Drying firewood

Weather is changing here in Michigan so I'm kicking the can down the road for building a RMH until next summer.  This is largely due to the fact I do not have a good supply of seasoned firewood.  I am planning a facility to dry wood I already have but is poorly stored, some of which is probably beyond saving.  I'm looking for sage advise I am sure I can find here.

My idea is to build a greenhouse like structure:
 - dimension approximately 10 ft x 16 ft
 - 2 x 4 framing kind of like a ranch house, 6.5 to 7 foot side walls, 6/12 pitch roof
 - built on platform 6 to 8 inches above grade, decked with 2x6s, space about 4" apart to facilitate airflow from below
 - lengthwise divided into 4 - 4 foot modules/partitions cover with fencing to contain firewood
 - covered with 10 mil, clear polyethylene tarps (poly tarps)
   * roof a single tarp
   * ends - one tarp each end - gables possibly open for ventilation and to get rid of moisture
   * side curtains about - two each side 8 feet wide (facing east and west -  by the way  we have prevailing westerly winds here).  Curtains would be roman shade type that can be raised and lowered depending on conditions.


Not sure if this is overkill.  I know a lot of people say just cover from above and maximize air flow through the pile.  My though is that if you can heat the pile with solar radiation at times this could be useful, side curtains could eliminate blown in rain and snow when during storms.

Your input and advice please.

Thank you

Hi William;
What kind of firewood are you using?  A hardwood? Fir/Larch? Pine? Other?
Was it dead or dying when cut?   Green?  Is it cut to length? Is it split?  Or is it log length?

I think that building a tarp building is more work and has a limited lifetime before replacing plastic & tarps.
However, building a true woodshed is always a good idea.
Build your wood shed with open ends facing the prevailing winds.  Use large overhangs on the roof to keep blowing rain and snow limited.
Those same overhangs will provide more covered storage for other "stuff".
I prefer as steep a roof as possible for zero snow load.  6/12 would be the minimum around here.
Above your firewood in your new wood shed can be your long lumber storage area!
Adding a small room to keep tools and maybe a bench with a vice to sharpen tools.

You will never regret spending time and some money protecting your sweat equity-earned firewood!

The steepness of a woodshed roof depends on the material... shingles would call for a steeper roof, and if deep snow loading is a common issue, sloping to shed snow is smart; the alternative to that is a strong structure that can hold three feet of wet snow.

Metal roofing on a sturdy structure does not need to be steep but can be, it depends on plenty of other considerations you may have. Storage space in the rafters above stacking height is one good one.

I would tend to build a shed roof with the low side toward the prevailing wind (or end on to the wind if you want) and importantly the high side toward the south or the sunniest side to maximize solar energy input for drying. Porous walls to keep out rain and snow but allow good ventilation on the weather sides would be good. Sides that get more sun than weather are best left open, in my opinion.

I've heard of people making solar wood kilns that dry lumber and firewood fairly quickly so I think you're on the right track.  Since you're here in the upper midwest, we do have to dry our wood a while before it gets truly dry.  

I'd be tempted to build a simple, but beefy, hoop house to put the wood in.  Leave some small gaps at the top of the ends to let humidity out and make sure it has good solar access.  Getting it off the ground is great, you may or may not want cold air coming in under it and rising through the pile.  I'm not sure if that would dry it out over winter or if you'd be better having it mostly closed off (except upper vents).  It would likely help during the summer.

Maybe look into solar wood kiln designs and see if any of that rings true for you?

Solar kilns are great, but you need to make sure the temp dose not get to high in the kiln it will create a "shell like layer" (case hardening) that will trap the moisture on the inner layers of the wood.

Smaller splits and shorter lengths will dry faster.

I have been pondering a woodshed design myself...does anyone see a reason to not use transparent corrugated greenhouse panels for the roof?

Seems to me it would help dry things out with heat and the related convection current one could design into the ventilation. However, the comment above makes me wonder, would a "shell like layer" forming from excessive heat be a concern in a woodshed greenhouse/solar kiln?

It has also occurred to me weeds might grow up from the gravel driveway beneath and transpire to increase the humidity some, but seems unlikely to be much of an issue here on this hardpan of clay beneath the gravel floor, which I'd place pallets over for ventilation.

Another potential issue, particularly on our 100f days in the summer, would be how a greenhouse/solar kiln could easily get over 150f. This may create a fire risk with exceedingly dry wood in it. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks for you input and for starting this thread!

Eastern Maine here. A couple years ago, I had a chance for 12-ish cord of tree-length, but summer cut hardwood (that is, full of sap).  A good mix of maple, ash, and yellow birch for the most part.  I wasn't in a position to build a real shed with roof, but in January, I cobbled together a 7-cord rack and later, a 4-cord rack.  

If I can upload a picture, you'll see it's open all around.  I stacked it primarily bark up to shed water down through the stack, and it seasoned about 8 months before I used and sold it in the fall, and was plenty dry for that season's use.

Though the tiers were stacked quite closely, the end tiers checked well, and he next inner tier checked within days.

I'm eager to see what you come up with and to hear how it works for you.  Cheers!

Our shed is three 8' by 8' bays. We have slats for the sides, of rough cut waney edge boards that I free hand milled with the chainsaw.

Slated sides allow us to simply chuck the stuff in as a loose stack, and still preserve good ventilation flow.

My experience has been that simply getting it under cover and up off the ground is a massive step in the right direction. I want to build a whole second shed the same, so we can get multiple years ahead on our dry wood.

First off, I am sooooooo...... sick of having to use tarps to cover firewood, not to mention other things, that I'll agree with everyone who says, "build it right with a decent roof and good overhangs and you won't regret it". This is particularly true when you get snow which turns to rain and wrecks *another* tarp.

Second, I also completely agree with those who suggest having good airflow. We put a crappy tarp on the ground, then skids on top, to get both airflow and stop damp coming up from the ground, but I'm on the Wet Coast, with a relatively high water table, so there may be ecosystems where that's not so important.

Third, I also completely agree with all the people suggesting multiple bays with sufficiently solid dividers so that the wood stays where you put it and doesn't fall on your toes!  Hubby whined about helping me build a divider in our current wood shed, but it's been a huge asset in several ways which he now recognizes. This particularly helps with the first in first out principle!

Forth, is new - think before you build. I live in a wild-fire risk zone. In a perfect world, your long-term firewood storage should be uphill, downwind, a decent distance from your house or anything else you'd like to not go up in smoke, but should still have reasonable access in bad weather. If snow is reliable, some people use toboggans to help with the moving part, but our snow is very sticky and wet, so we need to be able to use our wheelbarrow or similar.

Fifth is also new - think about security. Our current woodpile wouldn't be easy to get more than an armful of wood from, but I was just reading about how firewood thefts have risen sharply in Europe with the fuel shortages there, and an Uncle lost his whole winter wood supply because it was too easy to see from the road decades ago, so this is not a new risk, but it is one that many people don't believe will happen to them.

Ideas for my perfect woodshed? I've been given a supply of damaged chain-link and I think it would make great walls/dividers that are secure but allow airflow.  The OP mentioned Roman shade walls for when the weather's really wet, and I've planned on the same thing, as we get a lot of driving rain. Good airflow above the wood is important.

I have read a few good things about a solar firewood system, but there are lots of ideas I've read about that don't seem to work as advertised, particularly in my damp climate. When I tried to create something like it, there was too much condensation on the underside of the roof, which just dripped back down on the wood. Before I'd make that effort again, I'd want to find someone that had used that system for at least 5 years and was still happy with it.

Replying to multiple messages:

Thomas - wood is multiple types, maple, some oak, hackberry/mulberry, some pine.  Most was green when cut, but has been was just bucked up, still rounds.  Mostly 16" length, some long limbs/poles still need to be bucked.  Would love to build a proper shed or barn, but I live in suburban  township with a tough zoning board.  That is the reason for a rather light minimal structure that I can disassemble and move if the township doesn't like my structure.  I like you ideas of long overhangs and attention to orientation of the structure and a steeper pitch roof.  I'm OK with replacing the poly tarps as they fail for initial cost and ease of disassembly if it becomes necessary.  I could replace polytarp with rigid roofing in the future.


Glenn - We seldom get heavy snow here, and I can drag it off the roof with a push broom if is starts to accumulate.  The idea of the side curtains was to limit precipitation from blowing into wood pile, but lower wall on windward side could also mitigate water intrusion.  My design have the high side (gable end) facing south.

Mike - Yeah, a solar wood kiln was kind of what I had in mind.  I considered a hoop house design, but I'm concerned that may not be acceptable the neighbors.  I like my "roman shade" side curtain idea for a number of reasons. I can play around and channel air flow from all 4 sides by raising/lowering curtains various amounts and as mentioned above limit rain and snow from blowing in.  The design is not going to be real tight, there will be a lot of infiltration so I'm not worried about trapping moisture.  That said, I don't know how good of a solar wood kiln it would be, but I have a sailboat I cover with a blue poly tarp and I'm always amazed how warm it is onboard in the winter, and it is a very leaky cover.

Jack - thanks for the heads up on high temperature and case hardening I would never have considered that.  I think the design will have enough ventilation to avoid that, but I will definitely monitor that.  With the curtains I can make adjustments to vent excess heat pretty easily, or I could incorporate some paraffin vent openers to automate venting.  I'm definitely going to be splitting my rounds as I load the wood shed.  

Ben - I think corrugated panels could work well, but check performance at the 150 degree f temperature you mentioned.  With a roof over the pile I don't think weeds would be much of a problem, not much water or light.  You could also have a shallow French drain around the perimeter to channel water away, this is something I am considering.

Treavor - your post is very encouraging.  I have a bad habit of over designing stuff, and lots of times not much is gained by the additional complexity and cost.  I have to employ the KISS approach more!  Thanks for posting the picture.

Michael - great idea and very simple.  Reminds me of the corn cribs on my grandfather's farm when I was growing up.  Cobbed corn loaded into a huge slatted crib to air dry - a tried and true method of storing stuff and keeping it dry.


 

Jay - thanks for the great post.  I may use rigid panels for the roof based on your and other's comments.  I have certainly had any tarp failures with my boat covers over the years.  I think your 5th point is unfortunately a real risk and I believe we will see it here.  When people and their families are cold and hungry they do stuff. Gardens will be at risk too.

my idea would be if not a permanent stucture would be plastic under pallets.to keep ground moisture to a minimum.  pile the wood then cover in black plastic with a screened chimney like device to exhaust the hot air and moisture

This year we realized that a firewood shed was not going to make it on the priority list. That forced is to look for alternatives. We came across these round stacks and are now questioning if we will ever need to build a shed. We put wood pallets down first to increase airflow. So far they seem to be easier to deal with than a linear stack, we don’t have any long term experience to say how well they dry wood long term, but all indications are good for now.

https://baileylineroad.com/how-to-video-on-stacking-firewood/

Does anyone else have experience with them?

Does anyone else have experience with them? (Round piles)

We have square woodsheds (this year and next year, rotating), so not directly,
but many years ago there was a firewood business in the area I lived then. They laid out pallets to keep the wood off the ground, made a round enclosure maybe 12' across out of either chainlink or cattle panels, I can't remember. Then they used a conveyor to fill the enclosure. The combination of pallets and open fencing, plus the wood being not stacked tightly made for great airflow. The top got covered with a tarp. Now, this maybe wouldn't be practical for a home user taking an armload at a time. But it gives an idea of something that dried wood quickly. They were selling multi-cord truckloads at a time, so they just opened up the piles and loaded a truck. They cut wood all winter, had the piles full by May, and the wood was dry by September when everyone needed it.

A side point on drying wood in general- air flow dries wood faster than sun ever will. If you have to choose between sun or wind, build your shed to catch the most wind vs facing the sun. For those considering a solar kiln, Virginia Tech has free plans on their website last I knew. It's for lumber, but wood is wood. Solar kilns don't typical cause case hardening unless additional dehumidifying is introduced.

Living in Canada we are lucky to have a wood stove and community to help us with cutting firewood for every winter. When we moved to this house 5 yrs ago we knew we need to store firewood. We’ve started with small inexpensive firewood wood shed placed beside the house. Not knowing how much wood we are going to burn. Next year we realized quickly that we need something bigger. Long story short - we like diversity even in storing firewood. We tend to improve our systems every year including stacking in the circle.
Some photos for demonstration:

B Burns wrote:This year we realized that a firewood shed was not going to make it on the priority list. That forced is to look for alternatives. We came across these round stacks and are now questioning if we will ever need to build a shed. We put wood pallets down first to increase airflow. So far they seem to be easier to deal with than a linear stack, we don’t have any long term experience to say how well they dry wood long term, but all indications are good for now.

https://baileylineroad.com/how-to-video-on-stacking-firewood/

Does anyone else have experience with them?

I would love to know how this goes for you. I’m new to firewood (installed stove this fall and this is our first winter with wood heat). Ive got wood racks made of cinder blocks and lumber that fit a face cord each and cover with tarps. Its quick and cheap but a little wobbly and definitely not ideal. I intend on building a lean to off our shed and garage for wood storage but these round piles make me second guess that idea. One thing thats nice about the way we’ve been doing it is we can segregate the wood by putting large rounds on one rack, medium splits on another and small diameter branches and whatnot on a third. But I see no good reason they couldn’t all be mixed too.

My only confusion with the round piles is how to use the wood! Do you pull off the top, effectively removing the “roof” right away in the heating season? Or do you try to evenly remove wood from around all the sides so the top hopefully shifts downwards throughout the heating season?

Anyone who has tried both round piles and rectangular piles please chime in with your experiences!

Hey, I built something similar at my last house. It was a woodshed/greenhouse combo....Basically when I was out of wood it was time to plant seeds and when the seedlings were done it was time to fill with wood! Anyway, I had a 45 deg sloped front that was covered with polybicarbonate and heated things ups well. I then  covered all other sides with siding and in the back on the BOTTOM/FLOOR I mounted an exhaust fan that ran on a timer. To use the kiln like properties you need to exhaust the moisture laden air which is heavier and sits on the bottom of the kiln. It worked very well but tbh I think I do just as well with my current open sided firewood shed and letting the air through. I don't own a moisture meter to test...

We've done round holzhausens or holzmiters (I think those are the approximate names) for the past 5 years or so.  It took a while to get them working and they have their pros and cons for us.  Ours are about 10' diameter and 6-9' tall.

First year: One tubular stack of wood and filed the middle with round logs standing on end.  Whole works on a layer of pallets.  Logs in middle weren't dry after 3 years, needed to jumble them.
Next: Two tubular stacks (double ring) with nothing in the middle.  Double layer of pallets with tarp underneath to keep grass from filling in and blocking the airflow.  This worked great, wood dry in under 3 years (our cutting/burning cycle)
Next: Added cribbing stack in the middle to get a bit more wood in.  Worked fine.  
This year: Got sick of painstakingly stacking the wood in a circle.  Trying a square stack 10' by 10' by 7'.  Holds even more wood and looks sexy in a different way.  If it doesn't fall over I'll post some pics.

Notes:
- Long poles across the pile are a great idea
- Roof of shingled boards, tarp or metal roofing is great
- Dismantling is more of an "all at once" affair since once you tear in the roof it gets compromised.  We move the year's wood closer to the house over the course of a few days.
- Aim for a gumdrop shape.  Vertical sides will soon become past vertical and you'll be putting a belt on the stack to keep it from shifting more.
- It's very stable.  If you have neighborhood kids around these piles won't tip over.  I doubt you could push one over with a truck unless you got a good run at it.

We too have been contemplating a wood shed.  The EPA has pictures and plans for a simple wood-drying wood shed.   EPA woodshed.  We haven't used them but the plans are straightforward.

At our previous house, we had a custom built wood shed where the back of the shed had a shallow enclosed tool shed.  The doors to the tool shed opened out the back of the shed.  That way the tools could be accessed without going through the firewood.  The tool shed was kept shallow (about 3 ft deep) for organizational reasons as well as the overall size of the shed.

Mike Haasl wrote:We've done round holzhausens or holzmiters (I think those are the approximate names) for the past 5 years or so.  It took a while to get them working and they have their pros and cons for us.  Ours are about 10' diameter and 6-9' tall.

First year: One tubular stack of wood and filed the middle with round logs standing on end.  Whole works on a layer of pallets.  Logs in middle weren't dry after 3 years, needed to jumble them.
Next: Two tubular stacks (double ring) with nothing in the middle.  Double layer of pallets with tarp underneath to keep grass from filling in and blocking the airflow.  This worked great, wood dry in under 3 years (our cutting/burning cycle)
Next: Added cribbing stack in the middle to get a bit more wood in.  Worked fine.  
This year: Got sick of painstakingly stacking the wood in a circle.  Trying a square stack 10' by 10' by 7'.  Holds even more wood and looks sexy in a different way.  If it doesn't fall over I'll post some pics.

Notes:
- Long poles across the pile are a great idea
- Roof of shingled boards, tarp or metal roofing is great
- Dismantling is more of an "all at once" affair since once you tear in the roof it gets compromised.  We move the year's wood closer to the house over the course of a few days.
- Aim for a gumdrop shape.  Vertical sides will soon become past vertical and you'll be putting a belt on the stack to keep it from shifting more.
- It's very stable.  If you have neighborhood kids around these piles won't tip over.  I doubt you could push one over with a truck unless you got a good run at it.

So to me it sounds like this is a decent method for drying loads of green wood maybe close to where the logs get cut at, but not necessarily a good method for storing wood for using in the current heating season. Like once its dry you stack it in an easier to use way. Would you agree?

Yes, I'd mostly agree.  I'd build the stacks in a good place, not necessarily where the trees are cut down.  I think wind is the main way they dry.  Probably what you meant too but figured I'd be clear...

At least the way we build ours, we wouldn't want to be disassembling them throughout the winter.  They'd be buried in snow and getting wet as they sit half consumed.  They are still stable while you're digging out one side so it's not a safety risk.

Mike Haasl wrote:Yes, I'd mostly agree.  I'd build the stacks in a good place, not necessarily where the trees are cut down.  I think wind is the main way they dry.  Probably what you meant too but figured I'd be clear...

At least the way we build ours, we wouldn't want to be disassembling them throughout the winter.  They'd be buried in snow and getting wet as they sit half consumed.  They are still stable while you're digging out one side so it's not a safety risk.

So you can pull wood off of a “side” of those round piles and it still stays stable? I figured you would have to remove the wood from the top down for the most part and relatively evenly to keep shedding water.

Yeah, surprisingly?  We can tear ours down from one side.  Ours are often 8+ feet high and they take to dismantling very well.  Never had one collapse in the process.

One thing I forgot to mention about drying- whether it's a roof or a tarp, it helps greatly to have at least 6" of space above the pile(s). A tarp directly on top of the pile will lead to condensation on the underside. You want there to be good airflow anywhere possible. Pallets on top of the wood, and then the tarp, would give a space for airflow. Also, tarping the sides of a pile, unless it's already super dry, is going to trap moisture. The same wind that drives rain or snow into the sides will also dry it back out after, so that's not as bad as it may seem. As was mentioned in an earlier comment, if you have the time and discipline to do it, the roman curtain idea is ideal- down when it's snowing or raining, up when it isn't.

I'm delighted at all of the activity on this post since my original post. Because fall is quickly transitioning to winter here, I am building my wood shelter pretty much as described in the first post of this topic, but slightly downsized, 8x16 instead of 10x16, because I had some 8 foot landscape timbers already.  I have the base built and most of the component fabricated.  I'll post pictures soon.  

I do have a question for folks using log splitters.  I there I point where you transition to an ax for smaller splits to feed your RMH, or do you just keep splitting with the log splitter?

I think that building a tarp building is more work and has a limited lifetime before replacing plastic & tarps.
However, building a true woodshed is always a good idea.
Build your wood shed with open ends facing the prevailing winds.  Use large overhangs on the roof to keep blowing rain and snow limited.
Those same overhangs will provide more covered storage for other "stuff".
I prefer as steep a roof as possible for zero snow load.  6/12 would be the minimum around here.
Above your firewood in your new wood shed can be your long lumber storage area!
Adding a small room to keep tools and maybe a bench with a vice to sharpen tools.

Thomas, I think you nailed the answer!

I totally agree with nearly all of the above advice. A roofed structure that also gets the wood off the ground is key. The use of tarps or visquine is a poor choice if it isn't allowing the moisture out & is able to withstand a snow load. I've seen some tactics used here in the PNW where you stack your wood in round pillars about 10 feet or 3 meters wide & 6 feet / 2 meters tall. You then put a cap almost like a beanie made of heavy tarp or vinyl as long as it sheds the rain. The cap only comes down the sides a foot or so allowing air through the pile. This should be shaped like a grain silo if made right & you can make a row of these since each pile is roughly 2 cords. I've seen these tarp caps on sale online before found here.  https://cordwoodcovers.com/
This solution can avoid the need for a full shed but this benefits from the wood being dried before stacking to avoid mold etc.

Maybe my math is off, but a cylinder 10' diameter and 6' tall should be over 3.5 cords. Radius squared is 25, times 3.14, times 6=471.  There's 128 cubic feet in a cord.

As far as tarps go, I haven't found any that will out-last and old swimming pool liner. if you have a swimming pool company near you, ask them to save the liners that they replace. They'll usually give them to you for free so they don't have to pay to have them hauled off. I have one that's going on 10 years old and will probably go another year or 2...Good stuff!

As far as tarps go, I haven't found any that will out-last and old swimming pool liner.

I'm told the sheets they use on billboards are very durable as well. Not sure how easy those are to get. Two other lifetime materials are epdm (rubber) roofing material and tpo/pvc roofing sheets. If a large flat roofed building like a school is being re-roofed, often there are partial rolls or pieces leftover that might be for sale cheap. Well worth buying vs throwing $ away on tarps or plastic.

I'm told the sheets they use on billboards are very durable as well. Not sure how easy those are to get. ...
Julie, there is usually a phone number on every billboard. Give them a call and I'm sure they would save you some...I cannot attest to the durability of this material but, I'd surely give it a try for free;

After noticing how dry it gets in my cattle panel greenhouse, I decided to try using them to create a woodshed and it's working quite well.

I made this one using four cattle panels, ten T-posts, a 12'X16' tarp and some bungee cords. Pallets are optional but recommended.  The T-posts are weaved through the bottom of the panels to spring them into form. The panels need to be over-lapped at the T-posts and zip-tied to one-another to keep them in place and provide rigidity.

The whole thing went together pretty quick (maybe an hour). Pro-tip: if possible, stack the wood first then set the T-posts and cattle panels in place. It's much easier to stack the wood without having to go through the ends. The cattle panels are great for attaching bungee cords to or zip-tie the tarp in place.  All in all, I was able to store around 5 cords in an 8'x16' space.

Best part is, it can be easily relocated or repurposed. I like to make my wood piles work "double-duty" and use them as a form of mulch. This method allows me relocate them without much effort and it's a good way to get rid of undesirable plants, such as bind weed, poke weed or briars.

So ... crazy idea ... could a quick and dirty RMH be built in the middle of a field with firewood be stacked on top, protected by a temporary structure?