Basement storage for wood

[HighHeat22]

I am a new burner I just started last year. What a blast I love the warmth in my house. My question is about storage of my wood. Last year I keep my wood outside and covered with tarps This did not work well and I am looking to move my wood into my basement this season. All of my wood is split and has been seasoned a year and is stacked outside. My basement is enclosed but not finished and stays around 55 degrees in winter but my wife is worried about ants from the wood. What is the best way to handle this situation. I am sure a lot of members have tackled this problem.

 

[stee6043]

You couldn't pay me enough to store my wood inside my house. No way. Ants might be the least of your worries. Flying insects will be plenitful as well.

You'll find loads of posts on this site on this topic. Do a quick search and you'll see all kinds of opinions. Moisture is another concern when storing indoors. Some people do it. But most do not.

 

[HighHeat22]

Wow ! I had no idea. Thank you for advice. Well than what works best outside I used tarps and it did not work well. Should I build a more permanent structure outside.

 

[oldspark]

I store wood in my garage and have a large firewood box in the house and I never have had any bug problem but then again I have only done this for 34 years, if the wood is dry before you bring it in there will be very few if any bugs in the wood. If you have some crappy wood there may be more bugs in that type of wood and what part of the country you live in will come into play also.

 

[fabsroman]

I store wood in my garage and have a large firewood box in the house and I never have had any bug problem but then again I have only done this for 34 years, if the wood is dry before you bring it in there will be very few if any bugs in the wood. If you have some crappy wood there may be more bugs in that type of wood and what part of the country you live in will come into play also.

Yeah, I am just starting out and I tend to agree with you. Don't think I would store the entire winter's worth of wood in my basement, but I do think I am going to store a week's worth at a time. I have no desire to continue going outside every morning and evening to get wood for the furnace.

Once the wood is dry I doubt there will be many, if any, bugs on it. For the most part, you can see the bugs when you pick up the wood.

Yes, outside in a huge woodstack that sees rain, etc., I would suspect that it would make a nice home for bugs. However, if that wood is kept dry there shouldn't be a problem. My dad would keep 1 to 2 weeks worth of wood in the basement and we never had a bug problem.

With that said, my wife has a fear of ants (i.e., she stuck her foot into a shoe full of fire ants while she was living in Florida). Whenever she sees an ant in the house she gets hysterical and runs for the RAID. So, I will be making sure the wood I bring into the house is pretty much bug free.

 

[HighHeat22]

After searching forum on subject I will keep my wood outside and build a more permanent shed for my wood. I will bring into garage enough supply for 3 or 4 days. I see to many problems with bringing winter supply of wood into basement.

 

[lukem]

I keep wood in my basement...so do my parents. These are concrete unfinished parts of the basement...and seasoned wood...and it cycles out in a week or two. I wouldn't put fresh cut anywhere inside, nor would I put it near finished walls, floors, or ceiling....or for long periods of time.

 

[krex1010]

I am not a fan of storing large amounts of firewood in my house. Insects can be an issue, I have seen it first hand, not to mention indoor stacks tend to be a good place for rodents to hide, again I have seen this first hand. Some insects will be gone once the wood dries, but some don't mind dry wood at all. Once it gets cool out and the bugs go dormant I will store some wood in my unheated garage, I usually keep about a weeks worth of wood in there through the winter.

 

[gpcollen1]

Between my house [large hearth] and a small area in the garage, I can keep up to 2 weeks of wood in the house. I have never had an issue with that. As for a seasons worth of wood, i would not do it.

 

[maple1]

I've been doing it for 15 years - the whole winters worth at once. The only ant (or bugs of any kind) issues we have are in the summer when they get in on the other end of the house from a planter/composter area. Fews days with ant bait fixes that. My only complaints are basement storage space lost to wood, and the sweeping needed to contain the wood dirt from being tracked & spread around - it can get messy if you don't stay on top of it. But I think if I had to drag wood in from the outside all winter, the mess would be worse.

 

[krex1010]

I have had issues with spiders and these little tiny moths type bugs. Never ants though. But my wife freaks about bugs and having her see hundreds of spiders or clouds of those little moths is a pain in my butt. Also I have seen dozens of stinkbugs get under loose bark on a split.

 

[velvetfoot]

It amazing how much wood you can get into a high, long stack.
I have two rows along a wall in the garage and it comes out to 4 cords.
Hopefully the bug thing doesn't come to much.
It is really nice going to the garage in your stockinging feet to get some wood.

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

I do the face cord or two in the Garage, and cover the rest with tarps thing.

However I stored all the wood for 3 of my Aunts/Uncles homes in the basements for years (1980-1998?).

Dry wood stacked in the cellar is not a problem in Winter period.

To manage the spiders I do set off a pair of the Raid brand fumigator deals that you put the poison canister in a little plasic cup with a little water for the first load in before the freeze up.

PS - The basement will be cooler since your furnace won't be running as often, so critters tend to stay pretty inactive.

I try to take my advise from those that have 'seen the elephant'...

All the best,
Mike P

 

[firefighterjake]

Myself . . . I wouldn't store wood in my basement personally . . . although I have a buddy that does and he doesn't report too many problems with bugs . . . although he did say last year he had a lot of spiders.

 

[bogydave]

I have a wood box in the basement near the stove that hold about a weeks worth of wood.
I installed a 1/2 door as a wood door that I can load the box without tracking/carrying it thru the house, wife loves it.
Junk wood I bring in & burn right away, A weeks worth of good wood so far has not been a problem,
but I (& my wife) do watch for insects pretty close. Not many insects infest birch, so I'm lucky there.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wow ! I had no idea. Thank you for advice. Well than what works best outside I used tarps and it did not work well. Should I build a more permanent structure outside.

This works great.

Pictures with and without snow.

 

[onetracker]

I am a new burner I just started last year. What a blast I love the warmth in my house. My question is about storage of my wood. Last year I keep my wood outside and covered with tarps This did not work well and I am looking to move my wood into my basement this season. All of my wood is split and has been seasoned a year and is stacked outside. My basement is enclosed but not finished and stays around 55 degrees in winter but my wife is worried about ants from the wood. What is the best way to handle this situation. I am sure a lot of members have tackled this problem.

i load about 2 cords in my basement every thanksgiving and then 2 more around the end of january and will continue to do so. i would load all 4 in my basement but i don't have the room. its so nice to have nice dry wood right at hand without having to ever go outside. i never noticed an increase in insects. i never have seen an ant infestation in winter in my basement. maybe cuz the spiders eat 'em all. i have no problem with spiders. we have an agreement...i let them have their fill and they stay downstairs. your results may vary.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I see that a lot of folks store wood in basements. For those of you who do, is this wood which has just been cut and split, or has it been sitting outside for months/years? I ask because I thought fresh-cut wood contained about 50% water by weight, which means a heck of a lot of moisture released indoors if the wood is fresh cut. Just wondering if this has been a problem for anyone...

 

[maple1]

I see that a lot of folks store wood in basements. For those of you who do, is this wood which has just been cut and split, or has it been sitting outside for months/years? I ask because I thought fresh-cut wood contained about 50% water by weight, which means a heck of a lot of moisture released indoors if the wood is fresh cut. Just wondering if this has been a problem for anyone...

Seasoned only here.

EDIT: And I'll add that while my wood is outside seasoning, it is piled on pallets - which might reduce bugs in the wood, I suppose, since the wood is off the ground. That's something else I'd recommend people do, pile on pallets or skids or something to get it off the ground - that air space uner all that wood can't do it anything but good.

 

[onetracker]

I see that a lot of folks store wood in basements. For those of you who do, is this wood which has just been cut and split, or has it been sitting outside for months/years? I ask because I thought fresh-cut wood contained about 50% water by weight, which means a heck of a lot of moisture released indoors if the wood is fresh cut. Just wondering if this has been a problem for anyone...

Seasoned only here.

EDIT: And I'll add that while my wood is outside seasoning, it is piled on pallets - which might reduce bugs in the wood, I suppose, since the wood is off the ground. That's something else I'd recommend people do, pile on pallets or skids or something to get it off the ground - that air space uner all that wood can't do it anything but good.

same.
seasoned.

 

[nate379]

My folks store their wood in the basement. 4-5 cords (more than enough for 1 winter). Been doing for for about 30 years, never had bug problems other than a few spiders once in a while... though I get that at my house too and I don't have wood in there other than a couple days worth.

I was renting out a room in my house a while back and they thought it was absoltuely disgusting that I would allow my dog in the house... that it belonged outside. Kind of same thought with the firewood I guess?

 

[Battenkiller]

I ask because I thought fresh-cut wood contained about 50% water by weight, which means a heck of a lot of moisture released indoors if the wood is fresh cut. Just wondering if this has been a problem for anyone...

Never had a problem, never will. Most I have ever seen my humidity raise up to is to about 50% RH, and that was after adding about 2 cord all at once. I only wish I could keep it that high, but a week after I bring it in, all the moisture has vanished and the air is back down in the low 20% RH range. If you look at the chart I posted on the "dehumidifier drying" thread, you can see exactly when I brought in a fresh load of green wood, and the result it had on the RH. It is really just a couple-day blip on the humidity line.

Of course, I only bring wood in after the outside temps drop way down in the 30s and the stove is cranking full bore. That's the only time wood will dry real fast in there. In the early season, I leave it stacked outside the basement door and bring it in as needed. That's always last year's wood, so there is no reason to dry it in the basement. Bugs aren't the worry, I just like the extra room in the wood shop.

 

[red oak]

I store about a week's worth of wood in the basement by the stove in the winter. Outside my basement I have a space under the deck that holds two cords. Never had any problem with bugs but the wood I bring into the basement is always dry. My father in law keeps his entire winter supply (about 5 cords) in his basement. Now I would not do this but he has been doing this for over 30 years without any problems.

 

[ruserious2008]

And you can find an 80 year old that's smoked 2 packs a day for 60 years who says it has not hurt him but I'd not recommend that either.
Posted this before in other threads but you asked

“As a real estate agent I hear home inspectors rant about this if they see fire wood inside or even close to a building. I remember one home where the owner had this huge basement with 12 ft ceilings-walk out style- and he had a wood boiler in that basement. He stored 4-5 cords of wood in there and when I listed the house told him a home inspector might red flag that but being the old timer that he was he said pfft been doing this all my life
Well long story/short buyers moved in before closing on a rental agreement, tore up the floor above where the wood was stored to install hardwood floors and ta da! Termites! Big time. They were not visible from the basement so the home inspector did not find them but they had eaten sub flooring and most of an 16 ft section of 2x6 wall and the sills below it. Many dollars later….....is the moral of the story. “
Come to think of it this guy smoked too

And I think its fair to say you’re not going to kill off the bugs with wood getting a few freezes or even spending a whole winter outdoors. Bugs are designed to live thru that- that’s why we have still bugs in cold climates

I keep my seasoning wood a long way from the house, my seasoned wood in a shed close by for convenience and maybe 3 or 4 days worth piled in the stove room. We can pass wood thur an open sliding window fairly easily so that set up works for us. Having seen home sales crater from home inspections uncovering insect damage and wood stored inside is sometimes the culprit and heard many many stories from home inspectors about this happening often so I'll never keep a sizable quantity of wood inside of my living structure or anything attached to it. I've considered using my detached garage but then where would the boat, snowblower, John Deere and all my other junk "live"- good luck

 

[maple1]

Unless your wood goes directly from the outdoors away from your house straight into the firebox, the insects will come into your house with it anyway. Can't see where having wood in your basment for only a couple of weeks would be much different than having it there for the whole winter - any bugs in the wood would still come in with it. I think the key thing is likely bring it in dry, and try to store it off the ground when outside if possible (wood on the bottom of a pile draws a lot of moisture from the ground, in my experience).

To each their own.

(I might think twice about it if I was in a termite area....)