******firewood storage*********

[Whitespider]

I'm not lookin' to sell my firewood... but at $650 a cord I'd reconsider
The hell with the insulation... sellin' firewood at $650 I could build a new house

Seriously though, I did see what you were getting at.
*

 

[Poindexter]

I am using free pallets for my drying stack. Right now I have punky wood under the pallets to get them off the ground. The punky wood I am willing to sacrifice. As I notice free cinder blocks around I'll get them under the pallets.

For my shed build, I am on some pretty sandy silty subsoil. I got with my county extension agent about how many concrete piers to put under the shed (9x9 footprint, loaded to about 20,000 pounds). He got back to me yesterday and suggested 4 railroad ties 9 feet long, and then 2x6 floor joists perpendicular to the RR ties should be enough to keep my shed from sinking.

 

[wap13]

I dont mean to threadjack but maybe its relevant.

How many guys use, or have used rail road ties? I was thinking of trying that this year, maybe put pallets on top to promote more airflow underneath.

I have seen it mentioned here time or 2 but thought it would be more popular as they should last a long long time and can be had cheap if you are patient.

 

[Higs2013]

I use something similar to railroad ties, I use cross arms from utility poles. Im a lineman and when we take a pole down and the arms are good I snatched up! All Douglas fir treated to not rot, I built a rack 20 feet long and 5 feet deep it holds a little over 4 cord fully loaded, plus another cord in the two standing racks.

 

[demc570]

View attachment 331080 View attachment 331079 I use something similar to railroad ties, I use cross arms from utility poles. Im a lineman and when we take a pole down and the arms are good I snatched up! All Douglas fir treated to not rot, I built a rack 20 feet long and 5 feet deep it holds a little over 4 cord fully loaded, plus another cord in the two standing racks.View attachment 331078

NICEEEEEEEEE!

 

[zogger]

I dont mean to threadjack but maybe its relevant.

How many guys use, or have used rail road ties? I was thinking of trying that this year, maybe put pallets on top to promote more airflow underneath.

I have seen it mentioned here time or 2 but thought it would be more popular as they should last a long long time and can be had cheap if you are patient.

I do

 

[Islero]

I dont mean to threadjack but maybe its relevant.

How many guys use, or have used rail road ties? I was thinking of trying that this year, maybe put pallets on top to promote more airflow underneath.

I have seen it mentioned here time or 2 but thought it would be more popular as they should last a long long time and can be had cheap if you are patient.

Wap13, I'm not a guy, but I uses 9' railroad ties to support pallets for stacking firewood. My stacks have been in place three years and they are still in good condition. As such, I suspect that I won't have to replace the pallets anytime soon. In addition, because the stacks are about the eight inches off the ground, the firewood gets plenty of air and doesn't draw any moisture from the ground. Peace be with you...

 

[vanhalenps4]

I dont mean to threadjack but maybe its relevant.

How many guys use, or have used rail road ties? I was thinking of trying that this year, maybe put pallets on top to promote more airflow underneath.

I have seen it mentioned here time or 2 but thought it would be more popular as they should last a long long time and can be had cheap if you are patient.

I do a lot of splitting on one and have handled them before. There's actually a stack of them back in my woods that someone dumped there probably 40 years ago. Obviously they are super heavy. If you have equipment or a couple strong friends they would be a good base for pallets, but I would use treated 4x4s instead and brace them across with 2x4s where the slots for the fork lift are. 4x4s will support plenty of weight and anyone can move them without breaking the back. Buy slightly warped ones anywhere that will sell them cheaper than straight ones and it should be affordable too

 

[Johnny Yooper]

I store 8.5 cords in a wood shed, all sitting on top of railroad ties the neighbor had for bordering his driveway, didn't want them anymore so I got them for free; put an old chain on the Husky and carved them down the middle to double the amount of rails, cut side facing up with coated side in contact with ground to prolong life, but me thinks that no matter which way you lay 'em, they'll still outlast ya.

 

[J1m]

Like others have said - I just use pallets sourced free from the local hardware store. The guy who runs the lumber part of the store told me they actually have to PAY to get rid of 'em in the summer. The way I look at it - I'm doing them a favor. Win win.

 

[hedge hog]

I use corrugated barn tin under all my ricks
weeds cant grow up through it and there is plenty of deep grooves to let the water out and air though the bottom pieces
and tee post on the ends
works great

 

[esshup]

I'm reading and learning. I'm going to be storing wood outside starting next (this) year, under a roof, but open on 3 sides. I was planning on searching Craigslist for plastic pallets, but see that wood pallets are holding up just fine. Is that a correct assumption? Sandy soil here, we DO have problems with subterranean termites tho, so I need to do something to keep them at bay.

One thing that I noticed this year. If Oak is left in 16" long rounds or in log form, (rounds not split and both up off the ground) and not protected from rain and snow, it won't season enough to keep a hot fire going. It'll burn, but it won't put off much heat. Same rounds that were split and stacked under a roof (protected from snow and rain) burn well and throw off a lot of heat. Rounds were cut 18 months ago, the ones that were split and stacked are the same age, but split 6-7 months ago. I seem to have the time to cut/trim/stack the logs, but run out of time getting them cut into rounds and split/stacked.....

 

[Whitespider]

Like others have said - I just use pallets...

No doubt about this one... I've been bested... bested big, bested bad, and... HOLLY CRAP bested
*

 

[zogger]

No doubt about this one... I've been bested... bested big, bested bad, and... HOLLY CRAP bested
*

Well, get on the stick! Your assignment Mr. Phelps, is to get that many visible log ends showing, but log length! If captured, the secretary will disavow, and etc..

 

[J1m]

No doubt about this one... I've been bested... bested big, bested bad, and... HOLLY CRAP bested
*

Coming from you, sir - that is quite the complement!

 

[palbin]

I store it like this in big "halfcylinder" sort of shapes - under plastic after
first summer - simply because other storage methods has been deemed
too time consuming etc - I put a Stihl 12 inch bar in front for size comp-
arison - also the two visible green plastic covers are 6x10 meters each ... .

 

[Poindexter]

Question about shed build, specifically the floor. My biggest challenge here is the freeze/thaw/freeze cycle I get going into winter.

Up on pallets but tarped on five sides (oops) some of the spruce I had seasoned down to 16% moisture content jumped back up as high as 22% some of it, a lot of it jumped back up to 20%. In this scenario I had the pallets directly on the ground, it has to be ground water evaporating under the tarp and getting soaked up by the wood.

For the shed build this summer I am thinking RR ties in ground contact and and then 2x6 floor joists, nominal 14" of air between the ground and the bottom of the floor boards. I already have most of next winters wood c/s/s/c on pallets out in the sun, with the pallets about five inches off the ground. It will be dry wood going into the shed.

Does anyone think $2 worth of six mil plastic sheeting between the joists and floor boards of the shed is a bad idea?