Drying wood in the garage

[Dug8498]

I tried something out this summer with great success and thought I'd post the results in case anyone else has a similar setup they can take advantage of.

We have a very large attached 2 car garage that is completely un-insulated/unfinished. It gets hot as hell in there in the summer. Not an issue for us as we don't use it for anything except parking our cars/lawnmower etc. Normally i keep wood outside until late fall and then move the 2 cords I'll need for the winter into the back of the garage.

This year, I stacked two cords of wood in there back in April. This is wood that already spent 1 full season outside stacked and top covered. Mainly oak, but some hickory, maple, and ash as well. I split a few pieces yesterday and then results were better than I expected. Oak and hickory were right around 18%, maple and ash were down around 14-15% MC. I then went out to my stacks and took measurements from wood that was initially stacked outside at the exact same time and in the exact same location, but has continued outside stacked and top covered in the sun and wind. Oak was measuring 23-25% MC.

I wish that i had taken a moisture reading before putting the wood in the garage as that would have given some better information, but unfortunately that thought didn't cross my mind at the time. Anyway, this is great news for me as it has essentially shortened my drying time of red oak and hickory by a year. Instead of having to leave outside for 3 years to get below 20% (or build a kiln), I can just throw it in the garage after the first year; less processing is the best!

For those that are going to warn about bugs- I have seen none and I've yet to have any issues keeping dry wood in the garage. My dad has been doing the same at his house for 30 years or so with no issues either.

 

[Simonkenton]

I am not surprised as I have learned with my wood shed, the best way to dry wood is to heat it up.
While drying this wood this summer, did you leave the garage doors open all the time? Or were they open during the day and closed at night?

Also your finding of no bugs doesn't surprise me. Bugs don't like concrete floors, they don't like dry wood, and they don't like heat. If there were bugs in the wood when you put it in the garage, they will get out pretty soon.

 

[Dug8498]

I am not surprised as I have learned with my wood shed, the best way to dry wood is to heat it up.
While drying this wood this summer, did you leave the garage doors open all the time? Or were they open during the day and closed at night?

Also your finding of no bugs doesn't surprise me. Bugs don't like concrete floors, they don't like dry wood, and they don't like heat. If there were bugs in the wood when you put it in the garage, they will get out pretty soon.

The garage doors are always closed unless I'm mowing the lawn/doing some other yardwork or we're quickly opening/closing them to come and go in the car. The garage gets substantially hotter with the doors closed. If it's a hot day it will warm up quickly and stay pretty toasty well into the night with the doors closed.

 

[Sawset]

I remember the first winter I had a couple barrels of scraps, knots, shorts, etc that I stored in the garage. They had been on the ground, literally sopping wet, raked up in the fall and stored with the idea of burning them someday. Mostly Oak. By February, surprise, they were dry and good to burn. If the garage floors are dry, or dry quickly even when pulling in wet vehicles, then the humidity is also low enough to dry other things.

 

[Simonkenton]

I am not surprised that you leave the doors closed. You are going with heat, rather than with ventilation to get that wood dry.
And my woodshed works on the same principle, no windows or vents and I keep the door closed.

My girlfriends daughter had a nice big stack of firewood in the garage in Atlanta, it was leaned up against the brick wall of the house.
And the insurance guy came out for inspection, and made her move the wood outside, said "termites."
And I told Monica that insurance guy didn't know what he was talking about, termites have to be in contact with the ground, and they have to have moisture. Hard to make a living as a termite on a concrete floor in a hot garage in Atlanta on a 98 degree August day. Like today.


Now, you stack firewood on the ground, against an exterior wall of the house where rain hits it, against a wooden wall, termites will come in and they will destroy that wall.

 

[Dug8498]

I am not surprised that you leave the doors closed. You are going with heat, rather than with ventilation to get that wood dry.
And my woodshed works on the same principle, no windows or vents and I keep the door closed.

My girlfriends daughter had a nice big stack of firewood in the garage in Atlanta, it was leaned up against the brick wall of the house.
And the insurance guy came out for inspection, and made her move the wood outside, said "termites."
And I told Monica that insurance guy didn't know what he was talking about, termites have to be in contact with the ground, and they have to have moisture. Hard to make a living as a termite on a concrete floor in a hot garage in Atlanta on a 98 degree August day. Like today.


Now, you stack firewood on the ground, against an exterior wall of the house where rain hits it, against a wooden wall, termites will come in and they will destroy that wall.

Yes its interesting as I had always heard you need wind/ sun to dry wood, and mine is drying best with neither of these. The garage does have the soffit/ridge vents, but aside from that, no breeze or anything wafting through.

 

[Ashful]

Yes its interesting as I had always heard you need wind/ sun to dry wood, and mine is drying best with neither of these. The garage does have the soffit/ridge vents, but aside from that, no breeze or anything wafting through.

Remember, with a trapped amount of water in the space, RH% drops as temperature increases. So, drying will happen, by that very fact.

Open the doors once per day, to exchange air and vent the trapped water vapor, and this can work quite well. It may be more of a problem for folks who go a week at a time without opening doors, but that all depends on how wet the wood is and how well-sealed the garage is.

There will be some theoretical optimum level of ventilation, but since that will vary with MC% of the wood, good luck on finding it.

 

[Dug8498]

Remember, with a trapped amount of water in the space, RH% drops as temperature increases. So, drying will happen, by that very fact.

Open the doors once per day, to exchange air and vent the trapped water vapor, and this can work quite well. It may be more of a problem for folks who go a week at a time without opening doors, but that all depends on how wet the wood is and how well-sealed the garage is.

There will be some theoretical optimum level of ventilation, but since that will vary with MC% of the wood, good luck on finding it.

The doors are generally opened and closed at least twice, if not more, per day, as we come and go from the house. We did just return from a week long vacation where doors had not been opened during that period and it wasn't any noticeably different humidity wise than it ever is. I would not describe our garage as well sealed at all though. I'm just happy to have found a way to make the drying process quicker and easier.

 

[ct01r]

Not to mention how nice it'll be at -10 degrees in January that you don't have to actually go outside; just carry the wood from the garage into the house. Curt

 

[Ashful]

Not to mention how nice it'll be at -10 degrees in January that you don't have to actually go outside; just carry the wood from the garage into the house. Curt

I’d rather hop into a warm car, and avoid scraping windows in the morning, but to each their own.

 

[Dug8498]

I’d rather hop into a warm car, and avoid scraping windows in the morning, but to each their own.

Who said anything about having to scrape windows in the morning? both cars still fit in the garage with all of the wood!

 

[Dobish]

I thought about putting wood in my garage, but then I realized I would have to carry it all the way down the stairs, or toss it off the deck...
I was building some drawers in there the other day and it was 87º inside.... I can't wait for winter!

 

[Dug8498]

I thought about putting wood in my garage, but then I realized I would have to carry it all the way down the stairs, or toss it off the deck...
I was building some drawers in there the other day and it was 87º inside.... I can't wait for winter!

Hey hey relax with the winter talk

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I have kept my wood inside our detached double car garage for 30 years like your father, it gets so hot and dry in there like a kiln, if you stand still long enough it'll suck the moisture out of you too lol! It has been easily hitting 90 degrees plus this Summer in there and several times it read 100 degrees, it's like a kiln and like you said the wood is never wet from rain or snow!

I also do open the doors at times if I am around, just to let some airflow cruise through there, but it really bakes the moisture out and pretty fast too.

 

[Dug8498]

I have kept my wood inside our detached double car garage for 30 years like your father, it gets so hot and dry in there like a kiln, if you stand still long enough it'll suck the moisture out of you too lol! It has been easily hitting 90 degrees plus this Summer in there and several times it read 100 degrees, it's like a kiln and like you said the wood is never wet from rain or snow!

I also do open the doors at times if I am around, just to let some airflow cruise through there, but it really bakes the moisture out and pretty fast too.

Yeah it gets really damn hot in my garage too. I was pointing my little infrared temp gun around the other day for fun when it was about 85 or so out and most everything in the garage was reading mid 90's except for the roof which was reading about 105!

 

[Sawset]

it gets so hot and dry in there like a kiln, if you stand still long enough it'll suck the moisture out of you too lol!

!

 

[Sawset]

relax with the winter talk

Looking forward to some fall crisp days though. No-one likes -40f, but 55f sunny and calm, woods, add chainsaw and stir.

 

[Dug8498]

Looking forward to some fall crisp days though. No-one likes -40f, but 55f sunny and calm, woods, add chainsaw and stir.

I can agree with that! Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Simonkenton]

Here is my non ventilated wood shed that I was talking about above. I built this four years ago. It is entirely wood. It sets 16 inches or more above the ground.
There are no windows and I even stuffed the ridge vent with fiberglass. I keep the door closed.
It gets no ventilation but it gets a lot of sunshine. I am drying the wood with heat and the water vapor passes through the wooden walls and floor. This wood shed works great!

 

[Dug8498]

View attachment 246626

Here is my non ventilated wood shed that I was talking about above. I built this four years ago. It is entirely wood. It sets 16 inches or more above the ground.
There are no windows and I even stuffed the ridge vent with fiberglass. I keep the door closed.
It gets no ventilation but it gets a lot of sunshine. I am drying the wood with heat and the water vapor passes through the wooden walls and floor. This wood shed works great!

Thats pretty cool! I think I've definitely seen your setup in other posts. Very cool that it dries great with no ventilation. Seems like you've built a good looking permanent kiln without the typical ventilation slots. How quickly does your wood season in that? and how much can you fit at a time?

 

[Simonkenton]

This little shed measures 8 x 12 feet. I wanted a bigger one, I own 48 acres, but ironically there is little if any flat land on top of this mountain.
With the door in the middle, there is an open space right across the middle. There are two stacks on the left and two on the right, measuring each one 7 1/2 feet, by 7 feet high. The wood is 18 inches long.
I am getting fresh split hickory down to 17 percent in 8 months.

Some of the guys don't believe my results because I have an unventilated woodshed.

 

[blades]

Ah, but it is a wooden structure as such it breathes- i would guess that your eaves are open and just enough flow to vent out moisture, did that with a 2 story one never had a problem with anything getting moldy or such. been almost 30 years since I built that one still standing last time i looked on Google. sold that place some 20 years ago.

 

[Simonkenton]

No, the eaves are completely closed. There is not one square inch of ventilation.

As you said, water vapor passes through the rough sawn, non painted or stained, wood. Massive roof overhangs it gets very little rain on the wood. But lots of sunshine hits it.

 

[Dug8498]

This little shed measures 8 x 12 feet. I wanted a bigger one, I own 48 acres, but ironically there is little if any flat land on top of this mountain.
With the door in the middle, there is an open space right across the middle. There are two stacks on the left and two on the right, measuring each one 7 1/2 feet, by 7 feet high. The wood is 18 inches long.
I am getting fresh split hickory down to 17 percent in 8 months.

Some of the guys don't believe my results because I have an unventilated woodshed.

Wow that's really quick!

 

[JotulOwner]

I tried something out this summer with great success and thought I'd post the results in case anyone else has a similar setup they can take advantage of.

We have a very large attached 2 car garage that is completely un-insulated/unfinished. It gets hot as hell in there in the summer. Not an issue for us as we don't use it for anything except parking our cars/lawnmower etc. Normally i keep wood outside until late fall and then move the 2 cords I'll need for the winter into the back of the garage.

This year, I stacked two cords of wood in there back in April. This is wood that already spent 1 full season outside stacked and top covered. Mainly oak, but some hickory, maple, and ash as well. I split a few pieces yesterday and then results were better than I expected. Oak and hickory were right around 18%, maple and ash were down around 14-15% MC. I then went out to my stacks and took measurements from wood that was initially stacked outside at the exact same time and in the exact same location, but has continued outside stacked and top covered in the sun and wind. Oak was measuring 23-25% MC.

I wish that i had taken a moisture reading before putting the wood in the garage as that would have given some better information, but unfortunately that thought didn't cross my mind at the time. Anyway, this is great news for me as it has essentially shortened my drying time of red oak and hickory by a year. Instead of having to leave outside for 3 years to get below 20% (or build a kiln), I can just throw it in the garage after the first year; less processing is the best!

For those that are going to warn about bugs- I have seen none and I've yet to have any issues keeping dry wood in the garage. My dad has been doing the same at his house for 30 years or so with no issues either.

I don't like storing wood close to the house or garage, but I like the idea of storing it somewhere that is hot (and ventilated). I have a metal shed that I was thinking of using for that purpose.