does this make sense (making an area for wood)

[iceman]

i have a 12x20 area i want to make for wood storage.. one person suggested that i by some 4x4x8 frame it in get the large stone (2 3/4) fill in the area level put down wood. because it is the large stone it won't pack tight allowing air in the bottom so the wood placed on it won't rot....
he say lay the landscape paper down (first) preventing weeds and stack away... he says stone will be 60 bucks wood 60-75 under 150 for a nice area does this make any sense??? or will the wood on the gravel (stone) rot

 

[Todd]

Yes, it does make sense and I'm thinking of doing something similar to my firewood area. I was thinking of laying landscaping paper down, then about 2 or 3" of gravel or stone, then using landscaping timbers for stacking the firewood. It should help keep the ground moisture at bay.

 

[iceman]

i can just lay it on the stone ??

 

[Todd]

I would at least put some 2x4's down on top of the stone/gravel. I think it would give the stacks more stability.

 

[jebatty]

I would go with something to raise the splits off the ground/rock whatever. I would use a minimum of 4x4(5) landscape timbers or larger, with 4" or more air circulation under the stacks.

 

[JustWood]

Call your local commercial flat roof specialist and ask if they have a job going on where you could have the used rubber roofing for your landscape paper. Makes for good tarps too.

 

[iceman]

Call your local commercial flat roof specialist and ask if they have a job going on where you could have the used rubber roofing for your landscape paper. Makes for good tarps too.

what a good idea never thought of that

 

[savageactor7]

We got tired of the yearly pallet hassle and for years put our wood right over washed stones. Like the OP said we excavated the top soil out, laid vapor barrier and dumped washed#1 stone. This works well resulting in no water logged firewood.

Occasionally I rake the debris off the stone so it wont go native. Water passes right through the stone. Because it's washed stone it's soft to walk on and in the dead of winter the bottom logs will pick up a few stones. All in all way better than stacking on pallets...and the area cleans up very nicely too.

This year I've going to excavate another area for wood but I'm going to use run a crush and just slightly crown it down the middle. For the last 4 years I haven't stacked wood in the conventional way I just piled it up...then tarp it late in NOV when I know a lasting snow is coming. Of coarse I live out in the country where you can get away with that. It saves me tons of time stacking which I put to better use cutting and splitting.

truthfully I rater cut and split than stack...I just hate to stack wood.

 

[ControlFreak]

Be mindful of what can happen with the landscaping fabric. If the fabric is laid down with a thin layer of stone on top, it will help to keep down the weeds, but eventually weeds will grow on top of the fabric. If the fabric has tiny drainage holes, then weeds will eventually begin to root through those holes, making them very difficult to pull out. Also keep in mind that the woodpile will produce a great deal of debris which will work its way down into the gravel and create a perfect place for weeds to grow, fabric or not.

Additionally, if you have landscaping with plants near your wood pile, be VERY CAREFUL. The landscaping fabric, if it's close to the surface, will create a marvelous habitat for voles (not to be confused with MOLES). Voles will build a complex matrix of tunnels under the fabric, then come out regularly to feast. Voles are little mouse-like beasts that dig through the soil near the surface and eat the roots off of your plants, multiplying like crazy. They especially love hostas, daylillies, euonymus, roses. Voles do not hibernate, so in the spring you can find that over the winter they will have entirely devoured your hostas, etc, digging around under the snow and making tunnels everywhere.

So, for these reasons I would never put landscaping fabric under the gravel, and I would not recommend gravel. It's only going to provide drainage for one year, until dust and bark bits fills it up from the first pile.

2x4's, if they are untreated, will become a wonderful habitat for termites or carpenter ants, even if they're sitting on top of gravel.

I would recommend this:
1. Concrete slab - you can sweep off all the debris each year.
2. Railroad ties or treated 4x4's sitting on top of the soil, two timbers under each stack, with a few inches of space between them.

Dan

 

[Drifthopper]

Call your local commercial flat roof specialist and ask if they have a job going on where you could have the used rubber roofing for your landscape paper. Makes for good tarps too.

Lees and iceman...get in line. LOL! i know a couple friends who work construction, and that rubber roofing / membrane is the first to get scarfed up. If the local flat roofer does have some, he'll pay big bucks for it, its not like you can go to home depot and buy that stuff.

 

[billb3]

I get mice and chipmunks living in piles of rocks.
(course, I get mice and chipmunks no matter what I do, but why make it easy ?)

I put everything (pallets and 2x4, 4x4) up on concrete blocks so nothing lives under there.

I've never had any luck with fabric unless it came up in the Fall (in the vegetable garden).

 

[iceman]

now i am confused.. what should i do??? very good ideas and suggestions??
but a concrete slab will add to my taxes that are already sky high but i will check the price...wonder how much for a 12x20 area

 

[ControlFreak]

They will raise your taxes for an open concrete slab?

If you want to go really cheap, treated 2x4's would work OK. Bugs won't touch them, and it will still keep your firewood out of the dirt.

 

[raybonz]

now i am confused.. what should i do??? very good ideas and suggestions??
but a concrete slab will add to my taxes that are already sky high but i will check the price...wonder how much for a 12x20 area

Hey Ice I stacked my wood for years on oak pallets and they work well.. Plenty of places give them away around here.. As long as you're off the ground you should be fine..

Ray

 

[RedRanger]

Best thing for the floor is plywood cut-offs, then kinda piece them together for your floor. If you are good at scrouging around construction sites, you will find pieces like 2x5-3x7 etc. Also found in some of the wood recycling dumpsters. Ya just can`t beat that,easy to walk on,nice and flat,etc. Even 1x8 strips can be layed down with some cohesion. And the thickness is of no importance, easy to replace with another round of scrounging a few years down the road..

 

[bmwloco]

I used a long sheet of plastic and oak pallets. 4 seasons on, it's still holding up very well and I have dry wood - even after periods of extended wet.

YMMV

 

[Ken45]

I would recommend this:
1. Concrete slab - you can sweep off all the debris each year.

Dan,

Are you suggesting piling the wood directly on the concrete? I have a 18x26 slab from an old barn that I'm going to use but I was going to put 2x4's under the stacks. Or is that a waste?

Ken

 

[Ken45]

For the last 4 years I haven't stacked wood in the conventional way I just piled it up...then tarp it late in NOV when I know a lasting snow is coming. Of coarse I live out in the country where you can get away with that. It saves me tons of time stacking which I put to better use cutting and splitting.

truthfully I rater cut and split than stack...I just hate to stack wood.

Do you notice any difference in how well the wood seasons? I too could do without the stacking effort. Later in the year I'll either move it to under the porch or I'm thinking about putting some roofing on an old cattle trailer and using that for wood storage.

Ken

 

[savageactor7]

Ken I try and stay a over a year ahead...the wood on the inside of the pile doesn't turn that grayish black color that the cut ends on stacked wood does but it's light to the heft, pings well and burns very good. In my 30 years of burning I'd call it seasoned...btw this is a mix of maple, ash and elm. Since I've been doing that wood hasn't been such a drudgery type chore. Like I said I don't mind the rest of it but just lost patience with stacking.

 

[iceman]

[quote author="bmwloco" date="1208019953"]I used a long sheet of plastic and oak pallets. 4 seasons on, it's still holding up very well and I have dry wood - even after periods of extended wet.

YMMV[/quote


you put the plastic down first right??

 

[bmwloco]

Yes, plastic then pallets.

I cleared off the area first, then put the plastic sheeting down, then the pallets.

I'm going to do it again, moving my woodpile away from the new hot tub.

A wood stove and hot tub. Life is pretty good.

 

[elmoleaf]

Scrounged pallets set up on cement blocks/bricks/patio pavers is sufficient. If any water gets into the pile, the pallets are open enough to allow moisture to drain out the bottom. Don't bother with stone or fabric....it'll just fill with bark scraps etc. from the woodpile.

 

[iceman]

well i decided against building a "platform" as it was gonna cost a couple hundred for mat plus time
because the area is sloped i am gonna go ahead and fill with gravel...so any water can drain and put pallets on top ... some parts might be up to 6-8 inches deep of gravel some will be as little as 1-2 to level it out
and i got a pallet company to give me free pallets (the ones that were odd sizes ) and a dealer so i will frame the sloped area and fill in wed my truck load of wood comes