another expense.

 

[KeithO]

Bugs termites and borer beetles crawing out of that wood and having a go at your floor joists and later the construction lumber of the house ? In heated spaces, fall/spring goes on forever.. Storing wood in the cold (in a shed) does make the critters dormant and generally they have little time to escape before being flung in the fire...

 

[Mike Wilson]

Holy crap that's a lot of wood in the house... I mean, that's a LOT.

I keep a small supply in the basement during the season, but its only about 1/4 cord, stacked on one of those metal racks. Its enough for about a week's burning, give or take. The other 3 cord is stacked outside on the side of the property.

-- Mike

 

[MrGriz]

I don't know that I would keep that much wood in the house. I usually bring in enough for a day or two at a time.

 

[snowfreak]

Bugs termites and borer beetles crawing out of that wood and having a go at your floor joists and later the construction lumber of the house ? In heated spaces, fall/spring goes on forever.. Storing wood in the cold (in a shed) does make the critters dormant and generally they have little time to escape before being flung in the fire...

Some of my friends store their entire wood supply in their attached garage(above ground) with no mention of bug problems. I remember growing up helping my Dad throwing wood into the cellar of my Grandpa's house but that's where the furnace was so no moisture problems during burning season and that's where his entire wood supply was stored. I dont ever recall Grandpa having a bug problem in the house. I will keep a close eye on things just to be safe though. This is just a trial year for the wood in the garage, if the bugs or moisture become a problem I will nix it for next year and come up with some other storage ideas.

 

[DiscoInferno]

None in the basement, but I do keep about a cord in an unheated garage. No bug problems, but it doesn't dry well there (no airflow). Seasoned wood might have fewer bug problems, assuming it wasn't already infested when you moved it. Certainly termites are not a risk; they don't travel with the wood (well, they'll die soon after), and if the colony can find its way into your house then you should be so lucky that it decides to eat firewood rather than your framing. Borers I'm less clear on.

 

[masterswimmer]

I'm sorry to have to agree with the bug and insect problem. I think you're asking for trouble. If you've seen it growing up in other homes, then they might have been the lucky ones. If you continually store your wood inside, the odds are unbelievably high that you'll eventually wind up with an infestation. Absolutely not worth the chance.

Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn't even wait till I burned through the stacks you've got. I'd be moving them outside. That's a lot of wood.

Just my $.02

swimmer

 

[Stevebass4]

i used to store a cord+ under my addition ) dirt floor on pallets and i would notice LOTS of ants in my home - i no longer store the wood there but rather 30 feet from my home and have not seen any ants this past year

my buddy who buys kiln dried wood stores about a cord in his basement without any issues

 

[Gibbonboy]

I tried to keep 3 cords in my attached, unheated garage last year. The wood was fairly but not completely dry, and it started to mold within a couple weeks, even in cold temps. My concerns about bugs would be Powder Post Beetles and Carpenter Ants, Termites if you have them in your area, never see one around here, and that includes 10 years in construction, mostly remodeling old homes.

Last year was the first year I heated more with wood than coal, I kept maybe 2 weeks worth of wood in the basement, which with my smoke box is quite a bit of wood. Never had any infestations or strange bugs. My house is 175 years old, if the bugs haven't eaten it yet, don't think they're gonna this year. I do hang a No-Pest Strip from Hot Shot in the middle of the basement. They look like an air freshener, available from garden/hardware stores for about 8 bucks. I change mine every 3-4 months, don't even have spiders in the basement now. Just don't hang one near food or living areas, they're pretty toxic (which is why they actually work).

My wood was mostly locust that was dead standing when I cut it, and some maple and cherry. I think removing as much bark as you can, and making absolutely sure that the wood is dry, or if the surface is wet, that it dries quickly is the most important, and naturally keeps bugs in check.

 

[laynes69]

I keep over a cord of wood in our basement with the wood furnace. Dad has had the basement full of wood and we have never had any infestations. The wood is dry and well seasoned. If we notice a piece to contain ants, them in the furnace it goes. We are pretty dry in the winter seasons, and the wood helps a little. If your area is known for alot of carpenter ants, or termite infestations, then maybe I wouldn't consider it.

 

[rich81]

i keep about a weeks worth tops in the basement on a rack off the floor. am always nervous even with that much about bugs, would be able ti see them though as i'm down there several times a day too feed fire

 

[backpack09]

Let me be the first to say... You are loading your lalycolumns (sp) wrong by loading wood on them laterally. If they are hollow columns, they will bow over time, and will cause sagging, and perhaps structural failure of the floors/walls above it. Also, if those columns are not pinned or set in your concrete floor, there is a strong possibility of them being pushed off there base and creating another can of worms.

 

[Todd]

l also bring in a weeks worth of wood into my finished basement. I get a few spiders and lady bugs. Never a problem with ants or termites.

 

[Eric Johnson]

For about ten years, I'd stack 10 full cords of wood in my basement around Columbus Day, and that was usually enough fuel to get through the winter (in the Central Adirondacks). I never had a problem with bugs. The guy I sold the house to does the same thing, and no bugs for him, either. Now I stack about 10 cords in my small barn, and again, no bug problems.

Ideally, you want to put dry wood in the basement when there is a heat source, such as a furnace or boiler, keeping things warm. That helps the wood stay dry. If you stack wet or green wood in an unheated basement, it's going to turn into a science project. The heat source combined with dryer winter air in the house will keep the wood drying for as long as it's stacked there. It's nice, in the dead of winter, to have a source of humidity in the house, not to mention enough dry wood to get you through the winter.

My basic approach has always been to keep my wood stacked outside until the beginning of the heating season, then move enough into the basement to get us through the worst winter. Then I'd stand outside with a beer in one hand, facing West and say "Bring it own!" in a goofy GW Bush accent.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

The most I bring into the house is a wheel barrel at a time unless I am going away for a day or so and the wife has to run it by herself.

 

[KeithO]

I've been splitting about a cord of free oak that my neighbor asked me to cut down (dead trees still standing and about 3-5 years old since they died). 2 of the trees had very heavy infestations of ants (about 1/2" of punk under the bark). In fact there were several ant colonies in there. I did my best to get rid of all the bark and as much of the punky wood as possible before splitting, but I certainly won't be stacking that anywhere near the house this season. In winter, my plan is to have a few days supply on the landing at the front door (which we never use when there is snow out) and the balance sitting under the treated wood deck about 16 ft away from the facade. Everything out there is frozen solid for at least 4 months of the year.

 

[rmcfall]

As far as concern about insects, what about just spraying the area around the wood with some sort of pest control?

 

[Larry H]

I do the same thing Eric J. does - except I only put about 5-6 full cords in the basement with the wood furnace. Our house is 140 years old (give or take a decade) and I haven't had any bug problems. (the wood is seasoned 2 years in the backyard in full sun.) I have heard of people putting up a temporary blue tarp in their basements to "cordon off" the wood they are storing there and then setting off a couple of "bug bombs" just to make sure the creepy crawlies are dead.

 

[BrotherBart]

except I only put about 5-6 full cords in the basement with the wood furnace.

When you have dinner guests, make sure none of them are the Fire Marshall!

BTW: On the subject of bug bombs. I just noticed looking at the label of one of them that some have changed the propellant to butane or propane. Setting one of those off in the house with the stove burning would sure be asking for it!

 

[Larry H]

Thanks BB I'll pass that bugbomb info along. The fire marshall. I'd be happy if he or a member of his crew would let me know when they operate the fire hydrants like they are supposed to! Seems to "slip their minds" with alarming regularity.

 

[BrotherBart]

The fire marshall. I'd be happy if he or a member of his crew would let me know when they operate the fire hydrants like they are supposed to! Seems to "slip their minds" with alarming regularity.

I hit the Fire Chief's office door like a freight train one day. Driving over to the county building I observed a swimming pool filling tanker hooked up to a fire hydrant. The BS excuse the Chief gave was that they let them do it to clean out the lines. Yeah right. Don't want any stagnant water sprayed on my burning house.

I wonder how much that pool filling outfit charges for 5,000 gallons of "my" taxpayer water?

 

[karl]

5000 gallons? That's a tiny pool. A 15 foot round pool holds that much. a 28 foot round pool holds over 18,000 gallons. In ground pools generally hold much more. Some of them are over 30,000 gallons, with 20 some thousand being the norm. I would write a letter to the editor of your local paper complaining about that. Just make sure your town actually pays for the water. Some towns pay a flat rate for hydrants.

 

[Gooserider]

There is a requirement that hydrants be flushed and "exercised" every so often - part of the idea is that you don't want the valves in them to be rusted shut when you need them. Also in most communities the hydrants are connected to the municipal water supply mains and they don't want the water in the hydrant stubs to get stagnant and potentially start growing things that would contaminate the drinking water.

The question is whether it is better to just let the flush water run out onto the street, or let the pool truck fill up and "recycle" the water? - Possibly even paying some nominal fee for the priviledge - anything is better than zero...

In terms of bug bombing the wood, or doing other sprays, dusts, etc. I would only ask if you have any data about whether the stuff that remains might be toxic when burned, or if there are any other issues with burning it. I've asked exterminators, and they say that they don't have anything in their arsenal that is approved for use on firewood. They also didn't think outside firewood was a big problem.

I don't know that burning used bug spray would be a problem, but I do note that the labels on most such products have warning that "off-label" use is a violation of Federal Law...

Gooserider

 

[Larry H]

I have no data on toxicity levels remaining in/on the wood when it has been exposed to a bug bomb. One of the guys at work said his Dad used to do this after moving his firewood into the basement. I think he still does it. Only time I've ever used one was about 17 years ago, before my wife and I were married, to kill off the bees that were living iside the attic of the apartment I rented.

 

[carpniels]

Some of my friends store their entire wood supply in their attached garage(above ground) with no mention of bug problems. I remember growing up helping my Dad throwing wood into the cellar of my Grandpa's house but that's where the furnace was so no moisture problems during burning season and that's where his entire wood supply was stored. I dont ever recall Grandpa having a bug problem in the house. I will keep a close eye on things just to be safe though. This is just a trial year for the wood in the garage, if the bugs or moisture become a problem I will nix it for next year and come up with some other storage ideas.[/quote]

There is a bid difference between storing in an attached garage (unheated) and a basement (always 40-55 degrees). In the former the bugs sleep, in the latter they wake up and eat your house. Not good.

Happened to me with carpenter ants. BAD DEAL and took 2 years to get rid of. Last year I have meadow voles in the garage.

Avoid that long term basement storage at all cost. I will never do it again.

Carpniels