How many rows deep

[Chas0218]

This summer I have intentions of building a wood shed for drying 3 seasons worth of wood. How many stacks deep can I go without sacrificing drying time for the size of the shed. I cut my wood to 2 lengths 16" and 20" I was thinking of going somewhere around 84". An 8' metal roof panel will give me 6" overhang in the front and rear. deep that would let me do 5 stacks deep of the 16" logs and 4 deep of the 20" logs. Any input is greatly appreciated. I was also thinking of building a 2nd smaller shed to act like a solar kiln and moving the seasoned wood into the larger shed if this design didn't work.

I don't have a ton of room that gets the sunlight this area gets so I was thinking of going with a lean to style 8' tall in the front and 7'6" in the rear and about 30' long. That should give me about 11 cords total and ends up being about 3 seasons worth of wood with a little in reserve. So from one end to the next it should be 3 years seasoned.

 

[Bad LP]

I'm 4 tight rows deep and 16 feet long. Shed faces South in the open so it gets a decent breeze. Has about a 6" overhang. 2 years +/-15% throughout.

I do need another shed and it will be bigger so I can stay 2 years ahead.

 

[Chas0218]

Ok sounds good it will all be sitting on pallets so it will have good air flute beneath. It will be running NE to SW but majority of the wind in my valley comes from the NW and SE because of the way it windes around the mountain. Has 14 hours of sunlight during the summer.

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[peakbagger]

I go three rows deep and set aside some double or triple length pieces of firewood and pile them into the stacks to keep a gap between rows. It slows stacking down a bit but I figure it keeps the stacks from falling over while maintaining a gap.

 

[JimBear]

First year using this old crib. 2”x6” uprights are about 20” apart so I just stack between them. Piles 10’ W x 8’H x 16-18” lengths, figured that should give ample air flow. I guess I will know next year.

 

[JimBear]

This is the south facing wall so I piled up a bunch of ends & pieces 4’ high against the wall tapering out to a few against the panel, then put my small rounds, branches on top. Line of thinking was south wall would get more heat & wind so they should dry ok plus they are out of the way & gives the Mrs. access to wood so she quits tossing good splits into her burn ring.

 

[Chas0218]

Sounds like I should be set long as I leave a little room between the rows or at least some room between 2 rows. This will be sitting for 3 years until I get to that stack of wood so I would think with 3 years even the oak should be seasoned. Most of what I burn is Ash and so far it has been seasoning in 1-2 years stacked 3 rows tight. I think It should be good but figured I would get some input from those that have actually seasoned wood like this.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm a 3 rower myself, I had an outdoor pile with 4 rows deep by 40ft long on pallets, the inside rows were noticeably wetter then the outside rows

 

[Chas0218]

I'm a 3 rower myself, I had an outdoor pile with 4 rows deep by 40ft long on pallets, the inside rows were noticeably wetter then the outside rows

Any idea on how long it was seasoned? Was it also covered?

 

[kennyp2339]

Any idea on how long it was seasoned? Was it also covered?

I split and stacked it uncovered for 2 years, the 3rd winter was only top covered and burnt it the 4th winter, like I said earlier, the middle 2 rows were noticeably more moist than the outside rows.
If I was going to do it again, I would just do 2 long rows rather then 4 shorter rows, I settled with 3 rows for the wood shed because its permanently top covered with open sides, so the middle row should breath better.

 

[Tegbert]

I split and stacked it uncovered for 2 years, the 3rd winter was only top covered and burnt it the 4th winter, like I said earlier, the middle 2 rows were noticeably more moist than the outside rows.
If I was going to do it again, I would just do 2 long rows rather then 4 shorter rows, I settled with 3 rows for the wood shed because its permanently top covered with open sides, so the middle row should breath better.

Do you still season your wood outside like you used to or do you load up the shed when you use a compartment?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[muncybob]

I follow what kenny does for the most part except that I don't go more than 2 rows wide. Uncovered for 2 yrs and top cover for the last few months they are exposed to the elements and then transfer to the wood shed. My view on a shed is that it's used for storage only...not drying.
Since I have the room I have lately been experimenting with single row stacks. I can recommend this to anybody that also has the room and needs to season a bit quicker.

 

[MissMac]

I was splitting my wood at the same time that I was building the shed, but give or take a couple of weeks, all of my wood got split and stacked right into the shed without spending any time baking in the sun. My yard only gave me the one option of where to build my shed, so it faces east (which doesn't get much sunlight - just a bit in the morning), so it's the wind and summer heat that's drying my wood. I am 5 rows deep in the shed, with about 3-4 inches between rows. I put green jack pine in there (which does dry fast) and it spent one full summer in there, and now i'm burning it. Moisture content on the face of fresh splits between 12-16%. I think letting it breathe and keeping air flowing through your pile is the most important thing. Good luck!

 

[Piney]

11 rows deep so 14' deep, 16' tin, inside is 14' or so wide, 10 feet high slope to 9' high. We stand on the row we are using once it is down to 3 feet high to access the top of the row behind. We don't split before stacking unless a round is more than 12". The roof is metal with 2x4 stringers/rafters 3-4' apart, the frame is squared log, two sides are rough cut 2x8 and we leave 5+" gaps between them - more on the top. One side is the shop. One side is open. We have a man door opening at the back in case we want to unpile from the rear. The wind works its way through and the sticks dry beautifully. Mind you, we are at 3000', in a desert area, winter is 6 months long and -30 (or worse) is common. So the wood would dry well even if we just chucked it in piles and let snow cover it.

 

[cahaak]

I would make your shed on 8' dimensions simply for the ease of it for building materials that you will use. You can get 5-6 rows deep stacking. I agree with the lean to roof, but would use 10' or 11' metal for the overhangs. If you stack to 6' high, you can get 3 cords in each 8' x8' section, so 8' 32' gives you 12 cords. I have a lean to metal roof shed that is 8' x 24'. I used 4" x4" gt uprights, 2 x 6 supports and 2 x 4 purlins. I also stack on pallets. Very cheap to build. I have one open side that I stack and unload from, the other sides are 2" x4" welded wire fencing to hold the wood in but get lots or air flow through it. In the winter, I tarp the sides that we get snow from so I don't get a lot of blown snow in the stacks. 6' high is about the limit I like to stack to.

The 8' x 8' design can be modular, so you can put as many together as makes sense and it is cheap to build. Metal roof will last a long time and the open design gets a lot of air flow. It actually looks pretty good too.

 

[kennyp2339]

This what I built, 3 rower 8 cords in there

 

[Chas0218]

I would make your shed on 8' dimensions simply for the ease of it for building materials that you will use. You can get 5-6 rows deep stacking. I agree with the lean to roof, but would use 10' or 11' metal for the overhangs. If you stack to 6' high, you can get 3 cords in each 8' x8' section, so 8' 32' gives you 12 cords. I have a lean to metal roof shed that is 8' x 24'. I used 4" x4" gt uprights, 2 x 6 supports and 2 x 4 purlins. I also stack on pallets. Very cheap to build. I have one open side that I stack and unload from, the other sides are 2" x4" welded wire fencing to hold the wood in but get lots or air flow through it. In the winter, I tarp the sides that we get snow from so I don't get a lot of blown snow in the stacks. 6' high is about the limit I like to stack to.

The 8' x 8' design can be modular, so you can put as many together as makes sense and it is cheap to build. Metal roof will last a long time and the open design gets a lot of air flow. It actually looks pretty good too.

I can get the panels cut to any length and you're right the bigger the overhang the better. I was thinking 8' tall so when I put the pallets and have the header for the roof I will have ample headroom doe I'm not bending over all the time and not whacking my head like my current ones. The metal fence is a great idea chicken wire work you think?

Really liking the ideas, I'm going with a black metal roof to match our house and heat those piles up in the summer.

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[Tegbert]

I was splitting my wood at the same time that I was building the shed, but give or take a couple of weeks, all of my wood got split and stacked right into the shed without spending any time baking in the sun. My yard only gave me the one option of where to build my shed, so it faces east (which doesn't get much sunlight - just a bit in the morning), so it's the wind and summer heat that's drying my wood. I am 5 rows deep in the shed, with about 3-4 inches between rows. I put green jack pine in there (which does dry fast) and it spent one full summer in there, and now i'm burning it. Moisture content on the face of fresh splits between 12-16%. I think letting it breathe and keeping air flowing through your pile is the most important thing. Good luck!

What are the dimensions of your shed?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[BKVP]

Each section is 8' deep 7' tall in front, 6' in rear and 8' wide. Five sections in all

 

[MissMac]

What are the dimensions of your shed?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

8’x24’, and i used 8’ 4x4 posts on the back and 12’4x4s on the front to slope the roof. Then i built little pony walls to separate the space into 3 stalls - they are removeable. Rough cut 2x6 for the siding and flooring. Just have one stall left to put floor down in - gotta burn the wood up first! Building this shed was my first real attempt at carpentry - pretty pleased with how it turned out. LOTS of time and a bit of cussin’ went into her creation, that’s for sure!

 

[Piney]

Shed

• Piney
• Jan 26, 2018

Found a pic from when it was pretty empty

 

[Piney]

 

[cahaak]

I don't think chicken wire will work if it is the lightweight stuff I'm thinking of. I use 2" x 4" x 6' tall welded wire fencing. I think you could also use regular galvanized chain link fencing. A roll of the welded wire fencing 50' long is about $50 for me. The slope you use and the amount of support you use on the roof depends on the load. We could get a lot of snow here, so mine is supported pretty good and has a slope of 1.5' / 12' so things can run off. Mine kind of looks like the one BKVP posted, except that I stack on pallets. 4 pallets and a 4' x 4' in the center on the ground between them covers the ground area. I have some landscape cloth with sand on top under the pallets. I'll be dead before I have any issues with my shed unless a tornado hits it, but I'll have bigger things to worry about then.

 

[Soundchasm]

This summer I have intentions of building a wood shed for drying 3 seasons worth of wood. How many stacks deep can I go without sacrificing drying time for the size of the shed. I cut my wood to 2 lengths 16" and 20" I was thinking of going somewhere around 84". An 8' metal roof panel will give me 6" overhang in the front and rear. deep that would let me do 5 stacks deep of the 16" logs and 4 deep of the 20" logs. Any input is greatly appreciated. I was also thinking of building a 2nd smaller shed to act like a solar kiln and moving the seasoned wood into the larger shed if this design didn't work.

I don't have a ton of room that gets the sunlight this area gets so I was thinking of going with a lean to style 8' tall in the front and 7'6" in the rear and about 30' long. That should give me about 11 cords total and ends up being about 3 seasons worth of wood with a little in reserve. So from one end to the next it should be 3 years seasoned.

What I discovered was that rotating wood for a FIFO ( first in first out) system was untenable for the structure I had. In hindsight, I'd set something up (anything) that would let me stack two cords (four cords total) that allowed two cords on the right to season while two cords on the left were ready to burn.

Burn two cords for one stove and leave the other two cords to season.

In other words, build bays that will hold two cords.

 

[JohnDolz]

I was splitting my wood at the same time that I was building the shed, but give or take a couple of weeks, all of my wood got split and stacked right into the shed without spending any time baking in the sun. My yard only gave me the one option of where to build my shed, so it faces east (which doesn't get much sunlight - just a bit in the morning), so it's the wind and summer heat that's drying my wood. I am 5 rows deep in the shed, with about 3-4 inches between rows. I put green jack pine in there (which does dry fast) and it spent one full summer in there, and now i'm burning it. Moisture content on the face of fresh splits between 12-16%. I think letting it breathe and keeping air flowing through your pile is the most important thing. Good luck!

Nice! I basically have the same situation and same woodshed (mine is 16x16 and the sides are actually closed with some cheap pine board which I imagine lets some airflow). Closed sides are for aesthetics for my wife and neighbors - life is always a balance of compromises. I stack the same as you have pictured. The idea behind the shed was to hold 2 years worth of wood, we will see now that I am heating DHW as well. That being said this year I am burning 1 year seasoned wood from the shed (I am now 3+ years ahead) and I can say it burns beautifully (all types of hardwood,mainly oak and locust). I haven't bothered to slit a piece to check the moisture content because it burns well so didn't see the need. I recall reading a study over the summer that showed wood stored indoors for 1 year with no ventilation dried equally well to wood stored in a more traditional "seasoning fashion". I wasn't able to find the study or else I would have linked it here. It may have been in a thread on Hearth somewhere but I imagine folks out here read it so if someone has the link it might be interesting to post it for others.