What happened to my stack!

[Platinum8]

Hey everyone. I know I'm not the only one that has lost a nice wood stack but I am new at it and was wondering what went wrong. I attached a couple pics.
The back stack was about 7' tall,16' long and only about 16-20" deep.
The front one was all consistent at 4' high, 16' long and 16" deep.

I have no clue on what happened. One thought was that a critter was up there and my other thought was did one of the pallets give way? They were a little iffy. I did have about 12"-15" between the stacks. Should I have not?

Any feed back would be great. It's very disappointing and a little embarrassing. Especially for the my first one.
Thanks in advance!


(broken image removed)(broken image removed)

 

[NordicSplitter]

As wood dries out, it shrinks because of moisture loss making it unstable in certain spots. The back stack just kept leaning over enough until it pushed the front stack over with it. Happens to most everyone, good thing is, your wood is drying out. Get used to it, it will happen again sooner or later..

 

[Platinum8]

Thanks Nordic. Good to know but the worst part is I just stacked it yesterday! [emoji16]

 

[Poindexter]

Fresh green wood will stay stacked until the MC gets down to the fiber saturation point, about 30% MC. As it continues to dry it will start shrinking and keep shrinking all the way down to equillibrium. So when your green stacks start moving they are down to 30% and dropping.

If your wood was already pretty dry it might have just shifted. In my dry wood shed my stacks are all leaning one against the next. Maybe rebuild the first stack 4" off the wall at the ground and then have teh stack already leaning on the wall when it gets to be about 4' up. Then start the second row about two inches off the first one and have it be leaning against the first about 4' up.

Stacking splits more than 4' tall takes a lot of practice. i pull my bents and curves as I go and stack them at the top of the stacks.

 

[Platinum8]

The question is do I empty it and restock it?!

 

[Applesister]

That happened to me too, thought it was one of my neighbors barn cats. Was really apprehensive of what was gonna be at the bottom of the heap but I bet when they go it happens slowly.

 

[NordicSplitter]

The question is do I empty it and restock it?!

Re stack it and push the back stack against the wall. It should be ok.

 

[Applesister]

That bummed me out really bad, same with me..next day went out to admire my nice stack and all my handiwork and I wanted to cry. You have twice as much as I had stacked, I'd be hardput to wanna restack it.
Think how much more you could get in that space if you just piled it to the ceiling. No restacking. So it takes 3 years to dry....

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

im sure it had the dreaded lean for awhile before she tipped. Hate when mine tips over, which happens all to often for my liking.

 

[Corey]

If it was stacked for some good amount of time, then fell, I'd be tempted to say uneven drying. I have a couple of stacks which continually lean east. Seems like they might get a bit more sun/wind on that side, so it dries out, shrinks a bit and causes the lean.

But you say this was only stacked one day. So, likely something gave way. You mention 7' tall, 16' long and only 20" deep. That's quite a long, thin, unsupported run, IMHO. 7' tall is also quite a load on a pallet, too. You might try something more substantial for a footing, and consider making a stack at the center of your 16' run using some some wood in the "criss-cross" arrangement normally seen at wood pile ends. That will help add some stability to the center of the run where it's needed the most.

 

[firefighterjake]

Gravity happens?

Actually I suspect you've already got your answer . . . in time you will learn how to avoid this situation with your stacking ninja prowess.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Thanks Nordic. Good to know but the worst part is I just stacked it yesterday! [emoji16]

Oh, sincere condolences. Been there, done that, once or twice even heard that horrible whhhhuuuurmp as it happened as I walked away.

Folks here have good suggestions. Here's one more. Get a level. It's very hard, I find, to stack evenly when you're only looking at it from one side. I've spent an hour or two doing a great job I was really proud of, only to wander over towards the end and reaize with horror that my stack was leaning forward like crazy.

 

[Wood Duck]

I have had many stacks fall over, but almost all of them were stack of fresh wood. I assume wood shrinkage was the reason, although I am sure my stacking could be more carefully done.

 

[velvetfoot]

It's drying out in the shed? I can't see that. Usually, it dries outside and then is brought into the shed for the winter's fuel. I also can't see the space between the rows inside the shed.

 

[Soundchasm]

My woodshed is in a fenced in section and the front row was getting a serious lean, so I went to look closer. Saw a few pieces on the ground and thought what the heck? Didn't take too long to figure my canine gal (bit of a tomboy) was pulling splits out off the BOTTOM of the 7' tall front layer. She was after mice or chipmunks or snakes or whatever. Straightened it up, happened again, repeat several times.

She's not gonna' get hurt because I'm keeping it low. But she's never more alive than when she's on a scent. So I'll work with her on this one.

 

[CountryBoy19]

The only stacks I've ever lost were single row stacks. Double-row stacks can "lean on" each-other and are far less likely to fall over...

I've only ever lost 2 single row stacks. The first was due to shrinkage as the wood dried. I wasn't quick enough in getting it all pushed back into place... that was a mess to clean up. Second stack I lost was due to wind. We had a nasty storm come through (ripped roof off a nearby commercial building, blew my fence over etc), nothing I could do about that...

 

[peakbagger]

One "trick" I use is I leave a 6" air space between rows when I stack. I usually have some double or triple length logs left over from sawing and I add one in to span the piles every couple of feet in height. It really steadies the piles despite the air gaps. Even 2" diameter branches work well.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I. . .was wondering what went wrong.

1) Gravity always wins

2) Even the best of us (like me) have a stack collapse

3) Take more care to keep your stacks plumb and level when you re-stack

 

[Got Wood]

I have had stacks fall too many times. They tend to be either newly stacked stacks (suspect poor stacking is issue) or long timers (shrink and settle). The other is when I'm pulling from stacks to bring in to the house (think Jenga) - had one of those just the other day.
One trick I learned, when I see a "bulging" portion of a stack - take a sledge hammer and tap the pieces back in line.

 

[Craig S.]

I've had a few leaners that never fell that I either tapped back, or re-stacked ... I do find that stacks get unstable over 5' high.

 

[Diabel]

My solution!

 

[mustangwagz]

i like to Amish stack the ends.. criss cross the logs like building a jenga pile. that always helped me.

 

[firefighterjake]

i like to Amish stack the ends.. criss cross the logs like building a jenga pile. that always helped me.

Never heard it called that . . .

 

[jillybeansisme]

The question is do I empty it and restock it?!

Isn't that kind of inevitable, if you're going to burn it? (OK, j/k, I know you meant "empty it and restack it!) Anyway, I got three sets of log stackers that I plan to use. Ordered them from Walmart with free shipping. They require some 2x4s -- 2 vertical and 2 cut in half for the 4 uprights (which could be 2x4x10s cut in half). I'll be getting some practice wood stacking in a short time. Movers come in a week to move our stuff and we move early February . . . finally!

 

[1750]

Never heard it called that . . .

I've never heard it called this either, but that's what I do, too.