I'm curious what everyone uses to top cover their stacks? Backwoods savage has an awesome setup using old metal roofing but I don't have access to any of that material. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I know alot of people use rubber roofing, I use plastic roofing so the sun hits it and it gets wind from all sides. I sometimes get some long lumber and drill the tarps to it then put some weights on top so it doesn't move
I use nothing and get by fine. Do have to shake the snow off. I have found that really dry wood doesn't really absorb much moisture on the top layers. More of nuisance to get snow and ice off at times.
I built a permanent shed for the current years wood. I use both tarps and old metal roofing for the stacks that are a year from the shed. I think anything that repels snow and water will work. We get a ton of snow here and I prefer to grab dry wood vs frozen snow buried pieces. Moisture repelling yet allowing airflow is my approach.
I use tarps cut to 24" then stapled down on each side. I also use old plywood and then cover that with tarps and staple the tarp flat to the plywood. Then use milk jugs full of water to hold it down. Like this. My house is set in the woods but I get decent winds. Not sure if these would work in all locations.
what is working great for me is intex Above ground pools... lasted 3 years.. so far.. very heavy duty... handles sun well waterproof.. people give them away.... might even pay you to take it... yeah used rubber roofing here is covered in foam aND messy... new way too much money...
There's 2 kinds of top covers. Ones that look bad but are free or cheap and ones that look good. Those cost big $. I'm cheap so I've got a little of everything. tarps, plywood scraps, old doors, etc.
I've never top covered and never had a problem. I bring About 2 months supply to my covered porch in late September or early October. As that supply dwindles down I bring another months worth up and use it last so any dampness is pretty much gone by the time I burn it. I'm so far ahead that I am a bit concerned about the sap wood on some oak I have starting to get punky before I use it.
I use old rubber roofing (EPDM) from commercial tear offs. You can find it for free sometimes on Craigslist since it's cheaper for the roofing company to give it away instead of disposing of it. Really heavy duty stuff.
Some use lumber wrap. Your local lumber yard should have tons of it, 8' up to 48' long. It's tough stuff, withstands trucking/railroading.
The local lumber yard here has tons of it. It's actually higher quality than what I can buy locally and makes a good wood cover. I also use it to cover my garden so I don't have a weed problem. I take the guy that gives it to me a few bags of veggies every summer.
I have about 1/3 of mine covered, with vinyl siding panels from the skirt around the mobile home I used to live in. (Tossed 20'x70' of tar covered galvanized roofing from that place in the dumpster - been kicking myself about that one ever since.) I have that covering some stacks behind my garage. Those ones absolutely need to be covered, else they'd catch a lot of the water from the roof and never dry out. In retrospect I wish I hadn't stacked any wood there: it's convenient access but not the best spot for drying. The majority of my stacks are in my backyard now; south facing, full sun all day, with no cover besides a modified bogydave method. I save half-round splits or slab wood for the top couple of layers; and I generally try to build the stack so that each piece will shed water - any flat or especially cupped sides facing down. Those stacks have been drying out great, but I would still like to get them covered if I could find something decent and free.
Hey Fanatical1....I'd be more concerned my pile was going to take off down the hill the way it looks stacked there...
Keep your eyes open. Never know when you'll run across a good deal on craigslist.. I was using gray tarps that I would repair with duct tape when removed from the stacks. Then I came across some old barn roofing for $5 per sheet.. Bought 25 sheets that were 10'-12' long. Two sheets per stack and the price was right.. You can see the gray tarp in the background as well as the uncovered red oak that will be re-stacked this winter and top covered for the next two years of seasoning....
Firewood tarps are widely available, just do an internet search for that phrase: 4 ft. x 20 ft. Super Heavy Duty 8 OZ. Brown Tarp - 16 Mil Thick - Wood Tarp - Amazon.com https://www.menards.com/main/tools-...x-18-brown-wood-pile-tarp/p-1444437047233.htm - only $4.40
I tried using these Menards tarps once and the winter winds in my area blew them to pieces. Plus I had to listen to the noise outside of the tarps whipping around. I even weighed them down well. So gave up and deal with the snow and ice.
