dasranger
Bronze Member
Nothing about firewood on the Ortho website.
Firewood and tarps and bugs
- Thread starter dodge man
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tcreeley
Elite Member
I always stack 3 or 4 rows side by side. I generally make the center row taller than the side rows. That takes care of the water puddling on a tarp for me.
Einthewoods
Gold Member
As I said earlier in the thread, for 8' harvested logs I just keep them in a pile with a tarp as they might sit there a year or two.
For the wood that is cut and split, it gets stacked in a woodshed. It is big enough to have at least 30% more than I need for the hardest winter I have had it.
Pay no attention to the two different color tarps.
I was testing to see which of two manufactures I wanted to get more of and would do well in the weather. You will see they hang from a cable so that i can just push them aside. I hate tarps in the way.
For the wood that is cut and split, it gets stacked in a woodshed. It is big enough to have at least 30% more than I need for the hardest winter I have had it.
Pay no attention to the two different color tarps.
I was testing to see which of two manufactures I wanted to get more of and would do well in the weather. You will see they hang from a cable so that i can just push them aside. I hate tarps in the way.
OP
dodge man
Super Star Member
One thing I should clarify, the place I store my firewood used to be a kennel. Its all concrete but it was a very large kennel, very fancy with multiple runs, so the area is probably 20' x 30' or larger in size. The fencing and the building where the dogs could get out of the cold is gone but some of the posts are still standing.
Instead of tarps i would get used bill board signs. These days the bill boards are all pre-printed on heavy duty vinyl sheets. (As heavy duty as the covers to the commercial shelter logic tents.) They are typically 14 x 48 and would cost me $20 ea.
I would slice them into 16 foot x 2 foot strips and use them to cover a full row of wood. Adjust to length as needed. Each row would get its own cover. With the gap between rows there would be plenty of airflow to dry the wood. I would use the odd pieces of wood as a final row to hold down the cover.
Each strip lasts about 4 years before it starts to fall apart.
One of these days though I will build a 12 cord wood shed. That way I will be able to rotate sections for each year. I only worry about more animals nesting in the wood shed than in the rows with the 10" gap between rows I leave now.
I would slice them into 16 foot x 2 foot strips and use them to cover a full row of wood. Adjust to length as needed. Each row would get its own cover. With the gap between rows there would be plenty of airflow to dry the wood. I would use the odd pieces of wood as a final row to hold down the cover.
Each strip lasts about 4 years before it starts to fall apart.
One of these days though I will build a 12 cord wood shed. That way I will be able to rotate sections for each year. I only worry about more animals nesting in the wood shed than in the rows with the 10" gap between rows I leave now.
s219
Super Member
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It's inconsistent when I get wood beetles in my firewood from year to year and stack to stack, and may depend on the type of wood, the location, the weather, who knows. This year I burned a stack of 3 year old seasoned red oak that had zero beetles. Some 2 year old white oak a couple stacks down was loaded with beetles and chewed up.
I have taken to making racks that have a 2x4" over a 4x4" on the bottom, to get me off the ground a bit. And I stack in single rows, 1/3 chord to a stack, with air on both faces of the stack and both ends (and the bottom to a lesser extent). I used to also leave the top open to the air for the first year or so, but with pine trees all around, fallen needles would cover the top of the stack and get wet and cause problems. So now I cover the top of my stacks as soon as they are complete.
I started using roofing felt to cover my stacks, on the recommendation of someone here, and it works fantastic. I slice a standard 36" wide piece into two 18" strips, about 10-11' long. That covers the 16" wide 8' long stack with 1-1.5' hanging down the each end. With lots of building projects, I always have a leftover roll of felt around and it's good to use up the leftovers. And it's cheap enough to buy a new roll whenever needed, probably cheaper than tarps. I season wood for 2-3 years before burning, and the felt paper holds up just fine. It tends to "shrink wrap" to the top of the pile in that time, but doesn't leak that I have seen. In some cases, I can reuse it after 2-3 years, but it really depends on how weathered and sun-faded it looks.
I have taken to making racks that have a 2x4" over a 4x4" on the bottom, to get me off the ground a bit. And I stack in single rows, 1/3 chord to a stack, with air on both faces of the stack and both ends (and the bottom to a lesser extent). I used to also leave the top open to the air for the first year or so, but with pine trees all around, fallen needles would cover the top of the stack and get wet and cause problems. So now I cover the top of my stacks as soon as they are complete.
I started using roofing felt to cover my stacks, on the recommendation of someone here, and it works fantastic. I slice a standard 36" wide piece into two 18" strips, about 10-11' long. That covers the 16" wide 8' long stack with 1-1.5' hanging down the each end. With lots of building projects, I always have a leftover roll of felt around and it's good to use up the leftovers. And it's cheap enough to buy a new roll whenever needed, probably cheaper than tarps. I season wood for 2-3 years before burning, and the felt paper holds up just fine. It tends to "shrink wrap" to the top of the pile in that time, but doesn't leak that I have seen. In some cases, I can reuse it after 2-3 years, but it really depends on how weathered and sun-faded it looks.
Oaktree
Super Member
I used to do that, but any water that did leak into the inner rows never dried, and the wood got punky. I just do double rows now.
I'll cover it with plastic with cheap tarps (read: HF freebies) over the plastic. Protects the plastic from UV, but still keeps out water that got between tarps. I also build the center up slightly.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
I have been tarping firewood for years. I keep all of the wood off the ground either using pallets or logs in the woods. Whatever is handy. I buy the mid price tarps that are brown on one side. They seem to last 3-5 years.
I completely cover up the wood. The only rot in the wood is if the wood is touching the ground which means the wood can stay wet. It also seems to make the wood eating bugs happier if they are close to the soil.
Get a mouse in the pile from time to time, there are some bugs but they were in the wood before it was split for the most part. Did find a sleepy possum one year. Just covered it back up and went to the other end of the wood pile. :laughing::laughing::laughing:
Under the tarp, the wood is nice and dry. :thumbsup:
Having a wood shed would be the best answer but I don't have time to do what needs to be done much less what I want to be done.
Later,
Dan
I completely cover up the wood. The only rot in the wood is if the wood is touching the ground which means the wood can stay wet. It also seems to make the wood eating bugs happier if they are close to the soil.
Get a mouse in the pile from time to time, there are some bugs but they were in the wood before it was split for the most part. Did find a sleepy possum one year. Just covered it back up and went to the other end of the wood pile. :laughing::laughing::laughing:
Under the tarp, the wood is nice and dry. :thumbsup:
Having a wood shed would be the best answer but I don't have time to do what needs to be done much less what I want to be done.
Later,
Dan