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To dry and store firewood |
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Firewood
must dry thoroughly before use. In the old days they said: “Wood
should be split before Easter”; then it can dry during spring
and summer, before winter’s wood heating begins. A few basic rules for your wood yard: Stacked firewood must be chopped or at least debarked in a string to be able to dry. This is particularly important for hardwood with its denser bark. Place the stack on dry and easily drained ground, preferably in a sunny place. Put some poles on the ground before stacking so that the wood does not touch the wet ground and air can circulate. Always stack split wood with the bark side down. Otherwise the bark will function like a lid and prevent moisture from evaporating and the risk for mold will increase. Stack the split wood a little scattered and it will dry more quickly. In the old days they said that a mouse had to be able to get through. 4. When the stack begins to get high enough you build it up in the middle and round it off to an even pile. Place the uppermost layer of split wood as ”tiles” to allow rain water to run off. |
 1. Make a checkered pattern of poles on the ground.  2. Make a loose “floor” of split wood on the poles. Place bark side down. Build a circular wall of large split wood. Put the smaller or uneven wood randomly in the middle.  4. When the stack begins to get high enough you build it up in the middle and round it off to an even pile. Place the uppermost layer of split wood as ”tiles” to allow rain water to run off. |
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A couple of vertical poles, a tree, or a wall can make a stop in one end or both. If you have vertical poles on both ends you may stretch a wire or rope between them, above or in the middle of the stack. Then the stack is steadier and can handle more split wood.
Put something, like a tarpaulin, on top of the stack as protection from rain or snow, but don’t cover the sides – the stack must allow air to circulate. If using a tarp, tie it down with ropes to poles on the ground. A few heavy logs placed on top of the tarp will prevent it from inflating and being torn during storms. |
If
the stack is built along a wall: Leave an air space between the
stack and the wall. Let the stack lean a little inwards to avoid
the risk of its collapsing due to shifting during the drying
process. To avoid going out in the cold and nasty weather to fetch firewood, it is common to stack some dry firewood on the porch or inside the house. But it is important that the wood stacked indoors is completely dry. Otherwise you might have problems with moisture and mold.  |
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