Woodpile Covering Practice and Poll

[Islander]

I know this topic has been debated thoroughly, but I thought I'd mix it up with a poll.

Would you please provide your opinion of the best practice for covering your woodpile?

1) Never cover the woodpile
2) Covered in winter, Uncovered in summer
3) Always cover the woodpile
4) Other...please post with your thoughts (I know a wood shed is ideal, but no plans at the moment).

My wife and I are debating this, and I thought I'd get the opinion of this community.

We cut/split/stack our own wood, and it varies from wet green trees that are fresh cut, to standing dead ones that have lost all bark. We usually cut in the fall and stack to burn a year later. A lot of ash and elm, and a little basswood and poplar that we burn at times like this where we don't need a lot of heat.

We are in Northern Vermont, and get typical New England weather. We usually stack 3-4 cords per year at 16" length, and it is stacked on pallets about 5' high with book ends (pallets standing up with bracing). We use 2 rows of pallets butted together. 3 wood rows each of this years and next years stash, a total of 6 rows of wood wide.

I won't say what our current covering practice is so as not to bias the poll!

 

[chucker]

i cover my own personal wood supply every winter!! the wood i sell is either stacked or piled to the elements of nature as most sold wood is for a year ahead ......

 

[Wolfcsm]

Never covered

Texas. Don't rain that much (less that 36 inches a year). Summer will dry out must anything.


Hal

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

I would only cover the top with some tin or tarp only because snow is a pain in the butt to deal with.
Other than that I would never cover it.

 

[flewism]

I only cover the wood that I plan on using in the upcoming heating season in the fall. The wood processed this year for the fall of 2011 will remain uncovered this winter.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Depends on your climate. If it rains a lot, you need to cover it. I cover year round, but the top only. Do NOT cover the sides! It's got to get air!


Northern Tool has some long, narrow tarps just for wood piles. They've been working well for me.

 

[peterc38]

I leave it uncovered in the warmer months and cover top only just before the snow flies.

 

[pipehead]

I don't cover it at all, and it is a pretty wet/cold climate here. I used to, but tarps are a pain (windy here, too). A day or so by the stove and it dries out pretty good. You just have to "plan" bringing in your wood - bring in a good stash after a couple of sunny days, and try to have a good 4-5 days of dry wood on hand. Keeping it up off the ground with good air flow is seems more important than covering.
I suppose it depends on how much you have as well. Trying to cover 10 cords with a tarp is a royal PITA.
I do have a wood shed, but it only holds about half of what I keep on hand.

 

[mga]

the only time i cover wood is when my wood for the winter is stacked and ready to burn. i stack the wood on pallets.

it doesn't burn well covered with snow and ice.

when i cut wood for the next season, it's uncovered and the elements do the rest.

 

[3fordasho]

Anything that will be used this season goes into the wood shed but only after being uncovered for 2 years. However, now that I am way, way ahead on wood, I am considering covering the top only of several larger stacks of wood. My concern is rot since I have wood that will not be used for 5 years or more.

 

[Jefflee1]

In the summer time it is uncovered. I always cover my split wood in in October. .

 

[sunfish]

I cut and split in the Fall and Winter for the next year. Wood gets stacked in the wood shed in the early Spring for the following Winter. I'm fixing to build another wood shed so I can have two years worth covered. Dry wood works best for me. If I could it would always be covered with a metal roof. No tarps!

 

[beerman6]

I voted "other" just so I could see the results.

I have a 24x24 shed.

 

[rmihalek]

I keep a tarp only over the top of all the wood: let's the air flow through the sides. My wood is stored in a small section of forest and stuff always falls on top of the stacks, so the tarps keep the twigs out.

 

[richv70]

Uncovered all summer, early fall, covered all winter.

 

[Islander]

Thanks for everyone's comments. These polls really help decide based on data...

I'll side with the majority...we do as many describe...leave open all summer, cover in mid fall (about 4 weeks ago) at the time when rain water is not likely to fully dry (temps below about the 50's) on this years wood. I have a 1/2 width cover for this side of the pile.

Since I'm not yet done with next years wood, I leave that open until later in the fall, before the snow starts falling. I shoot for a nice square, flat woodpile with both sides filled, then I put a full width cover over the whole thing that keeps the snow off all winter.

I agree with all the tarp comments. I need about 50 small rounds to keep the cover from blowing off. My 1/2 width tarp, which is an old heavy pool cover, blew off during the Noreaster we got a few weeks ago, and my precious "this year" pile got all wet. Mostly dry now, but some of the small amount of basswood (great kindling...splits like butta') in there absorbed it, and is still a little wet.

Good tip on the Northern Tool covers...will try one of those. Seems like a heavy old cavnas cover, or a heavy vinyl tarp like the truckers use is the way to go, but those cost a fortune.

I'll build a woodshed eventually, but many bigger fish to fry first...

 

[VinnieWV]

uncover until late fall, and then stack it in wood shed

 

[bobt]

Here is our firewood plan.

1. Stack 2 cords outside uncovered one full year. Transfer into dry basement near wood furnace sometime during the year that it will be burned.

2. Cut and split six cords of green firewood in the summer and pile four cords of it in dry ventilated basement near wood furnace to be burned that winter. By the time the two cords of dry wood are used up, the green wood in the basement is dry.

3. The other two cords of green wood are piled outside uncovered for the following year.

This system has worked very well for us as we have very little room to stack firewood outdoors. If we did not have a nice dry ventilated basement, we would never try to store wet, green wood that way. The wood dries fairly well even without the heat from the wood furnace, and once the fire is going 24/7 it finishes drying in about a month.

Bob

 

[colverpa]

9

 

[Coldfront]

Why let it get rained on all spring summer and fall? I stack it and cover the top only with old steel roofing, it still gets plenty of air flow though the sides, some day I will build a wood shed. The dryer you can keep your wood the better.