Thinking of switch from Rick Racks to one large storage shed - any cons?

[Amin1992]

Hey guys, appreciate the input here. I currently have a bunch of firewood racks scattered on my property that hold a bit over 1/3 of a cord. I love them - theyre easy and cheap to build, and dry firewood out pretty quickly since theyre only a single row of splits. However, Even with 5 on the property, I'm only able to store about 1.5 cords... Attached some photos of what they look like.

I want to utilize my space a bit more though. I figure I could build a large firewood shed (attached some example photos of what I'm thinking) and if I made it something like what this link shows, it would be 7' tall, 12' wide, and around 5' thick. I could easily store 3 cords in this!

Here are my concerns though. Can you guys let me know if I'm being crazy, or realistic? I dont want to spend the time and money on this only to regret it...

-Will the wood take significantly longer to dry? Being stacked more than one split length thick worries me. My property is heavily shaded. And could the wood end up just rotting instead? Currently my racks brought some oak splits from mid 30%s down to 22% in 7 months...

-Will this invite major pests in? I have snakes, mice, and other critters on the property. My racks already get ants from time to time so I worry about inviting more pests in.

-When dealing with a rack like this, how do you stack it in such a way to be able to access dry wood? I'm afraid I'd stack my "oldest" wood in the back first, and then be unable to get to it. I'm typically splitting and stacking firewood about 1/3 cord at a time. I don't purchase large quantities - I just have lots of dead trees that I get to when I can. With my current racks I can easily choose which rick I want to pull from first, and plan accordingly. If I have a storage shed I'm not sure how I'd go about it

Appreciate your input guys. Means a lot.

 

[begreen]

If you build a large shed, design it so that the prevailing winds can blow through the stacked wood and leave the back and sides ventilated as opposed to closed off. Lattice works well for this as shown in the second picture. Have enough overhang to keep rain and snow off the wood.

 

[Amin1992]

Hi again Begreen, hope youre well. Thanks for the input - yes I would plan on slatting the sides to allow for lots of airflow. My only hang up is, because of the size, I may not be able to position it in the direction of our prevailing winds... going to try though.

 

[begreen]

Wood that is in the shed for a couple years should dry out enough. If possible build it large enough to accommodate 2-3 seasons' worth of wood.

 

[Amin1992]

Ok got it. I burn about 1.5 cords a year, so I am literally using up all of my rick racks right now... I was thinking I could have room for one large shed that holds 3 cords (2 seasons) and fill half at a time, so I can alternate back and forth without having to move wood in and out to get to the back...

Only thing that worries me is that prevailing wind. It would be ideal to build it facing the west, but the wind blows across our lot N/S or S/N almost always...

 

[begreen]

If at all possible, build it larger. Ours holds 6 cords (3 per bay) and I have ended up using parts of one bay at different times for all sorts of reasons. I ended up wishing I had added a third bay to park the mower in, for yard tools, gas cans, etc.

 

[peakbagger]

If property taxes are significant in your area, be aware the wood racks are not taxable but wood sheds may be. I get hit for around $50 a year taxes on 4 posts and roof.

if you have skunks around, they love to build dens under elevated sheds like shown in the photo. Hardware cloth buried flat about 1 foot out from the base of the building then vertical to cover the gap usually stops them.

If you do multiple rows leave a gap between them. When you stack, save some long poles to weave into the piles so that the gap is maintained. that really increases air flow.

I only have the upwind end of my wood shed covered during non winter seasons. I cover the front in winter but the rear and the downwind end is left open.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm fairly religious with burning between 3.5 to 4 full cords a season, I built a wood shed that holds approx 8 cords when full, while building the shed I purposely built dividers to isolate the piles at 2 cords each, that way I can alternate bays and its worked really well for me, I'll empty almost all of 2 bays, then restack fresh wood in the empty ones and it can sit for 2 summers open to air but not the weather, one of the best wood burning improvements I ever made.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Ok got it. I burn about 1.5 cords a year, so I am literally using up all of my rick racks right now... I was thinking I could have room for one large shed that holds 3 cords (2 seasons) and fill half at a time, so I can alternate back and forth without having to move wood in and out to get to the back...

Only thing that worries me is that prevailing wind. It would be ideal to build it facing the west, but the wind blows across our lot N/S or S/N almost always...

Id put the shed facing south. Not exactly sure where in PA you are but generally in this area south is the way to go. I would build a shed that holds 5 to 6 cords and that should be plenty of wood for you to rotate. Each bin should be roughly 4.5x6x6.5 will get you close to what you need a shed roughly 24ft will do it vent the floor sides and back, your wood will dry in there..One of the best things I did was sheds

 

[stoveliker]

I second all that's been said. I'd add that it is a good idea to keep the back open just like the front. So you have no issues with from what side you start stacking, old wood first etc. You can take wood from both sides.

 

[EbS-P]

Every one has given pros. I’ll give some cons. I want a shed. I scrounge all my wood. I never know how much or when it will come my way. Right now there are three piles within 6 houses on my street. 1/2 cord maybe. If I had a shed it would be full. City won’t pick up the big stuff so I’ll have to look at it for weeks. It would end up in my piles. And then probably in a 1/2 cord rack. So my solution is a “walking” two row stack along my fence line.

i will start stacking at one end and keep stacking along the fence adding more . I have about 200 feet. Need more room I just 6 more cinder blocks and pt 2x4s and 3 landscaping timbers for each 8 feet I want to add. I ideally I would have roofing tin on top but I haven’t found 3’ wide sections yet. Really haven’t looked too hard. So I have tarps.

I really think even with a shed you will have stacks. Just not as many. Unless you have big shed. Then you can get in to permit /code/tax situations.

I still want a shed. It’s better than leaky tarps.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Every one has given pros. I’ll give some cons. I want a shed. I scrounge all my wood. I never know how much or when it will come my way. Right now there are three piles within 6 houses on my street. 1/2 cord maybe. If I had a shed it would be full. City won’t pick up the big stuff so I’ll have to look at it for weeks. It would end up in my piles. And then probably in a 1/2 cord rack. So my solution is a “walking” two row stack along my fence line.

i will start stacking at one end and keep stacking along the fence adding more . I have about 200 feet. Need more room I just 6 more cinder blocks and pt 2x4s and 3 landscaping timbers for each 8 feet I want to add. I ideally I would have roofing tin on top but I haven’t found 3’ wide sections yet. Really haven’t looked too hard. So I have tarps.

I really think even with a shed you will have stacks. Just not as many. Unless you have big shed. Then you can get in to permit /code/tax situations.

I still want a shed. It’s better than leaky tarps.

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Just like with everything else you will eventually out grow what you have. I just added some additional storage space. Im glad I did especially with the way things are going now and who knows what the next year will bring. Im actually selling some of my wood here and there at a premium price. I like the split, stack and forget about it until I need it

 

[Niro]

I just built a 8x12 I estimated about $800 in material costs between lumber hangers and hurricane ties. 100sq ft is the limit in my town without permit an taxes. I would find out what the limit is for you and build the biggest you can if your trying to keep costs down.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

I built larger versions of similar racks that what you have that hold little less than half a cord each. They don’t take up a lot of room and I can put them right up against the property line / chain link fence. They also have the benefit of being within my amateurish carpentry skills. All made with 8’ lumber that fits in the minivan and zero waste pieces. Best part is, I can get green oak below 20% in a year which from what you will read around here is supposedly impossible.