Wood shed location

[woodjack]

I can't figure out where to put my wood shed. There's an alcove next to my door where I store about a weekend's worth of wood, so it's not like I have to run out to the woodshed whenever my indoor supply runs low. It just needs to be close enough to transfer wood to the alcove area.

I live in beautiful wooded area and I'm torn between:
A - out of site to keep clear visual view of my scenic woodlands.
B - in view and very nearby.

If you had it to do over again where would you put your wood shed?

 

[jpl1nh]

Someplace easy to get to to load it and easy to access when you need wood. A nicely mades shed with neatly stacked wood is a beautiful thing. Do it well and you won't need to hide it.

 

[argus66]

i have same problem does it make a big difference if its in the sun?now im using a rack now with a cover, i have a good close spot but its in the shade and i have a further away spot but its in the sun.

 

[Martin Strand III]

First, decide whether you want the shed located where it's good for the wood or where it's good to your eye. Maybe, you can have both.

I'll speak for the wood here. You know, perhaps, what your eye likes. Assuming all cut and split wood 'wants' to be treated properly in order to yield the most BTUs from itself when burned and not contribute to the greenhouse problem by giving off excess carbon dioxide, it would like to be stacked with air spaces between the splits off the moist ground, in a single row not more than about 4' high, its face in the sun for most of the day and on a hill where a breeze can help remove the moisture in the stack. It won't care much whether it's covered or not since your shed will provide at least some protection from rain and snow. The shed, preferably, would have proper ventilation in its side walls and above the stack in addition to allowing exposure to the sun. It would like to remain there for at least 6 months or until well greyed with cracks on the ends and bark that easily falls off.

If I were a split of hardwood waiting to go out in a 'blaze of glory', that's how I'd want to be prepped.

Aye,
Marty

 

[BotetourtSteve]

Don't be afraid to get away from the house and "hide" a little - that's what wheelbarrows are for. That said, if you get a lot of snow as I'm sure my northern brothers and sisters can attest to, you will have to shovel that path to the woodshed as wheelbarrows don't like snow much over 3 inches or so. So in that case closer may be better than farther away. Now if you have a winter-ready lawn tractor or ATV with a wagon, that's a whole different ball game! Put your woodshed in the next county over so you'll have an excuse to do some 4-wheelin' every day - yee haw!

 

[Jags]

Da closer da bedda. Make your wood shed pleasing to the eye, keep the area well kept and clean, and stack the wood like you were going to take a picture, and you have just "added" to the country, woodsy feel of the area. (is woodsy a word?)

I can't imagine taking a lot of pleasure from having to trudge across a couple of acres of snow in winter conditions to replenish my burn pile. Just my opinion.

 

[swestall]

Bugs love wood piles and houses are not for bugs. You have to keep the woodpile away from the house; my take is at least 30 feet. (that's a SWAG but you get the point). When the temps drop, you can have a small pile by the house but you just don't want the primary wood storage to be by the house.

 

[jpl1nh]

I agree with Jags. My avatar is the wood in my woodshed which is right by my driveway. I made it out of pallets but took my time with it. It looks nice and people always comment on how nice it looks. See this thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/13397/ In regards to sun or shade, Marty's on target. However, ideally a wood shed is a place to store seasoned wood, not a place TO season wood. Yes you still want good air circulation because it can still season further, but put it your shed where it's conveniant regardless of sun or shade and use your sun location to season your wood before you store it.

 

[woodjack]

That makes sense. Keep the wood shed in a convenient location near the house, and season my wood a hundred yards away in the sun.

So now I'll have four wood storage locations.
1 - where it gets seasoned.
2 - in the wood shed.
3 - a 3-4 day supply outside my front door before I bring it inside.
4 - a one day supply next to my wood stove.
. . . and that's not counting the spot where the logs are before they're split and stacked.

 

[CountryGal]

Mine is about 10 feet from the end of my deck off the back of the house. I plan on filling it and seasoning it myself, putting one rack full on the back deck, but away from the structure itself.

 

[RedRanger]

My avatar depicts my woodshed location (approx. 100 feet away from the house) and in the forest. However,I am able to store a 10 day supply under my covered deck. And when we get snow here it rarely stays on the ground for more than a week. :coolsmile: So depends on your circumstance,weather,wind,etc.

You should note that I`m currently in the process of opening up my woodsheds,knocking out boards on the sides to allow more air to circulate. The air circulation isn`t all that great with trees acting as a windbreak. Something to keep in mind should you decide to go the "forest route"....

 

[eernest4]

lets see, I have 2 outside wood sheds, 1 inside wood shed & the 8 - 5 gal buckets full of wood that I keep about 5 ft from the stove. freshly split wood goes into the outside wood shed about 100 ft from the house that I visit about once every 2 months & sits in there at least 6 months, & sometimes a year or longer. From there it goes by wheelbarrow, to my second outside wood shed, which is a 35 ft x 8 ft old construction office trailer, parked just 15 ft from my basement door. The wood is loaded into my construction office trailer ,where it sits an additional time, between 1 month to 1 yr,just depending on which wood I grab when, & goes
back into the wheelbarrow for the 15 ft trip to my indoor woodshed, where it again sits for another 2 weeks to 10 weeks, before betting loaded into one of 8-- 5 gal buckets that I keep about 5 ft from the wood stove. Wood can sit in those buckets up to 2 weeks before getting burned or get burned immediately,depending on my immediate heating needs.

That is my whole wood set up. I don't often get high moisture content wood mixed into my
wood load but ocasionaly I will; usually because on a nice day ,I will break up some pallets stored outside & put them in the construction trailer instead of the remote woodshed where they should go. Problem is, remote wood shed is full, from ceiling to door,full & construction trailer is only 2/3 full.

easy to see that i use the woodshed right by the basement door at whole truckload more that the remote wood shed.

CLOSER IS BETTER, especially in new england , where we only have 2 kinds of weather, rain or snow.

Watersheding woodsheds beat the ship out of that outside wood pile with the tarp on top, especially when we constantly get horizontal rain with 30 mph winds & tarps that think they are airplanes
or parachutes or something like that.

Basically,the tarps that don't fly away beat themselves to shreds in that kind of wind.

Yes, we get a lot of huricaines & nor easters pass thru every year, so I had it & thensome with tarps. Whatever can possibly blow away ,will blow away, no doubt about it.