I keep between 3-4 years worth on hand. Never cover any of it except for the shed on the back patio that holds about 2/3 cord. During burning season usually keep my little utility trailer full…about a third of a cord. If rain or snow is predicted, I will throw a tarp over the trailer if patio shed is getting low. Racks by the stove in the house will hold about 48 hour supply in cold weather, so even if my my wood is dripping wet from rain/snow, it is very dry by the time it goes in the stove. If I lived in a wetter climate I would probably build a shed to hold 5 cords…and I may do that anyway…but as dry as it is in southwest Kansas it isn’t really necessary. I do have big pile of 2-7/8” drill stem pipe and a big stack of 2x3 square tubing left over from building the privacy fence around the back yard, so may weld up a frame for a 12’x24’ lean-to one of these days.
This place wasnt setup to burn wood....so the shed keeps a couple year's supply right near the back door rather than down the hill at the stacks. We used to haul 6 cord and stack them right up on the house under the back windows. But that had to be done after a good freeze, and any leftovers removed in the spring....so pests wouldnt transfer from the wood to house. The shed also means I can stack higher and not worry about wood falling over. Eric Wanderweg To youŕ point about wood drying in the shed.....I jamb the stacks high, just short of touching the roof. The wood we brought up last year now has a couple inches of gap at the roof that I did not leave there! Its still shrinking. I stacked a little loose, but no gaps between rows. I think a key is that the shed is directly exposed to the prevailing winds out of the valley.
Good stuff! Its so nice having a wood shed, although never big enough for all the wood I have on hand. But it's nice not worrying about as mentioned the tarps, the tie downs, the pooling water, etc....Just stack it and forget it! Now that the chickens are gone from one of my pole barn bays I am thinking of filling that with wood!
Its always good to be here. When all the feathers have settled, I'd like to host a gtg here. It would be awesome to see a bunch of FHC folks.
Maybe. Might be in the market again for something with more pepper. I want to at some point. But, just company and a sense of humor.
Stumpy and I moved another load of wood up today. So awesome rolling with another person who is willing and able to help. And provide fellowship and conversation. Either way, hoping for a dry enough summer to cook the wood still on stacks, still need 6 cord or so to be brought up. It wasn't cold last winter, but we heated more space because we had more people here. Hopefully that will change this winter.
I will pass on greetings. He has fond memories of 4 of us polishing off an entire xl pizza.... It is hard to slow him down. I push him to leave some of the bigger heavier splits....and to take a break.... He does. Got into the big stack, mostly Ash, and mostly dry....
I stacked on 3/4 stone in this shed for around eight years before putting the raised floor in on the left side back in 2019 (still need to do the right). I do get some moisture to the bottom row of wood when it is stacked on the stone, some years worse than others. Results over the last several years show it was a big improvement to put the flooring in for added air circulation and to get the bottom row off the stone. The boards for the flooring have spaces (like a pallet) so there are additional gaps for circulation. Not a fan of stacking on pallets which is why I just built the permanent floor. To remove detritus that inevitably falls through to the stone, I just use a leaf blower in the spring and shoot everything out the back.
EOD, that shed does look sharp. That a full year's supply in there? I like the idea of blowing all the chaff out from time to time. If I put pallets in, 10' x 24' x .5' thats 120 cu ft of space lost!
I can get approximately seven cords in the shed, and there has only been one winter where I emptied it out (when we had cold/snow on the ground for nine months). Most winters I use between four to five cords. I agree with you that the flooring eats up some storage space, however it seems like we're having wetter years (between rain and higher humidity), so I don't mind losing the storage space for better air circulation and drier firewood. The roof design is different than most firewood sheds (most are saltbox style), but I wanted to be able to load/unload from the back to cut down on moving/reorganizing leftover wood at the end of the burning season. Since I can access the firewood from both sides, I just make a note of where I left off and reload the shed. No more shuffling firewood at the end of the season to put the driest wood in front. (Gratuitous backside shot.)
I did think about loading from the back more for initial loading from below. I am just now coming up on the problem you brought up. I'm thinking there might just be a cord or so that sits there for a few years, until its cold enough to get to it. Here are 2 backside shots as well.
