Wood Closet-North side seasoning

[hareball]

Tomorrow I'm heading to Home Depot to get the lumber needed to put together 4-8'x?'x?' racks.
The problem is that it's the North side of the house and will get no direct sunlight and not much wind. The only plus is that it's all concrete.
I'm guessing keeping the wood dry is gonna be very important so I started rethinking my simple concrete blocks with 2"x4" is not a good option.

I'm thinking about 8' long sections supported by 3-8"x8"x16" inch block then a half block for a total of 24" depth.
On that would be 2 2"x6"x8' spaced out to the edge of the blocks (gap down center 8"
2"x4"x5'? uprights on each corner.
Either 1"x or tethers? something to brace the uprights to the bottom 2"x6" for stability.
Construct a roof and shingle
Seal up the back with heavy guage plastic?
Add some metal round stock like a shower curtain rod.
Add clear plastic shower curtain with ability to keep it open on nice days.
Vent the rear?

Bad idea? .

 

[madrone]

My shed is on the north side of the house, completely shaded except for an hour or so on summer evenings. Even in this damp climate it seems to season fine. I think airflow is more important than sun. My shed is very simple. Treated 2x4 frame, plywood top and metal roofing. The floor is made of those 12x12x4" decorative cinder blocks, and the sides are woven wire fence, (2"x4" openings). Plenty of air moving through, but the rain stays off the top. Only the outside bottom couple of feet ever get wet. This year I stacked split green wood in there and it's as dry as the stuff in rows.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Tomorrow I'm heading to Home Depot to get the lumber needed to put together 4-8'x?'x?' racks.
The problem is that it's the North side of the house and will get no direct sunlight and not much wind. The only plus is that it's all concrete.
I'm guessing keeping the wood dry is gonna be very important so I started rethinking my simple concrete blocks with 2"x4" is not a good option.

I'm thinking about 8' long sections supported by 3-8"x8"x16" inch block then a half block for a total of 24" depth.
On that would be 2 2"x6"x8' spaced out to the edge of the blocks (gap down center 8"
2"x4"x5'? uprights on each corner.
Either 1"x or tethers? something to brace the uprights to the bottom 2"x6" for stability.
Construct a roof and shingle
Seal up the back with heavy guage plastic?
Add some metal round stock like a shower curtain rod.
Add clear plastic shower curtain with ability to keep it open on nice days.
Vent the rear?

Bad idea? .

Personally, I'd say you're overdoing it. Snow or even rain on the firewood is not a big deal unless it's on the stack you're working on burning at that moment. Even then, the water wet is only on the surface and dries out quickly once inside the house. If it's stuff you're not intending to burn this winter, the more exposed it is to all the elements, the better off you are. The most I do is run out and throw a tarp over the stack I'm currently burning through if it's expected to rain. Otherwise, I just leave it nekkid and have had no problems. You absolutely do not want to block off what will be limited air circulation at best anyway with heavy-gauge plastic sheeting. As the wood dries, it gives off moisture, and that moisture will be held around the wood by the plastic rather than dissipating off into the air the way you want it to.

Also, putting your wood stacks right up against or close to the house is not a good idea, if that's what you're planning. In your climate, it's an invitation to termites and other critters to move right into your house, and blocking a chunk of the side of the house from air is an invitation to mold on the house wall at the least and deterioration of the paint and/or the siding itself, or even concrete, if that's what your house is. If you've got wood siding, don't even think about it. You'll have termites burrowing into that wet, rotting siding where you can't even see them behind the stacks in very short order.

Lastly, the benefits of elevating the wood well above the ground are overrated. True, if it's on the ground, you're likely to lose some parts of the very bottom layer to rot if it sits there for several years, but unless you're counting every split, it's not that big a deal. If it's easy enough to do, you might as wel, but don't go nuts over it. If I were going to stack on level concrete, I'd throw a few pressure-treated 2x4s on it and stack on those. And if you do the ends of your stacks criss-cross style, you won't need end supports on concrete if it's reasonably level. We need 'em when stacking on bare ground only because the soil shifts and compacts and loosens with the weather and the weight of the wood.

I freely admit I'm on the extreme fringe of the "protect the wood" debate, but in my experience, the hassle of trying to keep it pristine is a lot more work than it's worth in practical results. A roof is good, 2x4s on the ground are good, but keep it as far away from the house as you can and forget the plastic!

 

[hareball]

I have a concrete pad where a metal shed used to be. Not sure how i'm gonna stack there yet but any kind of building is gonna require a permit and inspection plus plans.
The North side has a total run of about 40' of concrete if I use the driveway where I stack now too but on the other side of the gate I only have about 6' width between the house and property line.

 

[hareball]

Tomorrow I'm heading to Home Depot to get the lumber needed to put together 4-8'x?'x?' racks.
The problem is that it's the North side of the house and will get no direct sunlight and not much wind. The only plus is that it's all concrete.
I'm guessing keeping the wood dry is gonna be very important so I started rethinking my simple concrete blocks with 2"x4" is not a good option.

I'm thinking about 8' long sections supported by 3-8"x8"x16" inch block then a half block for a total of 24" depth.
On that would be 2 2"x6"x8' spaced out to the edge of the blocks (gap down center 8"
2"x4"x5'? uprights on each corner.
Either 1"x or tethers? something to brace the uprights to the bottom 2"x6" for stability.
Construct a roof and shingle
Seal up the back with heavy guage plastic?
Add some metal round stock like a shower curtain rod.
Add clear plastic shower curtain with ability to keep it open on nice days.
Vent the rear?

Bad idea? .

Personally, I'd say you're overdoing it. Snow or even rain on the firewood is not a big deal unless it's on the stack you're working on burning at that moment. Even then, the water wet is only on the surface and dries out quickly once inside the house. If it's stuff you're not intending to burn this winter, the more exposed it is to all the elements, the better off you are. The most I do is run out and throw a tarp over the stack I'm currently burning through if it's expected to rain. Otherwise, I just leave it nekkid and have had no problems. You absolutely do not want to block off what will be limited air circulation at best anyway with heavy-gauge plastic sheeting. As the wood dries, it gives off moisture, and that moisture will be held around the wood by the plastic rather than dissipating off into the air the way you want it to.

Also, putting your wood stacks right up against or close to the house is not a good idea, if that's what you're planning. In your climate, it's an invitation to termites and other critters to move right into your house, and blocking a chunk of the side of the house from air is an invitation to mold on the house wall at the least and deterioration of the paint and/or the siding itself, or even concrete, if that's what your house is. If you've got wood siding, don't even think about it. You'll have termites burrowing into that wet, rotting siding where you can't even see them behind the stacks in very short order.

Lastly, the benefits of elevating the wood well above the ground are overrated. True, if it's on the ground, you're likely to lose some parts of the very bottom layer to rot if it sits there for several years, but unless you're counting every split, it's not that big a deal. If it's easy enough to do, you might as wel, but don't go nuts over it. If I were going to stack on level concrete, I'd throw a few pressure-treated 2x4s on it and stack on those. And if you do the ends of your stacks criss-cross style, you won't need end supports on concrete if it's reasonably level. We need 'em when stacking on bare ground only because the soil shifts and compacts and loosens with the weather and the weight of the wood.

I freely admit I'm on the extreme fringe of the "protect the wood" debate, but in my experience, the hassle of trying to keep it pristine is a lot more work than it's worth in practical results. A roof is good, 2x4s on the ground are good, but keep it as far away from the house as you can and forget the plastic!

I have no choice but to keep it off the ground because the area there holds water (bad masons) or it settled after 30 years...I was just a kid when it was done but remember they used wire.

I'm trying to avoid mold. It takes forever and a day for it to dry over there and I powerwash the asbestos shingles every few years due to mold there.

My goal is seasoned wood and a new epa woodstove for my second hearth. I'm gonna burn around 6 cords this season, My goal would be 12 cords but I'm an urban stacker, small lot and neighbors in every direction. This is the first year this stove has gone 24/7. Before that it was a 2 cord a year back-up heat.

 

[firefighterjake]

Since I'm a pretty simple guy I'm into simple construction . . . but since you're in an urban setting you might want to get a little fancier. Personally, if this is going to be a more or less permanent structure having a permanent shingled roof might be nice looking.

If you were to go the Jake Method and go with the simple and austere look I would simply get the wood up off the ground with some runners (i.e. 2 x 4 or 2 x 6) attached to similar side posts and then I would tie the structure together at the top with a single 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 . . . effectively making a box frame. Stack wood. Let season. If you wanted to tarp just the top, go for it. If you wanted to leave it tarp-free until the Fall (which is what I would do -- I don't worry too much about the rain in the Spring/Summer), go for it. If you wanted to tarp the stack only when rain was in the forecast to maximize the sun exposure, go for it. I say, do whatever works for you.

Whether you go all fancy with a permanent roof or go simple, I would not worry about sides . . . even if you're worried about the wood getting wet . . . which by the way is not a real worry . . . first off, with the wood stacked, even untarped, very little of the water will penetrate down through the stack and if the top is tarped you should find very little of the wood exposed on the sides will get wet . . . unless you've got one heckuva storm with the rain coming in sideways . . . i.e. think Hurricaine perhaps???

As to North, South, East or West . . . I don't worry about direction. Instead, I'm like Madrone . . . I would rather stack a bit loose when attempting to dry the wood as I believe wind helps more than the sun . . . although the sun definitely can play a part as well. In truth, I have several stacks of wood seasoning right now which are under some pine trees . . . most likely this wood at the earliest will be used in 2011 . . . maybe not until 2012 depending on how the rest of this winter goes . . .

 

[hareball]

Went fairly simple

 

[andybaker]

Looks like a nice design but can't you put it somewhere like at the back of the property as far away from the house/outbuilding as you can? What I'm thinking is the amount of wood your going to accumulate. Once you get a good setup going and your wood pile starts to grow you've got to be able to manage it by constantly rotating it. I like to have up to two years setting there. For me that's about 8 cord and that's way too much wood to have near an important building. You say that area gets real wet, may even hold water. Is there anything you can do to fix that? Sounds to me like that might be the thing to be most concerned about. Isn't owning property fun! All this work to fix it up and what do we get. A peice of property that goes up in value so in return we get to pay more taxes. Good luck.

 

[hareball]

No doubt man!!

The concete on the side lot goes from the house right to the property line. I usually take the push broom and push the standing water away and that helps it dry. But with nothing but shade there it takes some time to dry up.