Since none of the above replies are from the PNW or with experience with Douglas Fir, I'd like shot at answering this, having piled Douglas Fir just like you, without any alternative - when out of room and time. Yes, the bottom layer is absolutely going to suffer. It will develop the characteristic black mold fir gets on the sapwood end grain. Perhaps the whole pile will. No, the splits inside the pile are not going to season - certainly not during our wet winter season. They will be sopping wet, stained, etc but they WILL NOT be rotten, my piles suffered zero rot for that same 6 month winter period. Yes, they will be still ok to sell in six months given that the buyer will then have the onus to stack them and let them dry. Two things I did was to (1) lay some really large pieces down bark first and try to get everything else off the ground. It is vastly better to stack, but if you're overwhelmed and out of space and time then you did the only thing you can do. (2) I also tried tarps under the pile, and while they kept moisture from wicking up they also kept moisture from draining off. It's a toss up. A third thing: if you could re-arrange the outside splits "angled away" as shown below to naturally shed water that will help. Simply having some free pallets would have saved us both a lot of grief.
Perfect! I expect I will have them out of here by spring so they should not suffer too much of the sapwood discoloration. I’ve delivered wood with some of that and no issues. I’m burning some with that black fungus, by now very seasoned, with no issues. I appreciate your more local details. I will admit that I loathe pallets. At some point I may invest in a conveyor which will just make the mounds even higher. This is the program as the volumes and throughput goes up. I’ll try to capture some photos when the last pile is taken up. Also worth mentioning is that I’ve noticed late winter early spring fir will mold on the sapwood much easier and faster than late summer fall felled firs. Just what I’m seeing for what it’s worth.
The slats or even beams are always cracking. The wood does very poorly with ground contact. Very expensive to buy quality pallets. The wood they are made with is of inferior quality. I hate walking or stepping on them because slat gaps. They’re unsightly to store. They’re difficult to dispose of (I don’t see them in a burn pile, I see a rusty nail laden ash pile). I could probably come up with more but this is a good start. Lol.
I get 'em for free. First source was a local building supply company. I would take all of their crappy ones they were going to toss anyways. Then I found a flooring company that just dumped them near their dumpsters and got permission to take whatever I wanted with the only caveat being I can't hurt myself. Then I found a neighbor who drives a beer truck and he met with me 3 times in a week and gave me like 25 pallets that were all brand new, albeit only 40" long. I was very grateful for all of the sources. I don't really care if they are inferior since I'm not doing anything fancy with them really. I just stack wood on them although I did build my own raised garden beds with them but again I didn't really care about the quality so much. They just hold the soil + compost. I do agree they are a bit unsightly to store......but I bought one of these pallet busters while I was building the raised garden beds and that thing is great. Makes ripping the boards off a million times easier with way less breakage. If I do dispose I break 'em down and take out the nails (fun times) and then chop 'em up into little pieces and chuck 'em into a garbage bag.
As long as they have HT (heat treated) stencilled on and they are not painted you can burn them. I make kindling from them. If they have MB stencilled on then they have been treated with methyl bromide and they are not safe to burn because of the fumes that are released. Ultimate Guide To Pallet Markings - Universal Pallets
That area had originally been horse corrals and those are the rubber mats that keep the horses out of the mud. Beyond that is a white/grey fabric that is actually pretty cool - it drains water through it. I had other piles on regular tarps and still more directly on the ground - I was just flat out of space.
I am me....but I am not CTSCAPER. I think that's what you meant. I said "watch this video that I watched...." But I'm sure CTScaper would appreciate your comment! Yes, I posted the same exact thing as you in another thread! Heat Treated Firewood?
