# Stacking wood against the house



## Sassafras (Nov 6, 2010)

I have been making fires for a very long time, but am still learning each year more and more about everything that goes into it. My question is; would stacking wood against the house be a problem, either long term or short? My house is all brick. My reasons for wanting to stack against the house is it is convienent, and its really the only place out of the way that is not completely shaded. Right now my wood basically sits in the "woods" until its time to burn. I am in Northern South Carolina and the summer humidity is rough and probably does not allow the wood to dry out as quick as drier areas. I am thinking more sun exposure will help aid in drying. But also don't want problems from the wood being against the house. Any advise is greatly appreciated.


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## buzz sawyer (Nov 6, 2010)

I stacked against my brick wall for a few years with no problems. Just make sure there are no easy entryways for rodents and insects and keep a close watch for carpenter ants and termites.


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## eric_271 (Nov 6, 2010)

I do it but i've had my insurance man raise cane about it also. Claims it's a fire hazard.


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## olyman (Nov 6, 2010)

buzz sawyer said:


> I stacked against my brick wall for a few years with no problems. Just make sure there are no easy entryways for rodents and insects and keep a close watch for carpenter ants and termites.



agreed--


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## slowp (Nov 6, 2010)

No way. I don't want the little critters near the house nor do I want moss growing on the side of the house. But the climate here is favorable for those things.


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## Henry and Wanda (Nov 6, 2010)

Hello,
DON"T DO IT............TERMITES !!!!! I just sold my house recently and we had to have a termite inspection. I was sure that we didn't have any termites, but YES we did. I had a cardboard box with a new ceiling fan in it sitting along the inside wall of my 3 car garage (it has a concrete floor and 5 rows of block before the frame walls start) and termites came up between the concrete floor and the block walls and ate up the cardboard box. They didn't get up in the wall but it cost me $875.00 dollars to get it treated before we could sell the house. If you have "real" wood, not just cardboard, sitting there along your house, you might be inviting major trouble. They told me that termites can get through a crack just 1/64" wide. I now HATE termites with a passion !!!!!

Henry and Wanda


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## o8f150 (Nov 6, 2010)

i keep mine a ways from the house for the reasons mentioned above,,termites are real bad in this area,,


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## wapacz (Nov 6, 2010)

I keep a face cord or 2 near my house during the winter only. Luckily where I am at termites are basically unheard of.


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## buzz sawyer (Nov 6, 2010)

slowp said:


> No way. I don't want the little critters near the house nor do I want moss growing on the side of the house. But the climate here is favorable for those things.



Excellent point - there are definitely regional conditions to consider!


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## albhb3 (Nov 6, 2010)

we put ours on a covered porch but only when the temp goes below 32 for good. All the bugs are well frozen


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## olyman (Nov 6, 2010)

wapacz said:


> I keep a face cord or 2 near my house during the winter only. Luckily where I am at termites are basically unheard of.



as im in the north,,thats what i was agreeing with--


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## olyman (Nov 6, 2010)

albhb3 said:


> we put ours on a covered porch but only when the temp goes below 32 for good. All the bugs are well frozen



they will be--till you bring them into the house--been there also--but they went right into the furnace--pop,bang,sizzle!!!!


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## Streblerm (Nov 7, 2010)

albhb3 said:


> we put ours on a covered porch but only when the temp goes below 32 for good. All the bugs are well frozen



Me too. I stack the wood a good distance away from the house. I have a wheeled wood cart that will carry about 1 day's worth of wood. When the weather drops below freezing, but before the snow comes in earnest, I start a stack on our covered patio. I bring two or three loads per day. Then when the snow gets bad, I don't always have to go over to the main pile.


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## goanin (Nov 7, 2010)

I don't live in a humid area at all, but I would never stack wood against the house. 

It won't season well because air won't flow through it.
This increases the chances of rotting, which isn't something you wanna have against your walls.
Wood creates dirt. It may sound attractive, but it's not worth the mess. 
You'll be inviting pests inside.
You'll create a home for rodents and reptiles.


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## Hlakegollum (Nov 7, 2010)

goanin said:


> I don't live in a humid area at all, but I would never stack wood against the house.
> 
> It won't season well because air won't flow through it.
> This increases the chances of rotting, which isn't something you wanna have against your walls.
> ...



I agree. I always find some rodent nest every year in the woodpile. Good thing the woodshed is 50 feet from the house.


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## Cambium (Nov 7, 2010)

Never again will I do it. Vinyl siding, brick or whatever your house is made of it doesn't matter.

I had Chipmonks and mice living in between the wood...Not worried about temites since I burn the wood the same year but I dont want to make a home for rodents and animals.

So Time to fill the air in that wheelbarrow tire. lol


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## branchbuzzer (Nov 7, 2010)

Since your house is all BRICK, which it seems most people aren't reading, it shouldn't be too much of a prob with bugs as long as there aren't cracks in the masonry. You might have a problem with mold though if you stack it flush against the brick. Depending on how much overhang you have, you could try putting it out about 4-6" from the brick. You can also stack it a few inches off the ground on something like stones or some non-wood material to keep the bugs away ( and save your bottom pieces from molding ). I usually make a 'poplar pallet' for this, but near the house it'd probably be better to use something not wood.

One other thing to consider about stacking next to the house, is that occasionally your local yellowjacket crew will decide that your wood stack is a mighty fine place to make their new home, which can make mowing and weed-whippin' a real exciting experience. If they do, you'll have a bee-atch of a time spraying them because you'll never quite be sure exactly where the nest is since you can only access one side. If you're really brave, you can unstack that portion of your wood to find the exact spot.... Also, when they're in the wood, one can't use the hillbilly poor-man's wasp spray of 87 octane down the hole and a match ( tends to reduce the pile somewhat )


An alternative is just to stack it in the sun and put plastic sheeting over the top of the stack. Cross-stack it and it will be a little more stable, and check it as it dries that the stack is still plumb, since some of the wood will shrink and shift. You'll get more airflow around the stack this way as well. The plastic will keep the heavy dew off it at night and provide some protection against Southern downpours. Takes a bit of fiddling to keep it on from time to time.


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## Roofgunner (Nov 9, 2010)

*The wood pile*

Here's what I did as I didn't want the wood close to any building. Per my neighbor's advice one day: I got one of those carport/cover things people advertise for $695 installed beside my Wick building. I put down pallets and right now it's stacked to the top. Now I have overflow wood stacked out side. Last winter, here in N. MO. I burned 3/4's of that in my two FPX 36's because it got so cold. But for $695 it sure worked for storing the wood.


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## Erock (Nov 9, 2010)

Aside from the bugs and rodents and such I would also be concerned about potential wildfire's. You mention that you live in the woods so the potential is there. Stacking wood against the house whether its constructed of brick or not can increase the chance of your house burning down if a fire were to come through. 

I work fire for the Superior National Forest, a forest that is loaded with lots of Balsam fir and blowdown. It's just asking for a catastrophic fire to rip through. In 2007 the Ham lake fire nuked 75,000 acres destroying many cabins and homes. Many could have been saved had the owners taken steps to make their structures "firewise". That includes stacking firewood away from structures. 

Hope you guys understand where I'm coming from. Not trying to make things difficult.


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## dingeryote (Nov 9, 2010)

Wood roaches look like Cockaroaches to most gals, and it takes just one vole or mouse witnessed near the house to get the big sticky ball rolling down hill.

Toss a few Rodent blocks around the base of the house and prepare to explain what a wood roach is.

LOL!!
Nagging prevention 101 is an essential study.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## gpsman007 (Nov 9, 2010)

i live in a log home that has a covered deck elevated above the ground a couple of feet. I use a metal rack that elevates the firewood 6" above the deck and I stack it that about 6" away from the wall. this works pretty well for me. I keep 5 cords stored under an overhand attached to my barn. that wood is stacked on gravel that I spray with termite killer before stacking new wood each year.

the wood on the rack will last about a week. I haul with tractor and trailer each weekend from the barn to the porch and I have 1 to 2 days of wood I keep in the house by the stove.


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## sawkiller (Nov 9, 2010)

I personally would not stack it against the house because of fire hazard, critters and because of mold. I keep mine ouside on pallets with just the top covered and I have a rack built in the garage that holds about a weeks worth. I dust around the rack with 7 powder and keep the wood away from the wall. I have more than once walked out to the garage and found a pile of dead bugs from "clean wood" that 7 powder is the trick and it stops them in their tracks. Problem is they quit making the powder dammed EPA.


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## Cowboy Billy (Nov 10, 2010)

I've heard of two different wood piles being caught on fire already this year. And one was 5 or 8 feet from a propane tank. I've never had to have piles next to the house so I haven't really thought about it. And as I don't have gutters it would be a bad idea!

Billy


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