Wood storage options under my newly built deck.

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

Brian26

Minister of Fire
Sep 20, 2013
693
Branford, CT
Built a new deck last fall and am looking into moving my wood under it for storage. I plan on getting a few tons of crushed stone delivered in the spring and putting it underneath it. Would love to utilize the space for storing my wood. Thinking of just stacking it right on the crushed stone with a few feet of buffer away from the house. Anyone else store wood under their decks? Here is a current picture of the setup. I have a bunch more wood on the other side of the house as well I would need to move.
1589.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blazing
I used to store wood under a deck ( no longer have that deck)
There was 2 in. of crushed stone for water drainage . We stored
on pallets so there was air movement under the wood . This keep it
out of any possible ground moisture . Wish I still had that deck !
 
I'd also use pallets fwiw, can't hurt. Our old house we had a big deck like that but didn't burn wood there. I did build a shed out of one bay, framed it out, had 2B clean stone floor and T-111 faced with barn-style doors I kept my mower and other outdoor stuff in it
 
Nice deck, Brian.

Like everyone said, up off the ground, the spaces between the gravel will fill up sooner or later. Plus, make the bugs work a little bit to get into the wood, they'll like it a whole lot less if it's bone dry. So will your stove!

Will you be covering your stacks with anything once you get it under there?
 
Had a house in SW New Hampshire primarily heated with wood that had a deck suitable to store wood under. With the lack of great airflow under it we attached pitched corrugated roofing panels to the bottom side of the joists to shed rain water and melting snow. The debris that worked its way thru the spacing on the deck boards would easily be washed off. Worked great. No need to be screwing around with tarps under there.
 
I recommend you put landscaping fabric down before you put the rock. It will keep the weeds and crap from growing. What I did for my woodshed.

Good luck!
 
Had a house in SW New Hampshire primarily heated with wood that had a deck suitable to store wood under. With the lack of great airflow under it we attached pitched corrugated roofing panels to the bottom side of the joists to shed rain water and melting snow. The debris that worked its way thru the spacing on the deck boards would easily be washed off. Worked great. No need to be screwing around with tarps under there.

I strongly urge you to follow this posters advice. I have seen far too many folks who store wood under decks whose wood doesn't dry. Its the worse of two worlds. Water gets into the top of the stacks and the deck keep the sun from drying it out. Pitch the corrugated to the outside of the stacks and keep them elevated and your wood will dry much quicker.
 
I store 4 cords under my covered deck. Instead of stone, I built an 8x8 pallet made of pressure treated 2x4 lumber. It's extremely heavy duty and designed to allow good airflow. I store the wood in the sun for a year or two then move it under the deck. The pallet has worked very well and is still in perfect shape.

So far in 3 years, I did have a few mice set up shop in the stack and bugs have bored into some of the wood making a bunch of dust. Don't expect a lot of drying to happen under that deck; it's just a place to store dry wood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Easy Livin’ 3000
Thanks for all the info everyone. I definitely plan on putting down landscape fabric first. I think the wood will season pretty well under the deck. We get blasted by almost full sun all day.