cover wood or not

[woodhounder]

I don't think there is a better way to season wood than the hot summer sun beating down on it. It seems to me the quickest way to season wood.

 

[headleyj]

been discussed many times here - Im no ol pro, but I would think it'd be relative.....For example

ex1 - 2 or 3 years ago we had a dang drought almost in the summer - no wood covering would've been needed then.

ex2 - This year - it's been rain every damned day almost plus 50-60 mph winds - covering would be highly desired I'd think.

So imagine if someone reported their "findings" based on year ex1 only or if their geopgraphic location mimics this weather pattern. Imagine the same thing on ex2.

IMO it's very relative to your amount of rain and your amount of wind/ sun exposure. Again, my opinoin only, not fact.

Full disclosure my pallets are lined N to S, uncovered, but with our monsoons here lately, I'll be getting metal to cover them this week rather than waiting until the fall rains come.

 

[Blackjack1234]

been discussed many times here - Im no ol pro, but I would think it'd be relative.....For example

ex1 - 2 or 3 years ago we had a dang drought almost in the summer - no wood covering would've been needed then.

ex2 - This year - it's been rain every damned day almost plus 50-60 mph winds - covering would be highly desired I'd think.

So imagine if someone reported their "findings" based on year ex1 only or if their geopgraphic location mimics this weather pattern. Imagine the same thing on ex2.

IMO it's very relative to your amount of rain and your amount of wind/ sun exposure. Again, my opinoin only, not fact.

Full disclosure my pallets are lined N to S, uncovered, but with our monsoons here lately, I'll be getting metal to cover them this week rather than waiting until the fall rains come.

Good practical post!!! No two summers are the same.

I have an old hay shed, wood posts and steel roofing, its the perfect wood shed, I can haul my chunks in there with the tractor, split them, and toss them into a pile. The only stacking that I end up doing is on the sides and end to keep it from spilling out. It fits my wood handling philosophy - The less handling the better!! - perfectly.

Problem is, I started using some of the shed for other storage - fishhouse, camper, deer stand wood. I really need to move that other stuff elsewhere!!! Until then I'm forced to throw my split wood in a pile on pallets and try to time the weather in late July/early August when I haul it into my shop for winter burning.

 

[NC4TN]

Fabulous post. My suspicions are confirmed. Another point: wasps love to build nests under tarps.

And don't forget the copperheads and rattlesnakes! And, well OK; blacksnakes too. I've found that if the blacksnakes get there first, the copperheads don't bother to come around.

 

[logbutcher]

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.

Now wait one GD minute boy. I'm one of those from away by choice and love. No GD blue tarps on these woodpiles.....mostly the "natives" a.k.a. "locals" who not only cover their firewood with those blue thingees, but bungee the piles tight all around. This "from away" Old Timer has puffed in vain to get them to make a shed or shelter, or at least use solid covers only on top. Evern shared a good microbrew with them. Hey, think you can make old dogs learn.... forget it.
BTW: you got a firewood shed yet ?

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.

Nailed it ! ANAL it is.:agree2: I'm always impressed by the breadth of intelligence around this site. Next thing you know, we're going to show our professional papers !

Who the H has the time to do more than get the firewood a year ahead. We harvest firewood and other all winter ONLY. I helped out to clear some blowdowns this weekend for an elderly couple. After a couple hours in 65 F with mozzies, deerflies, this body was sopping wet. Moldy crotch, wet pits, salt in the eyes. Enough of this 'summer' cutting. How those rebs work the trees I'll never understand. :monkey:

None of this "pile moving", or "5 years ahead". It's bad enough to have C.A.D. or The Woodpiles O.C.D.'s. Too much else going on especially in this short summer Downeast ("poor sledding").

First we have NUDE piles, then we have those anals. What next ? Bipolar cutting ?

 

[howellhandmade]

SNIP
Who the H has the time to do more than get the firewood a year ahead. We harvest firewood and other all winter ONLY.

I don't think I'm the only one. I agree that cutting in the summer blows, but I haul when I can and pile rounds, then split and stack a little each morning while it's cool until the rounds are gone. Next thing you know, you're a couple of years ahead. In my climate, oak and locust simply burns better the second winter.

Jack

 

[logbutcher]

I don't think I'm the only one. I agree that cutting in the summer blows, but I haul when I can and pile rounds, then split and stack a little each morning while it's cool until the rounds are gone. Next thing you know, you're a couple of years ahead. In my climate, oak and locust simply burns better the second winter.
Jack

Exactamon. :agree2: Pile rounds after harvesting. Split and stack (the Zen part of the process) "when you can".

With little high end hardwoods such as oaks Downeast, I save the few sticks for those single and below winter days. Really no time to wait. If cut, split, and stacked (even nude) the Red Oak burns fine with little sizzle after a year. The cut and noodled dead standing oak cut last Feb and split last week IS completely wet inside (True Confession). It'll be fine for late winter however.

BTW: do you southern guys really get acclimated to high heat and humidity for working ? Any Camp Elgin alumni around ?

 

[GlennG]

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.

Tin Metal roof. Wind is important. Sun not so much really. My shed is built with 6x6 , metal roof and chain link fence. It works.

 

[headleyj]

Tin Metal roof. Wind is important. Sun not so much really. My shed is built with 6x6 , metal roof and chain link fence. It works.

chain link - great idea!!!

 

[woodhounder]

You know I would think that a greenhouse would make a great wood shed, open ended with no doors. They get up to about 140 degrees in the summer, plus you would have the wind blowing through it. They are not that expensive to build. I would think you could season wood pretty quickly. The only downfall is you would have to stack it up in the winter- you couldn't stand to be in there in the summer.

 

[logbutcher]

Heat with wood, build a woodshed.
"Build it and the wood will come."

Enough futzing all over the place about "covers". Whine #___.

 

[woodhounder]

Tin Metal roof. Wind is important. Sun not so much really. My shed is built with 6x6 , metal roof and chain link fence. It works.

I don't think we get enough wind here to season wood. I rely more on the sun than wind. Again, I do think that where you are located is going matter.

 

[Oldtimer]

Logbutcher, I do not have a proper woodshed. The Tax bill is high enough already. Waiting for the state to decide a couple of sheets of steel roofing over a stack of wood constitutes a taxable structure.

 

[woodhounder]

yea, you don't want to pay taxes on a woodshed

 

[headleyj]

yea, you don't want to pay taxes on a woodshed

hell no I don't either, but in this county anything greater than 10'x10' with permanent coverage overhead is taxed....I almost used a tarp as a roof, but wifey put the kibosh on that

 

[Oldtimer]

yea, you don't want to pay taxes on a woodshed

If I wanted your opinion, I'd have asked.

 

[vincem77]

I pile my wood on 4'x8' pallets with about 1ft gap between each pallet for airflow. The wood gets little direct light or rain under a row of pines but plenty of breeze. This past year i covered half my pile with a tarp, and left half with no cover. Overall saw very little difference. The only difference was the top 1ft of the covered pile dried slightly slower than the uncovered. The 5ft of wood below that dried at the same rate covered or not.

Either method will dry the majority of your wood the same. If its extremely rainy cover it. If its not rainy, you are restricting airflow and trapping moisture.

 

[woodhounder]

If I wanted your opinion, I'd have asked.

That's alright, you get it anyway FREE OF CHARGE.

 

[deerlakejens]

I started out with tarps but ended up with white mildew on a lot of my wood, along with a lot of undesireables like bugs, squirrels and an oppossum. I found some steel panels on CL and they are perfect when tied down on top, as Oldtimer stated. I stack my wood on pallets placed end to end and then run a rope from one pallet up the end of the pile, over the steel roofing, down the other end, through the pallet and back up and over all the way back to the original pallet. Haven't had any blow off yet, though we don't get many gales here. I also had two piles in the full sun and two piles in complete shade. I watched them closely watching for checking on the ends and lifting to feel weight loss, not exactly scientific but it convinced me. They both seasoned at the same rate so I stack all of mine in the shade now so I dont have to trim grass or weeds around them. Stacks in the shade are less conspicuous as well. My two cents.

 

[logbutcher]

I started out with tarps but ended up with white mildew on a lot of my wood, along with a lot of undesireables like bugs, squirrels and an oppossum. I found some steel panels on CL and they are perfect when tied down on top, as Oldtimer stated. I stack my wood on pallets placed end to end and then run a rope from one pallet up the end of the pile, over the steel roofing, down the other end, through the pallet and back up and over all the way back to the original pallet. Haven't had any blow off yet, though we don't get many gales here. I also had two piles in the full sun and two piles in complete shade. I watched them closely watching for checking on the ends and lifting to feel weight loss, not exactly scientific but it convinced me. They both seasoned at the same rate so I stack all of mine in the shade now so I dont have to trim grass or weeds around them. Stacks in the shade are less conspicuous as well. My two cents.

Can we please get rid of Mickey Mouse coverings ? Pretty please ?
Geez: ties, holy tarps, bungees, lines, scrap roofing, soon we'll be reading about potato skins and bark coverings.:hmm3grin2orange:

BUILD IT