Welcome to the forum Free BTUs. I knew right away when I saw that milk crate that you were and okay guy! But it appears your's might need a little bracing as it is sagging a bit. lol I like your 4 year plan and it sound great. Having that white pine will be nice. It dries quickly and gives a good fire. Makes good wood for those who make maple syrup too. Also, having the crew chip and haul all the branches had to be super nice. There can be lots and lots of branches and that is the bad part about cutting pines. Trim, trim and trim. But I would probably have kept the chips as they can come in really handy but perhaps you don't have too much land or many wet spots. They work nicely in trails and lanes.
Thanks again for the welcome guys. As for the stacks, I started out with 4' stacks but was running out of room so then went with 5' stacks. Some of the stacks have been leaning a bit so I try to keep an eye on them and push them back up straight if I can. The 4' stacks are definately more stable. I screw the PT 2x4's into the pallets and then drill a 1" hole through the upper end of the 2x4 to put the rope through. I load the rack about half way and then pull the rope tight and tie it off. It seems to put a little more tension on the wood then if I tied the rope first and then stacked the wood. I guess I need a beefier milk crate. I'm only 195 lbs and that thing sure does sag. I do most of my splitting horizontal though. i only go vertical for the biggun's.
Welcome to the club, Free BTU'S!! Geez, your first post already seems like you've been with us forever! Good on you for getting ahead, as we preach that idea regularly. You'll soon see what an awesome family we have here.....glad to have you with us!
We stack at 4 1/2' height. Mostly we stack like this: We stack in April and top cover in November or December then let Mother Nature go to work to remove the moisture. We have only a part of a cord left from the above picture, which was taken in April, 2009. So this year that will all be history. Mostly we do stack 3 rows together and just lay saplings down to stack on. Top cover with galvanized roofing. We do have one stack now that is 6 rows together but mostly we stay with 3 or 4 rows. We've never had a problem with the wood not drying.
Great job Free Btu. It's awesome being that far ahead. Wood seasoned that long really burns great. So much better then fighting green wood. It's really an addiction but I love it, great stress relieving work. Glad to see you aren't afraid of pine either.
Congrats man. It takes a lot of dedication to get that far ahead. My wife still thinks I am for all the wood I have. This winter will be the first year burning better seasoned wood. She'll see then. Relax and have some fun
Nothing better than a pile / stack of white oak ! I hit my four year suply this past winter and have it in 2 buildings and out side in single stacks and Im gona do the same as you and replace it each year. The good thing about it we know we will be warm for the next four years but in four years will have nothing but good 4 year old seasoned wood. How old is the oak you are going to burn this year. Was your oak cut with the sap up or down? 3/4 plus of my oak will be a year old this Dec. I wont't break into that until next year. I have bust my as+ getting dead / down stuff even helping people cut their green wood in trade for some of their 3 year old oak. No more bring on the green I got time to watch it season. Can't beat that feeling !! Welcome to the club !!
All our oak is 3 years or more in the stack. We cut from about December 1 until March 1 but most of it is done in December and early January. March and April is splitting time and stacking comes right after the splitting is done.
