Cover for firewood

[Bubbas Boys]

So I have 5 cords now split for our first year with a wood stove. I am wanting to get 10 but not sure I gonna make it. I don't have the cover over the stack as I planned yet. How important is it to keep all the wood covered? Should I stop my other summer projects and get it done? Thanks!

[Big Dave]

If nothing else get a sheet of tin and place over the wood. Keeping it in the dry is important. The ends can get wet but the middle is dry so it will burn. You may want to check out how some folks stack it in the round. It sheds water and snow to keep itself dry. Look it up on u tube. hope this helps.

[Le Petit Norman]

Cheap carport maybe, you got a lot of iron in the fire from what I can read here but dry wood make a lot of difference when burning

[TerriLynn]

Couldn't you just tarp it until you get something more permanent put up? Especially if your really busy right now.

[Wolf mom]

Thick clear plastic tarp works well and creates enough heat to kill any bugs in the wood. Just anchor it well. And this is from someone who hates plastic.

I use an old cedar chest inside and am thinking of trying to build a storage box next to the house as my wood pile is pretty far away. I need more roofs! My neighbor hauled an old shed on skids near the house for his wood.

[mrs whodunit]

Costco has tarps good quality at a decent price. I cover our wood with them.

We live out on the prairie so lots of wind. I tie the tarps down to the pallets the wood is stacked on.

[jwal10]

Depends on where you live and how wet (green) the wood is. Plastic will trap moisture, if the ground is wet, traps that too as it rises. Tin does work good. One long rick works real good, lets air in to let it dry. If a wide stack. Leave space between the ricks for air movement. If the wood is seasoned and dry, keep it that way....James

[Wolf mom]

Originally Posted by jwal10

Depends on where you live and how wet (green) the wood is. Plastic will trap moisture, if the ground is wet, traps that too as it rises. Tin does work good. One long rick works real good, lets air in to let it dry. If a wide stack. Leave space between the ricks for air movement. If the wood is seasoned and dry, keep it that way....James

Never knew, jwal10 - thanks for the heads up.

[mrs whodunit]

Originally Posted by jwal10

Depends on where you live and how wet (green) the wood is. Plastic will trap moisture, if the ground is wet, traps that too as it rises. Tin does work good. One long rick works real good, lets air in to let it dry. If a wide stack. Leave space between the ricks for air movement. If the wood is seasoned and dry, keep it that way....James

I only tarp the top of the wood. With the side open and a nice breeze/wind the wood dries very well.

Stacking the wood on pallets keeps the wood off the ground and makes for great airflow.

[simi-steading]

I've got a sort of lean too built for my wood, but no roof on it yet, so I've just been putting a dark brown tarp over the top, but the sides are open.. .It's amazing how much faster it's dried the wood absorbing the heat from the sun through the tarp... I lift the tarp off, and it's super hot under there..

[idigbeets]

I tarp the top and one side that faces most of our snow/rain.

[Dixie Bee Acres]

I have a tarp over several stacks of wood that is completely dry, wood that is still drying out, i have stacked outside with no cover. Not drying vey quick with all of this rain lately.

I was given a big stack of fiberglass sheeting, looks like pole barn metal. Next week I will get the rest of the lumber I need to build a small shed, using the fiberglass for roof and walls. Once it is done I will keep a couple cords inside that shed.
Once cold weather starts, I keep a cord and a half or so on my enclosed front porch.
I also plan on moving some into my garage before snow flies.

[ET1 SS]

Firewood needs a cover to keep rain,snow,ice off it. But it also needs cross ventilation, to assist in drying.

Here in Maine, our home is 2400 sq ft, we go through 3 to 4 cords a year.

I do not bother to split our firewood. Unless a piece is too large to fit into our wood stove. It's feed door is 12" by 14", it's firebox is almost 3' deep, so it can take fairly large pieces of wood.

[chestnut]

Originally Posted by jwal10

Depends on where you live and how wet (green) the wood is. Plastic will trap moisture, if the ground is wet, traps that too as it rises. Tin does work good. One long rick works real good, lets air in to let it dry. If a wide stack. Leave space between the ricks for air movement. If the wood is seasoned and dry, keep it that way....James

And when building permanent wood shed make it twice as big as one years use so you can always be a year ahead on wood.

[moonwolf]

Canadian tire (retailer throughout Canada) sells tarps on sale
really cheap. Very versatile covers for firewood. I use the
to cover feed inside old freezers outside. Just bought a couple
10 x 10 tarps for about $2 each.

[mark3885]

Any lumber yard will give away the tarps that cover the wood when it is brought in on trucks . Better than the store bought blue tarps and free .

[Benny b]

Would a shipping container be good for storing wood or wouldn't it have enough cross vent to dry the wood?

[Marcia in MT]

Check with a sign company or online for billboard wraps -- billboards are not painted or pasted any more, they are covered with a tarp-like wrap. Lots of folks use old ones to cover hay bale stacks and for mulch in the garden; they'd be great for covering wood piles, too.

[Tabitha]

you stacked it already? Too bad. Here is my recipe for instant wood shed. Two cattle panels, one big tarp, one pack of clothespins.
Make a hoop house out of the cattle panels. we used a few pieces of rebar to tie it down at the ends. Cover with the tarp, front and back are open, nice draft. fasten the tarp with the clothespins, I know it sounds kooky, but it works really well.
An even cheaper way is to stack your wood in Holzhaus fashion. A good way to get it to dry, too if it is still on the green side. make a circle, lay up the wood in a circle, on the inside of the circle, stand the pieces upright, do that as far as you need to, depending on how much wood you have. You start laying it so it will shape up like a cone. I once saw one that had an open umbrella at the top. My folks used pieces of slab wood for the final cover.