How long will cut, split oak last?
- Thread starter miller1
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
congratulations! Oak will last many many years. It's known for being rot-resistant. The sapwood will rot away, but the heartwood will be good 20+ years from now, especially if you cover it. Cherry is similar. It is also know for being rot-resistant, though not quite as well as oak. Both will definately last many years. A heck of a lot longer than maple, sycamore, elm, or beech.
I've pulled dead "rotting" oak trees from the woods that have been dead standing for probly 20-30 years. Heartwood was perfect - ready to burn the next day, and no rot whatsoever, except for the sapwood, it was gone.
I've pulled dead "rotting" oak trees from the woods that have been dead standing for probly 20-30 years. Heartwood was perfect - ready to burn the next day, and no rot whatsoever, except for the sapwood, it was gone.
BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
Depends on your climate and how you stack it. Don't let anybody tell you it will be fine, unless they know YOUR area.
Around here, it's mushrooming in two years, and not worth any thing in 4.
Here's a list of trees categoried by rot resistance. Go to page 18: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch03.pdf
Both cherry and oak are under "rot resistant or very rot resistant". Technically they should be good for many years wherever you are.
Both cherry and oak are under "rot resistant or very rot resistant". Technically they should be good for many years wherever you are.
cmetalbend
ArboristSite Operative
Same here, 2years is all I'd let it go. Cover might make alittle difference.
isaaccarlson
Addicted to ArboristSite
If kept dry and under a roof.....
LOOOOOOOOOOONG time. I have seen oak almost 30 years old that was still perfectly good.
LOOOOOOOOOOONG time. I have seen oak almost 30 years old that was still perfectly good.
Nosmo
Addicted to ArboristSite
Post Oak
I have two 12 feet long by 4 feet high stacks of Post Oak that is inside a garage that was cut in 2003. It is still in perfect condition. I mix it with my other seasoned woods.
Nosmo
I have two 12 feet long by 4 feet high stacks of Post Oak that is inside a garage that was cut in 2003. It is still in perfect condition. I mix it with my other seasoned woods.
Nosmo
Cambium
ArboristSite Guru
I can't help but to laugh at the word used "rot resistant". Untreated wood will rot. Period. Some take longer than others but conditions play a big role in timing.
I had a guy who wanted to barter split wood with me. He had cut down many oak trees on his property 3 years ago. I get there and the wood is all oak. After closley looking at it...it was all rotten.
Its true I had no idea how long it was Dead Standing for BUT...... he did not cover the split wood for years. Snow, Rain, Ice all played an important role in rotting it out.
I had a guy who wanted to barter split wood with me. He had cut down many oak trees on his property 3 years ago. I get there and the wood is all oak. After closley looking at it...it was all rotten.
Its true I had no idea how long it was Dead Standing for BUT...... he did not cover the split wood for years. Snow, Rain, Ice all played an important role in rotting it out.
Laird
Nemo me impune lacessit
Yup. my father is burning 35 year old oak and other woods right now. Kept in a woodshed with a concrete floor. It might be older than that since there were 30 cords in the shed when they bought the place 35 years ago.
Billy Jack
ArboristSite Guru
If you burn wood fairly regularly - and keep the split wood dry/covered - you should never have first-hand evidence of the question. That is unless you have just a HUGE amount of it. Covered and dry, it will last five years with no problem, but I can't ever remember having it longer than that. My oak is mostly Red and White, but some Spanish/Turkey and Post.
a couple years outside . if you have a lot of rain it will grow fungus if it is stacked tight and it dont get sun and air to stay dry.
CrappieKeith
Addicted to ArboristSite
...best answer yet!
i agree with most posts about teh oak,, it lasts pretty long if its covered & has good air circulation,, however,, i find uncovered cherry doesn't last long, and if stacked or left on teh ground, absorbs water like a sponge,,,
I'm sitting on an old oak chair on a oak floor that was laid down in 1920.Kept dry, it will outlast you.
indiansprings
Firewood Purveyor
The climate obviously has a lot to do with it, here is SW Mo, you leave it laying in the woods, tops.cull logs, etc. you will see quite of bit of deteriation in a two year period. It will be quite "soft and punky", due to the humid weather conditions. If you cut, split and stack it and put it in a dry, protected area it will last a long time. Out in the elements even split and stacked it will be affected by the third year to some degree, I imagine it's even worse the further south you go. Standing dead timber dosen't last that long here either, better get it down within a year if you want any limb wood.
I wish we didn't have the humidity to deal with.
I wish we didn't have the humidity to deal with.
Hlakegollum
ArboristSite Operative
Good one. I am looking at an oak and maple chest of drawers that was my grandparents, still does what it was built to do.
Steve NW WI
Unwanted Riff Raff.
Dry is key. I've got a birch pole in the shed used as a stringer, bark still on it. I'm not sure when it was put in there, but the shed was built in the 40's. It's still solid, but any birch in contact with the ground out in the woods is toast after a couple months. Split and stacked off the ground, it's good for a couple years "here"
Similar threads
