Keeping Your Firewood Dry

It is important things to know on how to stack firewood so it air dries quickly. The first thing to do is to split all the firewood to the size you intend to use when you burn it. Be sure when it's cut that it's the correct length to fit in your fireplace, wood stove or fireplace insert.

It's best to store the firewood off the ground. If you can afford some treated lumber 4-by-4s to use as runners, these work great and can last decades. If you have access to some younger straight trees such as birch, you can cut those to make runners that are about 14 inches apart center to center. If you use trees, it's very important they be the same diameter. You want the stacked wood to be plumb so your pile doesn't tip over.

If you can't afford the treated lumber or don't have access to the trees, then at least store the wood on well-drained gravel. You just don't want the wood in contact with damp soil. That will cause the lower row of firewood to rot over time.

Think about the prevailing wind direction at your house. It's ideal to stack the wood so the long rows are parallel with the prevailing wind direction. Once the wood is covered, the piles act like a miniature wind tunnel as the wind blows through and across the wood.

At the end of each row of firewood -- there is usually have three stacks next to one another -- you want to stack each successive layer at 90 degree angles to one another. This tower of firewood offers pretty good stability at each end so that the weight of the pile doesn't cause the wood at the end to tumble off the row.

Also keep about 6 inches of space between each row to promote air circulation. If you stack all the wood tightly, it takes longer to dry. If you do three rows of wood, try to make sure the center row is higher than the other two by about 4 inches.

 

Once the woods all stacked, then cover the wood with two long pieces of overlapping tar paper. The higher center row of wood help ensure any water drains to the sides of the pile. Then cover the wood with a fiberglass tarp so the top is covered and it extends partially down the sides. Also try to keep the ends of the rows uncovered as much as possible to promote great ventilation.

Don't cover the stack of firewood completely with a tarp. This traps water vapor and makes it nearly impossible for the wood to dry.

It's vitally important that you do everything possible to promote the movement of air through the wood if you want it to dry rapidly.

OTHER RELATED INFORMATION

Please LIKE , Tweet , +1 and Share if you like this article...