stacking pattern inside shed

[tabner]

I'm in the process of finishing up my woodshed (see nearby image). I am undecided on sheathing it, I may cover up just the back, both ends and the back, or actually now i'm leaning toward leaving all sides open - but in all cases the entire front is wide open. Anyways, the building faces south. I plan to fill one bay (the farthest left) as much as possible with wood. I'm wondering how people would recommend stacking it, especially with regard to the sun and air flow. Each bay is 8 foot wide, 16 foot deep, and about 7.5 foot tall. So would you run your stacks front to back or left to right? Front to back I think I'd get about 4 runs, so that means less end caps to stack criss/cross. Left to right your first row gets full sun all day, but the back rows are shaded. I guess question is - is it better to let a bit of sun shine down in between all the rows? or let just your front row get baked in the sun all day.

 

[Woody Stover]

Front to back would let the prevailing wind (west?) move through the wood better, I think. Plus you could have rows of different woods, all accessible from the front; High-output row..White Oak, BL, Mulberry, Hickory etc. Med-high..Red Oak, White Ash, Red Elm, Hard Maple. Medium..Cheery, Hackberry, Walnut, Elm, soft Maple etc. Or with left to right rows, just section each row, left 1/3 lower output, middle medium, right high. Output sections will roughly equal drying time as well. Lighter, low-output woods will dry fastest.
You might want to make those output sections two rows or more wide, so you could get back into a section easily.
My SIL had canvas on the sides of her shed, but is going to use "shadow-box" (staggered-board) fencing panels from Menards, which should improve air flow. You could maybe build similar siding out of raw lumber to keep cost more reasonable than buying pre-made panels..

 

[begreen]

The sides, back and middle partition all act as supports in our shed. The splits can be fit tight right up to them. I used lattice panels to maximize air circulation through the stacks. Good air circulation makes a nice difference in drying speed.

 

[EbS-P]

I would want each bay to have a rails/sides. Cross cross stacking the ends well take me to much time.

 

[begreen]

I would want each bay to have a rails/sides. Cross cross stacking the ends well take me to much time.

Yes, when loading the shed with many cords of wood, I want to go quickly, yet securely.

 

[stoveliker]

I stacked my (5) stacks left to right (in your picture) - that gives me best flow of air. Sun faces similar to yours.
I added a horizontal 2x4 near the top of the stacks running parallel to the short sides of the shed. From those I ran vertical 2x2s down to the floor (I have one from repurposed decking joists - long live free craigslist). Those 2x2s allows me to stack my wood without criss-crossing. It's faster stacking, and more dense than criss-crossing. The drawback is that I don't have what woodystover says: stacks with different kinds of wood accessible, as I'm looking face-on to my first stack.

 

[Todd]

I do it like this. Try to keep an inch or two between the stacks for better air flow.

 

[tabner]

I do it like this. Try to keep an inch or two between the stacks for better air flow.

View attachment 312791

I like this. I like that those supports are essentially temporary/removable.
In which direction does this pile face, relative to the sun? Or is that not really a concern?
I do plan to only have wood in this shed once it's already been split and stacked for a year or two. So it's more of a finishing/staging shed as opposed to a long-term drying shed, so maybe it's irrelevant.

 

[begreen]

The splits' ends should face the prevailing wind to maximize the airflow through the stacks. Our shed is loaded N/S because the summer winds are generally from the north and the winter winds from the SW.

 

[EbS-P]

I like this. I like that those supports are essentially temporary/removable.
In which direction does this pile face, relative to the sun? Or is that not really a concern?
I do plan to only have wood in this shed once it's already been split and stacked for a year or two. So it's more of a finishing/staging shed as opposed to a long-term drying shed, so maybe it's irrelevant.

So you have a shed that can hold say 20 cords across three bays and you want to re stack wood that’s been drying for a season or two already? How much are you burning a season? With a shed like that the only way I’d be touching wood more than twice (once to put in shed and once to take out) would be if I need the other bays for storing equipment.

 

[tabner]

So you have a shed that can hold say 20 cords across three bays and you want to re stack wood that’s been drying for a season or two already? How much are you burning a season? With a shed like that the only way I’d be touching wood more than twice (once to put in shed and once to take out) would be if I need the other bays for storing equipment.

One bay for the tractor, one bay for the zero turn, one bay for firewood. I burn around 3 cord per winter. I think one bay will hold close to 4 cord, depending how it’s stacked.
I guess I don’t know exactly what my pattern/rotation will be yet. But generally when I drop a tree somewhere on the property, I like to buck it, split it, and stack it, right in place. Stay a couple years ahead on wood. Then each spring refill the woodshed bay with one of those piles.
Idk, that’s at least my initial vision, who knows how it’ll develop.

 

[Highbeam]

It just doesn’t matter. Get it in there stacked tight any direction you want. Off the ground and with a roof it will dry. You couldn’t keep it green if you wanted to without a sprinkler inside.

I fill my shed with more concern about blowing the sides out than about air flow, sun exposure, or prevailing winds.

 

[tabner]

OK cool, thanks.
After the abomination that was a close stacked pile under tarps, I thought there might be more of a science to it. But it sounds like just upgrading to a shed should be enough.

 

[stoveliker]

It's all about time. You can shorten the drying time (some) by having more sun and wind. But I think if you're 3 years ahead, then it won't be that beneficial to do it the best possible way. Maybe you'd see some difference with oak, but you'll be good anyway, imo.

 

[Woody Stover]

In which direction does this pile face, relative to the sun? Or is that not really a concern?
I do plan to only have wood in this shed once it's already been split and stacked for a year or two. So it's more of a finishing/staging shed as opposed to a long-term drying shed, so maybe it's irrelevant.

Air temp is the prime factor in drying wood. That's how guys get fresh Red Oak dry in a couple or three months with a solar kiln.
Air movement is a factor as well, but not as much as temp. @Simonkenton has a wood shed with solid walls on all sides, but still dries wood pretty fast, probably due to increased temp in the shed.
It doesn't seem to me that sun could be much of a factor. It's only hitting two sides of a six-sided "cube" (if it's not top-covered,) and only the exterior, not transferring heat to the middle of the stack.

I fill my shed with more concern about blowing the sides out than about air flow, sun exposure, or prevailing winds.

Yeah, but you're drying Douglas Fir, which only takes a few months according to begreen..

 

[tabner]

This is what I settled on. For now I’m gonna leave all the sides of the building open, like a pavilion/gazebo. There’s a good overhang on the roof on all sides, and this way snow and leaves won’t blow in and drift up. Plus firewood will have airflow from all directions. I wanted removable/temporary wood stacking supports in case I ever want to open it up or repurpose it. So these are just 1” x 4” oak strips I already had, with the bottoms in a cinder block. I know I shouldn’t stack directly on the ground, but it’s a 4” thick crushed stone base and it’s very dry in that area, I think it’ll be fine. By my math each row like this holds half a cord and I can fit up to 9 rows.