# Should I tarp/cover my wood



## Rusty99 (Oct 21, 2008)

Hi,
I've been reading on this site and woodheat.org regarding storage of firewood and have a question regarding my own situation. I don't heat my home with wood as of yet, only occasional use on weekends in a open hearth traditional style fireplace.

I have about half a cord of poplar wood that I've recently bucked up. This wood was cut down in May of this year by an oil company clearing bush. The trees were cut and limbed and stacked in full lengths and have sat in the farms field until August when we stumbled across it. The pile is huge and is about 10 feet tall by 20 feet deep. All we had to do was buck it up, haul it home and split it. Average diameter of trees is about 1 ft.

The poplar once split seems to be still quite moist so I don't plan on using much of it this winter. It is currently stacked against my fence and not covered. I was hoping to let it air dry from August until winter rolled around. I'm not sure if I should cover it for the winter with a tarp? Will tarping it trap moisture and slow down the drying process over winter? Does wood dry/season over winter months ? It seems like summer would be the logical time for wood to dry.

Our Climate is very dry in terms of humidity, almost desert like, even in the winter, but we get tons of snow and very cold temps. Gets as cold as -30 Celsius/-22 degree Fahrenheit. Should I cover this wood with a tarp on the top and leave the one side not against the fence exposed. Or should I tarp the top and side? Or should I just leave it exposed?

Thanks

Rusty :monkey:


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## timberwolf (Oct 21, 2008)

Covering this winter won't make difference if it is not going to be burnt til next winter.

A tarp on top can help keep some rain and snow off it, but dont tarp it down or it won't dry at all, moisture from the wood and ground will keep it at near 100% humidity under the tarp.


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## Austin1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Rusty99 said:


> Hi,
> I've been reading on this site and woodheat.org regarding storage of firewood and have a question regarding my own situation. I don't heat my home with wood as of yet, only occasional use on weekends in a open hearth traditional style fireplace.
> 
> I have about half a cord of poplar wood that I've recently bucked up. This wood was cut down in May of this year by an oil company clearing bush. The trees were cut and limbed and stacked in full lengths and have sat in the farms field until August when we stumbled across it. The pile is huge and is about 10 feet tall by 20 feet deep. All we had to do was buck it up, haul it home and split it. Average diameter of trees is about 1 ft.
> ...


Depends on were you live, winters here in Alberta are dry and cool down east or west lot's more humid so takes longer for the wood to dry.We can get day's that are +20c here in Dec and -30 the next dayI like to cover the top of all my wood keeps the rain and snow of it. 80% of my heating is done with wood.


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## Rusty99 (Oct 21, 2008)

Hi Austin1,

I'm in Edmonton, Alberta. Nice to see ya on AS. What sort of setup do you have to heat you house? I would love to heat my place primarily with wood but think it would require a lot of renovations to work.

Unfortunately we don't get the chinooks you guys in Calgary get. So we mostly get just solid dry cold throughout the winter.


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## 046 (Oct 21, 2008)

only tarp... if you plan on using wood soon.... for longer term seasoning... say more than a year, no need for tarps. 

for instance.. it's monsoon season dumping inches of rain in the last couple months. my seasoned wood for this winter has a tarp over it. because I'll be using it soon.


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## wdchuck (Oct 21, 2008)

Welcome to AS.

If you cover it, just the top. Leaving the sides open allows for better airflow, which gets the moisture out. 
In the future, having an air gap under the stack will help also.

Keep a couple days worth of wood inside by your hearth, when the ends start to check open its ready to burn.


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## Austin1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Rusty99 said:


> Hi Austin1,
> 
> I'm in Edmonton, Alberta. Nice to see ya on AS. What sort of setup do you have to heat you house? I would love to heat my place primarily with wood but think it would require a lot of renovations to work.
> 
> Unfortunately we don't get the chinooks you guys in Calgary get. So we mostly get just solid dry cold throughout the winter.


I have a fireplace and stove each in opposite ends of the house. I load the stove up before bed time and again when I leave for work. If it is really cold out My furnaces will run for three or four hours wile I am at work. The dog is too lazy to fill it with wood he rather just run the saw lol. I have a woodstove in my garage/shop also so when working on my trucks it's nice and warm. Too bad we don't have the hard wood like the guy's down south do. There is a member on here KMB he was from the Chuck now living in the land of hardwood.Poplar is not too bad but I find it leaves more ash than pine or spruce. But it dries fast if let to sit out in the elements.


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## johnha (Oct 21, 2008)

IMO it is more important to keep wood off the ground than worry about it getting wet from rain or snow.

But poplar doesn't last very long in my experience before it gets punky in my experience. I would have it covered on top only.


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## Austin1 (Oct 21, 2008)

johnha said:


> IMO it is more important to keep wood off the ground than worry about it getting wet from rain or snow.
> 
> But poplar doesn't last very long in my experience before it gets punky in my experience. I would have it covered on top only.


That's probably true were you live but it is very dry here. Like you said keep it off the ground the ant's love poplar they wont touch pine in your wood pile.


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## Octane (Oct 21, 2008)

Im a believer in covering a woodpile with a tarp. It protects the wood from rain, so it dries out much quicker than if it were uncovered and exposed to the elements.


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## Hoping4Heat (Oct 21, 2008)

We have our wood for this year stacked on skids. There are large trees directly behind the wood and I put large vinyl coated hooks into the trees about 8 feet high (wood is about 5 feet high) and have it covering the wood, but it still gets plenty of air. We are going to get stakes so the tarp is completely off the wood. It makes it easier to get inside that way too when there is a lot of snow.


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