Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Stacking UP

Don and I have been cutting and splitting lots and lots of firewood lately. Winter's a-coming, after all.


We've traditionally stacked wood on the front porch.


Trouble is, the front porch will only hold so much -- maybe a cord, if we really stuff it. That's one of the reasons we always cut wood throughout the winter, rather than stacking up a winter's worth of firewood in one spot. (I guess we could always build a woodshed, but it just hasn't happened.)

So this year Don started stacking firewood on the side porch. This is a fine idea, except it too can only hold so much. In large part this is because there are no side supports to hold up the wood, so we can only stack it a few feet high before it wants to topple down.

So, smart guy that he is, he simply installed some 2x6s braced against the porch roof, and voila: vertical wood storage.


He put in a 2x4 under the roof awning where the 2x6s are braced, making them secure. The boards are slightly angled in and the bases are held in place by the weight of the firewood. The beauty of this arrangement is the boards can simply be removed as the wood is used up.


As we split more wood, he added more boards.


Like the front porch, this side porch faces against the prevailing wind, so it will be largely protected from snow.



He has room for just one more board, then that side of the porch will be filled.


I must say, all this extra wood gives a very nice feeling.


Vertical firewood stacking. What'll they think of next?

19 comments:

  1. i was wondering, does all those stacks of wood attract pests? like bugs, spiders, rodents and snakes? if so, how do you mitigate those risks with it being against your house?

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    1. We haven't had a problem since the wood isn't stacked like this during warm months, just cold. Bugs and spiders won't bother us in winter, nor will snakes. We haven't noticed any difference in our mouse population levels with wood stacked against the house vs. no wood. We always have mice.

      - Patrice

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    2. oh ya, that makes sense. thanks patrice!

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  2. That is what I did all ay. Cutting out the dead, dying trees keeps the woods much nicer. I burn about 12 full cords over the winter in my outdoor furnace so it is quite a chore. But very gratifying.---ken

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  3. A funny and relevant joke for you:

    A group of Indians came to their chief and asked “Will it be a bad winter?” The chief, who was young, had not paid attention to the elders and did not know the signs. He told them to go start cutting firewood and he would tell them when they returned. He then snuck off and consulted the National Weather Service. He asked them, “Will it be a bad winter?”

    “Probably,” was the answer.

    When the men returned the chief told them it would be a bad winter and to go cut more firewood. Just to be sure, the chief called the Weather Service again and asked, “Are you sure it’s going to be a bad winter?”

    “It looks like it,” was the answer.

    So when the woodcutters returned he again sent them out to cut more wood. Once more he called the Weather Service and asked, “Are you really sure it’s going to be a bad winter?”

    “Yes. A very bad winter,” they said.

    “How do you know?” asked the chief.

    “Because the Indians are cutting wood like crazy!

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  4. That's one of those projects you ask yourself, "Why didn't I think of that years ago?!"
    :)

    molloaggie

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  5. Looks great!! I see WARMS. Very convenient. Hubs may have a fit, but I'm stacking firewood on the front porch this year...

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  6. My house was built in 1864. It looks like the fireplace was in the basement, a large open one that was sealed off at some point. If I ever open it up, it will be install a wood pellet stove. As it stands, firewood at the Jay from Philly household is strictly for the firepit in the summer months.

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  7. Brilliant.
    Necessity is the mother of invention.
    It has to feel so good to have all that wood ready to keep you toasty all winter.

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  8. Here in Oklahoma we can't stack firewood on our wood porch or near the house because of the termites, wood boring beetles, and other bugs that may get into the wood of the house and create problems.

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  9. In my country the fire service strenuously warns people about stacking wood against the house. It is a fire hazard as it adds to the fuel if there was a house fire. Built the woodshed.

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  10. Good for you for the big prep. We've put a little more food away than usual because the beavers in our area (NW Montana) are "predicting" another harsh winter with the construction of their dams. Dang~ I was hoping for a little break this winter.

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  11. Just out of curiousity, is that the Troy 27 ton splitter? It looks exactly like the one in our woodshed. :)

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  12. Is there a reason why you chose an upright log cutter? Been thinking of buying one when money is available.
    andy

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    1. This particular splitter can be used in either position: upright or horizontal. We've just always used it in the upright position.

      - Patrice

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    2. Get a dual position one rather than a horizontal only. You'll find that 90% of the time you use it upright. Only time we ever use it horizontal is when we have a pile of small (< 10") rounds that the grandkids can lift easily off the pile by the cutting station.

      It's safer for them because they can lay it in the trough, then step back to operate the splitter. When upright some logs don't sit evenly and I don't want them holding them upright/level which the head is dropping.

      Also, get the biggest one you can afford (or have a location to store). We get large (20+ inches) butt ends of stumps a lot of times because they burn great with all the gnarling. The wood is really dense. But they can be really tough to split. We got the 27 ton Troy-Built splitter and it has come close a couple of time to not splitting some pretty twisty large pieces (over than 2 feet).

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    3. Thanks for the help. Just looking at them today.
      May have to save more pennies.
      andy

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  13. It's been a long time since I had to stack wood, but we would to square off the ends by stacking every other layer in a perpendicular fashion. It takes a little care, but as long as you don't have anyone pushing on the stack it would stay up indefintely.

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