Critique my stack, 5' high, 4.5' wide, 13.25' long

[bogydave]

1st time I was able to get a square stack. Used "Cuttin' Paranoid" picture "seasoning firewood" thread in "perfect picture" topic.
My wood is not near as uniform size, length & shape. So not near as pretty but I think it can start drying.
Overhang on the pallets to get 4-1/2' wide. 3 rows. 5' high. 13'-3" long. (2.3 cords)
You all were right, the "haystack" pile under the tarp won't do much drying, the under side of the tarp was cover with ice from condensation (moisture from the wood).
I need a few more pallets to get the rest of the pile off the ground.
Progress so far has been good. Will cover before next snow.
Hopefully it's in the "to -be a wood shed " location planned this spring/summer

 

[bigtall]

Very nice, indeed! A thing of beauty is a joy until its all burned up. What is all that white stuff? :blank:

 

[CowboyAndy]

looks a hell of a lot better than when i do it!

 

[Wet1]

Excellent! Looks like you have a lot of birch up there...

 

[thewoodlands]

Looks great the only thing I see wrong is the wood is at your place and not my place.

Zap

 

[firefighterjake]

1st time I was able to get a square stack. Used "Cuttin' Paranoid" picture "seasoning firewood" thread in "perfect picture" topic.
My wood is not near as uniform size, length & shape. So not near as pretty but I think it can start drying.
Overhang on the pallets to get 4-1/2' wide. 3 rows. 5' high. 13'-3" long. (2.3 cords)
You all were right, the "haystack" pile under the tarp won't do much drying, the under side of the tarp was cover with ice from condensation (moisture from the wood).
I need a few more pallets to get the rest of the pile off the ground.
Progress so far has been good. Will cover before next snow.
Hopefully it's in the "to -be a wood shed " location planned this spring/summer

Don't worry . . . my wood isn't always really all that pretty. I have odd ball pieces, chunks, cookies, wood with nubs sticking out and some are a bit shorter or longer than other pieces . . . but you know what . . . I'm not trying to impress my neighbor with my pretty wood, I'm not entering my wood into any beauty pageants . . . nope, I'm burning it up to produce heat . . . and I'm pretty sure my stove doesn't care one whit as to what my wood looks like . . . and neither do I . . . about the only thing I really care about is the same as you . . . if it's dry and well seasoned!

Nice job.

 

[pulldownclaw]

I love the shots in the dark! I'm sure the wife/neighbors think your nuts, just like mine do, especially when I'm out splitting at night with a headlamp. :gulp:

 

[jcjohnston]

neighbors thinking I'm nuts is part of the fun

 

[bogydave]

Thanks all:
I'm sure there is room for improvement.
I was concerned the ends would fall over but they held good. I don't know if I could go 6' high, they are pretty stable now but I think the snow & ice locked it together some. Spring time will tell.
Thought about using some 1/2" plywood strips to tie the ends in, but so far it seems to be holding.
With less than 6 hours of daylight, night work is "the norm" here.
Need more pallets. Will need them as the floor of the "future" woodshed.
Now it's hard for me to believe I never thought of using pallets for stacking wood. I use them for several applications to keep stuff off the ground. (duh)
Always used the small tall spruce logs under the pile but was not as stable. Live & learn , but that's a good thing.
5 °F today, time to split a few rounds of spruce.

 

[pulldownclaw]

Ah, now I see your location! Good work, the stacks look great, it's amazing how criss crossing the ends holds up, especially if you stack them so they lean inward toward the stack. Another great tip I picked up here for this kind of stack in to "tie in" the individual rows with a few long pieces that run through all the rows front to back, holds them together when the start drying and shrinking.

 

[John the Painter]

Looks good.Just something about a nice stack.

 

[Valhalla]

Dave,

You have come a long way, in just a few days.

Well done!

 

[bogydave]

Got 2 more pallets & stacked them full.
Covered, just the top with a tarp. (had to use 2 tarps, folded in half)
Now 21' X 5.5' X 4.5' of curing fire wood, feels good.
Thanks to all who gave inputs, already I'm doing a better job than before. Thanks again.

 

[Valhalla]

Winter is a fine time to plan that new wood shed.
Time to sketch out the orientiation, space planning
and material flow.

Great fun!

 

[bogydave]

Winter is a fine time to plan that new wood shed.
Time to sketch out the orientiation, space planning
and material flow.

Great fun!

Good idea. Been rolling it around between the ears. Almost ready to ask some ?s here.
Do it right the first time. Plenty of experience here to keep me straight.

 

[Valhalla]

Winter is a fine time to plan that new wood shed.
Time to sketch out the orientiation, space planning
and material flow.

Great fun!

Good idea. Been rolling it around between the ears. Almost ready to ask some ?s here.
Do it right the first time. Plenty of experience here to keep me straight.

I screw up all the time! Don't ask me. LOL

Oh man, you certainly have a bit of time to plan it. Between
loading your stove 24/7.

Start from the clean sheet approach. And enjoy it!

How is the budget for it? The use of pallets inside
is a great advantage. But, you have permafrost,
while ours thaws in late April, then turns to mud season
immediately.

 

[Valhalla]

Dave,

Start a new posting in the best forum section, about your
wood shed plans. We can look for it there.

Cheers!

 

[bogydave]

No perma frost where I am. a couple hundred miles north you get into permafrost.,
Same here, mud during "break-up" in april (even the yard is a PIA to walk on for a few weeks)
, frost goes down sometimes 6 feet if no snow cover or where it gets plowed.
I'm thinking 36' X 6' or 7'deep, 8' roof. 6 feet high in the back, 7-1/2 feet high in the front.
Might be time to start a new thread & get input from several ??

 

[JerseyWreckDiver]

Looks nice and good to know I'm not the only wackjob that stares at his stack like some people stare at artwork...

One tip that could be helpful. I found quite a difference in my drying times when I put plastic over the dirt under my stacks/sheds. Keeps all the moisture that will be constantly evaporating from the ground in warm weather from saturating the air in and around my wood.

 

[bogydave]

Looks nice and good to know I'm not the only wackjob that stares at his stack like some people stare at artwork...

One tip that could be helpful. I found quite a difference in my drying times when I put plastic over the dirt under my stacks/sheds. Keeps all the moisture that will be constantly evaporating from the ground in warm weather from saturating the air in and around my wood.

Good idea, very logical. thanks.
OK man you guys are pushy, Get-er-done" bunch here.
Starting a new thread
Bogydave's alaska wood shed (planning stages)

 

[Valhalla]

No perma frost where I am. a couple hundred miles north you get into permafrost.,
Same here, mud during "break-up" in april (even the yard is a PIA to walk on for a few weeks)
, frost goes down sometimes 6 feet if no snow cover or where it gets plowed.
I'm thinking 36' X 6' or 7'deep, 8' roof. 6 feet high in the back, 7-1/2 feet high in the front.
Might be time to start a new thread & get input from several ??

Yup, start a new thread and do some sketches.

 

[PapaDave]

1st time I was able to get a square stack. Used "Cuttin' Paranoid" picture "seasoning firewood" thread in "perfect picture" topic.
My wood is not near as uniform size, length & shape. So not near as pretty but I think it can start drying.
Overhang on the pallets to get 4-1/2' wide. 3 rows. 5' high. 13'-3" long. (2.3 cords)
You all were right, the "haystack" pile under the tarp won't do much drying, the under side of the tarp was cover with ice from condensation (moisture from the wood).
I need a few more pallets to get the rest of the pile off the ground.
Progress so far has been good. Will cover before next snow.
Hopefully it's in the "to -be a wood shed " location planned this spring/summer

Bogy,
1st, nice stacking technique.
2nd, you must, of course by now also understand that it's not enough. ;-)

 

[bogydave]

Bogy,
1st, nice stacking technique.
2nd, you must, of course by now also understand that it's not enough. ;-)

1. Thanks
2. Did you have to remind me? I was feeling good. (wood is like compost, you never have enough )
. I know, I need double that if I want to not use the N gas furnace. But it's enough to get thru the 3 cold months.
I'm hoping it'll be seasoned enough to use next year.


I went out looking yesterday, I heard the Power Co, clearing the ROW. Was all small stuff,
some of the bigger stuff was cottonwood & it don't even make usable campfire wood.
When the snow melts, I've got a place to get 3 -4 more cords. Whether it'll be seasoned, is the problem.
Hopefully I'l be able to get ahead of the curve thru this summer & get 2 year old seasoned wood by the next, next year.
I can always go the spruce route, as much work, just not as much btu's for the effort.
Summer schedule here always seem to pretty full.
Maybe it'll warm up & I won't use all the dry stuff I have (yea, right)

 

[PapaDave]

Bogy,
1st, nice stacking technique.
2nd, you must, of course by now also understand that it's not enough. ;-)

1. Thanks
2. Did you have to remind me? I was feeling good. (wood is like compost, you never have enough )
. I know, I need double that if I want to not use the N gas furnace. But it's enough to get thru the 3 cold months.
I'm hoping it'll be seasoned enough to use next year.


I went out looking yesterday, I heard the Power Co, clearing the ROW. Was all small stuff,
some of the bigger stuff was cottonwood & it don't even make usable campfire wood.
When the snow melts, I've got a place to get 3 -4 more cords. Whether it'll be seasoned, is the problem.
Hopefully I'l be able to get ahead of the curve thru this summer & get 2 year old seasoned wood by the next, next year.
I can always go the spruce route, as much work, just not as much btu's for the effort.
Summer schedule here always seem to pretty full.
Maybe it'll warm up & I won't use all the dry stuff I have (yea, right)

Oh, ...don't get me started on that. I had a nice pile going, and it all just composted into about nothing before I got around to using it. Next year though, yeah, that's it. Next year.