I don't have a truck, and just want to buy something to cover the top of stacks. My oldest wood cube is 8 years old now, and the 6 mil black plastic is falling apart. At 4 cords a year, I definitely over split. This'd be for the future...I don't envision any retrofit...ugh. Plus, I'm probably not going to do the cube format any more. Then again, maybe I won't be able, physically, to process any more wood by the time the the need arises, lol. I have a lot of splits holding it down, but maybe if I kind of had a full sacrificial layer of of splits on top it would keep the UV rays off the plastic and help it last longer. Then, I though of maybe putting in two layers of plastic. Maybe the bottom one would be protected from UV rays by the top layer, and the full layer of splits. The lower layer could be thinner (cheaper). I tried some thin painters film for very short duration, and it broke down very quickly. I was at Lowe's today. It seems the roofing underlayment and the 6 mil polyethylene film are both around 8 cents a square foot. Only thing is the underlayment comes rolls that are 42" wide. So, unless I go to two wide, vs. three wide, I'd have to overlap. That's where the plastic would be better. I haven't priced out heavy duty tarps yet. It'd be a drag to poke holes in something nice. With the film, I can throw it away when I remove the wood to the garage for the winter. Then again, it's not exactly cheap either. I usually build the stacks 5' high. I guess I could also slope it so water runs off. If using flexible covering, do you go drape it down somewhat? I've stapled it in the past, trying to leave a little extension so the water doesn't run down the side of the stack, but I don't know how successful that was. The stapled plastic might have prevented the stack from collapsing though, lol. I also tried draping it down about a foot or so, but I just don't know. Any opinions, suggestions? No hurry: I've got a bunch of wood burning years to go before this becomes an issue.
I might be tempted to leave it uncovered till the year before you intend to burn it. It'll usually keep a good long time.
In my experience a bad cover is worse than no cover. A leaky cover funnels water into concentrated areas soaking deep inside the pile while slowing evaporation. Just a small hole in a valley will create a large area of mold. Just had a crazy thought. I wonder if anyone has ever tried coating cheap blue tarps with flex seal . Never used the stuff myself. Who knows it may actually work.
The best tarps I have found are made from barn curtain material Farm Tek buildings make them out of remnants contact them they will usually make them for you JB
The synthetic roofing underlayment comes in 48" rolls. Ive never used it to cover stacks. I know it holds up many months exposed, I could see you using it and stapling the sides. Dont wrap it, just a few inches down the sides. 250' per roll.
I don't think you can improve on using something more solid on top of a wood pile. When using tarps or something similar the top is rarely flat and this means water and snow will sit...and freeze and that is pretty much the end of that covering. In addition wind can be very tough on materials. I also think it helps a lot to make sure the top is not level; that is, build it so water will run off either the ends or the sides. Another thought is how so many worry about water hitting the sides of the piles. Why? Unless water hits the top of the wood it will do no harm. Rain or snow hitting the sides will do nothing and will dry fast rather than working its way into the wood. Holding down a hard covering is not difficult. It can be done by weight or fastened to the wood itself. One can drape wires or ropes over the stacks then anchor them to hold. There are several ways so use what works best for you. Here are a couple of ours.
Yep, when I used mostly tarps I got some bricks laying around and some cheap rope and tied a brick to each end and laid a couple of these across the top of the rack/tarps. Held them down well and prevented for the most part tarp blow overs. Cheap and easy solution! Even if you had to buy bricks I think those cored bricks with holes in them are like .50 cents at big box store. Rope is cheap enough as well. I used all cheap HF tarps, worked just fine but they have their limits on longevity. I was fortunate enough to across free metal roofing so I upgraded and never looked back!
I'm using recycled rubber (TPO or equivalent) roofing material. I got about 500 square feet of the stuff from a roofing supplier for about $20 bucks. More than enough to cover 17 cords. It will last longer than me.
My plan is to eventually switch out all of my tarps and 6 mil plastic with corrugated metal/plastic roofing. Just have to get around to it.
Do you have a trailer or SUV? If you have a gravel pit or other mining operation in your area they may have old conveyor belting. In my experience they are more than happy to get rid of it. It can be heavy and hard to handle but will last a long time and doesn't need much weight on top to hold it down. I use a double cut saw to cut it, but with some patience, a utility knife works as well.
I have some...and hate it. It's all I can do to put a 15' long roll on top the stacks by myself, and anytime a good wind comes along, its off...even with concrete blocks on it...I'm about this close to getting rid of it.
I got some from my daughter 10 years ago and it's still holding up well Seams are stitched Mounted some on 8x 8 hot tub skids see pic below Metal roofing is best and I have lots but this stuff holds up great!
