Wood Pile Cover Material?

[Blue Oaks]

I guess I have it easy, as we rarely get much if any rain in the summer. I just leave the split wood in full exposure under 85-95* days with 20-30% humidity. Summer UV is what kills tarps around here, so I just cover my wood piles before the rains, and put the tarps away at the end of winter. I do buy the thickest plastic tarps I can find though.

 

[Squareground3691]

You can make a shelter overhang, with metal roofing and some steel tubing, not that much , was fortunate to get my stuff pretty cheap.

 

[macattack_ga]

 

[SS396driver]

I use bill board tarps . Company out of California sells ones that were for us at fairs and expos . So not exposed to the elements for long . Got two 14x40 tarps for less than 200 shipped was some sort of special . One was never used maybe a mistake unit . One was a picture of a girl for a job fair . Had to put the black side up was a little creepy.

 

[bbxlr8]

I used the silver HF ones - last a few years.

Another thought & Sounds crazy, but I had an old above-ground pool that was solid but replaced
Cut into tarps and super tough - looks weird but I am back in the woods!

 

[SS396driver]

I use bill board tarps . Company out of California sells ones that were for us at fairs and expos . So not exposed to the elements for long . Got two 14x40 tarps for less than 200 shipped was some sort of special . One was never used maybe a mistake unit . One was a picture of a girl for a job fair . Had to put the black side up was a little creepy.

Picture of one of the tarps . It’s 14x48 not 40

 

[Blue Oaks]

One thing I do is stack the wood such that I minimize sharp edges facing up. I try to use rounded pieces with bark facing up and around any corners to not have sharp edges trying to cut through as the wind blows.

 

[PT Farmboy]

I've been using ploy tarps to cover the woodpile but they seem to get thin and eventually develop tears in a couple years at best.
This Summer has been the rain and it's not looking like changing will Fall coming.
Looking for suggestions for suggestions short of building a shed.
I've seen sites with used billboard vinyls but they aren't claimed to be waterproof probably due to wear. Any first hand experience?
Are new vinyls better than HD poly tarps?
What is working for people?

Maybe 60 mil HDPE used plastic. This plastic is used as liners for manure storage ponds since the mid 1990's. Many of these ponds are now being cleaned out, plastic removed and the pit filled and graded. In Wis. it is illegal to bury this plastic and has to be landfilled which is a real waste and a huge cost. Contact your County Land Conservation Dept or NRCS for possible sites that are planned for closure. Material has UV protection for exposure to sun.

 

[Lightning Performance]

From this thread I've gathered that commercial truck tarps and such things are good and free most times. The stuff from rubber roofing seems good to me. I have tin to use from old roofing but will be using that as awning roofs next year. Old hoop house plastic was last years pick but it was only 7mil and already three years old but free.
That will be all UV cooked by the end of 2024
Tyvec from lumber wraps or mattress plastic covers was what got used here in the past but the plastic sweats on the top sections. Swimming pool liners will likely produce sweat like plastic does.
Good read great ideas.

 

[Mad Professor]

I've been using ploy tarps to cover the woodpile but they seem to get thin and eventually develop tears in a couple years at best.
This Summer has been the rain and it's not looking like changing will Fall coming.
Looking for suggestions for suggestions short of building a shed.
I've seen sites with used billboard vinyls but they aren't claimed to be waterproof probably due to wear. Any first hand experience?
Are new vinyls better than HD poly tarps?
What is working for people?

I get lumber tarps for free. Double/triple fold them up.

A local CL ad has greenhouse plastic for free, 144' lengths. Not a typo. That will stand up to sunlight/UV

 

[Franny K]

New rubber roofing is rediculously expensive, even in the secondary (leftovers) market.

Did you try Beacon something builidng supply or such in Hartford, or for that matter multiple other storefronts. Last 50' by 10' by 0.060" black was $300. The racket is if you are not in that business then they act like they are not supposed to sell it to you. well, the Carlisle brand but it they are out of stock in brand x they give me Carlisle. There is white colored on one side for more and 0.045" for less. It seems pretty much a life long lifespan though some black will rub off on you after a while. No litter like other sheets. Mice most likely will make some holes.

 

[nedsim]

Another vote here for EPDM roofing. Keep an eye open for off-cuts. I bought a couple 5x18 pieces at a yard sale for $40, and a 30x50 piece off Craigslist for $100. Lasts a very long time and doesn't flap and shred in the wind. It is heavy to handle.

I've seen Craigslist ads for someone in southern New England selling used material by the pallet-load for cheap.

 

[Snap]

I use bill board tarps . Company out of California sells ones that were for us at fairs and expos . So not exposed to the elements for long . Got two 14x40 tarps for less than 200 shipped was some sort of special . One was never used maybe a mistake unit . One was a picture of a girl for a job fair . Had to put the black side up was a little creepy.

I looked at those and the same company was selling 15 mil vinyl tarps with edge grommets for a decent price. They had a special running and I found a discount code so the 10x36 ended up reasonable at $82 ($40 off) plush shipping. That thing is heavy compared to typical poly tarps.

 

[Snap]

Thanks for all the replies.
A few of the lightweight structures are interesting but snow and wind around here would not be friendly on anything not robust.
If I had thought 40 years ago when we built the house that this would be a thing I would have built a permanent shed.

 

[sean donato]

I'm another vote for billboard tarps. My logging buddy turned me on to them. 14'x48' is a pretty standard size. Paid $70.00 (ish) with shipping for the one I got. Cut it in half and have been covering my log piles ever since. Best tarp I've ever had for the price. Another thing to look out for is old pool liners. Usually you can get them for free. I have one from an above ground pool for years now. I was lucky they didn't cut it into tiny pieces and it was pretty big. Been covering a few of my tractors I store outside with it. I'm sure it would work just fine for wood as well.

 

[motoguy]

Edit: Moved this here from a different post, since this is exactly my question as well.

I've got several cords (15+) of personal use firewood that I need to cover and store. I keep on fire racks like this one (obviously longer):

I'm looking for cost effective, aesthetically pleasing methods of top cover. I'd rather not cover it with sheets of tin as it's located at the edge of our yard. I go through 4-5 cord per year so some if this will be setting for 3-4 years. Maybe longer as I'm continuing to drop trees and add to the supply.

I've seen ads for used billboard tarps. These seem to be durable, have long length, and by cutting them to narrower strips (and installing eyelets) I should be able to secure them with poly line.

 

[motoguy]

I'm another vote for billboard tarps. My logging buddy turned me on to them. 14'x48' is a pretty standard size. Paid $70.00 (ish) with shipping for the one I got. Cut it in half and have been covering my log piles ever since. Best tarp I've ever had for the price. Another thing to look out for is old pool liners. Usually you can get them for free. I have one from an above ground pool for years now. I was lucky they didn't cut it into tiny pieces and it was pretty big. Been covering a few of my tractors I store outside with it. I'm sure it would work just fine for wood as well.

I'm leaning towards getting a couple of these billboard tarps, cutting them into 2-3' wide strips, putting eyelets in them and using them.

 

[dboyd351]

I used the silver HF ones - last a few years.

The silver HF tarps are a pretty good compromise of easy availability, pretty tough and a good price, especially if you catch them on sale.

that's what I usually use but I'm sure if you could get a good enough deal on the rubber roofing material or a billboard tarp they would be more cost-effective. Roofing tin probably beats everything for longevity, but I'm not sure how the price compares.

In my opinion, the shelter made of roofing tin by square ground looks better than any of the tarp options.

 

[composter]

I was using the billboard tarps from a local advertising co., but they began selling to the marketer too. They lasted several seasons. Didi not figure out how to make hems and double the thickness so that eyelets would stay. We must cover in the summer too, as we get 64" of rain, largely in the summer. Last year, I got a deal (Woot, which is a clearance co. for Amazon) on black 6' x 20' tarps with eyelets. Since my storage pallets are 4' wide, 30" high, the tarp would cover 10 pallets in a row. Used an idea from some firewood forum of making weights from ~ 3"x12" pieces of limb, adding a hook so that the weights kept the tarps in place.
Due to the continued high humidity, we did have a fair amount of mold/fungi loss.
This year, I bought a case of 6' x 20' silver 12mil tarps for the season.

 

[sean donato]

I was using the billboard tarps from a local advertising co., but they began selling to the marketer too. They lasted several seasons. Didi not figure out how to make hems and double the thickness so that eyelets would stay. We must cover in the summer too, as we get 64" of rain, largely in the summer. Last year, I got a deal (Woot, which is a clearance co. for Amazon) on black 6' x 20' tarps with eyelets. Since my storage pallets are 4' wide, 30" high, the tarp would cover 10 pallets in a row. Used an idea from some firewood forum of making weights from ~ 3"x12" pieces of limb, adding a hook so that the weights kept the tarps in place.
Due to the continued high humidity, we did have a fair amount of mold/fungi loss.
This year, I bought a case of 6' x 20' silver 12mil tarps for the season.

You glue them. It's kinda expensive
HH-66 Vinyl Cement, 16 oz. can - RH Adhesives https://a.co/d/iBu6dlY
There are a few other options, but that stuff works best. I've used it to patch small holes and various other minor issues in the billboard tarps.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but used pool liners are great too.