cover wood or not

[Coldfront]

I cover just the top with old thrown away tin or steel siding or roofing, I never use a tarp, we get a lot of rain and it keeps my wood dry, when the sun beats down on that tin it gets plenty hot under there, but also with good ventilation.

 

[NDtreehugger]

Government refused to pay me for the study so

I did the study on my own

The study has been going on for more then 4 years and what I have determend
It is better to be 3 years ahead of wood supply and the fresh wood can sit in the weather un covered.

The 2nd year wood should be covered on the top only

The 3rd year wood should be placed in a wood shelter well covered out of the rain and snow.

If you cut and burn the same year the wood should be cut into 14-18 inch lengths, no wider then 6” at the widest point and stacked loosely off the ground with a cover on the top only when it rains and if you live in a windy area covering the top and sides is recommended when it rains and uncover on clear days

So

The way I season wood is
1st year it sits in a pile in the weather
2nd year I stack and cover on the top
3rd year I cover in a woodshed and burn

 

[headleyj]

no way could I ever get 3 years ahead, hell I'm lucky to be 0.25 yrs ahead

 

[logbutcher]

I did the study on my own
The study has been going on for more then 4 years and what I have determend
It is better to be 3 years ahead of wood supply and the fresh wood can sit in the weather un covered.
The 2nd year wood should be covered on the top only
The 3rd year wood should be placed in a wood shelter well covered out of the rain and snow.
If you cut and burn the same year the wood should be cut into 14-18 inch lengths, no wider then 6” at the widest point and stacked loosely off the ground with a cover on the top only when it rains and if you live in a windy area covering the top and sides is recommended when it rains and uncover on clear days

So
The way I season wood is
1st year it sits in a pile in the weather
2nd year I stack and cover on the top
3rd year I cover in a woodshed and burn

WOW!! This is a chronic case of The Woodpiles. You need help.

Butt---How the F did you get those red and white letters to stick on all those surfaces: roof, grass, green wood ???????????????????????? :monkey:

 

[NDtreehugger]

I asked the Gods for help

and they said OK but only because there were bored

 

[cat10ken]

You are wasting a lot of time and energy if you have to move your wood piles 4 different times. An open sided shed (maybe cattle panels or chain link sides to keep the ranks from tipping over) and a tin roof vented at the top would be perfect.

 

[NDtreehugger]

More of a space issue

I split the wood and there it sits until spring and all the wood under shed has been used then the driest wood goes under shed and the pile gets stacked waiting to go under the shed.

Lets see,, dry wood goes under the shed until its full then the remainder gets stacked until the slot is full, WHAT stop splitting wood because there is no room!! Forget it,,,, keep cutting and splitting no room to stack? ,,, leave it in a pile until there’s room to stack. No wasted handling no wasted time just too much wood.

I could leave it outside of town but it seems some folks don’t like to work for there wood and wait for me to stack it so they can get it for free.

The bad part is when they take the wood half way down so they don’t have to bend over, just grab the waist high and higher wood and leave the lower stuff for ME the guy that cut and stacked it…….

 

[harrybeaver]

Build a proper wood shed . nothing will touch it, not rain not snow, it will get crispy dry. And stay dry. Building a wood shed is simple and cheap. Best money spent ever.

Now thats what I want! What did you use for the roof? I want the same thing and think the best roof would be corrogated clear pvc panels, allows the light in while keeping the wood dry.

 

[NDtreehugger]

My little shed holds a bit over 3 cords

of wood then I keep a cord in the garage for the bad days I dont want to go outside.
The open air storage holds another 4 cords so I can hold 8 cords plus the pile.
I see no need to do it any other way until I get old then Ill just order 3 tons of coal and call it winter.

But when I do get real ambitious I fill the tractor barn it opens at both ends and in the middle.

 

[Oldtimer]

Do not leave it uncovered. Rainfall only prolongs the drying time. Cover it with old used steel roofing. NOT plastic, Not with a tarp, STEEL ROOFING.
The steel keeps it dry, and magnifies the sun's heat.
I have 40 years of this sh!t under my belt. Take my word for it.

 

[NDtreehugger]

Been doing this awhile myself,

and when I was younger all I used was metal roofing until the wind blew it all away,

We get winds in the 90s frequently in the 50s and almost every day in the 20s so plastic is the best way to go.

2 years ago we were curious as to how hot black plastic would make it inside the wood pile if piled in a straight line and 5 foot high then covered with black plastic so we covered it tying it to the pile with the sides flapping in the wind, daily it reached 98degs taking into account the weather here is in the 70s (78 common).
Fresh cut American Elm from living trees dried in 4 months and was used for firewood in the same winter. Clear plastic was a bit hotter and we got to see the moisture drip down the sides and onto the ground.

The added benefit was the morning dew accumulated on the plastic not the wood.

I still cover my wood with a 2ft wide plastic roll it seems to keep most of the rain off the pile.

To each his or her own I like to say

 

[DHIBBS75]

Sounds like some of yall have got a lot of time to waste on moving wood several times before you burn it.. I used to stack mine on one side of the yard and then only cover it about the first of october a couple of rows. Then I would move a trk load to the basement. I got tired of handling it so many times. so I built a wood shed with a roof and north wall about 50 feet from my basement door. I only have to handle one time once stacked...

 

[shepardman]

Seriously though, my gut feeling says wind and fresh air dries more wood piles faster than the sun ever did. If you tarp cover the wood, you lose both and the air underneath the tarp turns into a sauna bath.[/QUOTE]

Definitely agree. I'm fortunate to live 5 miles up a peninsula and my pallets of hardwood are constantly being blasted with those southwesterly "off the watah", as we say, winds. I had 16" splits of oak that were cut (tree was felled) in Oct. and were in the Jotul in March.
Fran

 

[NDtreehugger]

I used to be able to cut and leave it by the side of the road

but things have changed.

Now if I cut then stack the wood behind the farm house or in the tree stand when I go back to get it in a few months its gone.

Too many people that didn’t grow-up here have moved in with a different set of morels.
Now days you can feel it the second you fire up the saw. Turn around there is a line of people waiting for you to turn your back so they can load there truck with your sweat & blood to heat there house with out as much as a thank you, so now if we want to keep our wood we have to handle it.

Were waiting for the day retribution, its comming :chainsawguy:

 

[logbutcher]

but things have changed.
Now if I cut then stack the wood behind the farm house or in the tree stand when I go back to get it in a few months its gone.

Too many people that didn’t grow-up here have moved in with a different set of morels.Now days you can feel it the second you fire up the saw. Turn around there is a line of people waiting for you to turn your back so they can load there truck with your sweat & blood to heat there house with out as much as a thank you, so now if we want to keep our wood we have to handle it.

Were waiting for the day retribution, its comming :chainsawguy:

Yeah, those damned mushrooms again ! The rapture. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[DSS]

Can't imagine moving a wood pile three times just to get it to dry better ? My wood pile is split and thrown randomly on top of some old pallets. DO NOT TOUCH FOR TWO SUMMERS !!!!!!
Rain does not soak into dry firewood. Covering the pile is bs in my opinion. Let mother nature at it. Sun and wind will find their way to the bottom of the pile.
Sure you can stack it if it makes you feel better, or you don't like it messy, but it's not necessary.
I always figured there was something better to get anal about than the wood pile. Keep it simple, cutting wood should be fun.

 

[NDtreehugger]

Funny how a PUN on research turns to anal ~

Were not very anal around here. we cut our white ash in the summer and burn it the same winter.

The only way it sits for 2 years around here is if we get an over abundance of wood then we stack it anywhere we can to keep the thief’s from steeling it, if that calls for 3 times or more then fine 3 times or more it is.

Depending on the year some times were are far too busy to even cut wood in the spring or summer so we cut it in the fall and winter shooting for the tops of dead standing elm and white ash, when that happens we don’t even stack it we just pile it up and burn it as fast as we get it….

2 years really seems kind of anal to me unless you have a lot of wood and cant get to it.

That split pile of wood you see on top will sit there until I get time but this year it will grow to about 10 or 15 cords of ash and some silver birch Im clearing 7 or 8 lots to plant some nice blues....

no pun,,,,, my wood goes from the split pile to a stack just to save space when the kids are helping it goes from the chopping block to a row stack and thats where it sits until it finds it way into the fire, be it covered or not depends on the space I have at the time..
But if all I have is green elm it gets stacked and covered on top and when the rains come I cover the sides and uncover for the sun. It all depends on the need but waiting analy for 2 years seems to be over kill just a wewe bit.

 

[Rudedog]

Do not leave it uncovered. Rainfall only prolongs the drying time. Cover it with old used steel roofing. NOT plastic, Not with a tarp, STEEL ROOFING.
The steel keeps it dry, and magnifies the sun's heat.
I have 40 years of this sh!t under my belt. Take my word for it...........

............. I will! I've got some old hvac duct work I can use.

 

[nixon]

I cover the top of the stack with metal roofing as soon as I'm done stacking it .
I put fairly decent size rocks on the metal to keep it on the stacks,haven't lost any metal due to wind in several years . I do it just to be done with the job ,and the fact that the stacks will sit there for 1 1/2 - 2 years so they should be reasonably seasoned by that time .

 

[Oldtimer]

I use cement blocks or the biggest rocks I can lift to hold the steel down. Now and again we'll get a 50-60 mph wind and it'll take flight....but then again so would about any kind of covering.
Take a trip up through NH and Maine, look behind the old farms and weather-worn houses...the true New England Yankee either puts his wood in a barn/shed or he covers it with steel roofing.
You can always tell when a person is "from away", they have blue tarps over the wood.