# Do you cover your firewood all summer?



## never2muchwood (Mar 3, 2009)

Hi All...I'm just about done splitting all my wood for next winter and in a few days they're calling for rain. That got me to wondering what the best way was to store the wood. I don't have the option of putting it inside anywhere, I want it to dry as much as possible over the summer, so should I put a cover over the top or no cover & let it completely exposed? Or leave it exposed completely for awhile and a few months before next winter start covering it? I'm looking forward to your opinions, Thanks!


----------



## forestryworks (Mar 3, 2009)

only the tops and only when it rains.


----------



## Rookie1 (Mar 3, 2009)

Im lazy. That said I never cover mine until winter. I let it get rained on and sun shined on all summer. I just dont like brushing snow off the pile and bringing in snow covered logs. :greenchainsaw:


----------



## outdoorlivin247 (Mar 3, 2009)

Chasing tarps in the spring and summer is not my idea of fun...I move about a cord inside in the fall and cover the tops w/ tarps and hope for the best...


----------



## never2muchwood (Mar 3, 2009)

That's what i was thinking-I live in a windy area, covering & uncovering all summer doesn't sound like alot of fun. I'd do it if it's better for it though. I'll definately cover it up during winter so I don't have to worry about snow...I will have space to put about 3-4 cords inside a corner of the garage come next fall also. The other thing that got me to wondering was because I had alot cut up a week or so ago, and I was in the middle of splitting it, and we had a rainstorm that lasted all one afternoon, I went out the next day to finish splitting it and it sure seemed to split a heck of a lot harder. I didn't know just how much moisture wood "sucked up" when it rains. Thanks for the quick replies!


----------



## Wood Doctor (Mar 3, 2009)

never2muchwood said:


> Hi All...I'm just about done splitting all my wood for next winter and in a few days they're calling for rain. That got me to wondering what the best way was to store the wood. I don't have the option of putting it inside anywhere, I want it to dry as much as possible over the summer, so should I put a cover over the top or no cover & let it completely exposed? Or leave it exposed completely for awhile and a few months before next winter start covering it? I'm looking forward to your opinions, Thanks!


No, I never cover my firewood stack, summer, fall, spring, or winter. Why invite more mold and mice?


----------



## thejdman04 (Mar 3, 2009)

never cover it, just keep it off the ground for me, cover would be nice, just havent found a easy way to cover 400 face cords


----------



## never2muchwood (Mar 3, 2009)

400 face Cords! Wow..and I thought I was ahead of the game with about 7-8 cords!


----------



## Moss Man (Mar 3, 2009)

forestryworks said:


> only the tops and only when it rains.



I couldn't agree more.


----------



## Dalmatian90 (Mar 3, 2009)

Good tarp over my (almost gone) pile of seasoned wood.

What has gotten moved up on the porch gets a cover that's just one log wide over the top to keep the snow / rain more or less off it. Not perfect, but reduces the wetness. That cover is just a super heavy duty garbage bag I cut the side seams on.

I think I have some black plastic mulch in the garage, planning on using that for the new piles of wood I make just to keep the rain off the tops.


----------



## Mntn Man (Mar 3, 2009)

Getting rained on doesn't hurt it a bit, unless you are going to be burning it shortly after. I believe that it helps it dry fast in the long run. Better to let it breathe than to wrap it. The best option is a roof over head and let the sun and air through, like a carport.


----------



## Hlakegollum (Mar 3, 2009)

I built a 10 ft by 20 ft woodshed, roof only. Works great keeping the snow off the wood. Built from old green telephone poles, 2 by 10 rafters (from an old deck), and metal roof, should out last me. Only thing I had to buy was the metal roofing.


----------



## peterc38 (Mar 3, 2009)

Moss Man said:


> I couldn't agree more.



Same here


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 3, 2009)

i have a lean-two built off my garage that holds about 10 cord for my personal use. tarp the sides and it get plently of wind to dry it in the summer and dont get any moisture i believe its a good option. the best option in my opinion cause with just covering the top and gettin it off the ground itll be dry but not that dry. 400 face cords huh?


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 3, 2009)

must be hard to find the time to cut more than a cord of wood every day of the year. not to mention splitting hauling and stacking.


----------



## Joshlaugh (Mar 3, 2009)

I don't cover my wood until a couple of weeks before I begin to burn it in the fall. I do cover all the wood I plan to burn that winter. I don't like to deal with ice encrusted or snow covered wood as it can damage my stove.


----------



## Wood Doctor (Mar 3, 2009)

Joshlaugh said:


> I don't cover my wood until a couple of weeks before I begin to burn it in the fall. I do cover all the wood I plan to burn that winter. I don't like to deal with ice encrusted or snow covered wood as it can damage my stove.



Bring the wood in for a few hours and place it next to the wood stove before you burn it. Good bye, encrusted ice or snow.


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 3, 2009)

i just like having nice and dry wood but as long as its seasoned it will burn unless you soak it in a bucket of water for afew days even unseasoned wood will burn, but youll be unplugging your chimney b4 long if you do that.


----------



## cityevader (Mar 3, 2009)

One thing I found out about covering.....tarps trap condensation. My splitter is soaking wet....under a tarp. My not-often-driven truck=engine soaking wet and even have to dry out the inside of the distributor cap before it'll start. Woodpile about 6 feet tall and four rows deep (tarp over the top and halfway down the sides) which last year burnt up in a poof without a hiss, now hisses for a few minutes before it lights up. Granted, it doesn't hiss like green wood by a long shot, but it did indeed absorb moisture over the course of a year, which should have simply evaporated away but never got the chance. 

Cover top only.


----------



## havenodog (Mar 3, 2009)

Never2
I just cover the top of my pile with tarps. they're cheap and last a year. If you have an area where the wind can get to it you won't have a mold problem. The wood that is cut and split in the early spring is ready to burn in the winter. Mine takes about 6 or 7 mo's to dry. But if you can get a year ahead thats even better. A whole year drying is good enough for any wood here in central PA. Happy burning!


----------



## greengiant (Mar 3, 2009)

I personally like it covered. My stove seems to burn hotter when the wood is 'extra' seasoned (stove is an insert). I also have a lack of space, so my wood pile is stacked 6 rows deep, 8' tall and 15' wide. However, everyone agrees, as do I, that getting it off the ground and only covering the top is the best. I have about 15 pallets on the ground, then the sides lean against locust posts with pallets on end, and finally the tarp is elevated on a layer of pallets on top. To keep the tarp down, you just throw some junk planks, 2x4's, rocks, bricks, or even a couple other pallets on top, and you won't be chasing it at all. I feel that if not covered, the center of that thick pile would take a long time to season.


----------



## blackdiesel (Mar 3, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> must be hard to find the time to cut more than a cord of wood every day of the year. not to mention splitting hauling and stacking.



You don't cut it by hand when you cut that much wood. Prossesors cut split and load from 1 to 8 cords per hour depending on the unit. and he said 400 face cord that's only 133 full cord


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 4, 2009)

*Re.*

Originally Posted by BarkBuster20 
must be hard to find the time to cut more than a cord of wood every day of the year. not to mention splitting hauling and stacking.
You don't cut it by hand when you cut that much wood. Prossesors cut split and load from 1 to 8 cords per hour depending on the unit. and he said 400 face cord that's only 133 full cord
__________________ lol alright


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 4, 2009)

i cut a little over a hundred full cord by hand (chainsaw) stack it haul it and sometimes split it.


----------



## flashpuppy (Mar 4, 2009)

Now, what I have learned is that you stack all of your split wood (I split EVERYTHING, even 4" just to help get the moisture out) bark side up. The last coarse or row bark side down. This will act like a natural shingle and let the rain run off. Sometimes I will alson take sheets of ply wood. Nail a 2x2 to the top of one side and the bottom of the other. That way they will sort of lock with each other. I stack on a downslope and all of the water will run off, but I will still have open air circulation.


----------



## woodbooga (Mar 4, 2009)

cityevader said:


> .....tarps trap



Say that 10 times fast. And once you've become proficient, try this one:



> splitter is soaking



BTW, I cover the tops of my wood under plastic. Uncover when the forecast calls for several days sans rain.


----------



## RAYINTOMBALL (Mar 4, 2009)

I leave mine uncovered till about 6 to 8 weeks before using and than just cover the top.


----------



## fourapples (Mar 4, 2009)

I covered my main stash wood pile last year with just a tarp on top. I left the sides open. I figured this would keep wet spot out of center of the pile. Last fall I covered it entirely with a 30' x 60' tarp hoping to preserve this wood for years ahead. They are correct on wind playing havoc with the tarps though, each wind storm we have I usually have to put the tarp back in place. I have about 30-35 full cords of wood under it and hope not needing to start using from the pile until fall of 2010. It should last about 3 years.


----------



## Zodiac45 (Mar 4, 2009)

Mntn Man said:


> Getting rained on doesn't hurt it a bit, unless you are going to be burning it shortly after. I believe that it helps it dry fast in the long run. Better to let it breathe than to wrap it. The best option is a roof over head and let the sun and air through, like a carport.



Bingo! That's why the best woodsheds are the open on all sides but up type.


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 4, 2009)

yeah the best wood shed is a lean-two. and you strap tarps up for walls, all but the top 2 feet or so under the over hang (entrance open) you get plenty of "breathing" and zero moisture. my uncle also has a large shed he stores wood in and has a little shop area (holds around 15 cord) and he has a stove he burns in there for heat, makes it much more seasoned come next winter whenthe wood was cut in the spring/winter.


----------



## Rich L (Mar 4, 2009)

Me.I just leave it uncovered in spring,summer,and fall and cover it when it's going to rain then uncover after the rain.


----------



## BarkBuster20 (Mar 4, 2009)

yeah here in oregon if you were to cover it when it was gonna rain then uncover it you be spending 3-4 hours a week uncovering and covering your wood it rains constantly here lol


----------



## PA Plumber (Mar 4, 2009)

"Do you cover your firewood all summer? "


No.


----------



## strongback (Mar 4, 2009)

Uncovered until the last week of August then what I intend to use for the winter is covered. Everything else remains exposed.


----------



## Rich L (Mar 4, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> yeah here in oregon if you were to cover it when it was gonna rain then uncover it you be spending 3-4 hours a week uncovering and covering your wood it rains constantly here lol


 Yo BarkBuster,I'm in Mass. we have a much different climate.Man that's too much rain for me.With all that rain how long does it take for your hardwood to dry out there.


----------



## Octane (Mar 4, 2009)

I stack my firewood on pallets (that way its off the ground, so it doesnt suck up any moisture from the ground and it gets the airflow under the woodpile to help it cure) and I cover it with a tarp.
That way, it doesnt get rained on and the trap holds more heat in the woodpile, so it cures really well.
Ive never had much of an issue with chasing tarps in the wind. I have some concrete blocks that pin the tarp to the ground and I stack a couple metal fenceposts on the top.


----------



## thejdman04 (Mar 4, 2009)

This was all the wood I had left by this january, this wasnt even off the ground. I have no way to cover all of this, plus what other wood I had. Never had any complaints, it burned very well, was seasoining from february-january of the next year and all of it was bone dry. Like I said I have no way of covering all this and the rest of the pile I had.


----------



## husky455rancher (Mar 4, 2009)

i tarp the tops around early fall or so. the i bring a cord and a hlaf or so in the house for january february use.


----------



## 046 (Mar 4, 2009)

no... but will cover first used wood, when rainy season starts.


----------



## LumberjkChamp (Mar 4, 2009)

Like others have said, make sure you a least stack off the ground. As soon as all my wood is stacked I tarp mine, or use old metal roofing, the top only- all year, we get too much precipitation to leave it uncovered. With that said, I am getting pretty sick of tarps. I wish I could just stack it all into a woodshed and be done with it. Its a pain trying to dig everything out of two feet of snow. But, at least with all that snow I don't have to worry about having to recover a blown away tarp.


----------



## bmcdjohnson (Mar 4, 2009)

I stack my firewood on wooden pallets, a company near me that builds manufactured & mobile homes throws the pallets out by the road for poeple to take. I work on my wood all spring & summer, so I leave what is split & stacked, uncovered, until I have all my winter's wood done, then I cover the whole deal (top & part of the sides) with a heavy tarp & bungee it down. It's always dry by winter.


----------



## Stein (Mar 4, 2009)

I don't even stack anymore. Throw it off the splitter into a pile and let is sit for 2 years. Once you get ahead two years, you are golden.

No tarping either, except for the 2/3 cord that I keep under the 2nd story deck by the basement where it is used. Keeps from dragging snow into the house, more than getting wet.


----------



## turnkey4099 (Mar 5, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> Originally Posted by BarkBuster20
> must be hard to find the time to cut more than a cord of wood every day of the year. not to mention splitting hauling and stacking.
> You don't cut it by hand when you cut that much wood. Prossesors cut split and load from 1 to 8 cords per hour depending on the unit. and he said 400 face cord that's only 133 full cord
> __________________ lol alright



Or like me, cut a "bit" more than you use each year. I just mentally computed and ball park figure is 36 cords (conservative figure) in my stacks right now. About 1/2 of it is locust that does not rot. Taken me 15 years (oldest was cut in 96) to accumulate that much...well, last year added 16 cords of Willow that I had no inteniton of cutting.

Harry K


----------



## splittah (Mar 5, 2009)

I have pallets on top, with plywood and tarps. Now I have the tarps wrapped around the plywood and stapled to the bottom of the plywood. Makes for easy to remove top sheets of plywood that is covered from the elements.

I get airflow through the stack all year and the dark green makes for a warm surface to help dry the firewood.








That pile wraps around to the right side out of view, about 5-1/2 feet tall by the length of it, totals about 7-1/2 cord.


----------

