See, I think your local, and sandy soil help you to not have some of the issues that most of the rest of us do...your sandy soil doesn't heave with frost as bad as more clay based soils do (am I wrong?) and being you stack "in the woods" you don't deal with the wind blowing your covers off like many of us do (no matter how heavy of things you have on top) I know I deal with some extreme winds in the winter when the crops are off and there is nothing stopping the wind until it hits my stacks...and since my main stack is E/W, the frost comes out of the north side last...and the whole stack can be leaning pretty good until things are totally thawed! For me, I don't love stacking, but don't despise it either...try to go fast enough to get it done ASAP, but do it well enough that it will stand for 3-4 (5?) years and not look terrible the whole time it's there...I guess as with many things, I try to be "middle of the road", seems to be a good place to be with many things since almost everything is a compromise of some sort, and extremes don't often work out the best IMO.
No doubt the sand does help some but only because water soaks in fast. We do get some frost heave but don't think it is more or less. We do still get plenty of wind (like a tunnel effect) which is a benefit to drying.
I take too much pride in my stacks. When i was little i used to unstack dads stacks and redo them. Drove him nuts. Wish i wasnt so fussy as maybe id have all my wood stacked! . It has gotten tougher on the old back in recent years too. Im even fussy when i stage rounds! Therapy hasnt helped either!
I think stacking is my favorite part of the process. I like to see my hard work turn into something measurable. Sometimes a little nicotine and a podcast can make it more enjoyable as well.
Not a fan of stacking. Once I got my tractor things changed. I can't afford the metal totes ( $100.00 here) so I make mine out of wood pallets. Almost all red oak. 3 pallets make a cord. I try to stack them 2 high. I can't lift a full one ( freshly split and green weighs 1630lbs) to the top so I lift one 2/3 full and then top off. After a couple of years year a full on is lifted just fine (1176lbs dry) A lot of water weight gone. Then I top cover and one cover does 2 skids of wood (in the back row). I tell my neighbor that I'm making a wood fence. I have a few more skids to fill and stack then I'm done for now. These pallet racks last for 6-8 years. The sacrificial skid on the bottom just 3 years. Have to finish stacking top skids to left and then cover. This pic is this years splits and will sit for 4-5 years
The skids I'm using are all oak with no gaps on slats and hold up well. Get em right around the corner, a couple every week. I stack them up and make more when needed. Just have to make sides and wire across top. These wood skids have been out for 2 years so far.
Right there with ya, buddy. I do my best with the very limited amount of time that I have. Wife and I both work full time, with overtime. When my son goes down for his nap, I carry a baby monitor everywhere and try to get as much done as I can - as quickly and quietly as I can.
Could you just leave the "green" ones on the bottom, then move them to the top row after a year or two when you can lift them?
In my younger days, stacking wood was a necessary evil which used up valuable time that I didn't want to feel that I was wasting. Over time, some of my best firewood drying areas became shaded by trees I didn't want to add to the woodpiles. Last year I had 40 yards of fill brought in to increase the best drying area I had. I used to stack a double 24' row (32" wide) in a North - South configuration. A drop off prevented any more rows of wood. The fill allowed me to bring the area to 30' long x 19' wide. I now stack my rows in an East - West configuration. They are still double rows 32" wide, now 16' long. Predominant wind is out of the west, close second is from northwest. I used to stack between trees with pallets upright on the ends to save time. Now I'll have to take the time to crisscross my ends, which looks better and is actually more stable. My outside double row is on the edge of 4 pallets for 16' long, the next 32" row overlaps on the first pallets but have their own 4 pallets for another 16' row. In between those rows and every following rows is about 6" to 8" to allow air to pass between the rows for better drying. I use heavy construction tarps to keep the piles dry with junk tires weighting them down. Each stack stands alone, but they share the same dark brown covers to increase solar heat gain. I wouldn't claim enough to cook it, but sunlight is on the wood drying area most all day long. Faster drying indeed! And location is no more than 40' away from my basement bulkhead, loaded is downhill! Life is good. Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk
That's a good idea and I could but then I have mixed ages in the same pile. I like to group by years woods been split. The ones in the above pics are one and two years old. They'll get moved under metal roofing as I burn older wood. This year I'll be finishing up wood that's from hurricane Sandy in 2012when I have room under metal roofing I move skids under it. Many times in unload wood from skids to stack it tighter and higher. This frees up skids for fresh wood The last pic is a shed I just remade this summer
Here’s all mine. Well. it’s still a pile right now but I can dream. 15 woodpiles that have been stacked into gorgeous works of art Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well that belongs to my son-in-law. Got a deal on it, no title was gonna work on it. Can I keep it here for him. 8 years ago!! Getting sick of moving it around! Moves easy with tractor forks
Last year we attached pallets to the end row. We pound a tee post in the ground then placed the pallets over the top of the post. Chaz also added braces to them. Using same theory in the barn with some adaption.
While stacking isn't my favorite part of the whole firewood process, I do take the time to make decent stacks (for no one's benefit but myself).
