Store under cover or not? Need Yall's Advice

I currently have my wood stored under roof behind my barn. While it's totally open on all sides which is good for airflow the roof doesn't allow for any direct sunlight to hit it. So my question is would I be better off storing it in the open and not under cover like it is? there is one spot that may be acceptable to the wife that gets decent sun and I have a bunch more wood to split and stack now.

Keep in mind though, I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where we have seen more than 48inches of rain in just the first 6 months of 2021 (2nd highest rain year on record so far). If I don't store under cover or at least tarp it (which the wife hates the idea of that being an eyesore in the back yard), the wood will see quite a lot of rain.

Interested to hear what yall think, thanks in advance!

 

I think you are doing good as is. Leave some space for airflow between stacks.

 

I like to have a cover over this Winter's supply of wood, or at least this month's. We get some nasty snow/slush/rain mix/ then freeze and busting splits out of a cake of ice is not fun. Some people stuff their basement/garage. Whether one needs a cover to aid seasoning is a debate that will live on forever. Personally, I think a cover is ideal but not necessarily necessary.
Your setup looks ideal to me. Some of the old-time farmers had setups like that. They had wood removable wall panels on hooks for drifting snow.

 

That's almost 2" of rain per week on average. Hard to dry wood under those conditions unless you keep it covered.

 

Yep.

If you have good airflow you should be fine.

My new wood storage will be on the Southern side of our polebarn, little to no sun except maybe a bit more in winter.

Good airflow is crucial.

 

You have a nice set up. I try to cover everything. If you think about it only the top row and a little of the sides gets the sun. The rest is in the shade anyways.

 

You need three ingredients to dry wood. Heat, air, and time. If you cut one ingredient, the other two need to increase.
The sun may warm the stacks a little more if uncovered, but if it comes with 2" of rain per week, i don't think you're gaining anything...
I'd keep it covered.



I think your only improvement would be a greenhouse.

 

Looks good to me. Let the breeze blow through

 

With the rain you normally get down there I'd surely keep things the way you have them now.

 

Keep it under the roof.

 

X2

 

I think you are doing just fine as stated. Keep an air space between stacks. Ive tightly stacked and regretted it as wood got moldy and didnt dry. You could always run a fan on the stacks as T.Jeff Veal does.
I also like the idea of making the stacks taller. Lots more vertical space there. Instead of cribbing the ends can you build some sort of end supports out of lumber? Once you get to 5-6' tall the cribbing gets unstable IME.

 

Thanks everyone! Looks like I'll be keeping the stacks under cover but will try to spread them a bit for better airflow. I'll have to build something for bracing to get higher stacks but that's a great idea since I'm going to need all the room I can get.

 

Looks good. Fans will help dry it, if you have access to power.

 

An old ceiling fan right in the middle blowing down in the center would work great and do to the PSC motor be real energy efficient. Looks like you have a receptical in place already.
Plus the airflow while working in there would be nice.

 

What we did last year was to put a pallet down. Then Chaz put a t-post in. Slide another pallet over the post. No cribbing needed. If the post is tall enough, you can put a 2nd one on top of first. I think our stacks were about 6' tall. Chaz did attach some boards for additional support.

 

Your stacks look fine. Keep it the way it is.