wood storage

[brakatak]

so, i'm about to enter my first year burning. just built my woodshed and stacked it with 2 cords. hoping the wood will be seasoned enough by Nov/Dec.

I expect to burn 2 cords/year (nights/weekends). my year end goal is to have 6 cords stacked. stock up now so I only have to replace my used wood each season, and will always have 1-2 year seasoned wood waiting each following year.

but the question is how is best way to store a 3 year supply of 6 cords? I built my wood shed to fit only 2 cords. should I build 2 more sheds? or just single stack, no roof? I live in Mass with lots of rain and snow.

 

[PapaDave]

Seems like most here stack outside for a couple years, then move into shed a month or two before burning, but after a dry spell.
What kind of stove, how big is your house, and will this be your sole source of heat or supplemental?

 

[Locust Post]

It all depends on your personal preference and space that you have. A lot of guys on here fill their wood shed with what they are going to use that winter and the other stacks on deck for the shed stay out. Some top cover some don't. Wood is not a sponge but top covering may be your preference if you have a lot of rain. I don't generally cover anything except about a cord on the patio and then replenish as needed through out the winter. Where ever you decide to stack sun and wind is your friend (especially wind)

 

[brakatak]

Seems like most here stack outside for a couple years, then move into shed a month or two before burning, but after a dry spell.
What kind of stove, how big is your house, and will this be your sole source of heat or supplemental?

Buying the Lopi Freedom insert. for 1700 sq ft ranch. i'll heat wood supplemental (nights/weekends) and keep the oil thermostat low at 60 during days while im at work.

 

[bogydave]

For 6 cords, I'd build a wood shed.
Nice to season it outside for a year & then to the wood shed until needed.

2 to 3 year old, dry woodshed kept wood , will be real dry & a treat to burn.

If you ever need to burn more than 2 cords, you'd have
dry, findable, stable & organized wood, ready to go.

 

[red oak]

Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of wood burning!

If you can stack the wood outside, that is what I would do, then move it into the shed before you burn it. A shed is not really necessary, you can top cover with tarps, pieces of roofing, or not at all. I can stack a week's worth inside close to my stove, and an additional cord or so under my deck so that I always have dry wood on hand. If the wood is seasoned though, it won't take long to get rid of any moisture it gets from the rain and snow. It is important if it is stacked outside to keep it off the ground though. You'll have fewer bugs in the wood and it will dry faster. Pallets will work, and I use some, but you can also use longer pieces of wood to make your rows. Good luck!

 

[Jon1270]

Agreeing with everyone else, only put the wood in the shed after it is dry. No significant breeze is going to penetrate very far into a big, solid block of stacked wood like that. The stuff around the outside will dry, somewhat slowly, but the stuff inside is going to stay wet.

 

[Ashful]

In Mass, similar rainfall and climate to my own, stack outdoors for a year or two. The wind and sun will give you the fastest possible drying. Then, move what you need for that winter into the shed mid-August, before the big rains (hurricane / trop. storm remnants) start rolling up the coast.

Since it looks like you have some freshly split wood you want to burn THIS year, you'd do well to pull it out of the shed and stack in single rows in the wind and sun for the next 6 weeks. This ain't gonna get it all the way to where you want it, but the first six weeks is much more critical than the second six, and so on...

That said, nice shed! I'm 2 years in this place, and I still don't have one. Too busy dealing with rotten window frames and sills to have time to build a shed.

 

[Applesister]

Building a prototype takes longer. If you are sure you will stick with wood heat, plan on 2 more sheds. My sister and her boyfriend built 5 mini sheds holding a cord each. We burn 5 cords per winter.
She has the current year under shed and next years is along the fence waiting. The mini sheds top cover a platform about the size of 2 pallets.
Her design was based on extremely limited backyard footage.
You could plan for 2 more sheds as you go about your other chores and think as you go.
Or like me just stack out in the open air, lol.

 

[NordicSplitter]

The wood I'm going to burn is stacked in the garage which is attached. About 4 face cords fits nicely. Grab wood from my back pad from oct-dec. Save the garage wood for the cold season....

 

[Backwoods Savage]

so, i'm about to enter my first year burning. just built my woodshed and stacked it with 2 cords. hoping the wood will be seasoned enough by Nov/Dec.

I expect to burn 2 cords/year (nights/weekends). my year end goal is to have 6 cords stacked. stock up now so I only have to replace my used wood each season, and will always have 1-2 year seasoned wood waiting each following year.

but the question is how is best way to store a 3 year supply of 6 cords? I built my wood shed to fit only 2 cords. should I build 2 more sheds? or just single stack, no roof? I live in Mass with lots of rain and snow.

Brakatak, I don't think I've welcomed you to the forum yet so consider this a warm welcome.

First, I do like your wood shed. Looks like you did a very nice job with it and you'll really appreciate not having to get snow off the wood before bringing it into your house.

Second, like others have stated, it is normally best to stack the wood outdoors first. The reason for this is that wood has lots of moisture in it and we have not yet figured out how to burn water. You no doubt have heard that most wood needs a year to dry before being burned. In practice you will find that this figure can vary a lot. Some wood can be burned within 6 months after being split while others can take up to 3 years or possibly more. So one of the first things to be determined is what kind of wood you have and when was it split. Count the drying time only the time after it was split and stacked. So if you can let us know what wood you have and when was it split and stacked, we should be able to give you a reasonable answer as to what to expect with the wood you already have.

Should you remove it from the wood shed? Ideally, yes. However, I would not go to all that work and just live with it and take it as one of the learning steps to burning wood.

The best way to store a 3 year supply of 6 cord of wood? This is how we do it:

First we do all our cutting after leaf drop and usually start around December 1. We cut off and on all winter and sort of stack the rounds right where we want to stack the split wood. In the spring after snow melt, normally in March or April, we then split it all and then stack immediately right there. In the picture (From April 2009) this was around 9 cord of wood. Under the wood we had cut some saplings in the woods (3-4" diameter) and laid them down to stack the wood on. We then left this wood exactly as pictured (except we cleaned up around the stacks a bit) until the following November. At that time we covered most of it with old galvanized roofing and threw some of the uglies on top to hold the roofing. One stack we covered with old rubber roofing. And by the way, most of this coming winter's wood will still come from these stacks.

In October, we move 2.5-3 cord into the barn and that is the wood we'll be burning through the winter. This has never failed us and usually we have our wood in the stack for at least 3 years or longer. Occasionally we'll burn some 2 year old wood but we always can tell a difference between 2 year old and 3 year old wood. Even with white ash, which some foolishly say can be burned immediately after cutting. We can notice the difference between the 2 and 3 year old wood....even when we are cutting dead trees!



One more thing to touch upon is your plan on burning. Part time burning can be okay but remember that when you do this, you will always be starting with a cold chimney. One consequence of doing that is the great possibility of more creosote. Better to keep the stove going even if a small fire. Are you concerned about burning the stove when someone is not there? If so, you should quickly be able to get over that. Consider how many folks burn full time and most of the time nobody is there or if there, they are sleeping. In our house, the wood is our only heat. We have no trouble sleeping and no worries if we have to leave the house during the daytime. Wood heat can be just as safe as a gas furnace once you learn how to run the stove and how to handle the fuel correctly.

Good luck.

 

[red oak]

Dennis's post made me think of this also: If it is your first year drying wood, have you had your chimney inspected? Also, is it an easy one to clean? You might want to think about having it professionally inspected, then if it's easy to clean you can do the rest of the cleanings yourself as needed. Some, especially if they are burning less than seasoned wood, find they need to clean several times each winter. Others, and many on this forum, only need to clean once a year or even several years.

 

[Ashful]

You might want to think about having it professionally inspected, then if it's easy to clean you can do the rest of the cleanings yourself as needed. Some, especially if they are burning less than seasoned wood, find they need to clean several times each winter.

Good suggestion! Buy a brush and rod set (or a SootEater), and learn to clean yourself. Takes about 20 minutes per chimney, for most folks here. I probably take a little longer than that, but still not a big deal. Plan to clean once every month or two, until you learn what you're doing, and have seasoned wood. Folks with super well-seasoned wood (eg. Backwoods Savage) rarely have to clean their chimney, but the rest of us...

 

[brakatak]

thanks for all the advice. very helpful. going into my first year, i'm accepting that i'll make some mistakes and there is a learning curve. i just want to make sure i'm learning the right way to do things and start preparing. i'm still working on my stacks but i want to get 3 years ahead. in the process of taking a few big oaks down now which i'll burn in 2-3 years.

backwoods savage, thanks for the tips. as far as not burning during the day, that is mostly due to my work schedule and probably not having enough time in the morning to get a fire started. my mornings can get crazy getting 2 kids under 3 ready and getting myself ready for work. If i still have coals in the morning, then i defintely plan to throw some splits in. but not sure that will be the case every day.

 

[oldspark]

I start with a cold chimney almost the whole winter due to house being too warm if I have a fire over night, as long as you burn correctly with dry wood and warm enough flue there will be no problem with creosote.

 

[Blue2ndaries]

...This is how we do it....

This is money in the bank. I never tire of hearing/reading this from Dennis. There is A LOT of wisdom and sage advice in that post, many would do well to follow that process/method.

 

[oldspark]

Dont forget YRMV

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Somehow I've neglected to learn that word, "YRMV." Seems English is my only language other than a few computer languages.

 

[oldspark]

YKWIM (you know what it means) some times I think you are baiting me BWS

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Nope. Was not bait, just my lack of knowledge.

 

[oldspark]

OK, your results may vary

 

[privatejoker75]

luckily we're in the inland nw and it's dry as heck here most of spring and summer. i just toss everything in the wood shed and it seems to turn out fine. i usually only harvest dead trees though, plenty of them here and no need to cut down anything living