Maybe Backwoods Savage can chime in tomorrow, he's and expert and in MI too. We have never needed top covers out west.
Tnt blaster uncovers stacks till fall. I think that Backwoods Savage does, as well. Is that what most people do? Also, wouldnt Harbor Freight be HF instead of HB? Just sayin.
Single rows do not need to be covered when seasoning (think about it just not needed on single rows) but if you stack in cubes or multiple rows best to top cover. When the wood is seasoned then you can cover it as needed for that winter of burning.
The only way to know for sure is to take a scale and track the weight of pieces of wood stacked tarped and untarped in your yard. The amount of full sun you get and overall rain figures into it in a large way. I did it and figured out what worked best under the conditions in my yard. (Not to be biased but tarping won by a huge margin). So my advice is only as good as the next guys. We both have vent holes on our back sides.
+1 And with a few pieces of scrap plywood where needed to help pitch the your stacks you get the best of both. Sun pass thru and a solid roof.
I single row stack mine I leave about 18-20 inches between rows. I even went as far as to put a small piece of plastic inbetween one row hanging to see if it really was getting good air flow. I won't cover mine over till November or until the first snow is coming Besides as crooked as I stack they should have been enough pitch to shed water pretty well ugh
About 2 years ago I picked up some 12' x 16' dark brown on one side and dark blue on the other from Costco. Good Price and really good quality. Don't try walking on the blue side when wet they are slippery. Brown side not so bad. But, for cover tarps heavy duty IMO.
Usually best Frank. Especially in MI. But some areas, esepcially out east and the south get so much rain that it pays to top cover as soon as it is stacked. It will still dry. Then there is the Pacific NW. Nasty drying wood out there.
Why, if you stack in cubes or multiple rows then top cover is important due to the lack of air movement, single rows have much more air movement so top covering is not necessary.
I stack in "cubes" with about 6" between rows in the cube. Rows are 10' long and there are 12 in a cube. I top cover just before the leaves start to fall. I uncover just after the pollen season in spring. Late spring to late fall they remain uncovered. The reason I top cover is to keep the leaves, snow, and other garbage out from between the rows. Once they fill up there is little or no air flow and the wood takes forever to dry... KaptJaq
Exactly what I am getting at, with the wood close like that the air circulation is reduced so top covering is necessary compared to single rows.
I need to update my review on the Yuma Trading Greenhouse tarps. I have now had one in service for two summers and it is failing. The plastic/vinyl has become quite brittle. It is starting to crack where stressed. I can run my finger down against it and crack it between every reinforcing thread. So these tarps let the light through so the sun hits your stacks (Where it isn't blocked by the plywood scraps) and are sold in many sizes you aren't limited to 6x8 or 10x12. They also are less ugly than most other tarps. Blue ones are hideous, the silver/brown ones aren't so bad and these are even less visually offensive IMHO. But the their service life is the same as any other tarp that is readily available. Good or bad that's what they are. A little different but nothing special. Looking up from under you can see where only the threads are left
Well now......I guess its too late to heed your review, I have 2 soon to be delivered. I only get one year out of standard tarps and just can't seem to get a shed built so as the saying goes I guess.....it is what it is.
Thanks for the heads up. Looks like I'll still be looking for rubber roofing material for long term, in the mean while. Bad link? Just get the regular page. I tried looking it up but still couldn't find it.
