Seasoning stacked wood under an overhanging roof?

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snowleopard

Minister of Fire
Dec 9, 2009
1,495
I've seen the recommendations to get wood out where the wind can get at it, makes sense. However, I've still got knee-deep snow here, and wood piled in my driveway, and we've got good seasoning weather now. Trying to get some of it ready to burn in six months.

I was hoping to get pallets, and get it split and stacked, but there's a big snow machine race going on, and the pallets are getting snatched up for a big bonfire.

My garage roof has an overhang about 8' deep and 30' long that faces south and gets direct sun most of the day (it's at a lower angle here than further south), and gets pretty hot because of the heat bouncing off the garage wall. I'm considering stacking the wood there, even though it will be cut off from the wind that comes over the ridge from the north. However, it'll also be sheltered from the rain. Some summers it's nothing but drizzle for weeks, and other summers it's hot and dry--usually a mix of both. I'm wondering if the trade-off of the heat from the sun and the protection from the rain would outweigh the loss of evaporation by wind movement.

Also, the wood could just sit there until it gets moved in next to the house for immediate use. It would also be easy to access this spot right now, vs. moving the wood through melting snow to set it on top of melting snow.

If I do stack it in this area next to the garage, would it be worth leaving a 5-8" gap between wood and garage to faciliatate airflow and speed up seasoning?

I'm planning to buy a logging load in June or July, and that will be a lot easier to deal with--I'll have time to get pallets, easy access to a long-term storage area, and can set stuff out to season for a few years before use. But right now the clock is ticking on this load/snow/seasoning weather/impending winter and I've got to figure out a solution to the immediate need.

One other factor to consider is the wisdom, or lack thereof, of stacking wood next to a building in an area prone to forest fires.
 
I liked your spot and maintaining a distance from the wall and stack to "breathe" until you got to the prone to fires part.
There are some parts of the country where there are safe distances to homes for all manner of things, including landscaping shrubbery. I'd defer to local wisdom for that.
 
You'll get a decent amount of air movement from wind + the stack effect of the heating sun around that area. Definitely leave the gap to the wall. I think sun + heat + open air is good, but I also don't think a little rain on top hurts wood that much either. So you don't need to have it covered.

The fire thing....that's up to you. Can't comment on your situation.
 
I figured there should be some air movement if three sides are open and the temperature differential is there. Roger on the gap. Maybe I could also set up a few deflectors to catch a breeze and increase the air movement. Couldn't hurt.

My impression is that rain on a seasoned stack isn't much of a problem, but if the wood is seasoning, the moisture on the outside would stop the migration of water out--stasis has already been reached, no reason to wick.

As far as the wildfire risk, I think I'll put it there and see how the season goes. It's not something that catches us by surprise--there's usually a long hot dry stretch, and then some storms that ignite it. If it looks like it's going to be a danger, then by that point we'll already have had good seaonsing weather for awhile, and the wood could get moved if it has to. If it's not a fire-y summer, then it can just sit.
 
Snowleopard, your plan is probably good for your area. I might suggest a 12" gap between the wood and garage though. And of course, wood is not a sponge. Rain water runs right off unless it rains constantly day after day after day but there are few areas that have that worry. Although you have the roof overhang, you could still consider covering the tops if you did have a really wet summer as it would not hurt. Otherwise I feel it is better to leave the top uncovered the first summer to hasten evaporation.

I understand your concern about wild fires but you would be concerned no matter where you stacked the wood in that case.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Snowleopard, your plan is probably good for your area. I might suggest a 12" gap between the wood and garage though. And of course, wood is not a sponge. Rain water runs right off unless it rains constantly day after day after day but there are few areas that have that worry. Although you have the roof overhang, you could still consider covering the tops if you did have a really wet summer as it would not hurt. Otherwise I feel it is better to leave the top uncovered the first summer to hasten evaporation.

I understand your concern about wild fires but you would be concerned no matter where you stacked the wood in that case.

The overhang extends a few feet beyond the storage area, and so I don't think the wood could get wet except in a storm--and with the prevailing winds from the north, it should stay tucked high and dry (Area is also elevated about 8" above ground level.

I was thinking of its tendency to burn down buildings that its stacked next to. I thought firefighters didn't particularly like to see that set-up. And you're right--if the wood is in danger of burning, I'll have bigger problems than that.
 
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