Wood Shed vs Under Pines?

[Jearley35purdue]

Hey y'all, I've got a dilemma. I've got a 8x16 wood shed walled in completely on three sides adjacent to my barn. Use to be a Stall. I just bought the house a year ago and thought, hey, this is a great place to store wood! Here I am 1yr into the drying process and only getting about 20% mm on about 2.5 cords. My 2015 stacks are covered under my pines which will not get any sun, but plenty of wind and stay fairly dry all summer and winter. Any thoughts on which will be a better option in the long run? I'm guessing the wood shed will work great, but will need to be opened up a bit to let it breath a bit more, but I hate to tear it apart as it's sided and shingled just as part of my barn... Newbie problems......

 

[claydogg84]

20% is good for a year. What kind of wood?

 

[wahoowad]

Plan on using both. You will be emptying the woodshed during one burning season and not able to refill it with new wood without blocking off access to your ready-to-go wood. So I'd fill the woodshed and then start burning that wood when it is ready to burn. And then add to your outside stacks as you process more wood. Eventually you will switch and you can fill the shed back up.

I have several locations in my yard for stacking wood and have to build up one area while I use wood out of the other.

 

[firefighterjake]

Stack outside for a year and let season.

Move inside woodshed in the Fall of the year you plan to burn . . . no more dealing with tarps, wet wood or snow.

 

[Jearley35purdue]

20% is good for a year. What kind of wood?

Hi Claydog, I've got a mix. Some 2 yr old oak that was left behind when I bought the place, cherry with a year on it, and a bunch of Bradford Pear that blew down in a storm last winter. Those damn pear trees hold their leaves way too long and snow/wind just destroy them. Adjacent to my farm I've got and Sunoco oil line easement and a power line easement . They both came through last summer and opened up the right always so they can do aerial inspections!! Tons of big timber down and bucked by the tree company. I've just gotta bring it home!

 

[Jearley35purdue]

Plan on using both. You will be emptying the woodshed during one burning season and not able to refill it with new wood without blocking off access to your ready-to-go wood. So I'd fill the woodshed and then start burning that wood when it is ready to burn. And then add to your outside stacks as you process more wood. Eventually you will switch and you can fill the shed back up.

I have several locations in my yard for stacking wood and have to build up one area while I use wood out of the other.

Thanks for the advice. That is exactly what happened this year. My best seasoned wood is at the back of the shed, which I guess will work as I will be getting into that part of the pile come Feb when I need it most. However I don't want this to become a routine thing and just wanted to get a nice rotation going. Appreciate the advice.

 

[glennm]

My shed has no back so I can't take wood from the front one year and the back the next

 

[claydogg84]

Stack outside for a year and let season.

Move inside woodshed in the Fall of the year you plan to burn . . . no more dealing with tarps, wet wood or snow.

The only problem with doing this is you're stacking the wood twice, which I personally have a problem with. I keep my wood under a row of pines and it does help keep it dry, but I also have it covered.

 

[Jearley35purdue]

My shed has no back so I can't take wood from the front one year and the back the next

LIFO (Last In First Out) as we say in some aerospace manufacturing business. This was my ultimate approach as well be able to access from both front and back...this is where I want to get to much like you. Just got to build the set up.

 

[glennm]

Thanks, I have a divider in the center as well. This allows for 4 access points, keeps the rows shorter and more stable