Will this wood season?

I have been working hard to fill a building on my property with wood. It is an odd building. It has a roof, concrete pad, and it is screened all the way around, but some of the screens are missing. Only one of the stacks will see sunlight. There should be decent air flow. My plan is to fill it with four stacks, with two on each side and a walkway in the middle. Is this a good plan, or a waste of time? Will all four stacks season properly, or just the south facing stack?

 

It makes sense they would dry faster out in the sun and more open air, but it's also another re-stack if they're going to end up in a shed anyway. Some enjoy that and it's not a big deal. Everyone has a slightly different set-up it would seem and no one approach is "the" one. Your shed sure looks great and I'd think you could do whatever makes it easy for you... the wood will dry over time under a roof. If you happen to have a dry hot summer, it'll dry even faster.

 

Looks awsome

 

A lot depends on type of wood! I think with plenty of air flow your wood should dry just fine. Are you using pallets under the wood?

 

I think warm air flow is more important than direct sun. With the sun baking on the roof, the slab to keep the wood off the moist earth and the "shed" open on all sides your wood should dry in a reasonable time. If you have the room leave a little space, 6" or so, between the rows to help the airflow.

KaptJaq

 

I would think bottom row touching concrete will not dry well concrete holds and transmits a lot of water if not sealed. I personally would not re stack for that just check dryness when you get to it and next time put on pallets or 2 x 4 or whatever. other than that it looks great!

 

Awesome shed.
Will it season? Yes.
As fast as single stacked in the open and top covered? I doubt it.
I would probably stack 2-3 years worth out it the open, then fill the building to the brim.
How many years worth of wood will it hold, packed full?

 

I see nothing wrong with that. If that wood is for 2015-16 season, it may be marginal depending on species. If for 2016-17, that should be plenty dry. Personally, I prefer to have everything under a roof, dry or not. Peace of mind, ya know.

 

Is that all ash in there? Do you happen to know the moisture content of it now?

 

I'm not sure how many years of wood it will hold, as this is the first year I have used the shed. It is mostly ash in the stacks. I also have some elm, cherry, and oak. Right now I am cutting mostly ash. I'd like to get it before it rots. I don't have a moisture meter yet. I burned ash all winter. I could see water bubbling out of the ends on some of the pieces. I hope next winter is better. That's why I wanted to make sure I'm on the right track. If I struggle again next winter with wet wood, I would prolly throw my stove out the window and just crank the boiler up.

 

My first 2 years I kept my wood stacked in a completely enclosed detached garage. I only stacked 3 rows together, then left a 40" wide aisle, and then 3 more rows and another aisle, but the wood dried amazingly well. It was a mixture of ash, sycamore, and dead oak, and the ash and sycamore was good after 12 months, and the oak after 24.

I think you'll be fine if it's mostly ash. You might want to segregate your oak so you make sure to give it 2-3 years though.

 

"Seasoning" with regards to wood has no real meaning. "Air-drying" is the name of the game here, and in wood-products industry.

Some woods (e.g. red oak) will just take their sweet time; you might want to keep them separate, or on the S side. You can speed them all to their top speeed by moving air (think: big box fans) through the shed, ideally from south side to north. Hopefully, before long you can let them take whatever time they need, then get the max benefit from them.

FWIW you can get a decent MM from HF for ~$10. Before long, you'll be your MM.

Good-looking shed, BTW.

 

It would help some to put a fan blowing on it. Doesn't need to be on high, just needs to move some air. Maybe just a few hours a day, Move it every few days to blow on a different section. There is a benefit to keeping it 100% dry if you cant keep it in the sun. Just help move some air to pull out some moisture...