Saw a pile of it while running, figured what the hec i'll grab it. Didn't sort it all just yet, but was some already nice cut up rectangular pieces that I rinsed off the sand and let dry, perfect for the racks. Not a huge fan of tarps and I would image this is similar but it was free and I could use some top covers in a pinch. Maybe they will last longer than a tarp? I do have to do a better job of adjusting the rack so the water rolls off vs. pooling (no pun in tended ......).
I hear it's better than tarps, but never actually tried it myself (I've tried about everything else though... IMO epdm rubber is still the best, so if you get a chance to score that...)
Good to know, I got a bunch of it. I probably got a 4 - 6 really good pieces to use on the 8ft racks. A bunch of it is hacked up odd sizes and shapes, probably end up tossing some of it. I hear good stuff about that epdm rubber...........My fav besides a dedicated wood shed is metal roofing, no fusing with it, just pitch it correctly, added weight and done!
I have been using pool liners for tarps for 12 years now and it is still in great shape. It will blow off in strong winds but is heavier than a standard tarp so it won't flap around like a tarp. You will be looking for more after this, trust me!
I have been using waterproof roofing underlayment for about three years now. It is cheap, easy to deploy and stays in place with staples. Gives me about four inches of over-hang on each side of my pallets. It lasts about 24-30 months.
I scored one last year and gave it to my friend to use. I noticed it was a bit ripped when I looked at the stack it was covering. Don't know of he did it in the cold as its brittle then. It was 2-3 years old from what I was told at the time. Good luck with it Chuck. Hope it works well.
I had a couple of old leaky air mattresses that I never got around to repairing. I cut them in half and used them on a few stacks. Seems to be a good way to repurpose them.
I did something similar with a friend's water bed mattress. It was fine but very stiff and brittle in freezing temps.
Interesting. This feels like it won't get brittle in the cold. You have me dou ting now. Guess we'll see in a few months.
I took down our above ground pool and I'm using the liner as a firewood stack cover. I think you will enjoy using it. I would list it as better that plastic tarps, but not as good as rubber roofing. As we will see how long liner material will last.
I was stacking next to where my friend had used the pool liner for top cover. Is the design side supposed to be showing, hence the premature tearing? He has the other side exposed. Its only been on there over a year. I was told it was 2-3 years old when I scrounged it Spring of 2023
Hmmm looks like it may get brittle when exposed to freezing temps. Thanks for posting I will keep a look out, since this will be the first cold weather for mine.
Try it on stacks that you'll not be touching for a couple of years. Once I knew the waterbed sections would get brittle, I looked for ways to minimize the handling of them. If they were on a stack that I'd pull from in the upcoming heating season, I'd swap them out with roofing rubber.
Which side up hasn't seemed to make a difference for me. That appears to be really old already Brad. My 12yo ones don't look like that.
Maybe he was rough with it when he covered the stack. Don't know. I was surprised to see it with holes. Either way it'll get replaced. When I use plastic, tarps or thin material I'll try to use plywood or some sort of sheet goods before top covering.
Had something strange happen to one of my tarps this year. Figure I’ll tell ya bout it here. Maybe some super smart scientific type has an explanation. Pic is from May 23 of this year. I laid down a 5’ wide strip of EPDM rubber on top of this pen as a cushion hoping it would keep the tarp from being punctured. The black tarp has deteriorated wherever it lay on the rubber to the point it is just tearing apart very easily. Heat? Can the rubber have attracted or held that much heat to degrade the tarp? We had a hot spell early this summer but things cooled off rather nicely. Chemical reaction of some type? We all know tarps are not the best thing going on a wood pile. Still I have the original pen I built with a tarp on it three years and doing well,,,no rubber underneath. Any thoughts?
My guess is a combination of the two and the presence of UV. That EPDM roof I tore off last month had patching/flashing made of asphalt. A big no no to mix the two. The rubber was all rippled where the asphalt had touched it. Don't know the age of the roof either.
