To cover, or not to cover, THAT is the quesion

[ansehnlich1]

Oh my, how many threads, how many posts, how much bandwidth, how much time, oh how much time spent reading the views, the opinions, the methodologies, the science, the formulas, the wind, the air, the location, the depth of rows, size of stack, on the ground, off the ground, in the air, the basement, the garage, pallets, sticks, stacked on concrete, on stones, cover with tarps, plastic, rolled roofing, tin, bark up, bark down, wood shed, open sides, closed, wind damage, bugs, sawdust, snakes, moisture content, holz hauzens, wheelbarrows, distance from house, termites, younameitwegotit.

Consider this....

Those who cover don't worry about the rain, it is only those who don't cover that question whether they should or not.

SOOOOOOO, if it was definite that rain has NO effect on a woodpile, then why would a thread ever come into being that questioned whether the pile should be covered or not?

Hence, my proclamation that, Covering Wood is Good!

All my wood, all the time, gets cut, split, stacked on pallets, and covered

 

[lumbering on]

All my stacks are in full view of my already skeptical neighbors.

I chose not to cover for aesthetic reasons. The stacks look good uncovered. The neighbors don't complain about my "junking" up the neighborhood with plastic/rubber/sheet metal.

Another compromise for the suburban homesteader.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, some like to buy a Cadillacs and others buy second hand Fords.

Remember quads? Many on this forum had and still have good respect for him, including me. He never covered his stacks and got along just fine. I do have some stacks out there now that have not been covered and the wood was cut in 2010. I did it just for kicks. Normally I split and stack in March/April but do not cover until November/December. Our wood does just fine.

 

[Butcher]

I like my farwood like a well endowd ladies breasts. Uncovered. But hey thats just me.

 

[gzecc]

Well, some like to buy a Cadillacs and others buy second hand Fords.

Remember quads? Many on this forum had and still have good respect for him, including me. He never covered his stacks and got along just fine. I do have some stacks out there now that have not been covered and the wood was cut in 2010. I did it just for kicks. Normally I split and stack in March/April but do not cover until November/December. Our wood does just fine.

More importantly, where is Quads?

 

[Dix]

I like my farwood like a well endowd ladies breasts. Uncovered. But hey thats just me.

Me, too.

 

[Ashful]

Me, too.

Ummm... which?

 

[Dix]

Ummm... which?

You're kidding, right??

 

[ScotO]

This argument rears it's ugly head several times a season (usually in the summer/fall) on here. And I've said it many times, I stack my wood in multiple rows (around 8 to be precise), off of the ground on skids, and I top cover it. But I usually only top-cover the wood I plan on using in a given winter around August. I usually let it season two years without the top cover, the third year it gets covered. I'll be top-covering ALL of it this summer as I now have enough rubber roofing material to do so....

As Sav mentioned above, different strokes fer different folks. some people get along fine without covering their stacks, some don't. I choose to top-cover because it works for me, and it works fantastic.....



Starting next year, the woodshed will come to fruition.....

 

[WeldrDave]

ladies breasts. Uncovered.

MMMM........ tata's.....Oh, where are we...... yea wood piles, easy, uncovered while drying, snow bearing lands north of central NJ, cover in winter, south of central NJ, not enough snow to really worry about unless you live in high elevations.
Ive never covered but when we did get snow, it would have been nice to have dry wood to bring in Those Ba$ta&ds at the tax board here will tax you for wood shelters in this neck of the woods thats one reason why I don't. If i lived in say upstate PA or NY, Mass etc.... I would cover in winter with out a doubt!

 

[ansehnlich1]

Aw, I don't know why I started this thread, I guess it was in response to another thread. Heck, it was Saturday morning and I was bored.

 

[Dix]

Aw, I don't know why I started this thread, I guess it was in response to another thread. Heck, it was Saturday morning and I was bored.

I'm over it, sorry for the derail Ans...

I top cover about the end of September, depends on the weather. Firewood 2 years ahead never gets top covered, until it's time to meet its maker

 

[weatherguy]

I cover all my wood before the leaves fall or else I end up with rotting leaves in between the splits, learned that the first year.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I'm over it, sorry for the derail Ans...

Hey, if ever there was a derailable thread this one would be it.

I was thinking about the cube thread where the wood's stacked solid, like 8 or 9 rows, and the question was to cover or not to cover, hence my thread.

I signed up here back in 2006 and it's just a hoot seeing the eternal discussion on all these wood items....I wonder how they burned firewood back in the day, pre internet.

A couple years ago I dug up some locust post that was buried since the early '60's and burned 'em, go figure.

I've seen construction lumber sit out uncovered for years and still was burnable.

But I CAN'T STAND the thought of my precious firewood being exposed to torrential rains and heavy snows for 2 or 3 years without being covered, the mere thought of it drives me crazy

 

[red oak]

MMMM........ tata's.....Oh, where are we...... yea wood piles, easy, uncovered while drying, snow bearing lands north of central NJ, cover in winter, south of central NJ, not enough snow to really worry about unless you live in high elevations.
Ive never covered but when we did get snow, it would have been nice to have dry wood to bring in Those Ba$ta&ds at the tax board here will tax you for wood shelters in this neck of the woods thats one reason why I don't. If i lived in say upstate PA or NY, Mass etc.... I would cover in winter with out a doubt!

This is why I don't have a woodshed - the cost! Years ago I considered building a woodshed but when I priced out what I would need it just wasn't worth it to me. I tried with tarps but they were just ripped up by a strong wind. So I put some under my deck (free) and I put about a week's worth in my basement (free). That way I always have dry wood on hand if needed. The main piles remain uncovered, and unless it's rained or snowed recently they burn just fine. If it has rained or snowed recently it gets set by the stove for a few days and it's good to go.

Recently I took down an old building for my mother and kept the sheets of metal roofing. I'm going to use this to top cover, similar to what BWS does. I'm curious to see if I'll notice a difference, but the great thing about it is the roofing sheets were FREE.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

More importantly, where is Quads?

I'm still looking for him.

 

[firefighterjake]

Uncovered . . . for the first year or two . . . but then it goes into the woodshed for another year before being burned in Year 3 . . . or 4. Buy then the wood is plenty dry.

And yeah . . . I miss Quads. Hope he is doing OK.

 

[oldspark]

I got 2 cents, 60 mph winds at times and single rows=no top cover for me until late fall and then just what I think I will need for that winter, I have to cover the whole row due to sidways snow.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Uncovered for first year or two with oak. I like the air to circulate up through the stacks also.
I cover what i'll typically use for the season in November, only to keep it snow free. No snow to speak of
for two years.. Oh well, maybe 2013.

 

[Ashful]

No snow to speak of for two years.. Oh well, maybe 2013.

Sorry, that's my fault. I bought a new snowblower in 2011.



Warranty will be expired before I get to use it once!

 

[bogydave]

Mine are uncovered for a year. The birch stacks have space between rows for good air circ.
Wood types matter with seasoning times & can it get wet repeatedly & not rot. ( birch, maple are 2 that benefit from being covered )

 

[Kenster]

I've never covered my stacks in the past. I keep several days worth of firewood on our big covered porch so, if some is brought up wet due to recent rain, it will be plenty dry by the time it goes into the stove.
However... Due to a recent hail storm, we are replacing our metal roof. I now had approximately 5500 square feet of metal roof panels. I set aside a dozen 16 feet long by about 3ft wide panels to be used for a shed. Plus, several more 16x2 sheets that I'll use to cover "this year's" stacks. I have to stack on the edge of the tree line. Intense Texas summer sun and prevailing winds from southwest dry my oak pretty quickly. The biggest advantage to topping stacks for me is keeping leaves and other debris out of the stacks. Stacks for future years will remain uncovered.

By the way, I gave away about 80% of the old roof materials to two very good neighbor buddies who are always helping me out with something.

 

[Oregon aloha]

This is why I don't have a woodshed - the cost!

That was my issue, so I started watching Craigslist for people tearing down stuff. Within a month I was able to get most of what I needed to build my wood shed complete with an aluminum roof and gutters. It holds 5 cords of wood and cost me just under $100.

 

[Hickorynut]

I like to cover after a couple of years. After leaving some red oak stacked uncovered for 4 or 5 years(maybe longer) I had a rotten mess with the bark and sapwood. Mostly with the top couple of layers. Other woods there wouldn't be such a problem though. Talking about woodsheds I made a off the ground beagle pen that had a wooden floor and tin roof into a woodshed. Works great and looks cool.

 

[Woody Stover]

I like to cover after a couple of years. After leaving some red oak stacked uncovered for 4 or 5 years(maybe longer) I had a rotten mess with the bark and sapwood

Oak is the prevalent wood here. I take mostly dead standing or down trees. I love burning it when it's finally dry but when I get it, the sapwood is almost always in some stage of decay. It's gotta slow drying, I don't really like running that stuff through my combustor, it doesn't give off much heat, and is a mess to bring in the house. It's an all-around pain in the arse. Gotta deal with it though, 'cuz I gets a lotta Oak.

I'll leave wood uncovered after I split it, until the first time it rains. It then remains covered.