Storing wood in a garage

[hunter29]

Is this a bad idea ?

 

[bholler]

Is this a bad idea ?

Generally yes it is a bad idea.

 

[hunter29]

Why? if its clean and bug free, not looking to dry the wood just store it..

 

[bholler]

Why? if its clean and bug free, not looking to dry the wood just store it..

If you could get it bug free and it was well below 20% moisture content already it would be ok.

 

[weatherguy]

I have a metal rack on rollers that I put a couple weeks of wood in my garage, its seasoned before I bring it in, I just like to have it there in case of bad weather I dont have to dig out my wood right away after a storm.

 

[hunter29]

Thanks guys, anyone else ? I have some wood, don't know what it is, its very dry, been out side in big rounds 20 inches but cut thin, about eight inches. Started splitting it, it is very tough, had two pieces go flying eight feet when it broke on the spliter, its gray and has no bark but has pimples or what may have been thorns, its not honey locust..

 

[Grizzerbear]

Huh pimples....sounds like hickory to me. As long as it's fairly dry and not obviously infested with termites or other critters u should b ok.

 

[Grizzerbear]

O yea....ortho home defense...like 15 bucks for 1 gallon....works great for killing those critters. Just spray around your pile on floor in garage or footer and or stem wall of whole house for that matter. Not affiliated with ortho but this stuff is useful

 

[hunter29]

Its very clean, been out in the weather uncovered for 8 or 9 years, tried to split it with a axe and it bounced right off, then a sledge with a wedge, nothing worked, even the log splitter has a hard time, this is the toughest wood I have ever seen..

ETA, I am amazed it has not rotted out after all that time , covered in snow and getting rained on. what ever it is I'll call it super wood, its like it was pressure treated..

 

[AlbergSteve]

Broad-headed borer, termites, powder post beetle - three reasons not to store wood in your house. I have all three in my wood.

 

[Knots]

I have a two-bay underneath my ranch house. I have steel racks in between the two bays. In late summer/early fall I wait for a week without rain and lots of sun and then I bring the well-seasoned wood in. If it looks buggy it doesn't come in. I haven't had any problems. I have another couple of racks in the basement.

Anything with bark or buggy-looking stays outside and goes directly into the stove.

 

[trguitar]

Every winter I bring about 3 cord of wood into my garage, so I don't have to trudge out in the snow and cold. I don't store it in there in the summer. But, I've never had a problem with bugs. Bugs are dormant in the winter, so I've always thought it is OK.

 

[Sawset]

We have three spots for cordwood.

1) stacks outside (2-4yrs).
2) outside small lean to for current year storage (2-3cord)
3) inside garage for current year storage (2-3cord)

No bugs or other miserable things that I've noticed.
I used 1.5 conduit as vertical supports.
2x4s ceiling and floor to receive the conduits.
Wire half way up to hold conduit in place.

 

[Simonkenton]

Termites have to have wet wood. They have to be in contact with the ground as they work their way up a wood pile.
So, if you put termite infested wood in a garage with a concrete floor, the termites will all die.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Termites have to have wet wood. They have to be in contact with the ground as they work their way up a wood pile.
So, if you put termite infested wood in a garage with a concrete floor, the termites will all die.

Drywood termites live in dry wood. Subterranean termites live underground, and dampwood termites live in, you guessed it, damp wood.
Swarmer termites of all species have wings and fly to establish new colonies. PestWorld recommends keeping firewood 20 feet away from your house.

 

[Sawset]

Are termites a regional thing? By the time the stacks bake in the sun a couple years here, the most I see are woodchucks burrowing underneath.

 

[johneh]

I have been storing fire wood in my basement for the last 45 years
Log house rubble stone basement never had a bug problem . The
odd little critter but the cats take care of that . No termites to
cold here you know 8 months of good sledding 4 months of
poor sledding . If I lived South I would not store it inside
you guys got to may destructive bugs

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I've been storing wood in my detached garage for 30 years and yes it does get bugs, ants, all kind of things taking up residence in the wood, but by the time I burn it they are either gone or dead, I don't have ants or bugs running out of the wood all around the house trying to escape being burned lol!

But a time or two I had some kind of flying bugs hatch after the wood was inside near the end of the heating season, it wasn't an overwhelming amount and I could get them out of the house no problem. But this garage gets like a dry kiln in the Summer, if you stand in there long enough it'll suck the moisture out of you, and the wood is always super dry and ready to go. I guess you have to weigh the options, and again this is a detached double car garage about 50 feet away from the house.

 

[Simonkenton]

I must be the luckiest man in the world. I have kept a big firewood pile under my kitchen window, stacked right up against the house, for 22 years. No termites have attacked my house so far. Big roof overhang, morning sunshine on the pile, lots of wind.
The wood gets dry.

I guess I am just lucky.

 

[weatherguy]

Are termites a regional thing? By the time the stacks bake in the sun a couple years here, the most I see are woodchucks burrowing underneath.

There are areas of the country where they're more of a problem than others. I know someone in Texas who told me you have to stay on top of things or you'll have a problem.