Will deeply packed woodsheds have issues?

I'm thinking of building a big lean-to this coming spring/summer. Like 16'x36' or so. I typically try to do less rows in a woodshed so it airs out better. My question is how many rows have others successfully stacked in a shed? Also, has anyone come up with a good way to space the rows apart a bit, other than just free hand stacking. I'm planning on 8' high rows, so stacking against something helps it stay still better in my experience. I had an idea to put pallets between the rows, with all the pallet frame members going horizontal so the wind can blow through like a big tunnel.

I also had the thought of stacking say 3 rows on each long side and leaving the middle alley open to drive a tractor through the building with a big door on each end.

I'd love to see pics of different designs.

 

I cannot imagine that unless you have a fully enclosed building, with no air change over, and lots of very green wood you would have an issue.

Obviously more air is better, but it is wasted under cover space.

In a lean to like you described you will have plenty of air, even more with pallets between rows. Go for it

 

I have an old goat shed I use for a wood shed and stack about 8 rows deep. But no wood goes in the shed unless it's been stacked, single row, outside for 3 years. It spends a year in the shed before it get used to heat the house. I use the shed more to give me room to stack new wood for seasoning in the wood lot.

 

I have a 24X32 pole barn where I stack my wood. It lends itself to having 8x8 areas for stacking. I get about 7 rows in each area. I get a little over 2 cords per space.
I try to have my cut and split wood outside for 18-24 months before moving it into the shed. I have about 3+ years in the pole barn.

 

I don't think Kevin in Ohio had any issues with this whole barn full of wood not drying...80 cord IIRC...

 

My plan was to put in the big shed as soon as it was processed. Sounds like others think that's not a great idea.

 

It may not be ideal but sometimes you can't have ideal.

How often will it actually be totally stuffed ?
Can you leave an aisle down the middle for some extra air flow ?
There can be dozens of compromises.

 

Good points. I'm thinking of making one bay for sawn lumber anyways.

 

I would think you’d want to break it into thirds inside anyway for a three year supply. Empty and refill a bay per year. So right there you have the need for air space between.
As for the rows, instead of pallets why not just hang vertical strings from the rafter to the floor. Every 8’ or so. So if you cut your wood to 18” hang the line every 22”. Follow them up straight and eyeball in between. In the Mason trade we call these jacklines. I’ve followed a string up over 100’. One of the most accurate corners that can be built with bricks. Doesn’t need to be on a corner tho. Leave the nails in the rafter but pull the string when done.
Easier than pallets which will cut down on airflow anyway.

 

This is our barn that was built last year. We are working on getting to 3 yrs.

Barn going up.

Each row is one winter. What is nice the weather doesn't slow him down. He can work on wood in the summer time and be in the shade. He also has an industrial fan. So far winter is the challenge. Hasn't found a heater at a decent price.

 

The problem I have with open stacks is they always seem to topple eventually. No matter how straight they start out. The ground freezes, thaws, and shifts them around. Over the course of a 2-3 years, they fall over, at least partially.

This pile of Oak for instance was stacked in the fall of 2020. Just yesterday I was looking at it, and there are a couple "bubbles" that have bowed out probably 6"-8". That is in a stack that is only 5' tall. I'm concerned 8' tall stacks would topple, especially if single file rows.







My current woodshed I stack to about 7' and have never had issues with toppling of wood. It also has a wood floor that is not directly on the ground, which I believe also makes a big difference.

 

Years ago I was going to build a big shed for wood. I did some math on the cost of materials and realized that it was going to be cheaper to buy one of those metal carports assembled on my property for less than the cost of the materials themselves. I stack about 5-6ft high. It's a 24x18 carport I think and it's 3/4 filled. The other 1/4 has a work bench, I store gas and have a box with saws stores in it. So I have it stacked that deep, you can do the math with those dimensions. I end up with dried up wood

 

I only have one wall to the ground on my shed. Both gable ends are open and the one open side is open to about 5ft up. I stack my wood in the shed green, or whatever MC the trees happen to be j cut a few trees green on stump. Some standing dead some blown over dead and some blown over green trees . So while there not all dry as in burnable they are varying degrees of MC when stacked. Sometimes the wood may sit for weeks before it's stacked inside the shed though and as we know in a few weeks split even in a pile it looses a lot of moisture pretty fast. That last bit takes the last few years to give up.

 

I have thought of doing that very thing because I figured it was cheaper! However, I do like the look of a wooden woodshed.

 

Here’s mine.

 

If I were going to use a shed, I would put thenwood in it whenever I split it, and it would come out when it was time to burn... I'm very surprised that some people process wood and stack outside, and then move it into a shed. Last thing I want to do is move all that wood. I'f it was on/in some kind of pallet or metal cage, and could use the tractor, that would be a bit different. But no way would I touch every stick to move it.

I had a wood customer right before I stopped selling wood, that had one of those carports. I remember working a couple trees in late spring (May- June-ish I think) and taking him wood. I think the peak of the roof was probably about seven to eight foot or so tall, and open on all sides. Man was it warm under that metal canopy, probably 20 degrees or more warmer than out from under it. I remember thinking that should help dry the wood quite a bit.

 

This is mine, 44’ x 16’ only because I found the trusses stored inside the barn of a property we bought, holds about 90 facecord. The local Amish community helped me stack it, they leaned the rows into each other, 8” gap in between the rows, that decreases as they get higher. This is our first year stacking in there, so I am intrigued to do some moisture tests. There’s some things I will change for sure.

 

Your thinking is the same as mine. No way I'm stacking it in the yard or field then moving it all to a shed three years later to then move into the house!!

 

Yep, my peak is probably about 8ft. I'm 6ft2" tall I have to duck really good to walk in the side as the metal is down about level with my chin I believe. But on the inside I can stand right on the edge and have headroom. I went with CCI or Carolina Carport Inc. there out of NC like a lot of them. I went with them vs one of the other big names around here who I can't recall cause CCI had standard 6ft legs vs the other guys had 5ft legs and if you wanted the 6ft it was either $100-150 upcharge for it.

 

I do a bit of a twist...I put the wood in the stacks when first cut...it stays there until its on deck for the upcoming winter (4-5 years normally) then I load it into my homemade wooden racks, which get moved into the shed with the forklift, until its time to burn it...then I move it, a rack at a time, into the attached garage with the forklift, as needed, throughout the winter.