Storage recommendations?

[Treenoob]

hello to all,
I’m a brand new to this burning wood gig, have a few questions if y’all dont mind. I plan on getting a wheeler load of tree length logs delivered. I was told it should be around 12ish green full cord for 1500 dollars. Can’t seem to find anything around me for less than 200 dollars cut and split so I figured I’d save some money and buck and split them myself. Have the equipment, maul, husky 440 with a 20 inch bar, I’ll have a 22 ton dirty hand tools splitter and a few other small tools to get me along the way. My question is how long do you think it would take 2 people to buck split and stack 12 cord? Second question is what would y’all recommend for storing 12 cord? Stacked and tarp over just the top under pallets? Should I build a shed? If so how big would you think it would have to be? I understand I won’t be able to use this firewood for around 18 months. Thank you guys in advance for the advice. Understand I probably sound real green, but I’ve been kicking around the woods my whole life and pick up quickly!

 

[Doc C]

hello to all,
I’m a brand new to this burning wood gig, have a few questions if y’all dont mind. I plan on getting a wheeler load of tree length logs delivered. I was told it should be around 12ish green full cord for 1500 dollars. Can’t seem to find anything around me for less than 200 dollars cut and split so I figured I’d save some money and buck and split them myself. Have the equipment, maul, husky 440 with a 20 inch bar, I’ll have a 22 ton dirty hand tools splitter and a few other small tools to get me along the way. My question is how long do you think it would take 2 people to buck split and stack 12 cord? Second question is what would y’all recommend for storing 12 cord? Stacked and tarp over just the top under pallets? Should I build a shed? If so how big would you think it would have to be? I understand I won’t be able to use this firewood for around 18 months. Thank you guys in advance for the advice. Understand I probably sound real green, but I’ve been kicking around the woods my whole life and pick up quickly!

If my wife and I are just screwing around we can do 1 cord CSS a day from a log deck. And that's a short day, running to get lunch, joking around and keeping things enjoyable.

When we push we can do 2 cords a day but then the next day I am sore and tired.

I would build a wood shed. Use pallets or something similiar to lift the wood off the ground to let air flow under neath. And keep the sides as open as possible to let air flow through. It sucks to have to fight snow to get your wood from under a tarp during the middle of winter.

As far as size....you need to figure 4x4x8' per cord. Then just have to adjust to get to the size shed you want.

My shed is large enough for 2 years of wood.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

For me, if i am sitting on 12 cord. I would want it in a wood shed. I have 3 of them so i am partial to them.. having to babysit that much wood for that long is to much of a chore
For 12 cords you would need 2 sheds 4.5x 30 long x 6'high
12 cord should take about a month if your system is good with mostly just weekend work

 

[peakbagger]

It really depends on your work ethic and physical condition. You are moving tons of green wood multiple times. When I cut trees in the woods I can tolerate working up a 1/2 cord at best in day but I hand split. Four hours is about all I can tolerate before I am beat, less ifs it hot out. With a couple fo folks I can do eight hours. Ideally you want more than two folks. Its take two to run the splitter, You can only buck so much out of the stack of logs before its gets dangerous trying to walk around on rounds and the same with the splitter, if you get much wood under foot its gets dangerous. with an extra one or two folks they can buck up a pile and then swap over to stacking. Its gets old after awhile so swapping around the work really helps. Just make sure to take a few Advil in advance and drink plenty of fluids.

Nothing wrong with stacking on pallets two or three wide in a long row (ideally two but three goes quicker and fits on the pallets better). I box in the corners on individual cord piles but that takes more time. Ideally you want to stack between end posts to speed things up. Ideally if you can get more pallets, lay them on the top of the stacks and then cover the tops of the pallet, that provides some air space for the stack to breathe.

The bummer is that it take two years for wood to dry. Ideally if you dont have some already dry, you need to single row stack 2 cords in the sunniest place you have which has good airflow. These can be bit more work to keep stable but dry quicker.

 

[Doc C]

I can get pine and fir below 20% by winter if the trees are fell in the winter before and CSS as soon as the snow is gone. Hardwood is a different story.

I had some cedar that I can't burn because I'm allergic to it. Had 2 guys come get it. Probably 1/2 cord. Took them 3 full weekends!!

 

[peakbagger]

Not many folks in Maine would voluntarily buy pine. It still can burn fine but the preferred wood to burn is hardwood which typically takes 2 years to dry. Long ago Maine may have been the Pine Tree State but now its a mix of hardwood in coastal and western maine and predominant spruce/fir inland. There still is white pine but its far rarer than in the past except in tree farms.

 

[Doc C]

Not many folks in Maine would voluntarily buy pine. It still can burn fine but the preferred wood to burn is hardwood which typically takes 2 years to dry. Long ago Maine may have been the Pine Tree State but now its a mix of hardwood in coastal and western maine and predominant spruce/fir inland. There still is white pine but its far rarer than in the past except in tree farms.

Must be nice! When people around here buy wood they have a choice of pine, pine, or pine with a little fir!

Pine is most of my wood pile with a little bit of birch and a tiny bit of maple thrown in.

 

[peakbagger]

I remember sitting in front of campfire once in upper state new york with some west coast folks. They were looking at the hardwood splits we were throwing in the fire and they were insisting that they would be building furniture out of it on the west coast .

 

[Treenoob]

Awesome advice. It’s great that I can reach out to this community and get some tips and ideas. Yeah that 1500 dollar 18 wheeler load is all hardwood. I have just shy of 20 acres with mostly pine, for and birch with few hardwoods mixed in but they are deep and hard to access. What’s the general thought of burning long seasoned pine/ birch? I’ve been it burns hot and quick. But if the moisture levels are down, would it be okay to add a cord in the mix of hardwoods each winter? And if anyone else has different storage ideas I’d love to hear them. Two 30 foot sheds sounds like that’s the way to go. Father gave me the stove and it came from his place in western mass. He said he burned 5 1/2 cord a season so that’s what I’m assuming as well in Maine. My thoughts are to have 2 or three seasons firewood on hand from heat on out?

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

hello to all,
I’m a brand new to this burning wood gig, have a few questions if y’all dont mind. I plan on getting a wheeler load of tree length logs delivered. I was told it should be around 12ish green full cord for 1500 dollars. Can’t seem to find anything around me for less than 200 dollars cut and split so I figured I’d save some money and buck and split them myself. Have the equipment, maul, husky 440 with a 20 inch bar, I’ll have a 22 ton dirty hand tools splitter and a few other small tools to get me along the way. My question is how long do you think it would take 2 people to buck split and stack 12 cord? Second question is what would y’all recommend for storing 12 cord? Stacked and tarp over just the top under pallets? Should I build a shed? If so how big would you think it would have to be? I understand I won’t be able to use this firewood for around 18 months. Thank you guys in advance for the advice. Understand I probably sound real green, but I’ve been kicking around the woods my whole life and pick up quickly!

Thats a fair amount of work you have in front of you. Time it takes depends on lots of factors, but just make sure to stay focused enough to stay out of harm's way.

You can't rush it. You don't want it to look like a boy scout went at it with a dull hatchet (bonus points to those who can place the quote).

Seriously though, it'll be fine on the ground until the ground thaws and the bacteria wakes up again. By then, you'll want it off the ground. I prefer pipes and landscape timbers in single rows, in the sun where you can. Pallets are great, too.

The wood sheds are a great aspiration. Those will take time and energy as well. I'd focus on getting the logs cut split and stacked off the ground, then they can be seasoning while you find that perfect spot to put up the sheds.

 

[Doc C]

Awesome advice. It’s great that I can reach out to this community and get some tips and ideas. Yeah that 1500 dollar 18 wheeler load is all hardwood. I have just shy of 20 acres with mostly pine, for and birch with few hardwoods mixed in but they are deep and hard to access. What’s the general thought of burning long seasoned pine/ birch? I’ve been it burns hot and quick. But if the moisture levels are down, would it be okay to add a cord in the mix of hardwoods each winter? And if anyone else has different storage ideas I’d love to hear them. Two 30 foot sheds sounds like that’s the way to go. Father gave me the stove and it came from his place in western mass. He said he burned 5 1/2 cord a season so that’s what I’m assuming as well in Maine. My thoughts are to have 2 or three seasons firewood on hand from heat on out?

Zero problem burning pine if it's in the proper MC. Also maybe our birch is different but I get my longest burn times out of birch. Every piece has to be split or it just doesn't want to dry but birch is by FAR my favorite wood out of what we have. I can open my damper half way with birch and get a ton of heat or I can keep my damper almost closed and get long burn times out of it.

We have white birch also called paper birch by some folks.

I have some pine that is going on 4 years old now. That's the stuff when I want a TON of heat in a hurry that I grab.

My birch from the same time frame you can't tell the difference from that stuff and the Birch I cut this last spring.

 

[Treenoob]

Doc C, good to hear I can burn some pine and birch. I’ve dropped some serious sized pine, for and groan while clearing a 300 meter shooting range this last summer. I cut them up and dragged them off to the sides. None of this will be happening until April, could you foresee any issues If i got that load delivered and put on runners off the ground and then covered(or uncovered?) until July? Currently in the process of exiting the military.

 

[Doc C]

Doc C, good to hear I can burn some pine and birch. I’ve dropped some serious sized pine, for and groan while clearing a 300 meter shooting range this last summer. I cut them up and dragged them off to the sides. None of this will be happening until April, could you foresee any issues If i got that load delivered and put on runners off the ground and then covered(or uncovered?) until July? Currently in the process of exiting the military.

I have a log deck on skids that is made up of birch and pine. They have been in a deck for 2 years now. The Birch is staring to go bad. I HAVE to get it cut up this spring. I found that birch gets soft if it's not cut up in a year or two and split and stacked. I have heard that you can score the Birch and leave it in logs but I have never tried. The pine seems fine. I think off the ground it will last for a few years at least.

As far as your load being delivered I can't imagine hardwoods would have a problem sitting on runners for 6 months. I might be wrong but I can't see it

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

Birch and pine are fine . . . in fact I like to have a bit of pine in my stacks as it makes for great wood during the shoulder seasons, great for burning when I am home during a weekend day and just puttering about the house and good for use when burning down the coals by tossing a single split on a stack of coals.

My wife also likes birch . . . mainly because it comes wrapped in its own kindling and is good for easy restarts on coals.

Don't worry too much about the wood lying on the ground until summer . . . generally wood here in Maine doesn't rot that quickly and should be fine.

Storage . . . for my first year I stacked my wood and top covered it with a tarp. It's a cheap solution, but grabbing an arm load of wood and wrestling with the tarp in middle of a snowstorm or even just having to deal with the hassle of knocking off the snow and ice can be a pain. I season my wood outside uncovered in stacks for a year or two . . . and then move the wood into my woodshed (where it sits for another year or so before burning.) I love my woodshed since it is so much nicer to grab the wood without messing with a tarp. That said . . . it is more expensive as a rule vs. tarps and I still prefer to season my wood outside before placing it in the shed.

"Y'all?" . . . you're not from Maine originally are you?

You may or may not use the same amount of wood as your father . . . depends on how good the home's insulation is, size of the home, etc. . . but as a rule, apples to apples, yes . . . you should use the same amount of wood . . . roughly.

I've never really broke down my time into how long it would take to process a cord of wood . . . much less 12 cords. I would say it would depend on how hard and fast a person works, the number of breaks, equipment break downs vs. no breakdowns, etc.

 

[Treenoob]

Random thoughts . . .

Birch and pine are fine . . . in fact I like to have a bit of pine in my stacks as it makes for great wood during the shoulder seasons, great for burning when I am home during a weekend day and just puttering about the house and good for use when burning down the coals by tossing a single split on a stack of coals.

My wife also likes birch . . . mainly because it comes wrapped in its own kindling and is good for easy restarts on coals.

Don't worry too much about the wood lying on the ground until summer . . . generally wood here in Maine doesn't rot that quickly and should be fine.

Storage . . . for my first year I stacked my wood and top covered it with a tarp. It's a cheap solution, but grabbing an arm load of wood and wrestling with the tarp in middle of a snowstorm or even just having to deal with the hassle of knocking off the snow and ice can be a pain. I season my wood outside uncovered in stacks for a year or two . . . and then move the wood into my woodshed (where it sits for another year or so before burning.) I love my woodshed since it is so much nicer to grab the wood without messing with a tarp. That said . . . it is more expensive as a rule vs. tarps and I still prefer to season my wood outside before placing it in the shed.

"Y'all?" . . . you're not from Maine originally are you?

You may or may not use the same amount of wood as your father . . . depends on how good the home's insulation is, size of the home, etc. . . but as a rule, apples to apples, yes . . . you should use the same amount of wood . . . roughly.

I've never really broke down my time into how long it would take to process a cord of wood . . . much less 12 cords. I would say it would depend on how hard and fast a person works, the number of breaks, equipment break downs vs. no breakdowns, etc.

 

[Treenoob]

Firefighterjake, indeed I am from Maine. Born and raised proudly! Just heavily seasoned accent from all around the United States. I work everyday with 40 guys which are most from different states so I’ve picked up some things over the years good to hear my log delivery should be okay for a few months. Thinking of processing all the 12 cord, splitting and stacking one cord with 6 inches between on pallets and then simply framing up a clear poly roof. Seems the most economical. Leave the sides front and back exposed for sun and wind etc. but will hopefully deter some of our wonderful Maine snowfall. Delightful to hear that burning well seasoned pine isn’t taboo as I’ve heard that my whole life. Have lots of fell pine, birch and what I think to be elm from my clearing this summer. Sounds like I’ll have a few more from there too

 

[Doc C]

Random thoughts . . .

Birch and pine are fine . . . in fact I like to have a bit of pine in my stacks as it makes for great wood during the shoulder seasons, great for burning when I am home during a weekend day and just puttering about the house and good for use when burning down the coals by tossing a single split on a stack of coals.

My wife also likes birch . . . mainly because it comes wrapped in its own kindling and is good for easy restarts on coals.

Don't worry too much about the wood lying on the ground until summer . . . generally wood here in Maine doesn't rot that quickly and should be fine.

Storage . . . for my first year I stacked my wood and top covered it with a tarp. It's a cheap solution, but grabbing an arm load of wood and wrestling with the tarp in middle of a snowstorm or even just having to deal with the hassle of knocking off the snow and ice can be a pain. I season my wood outside uncovered in stacks for a year or two . . . and then move the wood into my woodshed (where it sits for another year or so before burning.) I love my woodshed since it is so much nicer to grab the wood without messing with a tarp. That said . . . it is more expensive as a rule vs. tarps and I still prefer to season my wood outside before placing it in the shed.

"Y'all?" . . . you're not from Maine originally are you?

You may or may not use the same amount of wood as your father . . . depends on how good the home's insulation is, size of the home, etc. . . but as a rule, apples to apples, yes . . . you should use the same amount of wood . . . roughly.

I've never really broke down my time into how long it would take to process a cord of wood . . . much less 12 cords. I would say it would depend on how hard and fast a person works, the number of breaks, equipment break downs vs. no breakdowns, etc.

Also the quality of equipment has ALOT to do with process time. Using a cant hook to roll your logs so your not cutting dirt with your saw. Having several chains all sharp and ready. A good wood splitter that doesn't take all day to return after you split. When I get in a rhythm I actually am waiting on the log splitter. I like to use a small trailer behind my atv so I am not putting the firewood all the way up into my truck and having to climb up and down. Also my wife can go unload the atv trailer while I'm cutting more wood.

There are lots of ways to save time cutting wood. I refuse to sharpen my chain while I'm cutting. I have 2 saws and fresh chains. At the end of the day I sit down and sharpen everything....with an adult beverage of course. Can't do that while I'm cutting for safety reasons.

 

[peakbagger]

Pine laying on the ground with the bark on it does tend to self destruct fairly quickly as pine borers move. Ideally if you cant cut and split it, stripping the bark off will stop the borers. Even with good bark spud its a PITA so most just saw it up and bore it.

White birch which is standard is the primary birch in Maine also like to rot very quickly if not split. It rots standing up so if you look up at the tree at the crown if there is much die back (or lack of buds on the branches in winter), it may be partially dead and will be more prone to rotting. If you do need to drop healthy trees and dont have time to cut and split, run you saw lengthwise along the length of the trunk, make sure you cut the inner and outer bark, that usually keeps it from rotting for a year or two unless it was already rotting. If you get any of it in your truck load, deal with it first. Also when processing birch depending on the the time of the year you get it, the bark may be easy to strip off. Definitely have a cardboard box nearby and save it. Its a great fire starter.

Both pine and white birch are best burned in an air tight stove as if the stove is leaky it can tend to burn too hot. A lot of folks mix it in with partially dry hardwood.

Good to hear you are moving back to Maine, the state needs as many good folks that they can get to keep the doors open in the rural areas.

 

[Treenoob]

Doc C,
A can’t hook is a new term for me. Have a few back up saws and all with sharp chains as I haven’t mastered the sharpening side of chains( have a lot of dull chains) and the splitter is a dht 22ton brand new. Plan on building a quick cheap table level with the splitter to make things easier. Plan to have the delivery dropped close to where we will be splitting and close to stacking as well. I’m sure we will utilize the atv trailer as well.
Peakbagger, good to know about the pine and birch. I think with it only sitting in the brush for 8 months tops it should be okay. I’m also glad to be coming home. Been waiting a long time to be back for good, can’t come soon enough!

 

[Doc C]

Doc C,
A can’t hook is a new term for me. Have a few back up saws and all with sharp chains as I haven’t mastered the sharpening side of chains( have a lot of dull chains) and the splitter is a dht 22ton brand new. Plan on building a quick cheap table level with the splitter to make things easier. Plan to have the delivery dropped close to where we will be splitting and close to stacking as well. I’m sure we will utilize the atv trailer as well.
Peakbagger, good to know about the pine and birch. I think with it only sitting in the brush for 8 months tops it should be okay. I’m also glad to be coming home. Been waiting a long time to be back for good, can’t come soon enough!

For several years I would have half a dozen or so chains and when they got dull I would drop them off at the local John deere dealer to sharpen them. One year they blued a few and the chains went downhill fast. I bought an electric sharpener and spent some time learning. Actually pretty simple. I still keep files on hand in case I get in a pinch and have to hand sharpen but it's been a long time.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

You want to prep your storage area first. It will be more efficient to complete your storage project, then work on cutting into rounds, splitting and stacking. I usually buck, split and stack 2 cords at a time.

 

[Sawset]

How much time (one person):
cutting, can vary a lot, so many variables, saw, chain, wood density, green or dry, size of rounds, etc.
splitting, 3-4 cords in 4 hrs, then I'm done for the day, vertical 22ton splitter, white-red oak, maple, cherry. Done more hrs, then wished I hadn't.
stacking - 3 cords in couple hours if loading and stacking by hand, and trailer for carting, all close by.

stacking, all of it is outside, uncovered, air dry. Bring in a years supply (4-5cord) during dry season (August, September) and store it under a lean-to or inside the shed. Early on when I didn't have inside shelter, I made up covers to keep the snow and rain off. Somehow get it covered for current years use.

Your milage may vary.

 

[D8Chumley]

Off topic, but I want to thank you guys for your service!
EDIT: And welcome aboard

 

[edward dillon]

All these are great helpful ideas,I can add a few. It’s all about how many times you have to bend over. When working on log lengths it’s nice to have plywood to walk on logs beneath you. I will cut for 1 tankful of gas in saw then I back my truck up to the edge of log lengths. Oh I always have a hand held blower and blow all sawdust of the rounds. I have a hookaroon to stab the round in the middle length wise and stack in truck without bending over. To release hookaroon sometimes you need to give it a kick with steel toe boots. Backing the truck up to a dr rapid fire splitter with table I can unload the rounds from the truck only going into the truck once. My stack pile is on a hill so gravity helps th rounds roll out. Wood is seasoned for 2 years then it goes into wheelbarrow down a slight hill to the wood drop in the garage to big bins on wheels. Then loaded into a Vigas wood gasification boiler with 500 gallon storage. I have pics if that helps .

 

[Treenoob]

D8 chimney, thank you for your support. We need it these days.
Edward Dillon, that sounds like quite a system you have developed. I plan on having everything within 20ish feet away. What’s a hookaroon if you don’t me asking.
Also, What is the average amount of wood you guys bring in at a time? I’ve always been told not to store large amounts for long inside due to termites, ants critters of that nature.