Firewood stored under deck?

[Ctwoodtick]

I’d like to stack some wood under the renovated deck this coming season. Wood is most certainly well dried, currently below 20%. A gutter system should keep the wood dry so should be a good place to store. Plan is to line up a few pallets s and stack a cord or so in there. While pallets would be near the foundation of house I would keep the wood out of direct contact with the house or structure of deck. Would anyone think this would be a bad idea in relation to insects in wood migrating out of firewood and into structure causing issues?

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Not likely a problem in cold weather. Especially not if it's hardwood -- oak, hickory, ash, sugar maple, etc.

My termite guy says hardwood is not especially a problem. But I don't start bringing wood near the house until nights are in the 25-29 degree range -- usually late November where I live. Mid-November in Connecticut?

 

[Simonkenton]

Is there a roof over the deck? If there is, the wood will stay dry and, no problem.
If there is no roof and the wood gets wet then there could be a problem.

My girlfriend's daughter has a big house in Atlanta. It is brick with an attached garage. She had her firewood stacked inside the garage
next to the brick wall, which was the exterior wall of the house. Her insurance company saw that woodpile and made her move it out into the yard. Told her that would draw bugs into the house.

It certainly would not have drawn termites, inside a garage with a concrete floor, because that wood would have stayed dry. Termites have to have a wet environment.

 

[peakbagger]

If you could supply more detailed info on the deck if would help on comments. The comment about gutters needs some expansion. If its conventional deck made up of boards spaced with gaps and the gutters are up on the roof, then storing wood under that deck is a bad idea as water will still get in. I have seen and heard of people who put metal roofing hung under the deck and slanted towards the front or sides so that the wood is protected from any water that comes in from above. This second roof overhangs the wood and an air gap is left between the wood and the roofing and preferably there are gutters directing any water away from the base of the wood. Ideally the deck has good air circulation. its also important that the grade under the deck is higher than the surrounding yard. Definitely space the stacks away from the foundation or house so there is air flow behind it.

I have seen many people who store wood under decks very disappointed if they skip the second roof concept. Some think they can get away with covering the bundles with plastic. That usually traps moisture under the plastic and can cause mold.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

The deck is designed to store things under deck. Under the decking is a plastic/rubbery material that catches rain and guides the water to a gutter. The sides of deck are lattice, which will not make it watertight, but I think moisture from rain is nill and from snow may vary depending on storm. Crushed stone is on ground underneath deck.

 

[Gearhead660]

I would think that would work well. As long as wood is cover from elements above and gets air flow, should be fine. If thats the south side of house, even better.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'd fill that baby up.
I've had a wood shed on my property since 2017, stays fully stocked all the time, I used various types of lumber to build it, both treated and not treated, haven't seen any issues with insects attaching the structure itself, I do occasionally run into a few splits that have the signed of the powder post beetle, but its so minimal and only a few species of hardwood is effected, since the wood is dry, most insects avoid the wood as habitat, insects like moisture with there wood.

 

[Simonkenton]

Very interesting deck construction. Besides building five custom log cabins turnkey, by myself, I have also built many, many decks. Some with roofs, and some open to the sun and rain.

I have never seen a deck constructed like yours, with that heavy rubber material above the joists, to direct the rain to a gutter. A gutter for a deck! Amazing new discoveries, from Yankeeland.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Im hoping leaves/debris don’t clog things up over time bc there really is no access to clean out.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I think you'll make out fine. Looks like water will not be dropping on the stacks making them wet. Dry wood doesn't bring bugs so id not worry to much about that. Your in good shape

 

[Bad LP]

Very interesting deck construction. Besides building five custom log cabins turnkey, by myself, I have also built many, many decks. Some with roofs, and some open to the sun and rain.

I have never seen a deck constructed like yours, with that heavy rubber material above the joists, to direct the rain to a gutter. A gutter for a deck! Amazing new discoveries, from Yankeeland.

Yankee land?? LOL

Almost 40 years ago we had a "summer home" that had no central heating system but did have electric baseboard in the bedrooms and bath. Main heat in the living room was a large woodstove.
Anyway the firewood was stored under a huge deck. We installed pitched corrugated roofing panels to the underside of the deck to keep the wood from getting wet thus being unable to dry being in the shade. Worked great!!

 

[GreenMountainBoy]

I’d like to stack some wood under the renovated deck this coming season. Wood is most certainly well dried, currently below 20%. A gutter system should keep the wood dry so should be a good place to store. Plan is to line up a few pallets s and stack a cord or so in there. While pallets would be near the foundation of house I would keep the wood out of direct contact with the house or structure of deck. Would anyone think this would be a bad idea in relation to insects in wood migrating out of firewood and into structure causing issues?View attachment 262243

I'd be more concerned about chipmunks, red squirrels, and mice rather than about the wood. Once they're nesting in that stacked wood under your deck, they WILL eventually find a way into your house and or walls.

 

[Simonkenton]

GreenMountainBoy is right! Those varmints love to get into a wood pile that is dry. You might have to install some electronic rat repellers there to run those rats off.

 

[brenndatomu]

GreenMountainBoy is right! Those varmints love to get into a wood pile that is dry. You might have to install some electronic rat repellers there to run those rats off.

 

[johneh]

We have a family of those in the barn (winter coat)
no mice no rats no chipmunks or red squirrels

 

[GreenMountainBoy]

View attachment 262268

The All Natural Pest Control Unit!! I have one too. Looks a lot like this one. Works well and comes with a ten year warranty.

A cautionary tale: My wife got ours a flower pot full of live catnip for his fifth birthday last week (Don't ask... just don't). I came home from work one day to find him crashed on the floor, stoned from over-eating the catnip, with a mouse merrily circling him. Usually he loves his live toys and torments them until they give up and he kills them. Not this time however. But it gets better. I intercepted my wife when she got home from her work and warned her of the live mouse. She responded by taking ANPCU's catnip and putting it in the refrigerator. Ten minutes later she's screaming and screeching about a mouse in the refrigerator. I checked. She was right. The mouse had hidden in the catnip and came out inside the fridge. Thank goodness she didn't see that she was carrying the mouse along with the catnip. THAT scream would have been audible two states over.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

New guy here. I'm slowly discovering the sum of things that I don't know about heating with wood. We have inherited a OWB and are working toward acquiring a wood pile. My first thought was to put some gravel down along a fence line away from the house and stack wood on the gravel and then tarp it to keep it dry until needed. After reading this thread, I wonder if that would be dry enough.

Secondly, the wood pile that we have stacked next to the OWB is very small and the result of combining two small piles into one small pile that would only fill the OWB 1.5 times. However, when I combined the two piles I found a copperhead in each pile. Then I found three more copperheads in the barn nearby. Now, normally, I wouldn't be digging around in the wood pile in the middle of summer and snakes usually go someplace warmer than the wood pile in the winter or they freeze into reptilian sticks.

I won't be stacking any wood against my house or under the deck for any reason because that's where I found the second snake, in the stack under the deck. But, what do you think about storing my wood pile against the fence under landscaping plastic? (Not meaning to hijack your thread or anything...)

 

[Ctwoodtick]

New guy here. I'm slowly discovering the sum of things that I don't know about heating with wood. We have inherited a OWB and are working toward acquiring a wood pile. My first thought was to put some gravel down along a fence line away from the house and stack wood on the gravel and then tarp it to keep it dry until needed. After reading this thread, I wonder if that would be dry enough.

Secondly, the wood pile that we have stacked next to the OWB is very small and the result of combining two small piles into one small pile that would only fill the OWB 1.5 times. However, when I combined the two piles I found a copperhead in each pile. Then I found three more copperheads in the barn nearby. Now, normally, I wouldn't be digging around in the wood pile in the middle of summer and snakes usually go someplace warmer than the wood pile in the winter or they freeze into reptilian sticks.

I won't be stacking any wood against my house or under the deck for any reason because that's where I found the second snake, in the stack under the deck. But, what do you think about storing my wood pile against the fence under landscaping plastic? (Not meaning to hijack your thread or anything...)

I would just use pallets or something like that to keep the wood off the ground. The gravel might be a lot of work for the same thing that pallets can do for you. If the plastic is secure on the top of wood and isn’t full of holes, that would be good. Top cover only, don’t cover the sides. I like to use corrugated roofing on my stack. I hold that down by using odd shapes pieces of firewood.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

I would just use pallets or something like that to keep the wood off the ground. The gravel might be a lot of work for the same thing that pallets can do for you. If the plastic is secure on the top of wood and isn’t full of holes, that would be good. Top cover only, don’t cover the sides. I like to use corrugated roofing on my stack. I hold that down by using odd shapes pieces of firewood.

Ctwoodtick, You don't think that the sides are exposed enough to matter? Just wondering because that seems counterintuitive. Thanks for the advice on the pallets. I've used pallets for hay for the same reason but I was worried about the weight of the wood on a pallet.

 

[brenndatomu]

Ctwoodtick, You don't think that the sides are exposed enough to matter? Just wondering because that seems counterintuitive. Thanks for the advice on the pallets. I've used pallets for hay for the same reason but I was worried about the weight of the wood on a pallet.

Pallets work great for stacking wood on...and yes, the sides need to be open to get air flow through there...no drying action otherwise...just a mold factory

 

[Lakeside]

Under the decking is a plastic/rubbery material

Would you know any more about this stuff ? Brand name ? Thanks

 

[John Galt]

Trex makes a membrane that goes over the joists and under the decking, so new construction only. Timbertech has a system that attaches from the bottom. Both are expensive.

Create a Dry Space Under Your Deck - Fine Homebuilding

The area under a tall deck can offer valuable living space, but in order to make this work, you need a deck drainage system. There are a variety of options, from undermount systems that create a finished ceiling and a drainage plane, to over-the-joist systems that include waterproof decking or a...

www.finehomebuilding.com

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Sorry But I don’t know the brand name of the stuff that contractor used. But I can definitely see that it can only be applied before decking can be installed. I attached a pic of it though so you could get a visual on what I’m talking about.

 

[ben94122]

I have Lockdry aluminum decking, which sheds water through grooves between the "boards". Works great! Obviously needs to be sloped slightly away from the house

 

[Lakeside]

Lockdry aluminum decking

That looks like some nice stuff-- never heard of it before.