Is this wood stacked ok?

[Scott2373]

Here in Upstate NY we had some seriously torrential rains yesterday and, shame on me, my wood isn't covered yet. I'm waiting for it to get some good sun before covering it for the season. My question is, will the wood stacked in the center rot, due to the moisture being unable to escape? Please see the pic and let me know if this is improperly stacked or if it will be fine. We have two piles this big, stacked the same way. Where we are, there is ALWAYS a nice breeze if not outright wind, since we sit up on a hill in a higher point in the area. Thank you for your replies!

 

[CageMaster]

it appears to be fairly loosely stacked, provided it get some sunshine and a bit of wind it should be ok, also depends on what type of wood you have there.

 

[Scott2373]

It is loosely stacked and we get full sun exposure after about 11am. All the wood is hardwood slab from a local pallet maker.

 

[gzecc]

I would be surprised if the middle 1/3 ever seasons. Its too compacted, especially for slab wood. I only stack in single rows after experimenting and having my time wasted. A top cover will only make conditions worse. Your not trying to keep moisture from getting in your trying to allow moisture to get out!

 

[CageMaster]

I would be surprised if the middle 1/3 ever seasons. Its too compacted, especially for slab wood. I only stack in single rows after experimenting and having my time wasted. A top cover will only make conditions worse. Your not trying to keep moisture from getting in your trying to allow moisture to get out!

if it is from a "local pallet maker" is it seasoned already or is it fresh trimmings from the construction process?

 

[Scott2373]

The wood is partially seasoned, not completely. We burned this all last year with no issues. Our chimney sweep said the stove and chimney looked good and to keep doing what we were doing. That was my first year, ever, burning wood as a primary heat source and I learned everything from the fantastic people on this forum! I was considering, rather than put heavy tarps on it, to go to Lowes, TSC or HD and pick up some heavy mil plastic painters drop clothes then putting cinder blocks on top to hold them down. I'm not going to surround the wood in plastic, just top-cover it to keep the rain from seeping down into the stacks. Any moisture should be able to evaporate out the sides, especially with the wind constantly blowing on it, at least this is my theory

 

[lukem]

Slab wood drys pretty quick because it is mostly sapwood. How long was it in slab form before you stacked it?

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Will it Rot? No. The only wood I ever had rot was totally covered with a tarp with nothing underneath it (like pallets) and it sat for like 12 years that way.

 

[Scott2373]

I have no idea how "old" the wood is or when it was cut into slab form, but it was delivered to us that way in late July. From the looks and feel of it, it feels fairly dry. It didn't feel very heavy for its size and it made a hollow "thunk" rather than a "thud" when two pieces were smacked together. I learned that this was a good rule of thumb to determine whether or not your wood is dry enough to burn.

 

[ScotO]

Scott, you'll be fine. I have 25 cord split and stacked at my house, some of the rows are 12' wide. Been burning for years and never had an issue with moisture. The key is, I DO NOT top-cover it all year long, the only stuff I top-cover is the stuff I plan on using the upcoming winter, and I wait until late summer to do that (after the monsoons we had last September and October, I make certain to top-cover it before fall). I have enough leftover rubber roofing to cover the stuff for next year, so I may do that. Any fresh-cut green wood on the stack is left uncovered for a minimum of one year, up to two years.

 

[thewoodlands]

Not sure about the seasoning but if it worked last year then after this summer it should be ok. With the storm they called for yesterday we topped covered on Monday, we received 3.58 inches of rain yesterday.

zap

 

[Scott2373]

Scott, that's good advice! I was concerned about the wood I was going to burn this year, as far as whether or not to cover it due to snow and rain, but I never thought about only covering what I'm using that year. Thank you!

 

[TimJ]

and like Zap said.........what worked last year should work this year

 

[Woody Stover]

It didn't feel very heavy for its size and it made a hollow "thunk" rather than a "thud" when two pieces were smacked together. I learned that this was a good rule of thumb to determine whether or not your wood is dry enough to burn.

The "heft test" is a good indicator but as was mentioned, the sapwood will be a bit lighter. I have found that a big piece may "thud" but if you then split it, the pieces will give more of a ringing sound indicating that it is pretty dry.

 

[ScotO]

BTW Scott, just to clarify what I said earlier, I have almost four years' worth of cordwood split and stacked, so all the wood has almost 4 years to season. If I was burning year to year I would NOT want my wood stacked over 2 or 3 rows wide. You should be fine as yours is most likely seasoned decently due to it being slab, but try to get ahead at least three years ultimately. Others will stress this as well, and its good advise. That way your wood will definitely be ready. Make sure you keep the wood elevated off of the ground with pallets or skid boards, too. That way the air can get all around the wood!

 

[gzecc]

I would be surprised if the middle 1/3 ever seasons. Its too compacted, especially for slab wood. I only stack in single rows after experimenting and having my time wasted. A top cover will only make conditions worse. Your not trying to keep moisture from getting in your trying to allow moisture to get out!

If its already seasoned, the stacking strategy is really not important as long as you keep it off the damp ground.

 

[bogydave]

Looks good.
The only thing I notice is it's 5 rows or so deep. If it is seasoned already,
the center wood should be good to go, but if it was wet, & stacked in tight rows,
the center won't get much air & take longer to season (if it seasons at all).

If I did wet birch that tight, & top covered it, I'd get punky wood in the center in a couple years. (know from doing that a few years ago) So wood type matters too.
The underside of the tarp, trapped the air, caused condensation & constant moisture on the center of the stack.

If you want to top cover, throw some pallets on top of a few random loose splits for space above the stack, then a top cover only, to get better air circulation out the center & top .

Another tip is to put some plastic on the ground under the bottom pallets, an isolation barrier from the ground moisture.

By the way: Nice looking clean wood & a nice stack

 

[red oak]

I don't cover wood ever and have never had any problem. I stack mine a lot like yours too. Main point: people do things very differently, even here on this forum. So if it worked for you last year you should be good. Stack the wood loosely and the stuff in the center should be okay. Especially exposed to sun and wind.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Slab wood from a pallet make that is stacked on pallets. Nice. I would want to know though what kind of wood it is and then perhaps sort it a bit.

We have stacked wood in multiple rows many, many times and have never had a problem. However, we don't burn the wood in the same year it is stacked. For the same year's use, I would stack in single rows. Still, this is slab wood and that dries super fast. Even if it is oak, it will dry relatively fast, but I'd still not burn oak in the same year that it was stacked.

As for that rain you got, I would not worry a bit. I did notice that it appears to not be stacked very high so there probably is not that much wood there. The good point is that you did this last year and it worked so you should be okay this year. However, for next year, first, I would buy it now. Second, I would not top cover the wood until late fall or early winter unless you expect a long or prolonged wet period. We simply do not worry a bit about rain on the wood. It ain't a sponge.

 

[f3cbboy]

I don't cover wood ever and have never had any problem.

I never cover my wood. ever. its totally up to you.

 

[Scott2373]

Thanks so much for all the replies! I figured many people would have different strategies or opinions on the matter, but I wasn't sure if there was any rule of thumb. For all of you that mention getting ahead, the pile you see is what we plan on burning this year, while off to the side we have another similar one which is our "seasoning stack". So far we are 1 year ahead and next year we should be 2 ahead. We order the wood by the truckload which ends up being roughly 9-10 face-cords each. Last year being a mild winter we burned almost all of it, so I told the wife we need to buy 2 so we don't run out and have some really good seasoned stuff for next year. It's convenient getting the wood from a pallet maker since they throw in the big heavy-duty pallets to stack it on.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks so much for all the replies! I figured many people would have different strategies or opinions on the matter, but I wasn't sure if there was any rule of thumb. For all of you that mention getting ahead, the pile you see is what we plan on burning this year, while off to the side we have another similar one which is our "seasoning stack". So far we are 1 year ahead and next year we should be 2 ahead. We order the wood by the truckload which ends up being roughly 9-10 face-cords each. Last year being a mild winter we burned almost all of it, so I told the wife we need to buy 2 so we don't run out and have some really good seasoned stuff for next year. It's convenient getting the wood from a pallet maker since they throw in the big heavy-duty pallets to stack it on.

Good plan Scott.

 

[ScotO]

Before you know it you'll be a full-blown cordwood junkie like the rest of us!

 

[tfdchief]

I have never stacked more than 3 rows deep, and never had a problem.

 

[DexterDay]

Before you know it you'll be a full-blown cordwood junkie like the rest of us!

Yep.... Hang on.. Its a Crazy Ride!