Seems like an open sided shed with at least a 8 foot height would work s if it isn't too deep.Plenty of air circulation and sun would hit a lot of the ends.I wouldn't put fresh cut green wood in there until i had been outside and seasoned a while.Maybe you could cut and split in the woods then move the smaller stacks in before the fall days get short and what gets wet doesn't dry well. We've talked about cutting some green trees that won't make logs,splitting it and stacking between two trees in the woods for the summer and moving it in before heating season but so far have been able to cut dead and down as we needed it.Just my thought
My firewood is stacked outside then moved into the shed before burn season. My goal is to have enough shed to css into the shed and let it season. It might take longer but i would like 20 cord under cover.
First, make it better by using a clear roof to let sun in from all angles. Second, why not put green wood in it? If it is exposed to wind and sun it will season. If it is not exposed to rain it will season a little faster. What I really want to do is build a solar kiln. If you build it right, it will dry the wood more in a few weeks that letting it sit outside for a few years. Then there would be no need for a multi year plan and therefore much less space. Just get the next winter’s worth of wood in by July and it should be ready to go long before it gets cool in the fall.
I stack in the windiest possible spot of my yard. The wind is your friend and will help wood dry much faster. Sunlight also a plus but not as important as wind in my experience. Top covered through spring and winter then left uncovered through the summer and that seems to work the best for our location. One thing to consider when you attempt or test drying methods is relative humidity and location. If your in a wet area with lots of rainfall it will take longer and may be better covered vs dry areas might not need a cover at all.
Open stacks for drying. Woodshed for storing already seasoned wood. An extra move yes. But it is what it is. That’s part of the fun.
Here are 2 ways I store my wood. I don't like to move it any extra times either. It seems like common sense to keep it dry from rain and snow. First picture is a combo privacy wall and firewood long term storage, it's one row wide 160 ft long. Next pics are my new shed for splitting and storage.
Stacked outside in rows is best. I have a rack in my side yard that will hold about 2 cords stacked 2 rows deep. It's right at my splitting area and the wood stays in that rack until I bring it in to burn. The rest of my wood gets stacked in different places out back in single rows and top covered, then moved into the shed in September. The shed holds 3.5 cords if I fill it to the max. If I empty out one or both sides of the shed, I'll stack one row of green wood around the inside in the spring. I cut the majority of my wood 13" long and most of it will season in one summer.
1/8, when I was stationed in Maine, I quickly learned wind is your friend. I can echo what some of the others have said. Maine is a wet state, both rain and high ground water level, and cloudy but really windy. When in Maine, I stacked the wood off the ground and uncovered with the top pieces bark up. I burned hard maple and took 2 years for it to dry. If I had it to do over, I think I would long stack, one deep and keep tin on top, with rocks holding the tin down. I was not going to move the wood much. I did not have a tractor there, lawn mower cart or truck was not ideal on that property. You will get it figured out, with using Dallas' saw it won't be so bad. You should use his tractor and splitter as well.
Wind is without question, as Pallet Pete and others have noted, the single-most influencing factor in drying wood. I dont mind moving wood, it's like aging wine and seeing the "fruits" of your labor. Single and double rows, adequately spaced jump start the process. Outside the shed, I like the wood exposed in the summer and covered in the other seasons. It needs to face south and take advantage of your prevailing wind direction. As others have noted, location is key and environmental factors weigh heavily upon time of drying. I am blessed by geography and topography where I live. You can only control so much but getting air underneath is key. I shadow board the ends of my shed and stack double row in each bay on expanded metal, I sometimes throw some uglies in between. I average drying white oak in 18 mos., others comparatively by species.
As wood approaches burn stage, it gets moved to the shed and the re-stocking begins up the bottom-It works for me, individual results may vary...
Rope is exactly right in terms of Maine being wet and spongy...(not sure how to highlight his name as is often done on here) A way to get the minimal work, and yet the driest wood, is to have plenty of space in your home for a little storage. Let me explain... Without question drying wood outside makes it more dry, but it also means shuffling wood around more, and who wants to do that? Just put your wood up in your new firewood shed and let it dry as best it can, but in the winter, have enough storage in the house so you can put...say a weeks worth of wood...close to the stove (within reason of course). The low moisture content will really get the wood dry. If a person can do that...and the domestic supervisor of the home (wife) allows it, it can work well without excessive work.
It is interesting to note that here in wet and soggy Maine, my farm does not have enough indoor storage for all the hay I need for my sheep. I use round bales so they can be stored outside, BUT that means some loss on the hay too. By accident I found if I leave them in a row on top of the hill (that has a 150 mile view) the wind blows the snow right off them most years, and gets them dry right after a rain. My hay loss is probably half that of when I stored them closer to the barn. Now there is a trade-off as I must trek up there to get them and plow snow, but at $40 a bale in value, what I burn in diesel fuel to get them from up there, is negligible compared to what I would have in hay losses when they are stored down here. It really is amazing how just a little wind can affect the bottom line; hay or firewood. (It is about a half-mile trip)
Up in the county, a lot of the old timers put green in the basement. The previous years left over was burned first. Box fan on green that was to burned next. They used it to keep humidity in the house. I have helped a few with there wood and every month or so we would reshuffle stacks closer to the stove. It works, the wood was dry. The trees were cut in winter after sap to roots. Left to log until spring and bucked and split and before fall rain into the basement.
