fractal
Gold Member
I have the oportunity to pick up a half cord of not-quite cured oak for under market prices and figured I would build a wood pile to age it. Since a half cord is a stack of wood 8 ft long by 4 ft high by 2 ft deep, and most of what I have bought from this guy is much less than 2 ft long, I was kinda figuring on something about 12 ft long and 4 ft tall to handle the 12 to 18 inch logs. I have read that you should keep your wood pile a bit away from the house to keep vermin away, the wood pile should allow good ventilation but should provide protection from rain (snow is not a problem here in southern california). I have a nice spot picked out along the fence line for the pile about 25 ft from the house where the prevous owner had his wood pile on the ground. This is about where I decided to ask some advice from folk who may have done this in the past.
My thinking was to either to put down two 12 ft pressure treated 2x4's about a foot apart to allow air under the stack or maybe to get some old pallets and let them rot. The main thing I haven't worked out is how to contain the pile. I was thinking of digging a single post hole and planting a 4x4 at either end of the pile for support. I would do this center line between the 2x4's. On the other hand, the commercial wood stand I bought for the patio has two uprights just outside the horizontal supports which might suggest I put two uprights a little over a foot apart to keep the pile from "twisting" out of the verticals. I plan on using some old aluminum patio cover panels to keep the rain off the woodpile.
My questions to the forum is.. is a single pole sufficient to contain the wood pile? Is pressure treated wood that much better than old pallets for letting air into the pile? Lastly, can I reasonably expect the wood to dry enough to burn this winter even though it will probably start raining pretty serious around here in january time frame? I did buy a mixed cord (1/3 oak, 2/3 avo) to hold me a while but if last winter is any example, that won't hold me till spring.
I have tried to convince the CFO that digging these holes is a reason to buy a post hole digger for the kubota but she isn't buying it. I guess saving 20 bucks on the half cord by buying it green doesn't justify 500 on a power tool
That means that any post holes will have to be dug by hand in our lovely clay, so I am hoping that a single pole on either end will work. Can anyone suggest a better solution?
My thinking was to either to put down two 12 ft pressure treated 2x4's about a foot apart to allow air under the stack or maybe to get some old pallets and let them rot. The main thing I haven't worked out is how to contain the pile. I was thinking of digging a single post hole and planting a 4x4 at either end of the pile for support. I would do this center line between the 2x4's. On the other hand, the commercial wood stand I bought for the patio has two uprights just outside the horizontal supports which might suggest I put two uprights a little over a foot apart to keep the pile from "twisting" out of the verticals. I plan on using some old aluminum patio cover panels to keep the rain off the woodpile.
My questions to the forum is.. is a single pole sufficient to contain the wood pile? Is pressure treated wood that much better than old pallets for letting air into the pile? Lastly, can I reasonably expect the wood to dry enough to burn this winter even though it will probably start raining pretty serious around here in january time frame? I did buy a mixed cord (1/3 oak, 2/3 avo) to hold me a while but if last winter is any example, that won't hold me till spring.
I have tried to convince the CFO that digging these holes is a reason to buy a post hole digger for the kubota but she isn't buying it. I guess saving 20 bucks on the half cord by buying it green doesn't justify 500 on a power tool
That means that any post holes will have to be dug by hand in our lovely clay, so I am hoping that a single pole on either end will work. Can anyone suggest a better solution?
