Problems with stacking high

[MasterMech]

I'm noticing my 6' stacks are leaning all over the place. Has anybody had successes stacking over 4 ft or so in single rows? I'm trying to conserve space while drying in single rows. I can go to double rows in the future however.

 

[Buckeye 2012]

Looks like after you get your stack filled in you should anchor one more board across the top foot or two of your stack. Mount with a couple extensions. I stack higher than 4 feet and do not have a rack system like you do. I just drive one 8 foot green iron stake in the center or the stack that prevents any leaning.

 

[MasterMech]

Looks like after you get your stack filled in you should anchor one more board across the top foot or two of your stack. Mount with a couple extensions. I stack higher than 4 feet and do not have a rack system like you do. I just drive one 8 foot green iron stake in the center or the stack that prevents any leaning.

Hmmm. With as much lumber as I have into these 3 racks, I probably am well on my way to a woodshed! Tax reasons prevent me from doing that just yet however......

T posts would be tough to drive through several inches of blacktop but I agree that would probably solve it if I were stacking anywhere else.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As I've stated before, we stack in 3 rows together most of the time and have stacked even more than that. We've never had a problem getting the middle row to dry at the same rate as the outside rows. Give it a try and your wood stacks will also be stronger. However, we usually quit stacking around 4 1/2' in height or sometimes to 5' but that's about it except when I stack in the barn for the winter's supply. Then I'll stack up to 8' high and yes, it is 3 rows. Will be doing that very soon.

 

[xman23]

My single rows are 4 inches apart. Ever so often I put a thin long split between them. The double row stack becomes one. Mine are 6' high 100' long. Never an issue.

 

[Coog]

My single rows are 4 inches apart. Ever so often I put a thin long split between them. The double row stack becomes one. Mine are 6' high 100' long. Never an issue.

I never cut consistently enough to stack 6 foot high. 5 foot tops for me. Not worth losing the stack.

 

[Hogwildz]

After about 5-6', it is more unstable, mostly due to drying, shrinking and shifting with those two.
I have been up to 7' double rows on pallets and guaranteed one or two stacks loses the top half at least at some point. I am 7' or 8' in my barn and they are fine. Of course the base is on somewhat more level ground, which is the fist important thing.

Outside stacks are about 6'. any higher, and some will fall.

 

[charly]

I do single racks, 10 ft long by 6 ft high.. I just make sure my wood stays level or has a slight lean back so if it does fall it goes into the next rack behind.. So far no real issues..Each rack gives me about 2/3rds of a cord.. I leave about 9 inches between the racks.. 4 more racks and the garage is full. Older picture..Wood in the picture is two years old.. I burned one side last year between two stoves.. Hopefully less being it's two years old this year..

 

[MasterMech]

Thanks for all the replies guys! When I cooked up this scheme I thought it best to leave about 2' in between the racks both for airflow and snow removal purposes. After reading everybody's thoughts here, I think going forward I will build the racks the same way, but set them much closer together. The problem is compounded by the fact that my driveway is not perfectly level, but pitches slightly away from the house in all directions. By setting them much closer together and perhaps adding an extra 2x4 about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up, I at least won't worry about a stack falling.

Thanks again for the insight and photos! Charly, I wish I had space like that under cover!

BTW: the racks are 12' x 6'. Three of them hold roughly 2 cord (with 16" long splits) and if I can make it work, this will probably be my stacking method of choice for some time to come. Going up really let's me pack some wood in! Plus they look great to the wife and the neighbors.

 

[wesessiah]

i go about 5 feet high and stack large to small going up, that way most of the weight is at the bottom. i restack several months before i go to burn just to move things around. i rearranged a stack today to put some of the larger splits towards the top and middle in a better spot to get sun in our last hot weeks. if i have any problems with it, i'm already closed to the burning season, so i can just rearrange it then.

 

[pyroholic]

Problems stacking high? Lay off the sauce before stacking, simple enough.

Seriously though, I used some smaller branches to join the single rows together. No fallen stacks yet, even with some good leans here and there, and they're still upright.

 

[Richie]

I do single racks, 10 ft long by 6 ft high.. I just make sure my wood stays level or has a slight lean back so if it does fall it goes into the next rack behind.. So far no real issues..Each rack gives me about 2/3rds of a cord.. I leave about 9 inches between the racks.. 4 more racks and the garage is full. Older picture..Wood in the picture is two years old.. I burned one side last year between two stoves.. Hopefully less being it's two years old this year..

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Do you season your wood in the garage charly? If so does it work well?

 

[charly]

Do you season your wood in the garage charly? If so does it work well?

It's an old garage we don't use, has no garage doors and four windows that are always open.. So far it seems good.. Wood never gets wet! I think that's a plus..Only way I would leave my wood outside would be on pallets, no way would I want to bring it into the garage and handle it again. Most of the wood I try to get is usually down already or some sort of standing dead or dying.. There's some 2 year old silver Maple, once I get into that I'll split it and check it.. If that's not dry the garage needs more air.. One year old stuff last year seem to test around 20 % split open and checked.. I'll keep checking.. Just makes it so neat to keep my fire wood in there..