Best Practices to Store Firewood

Firewood is one of the best alternative sources of heating during the winter months. Nothing beats the warmth and comfort of a crackling fire on the evenings the temperature reduces considerably.

While firewood is easily available in the market, many people wish to prepare their own firewood instead of buying. The good news is, the process isn’t difficult.

The first step is to cut and split firewood. This involves the tedious job of disassembling a tree to extract the right quantity of wood from it. The next step is to store this firewood.

Seasoning Firewood

The firewood that you have chopped freshly usually contains a large quantity of water. Burning this wood would generate a lot of smoke instead of a crackling fire. Therefore, firewood should be seasoned well before usage. The duration firewood takes to dry depends on the type of wood. For example, while softwood may require up to 12 months to dry, hardwood, on the other hand, can require 2 years to be well-seasoned.

This is why it is important to stack and store firewood properly.

Stacking Firewood

First of all, the wood should be evenly cut to make it easy to store these.

Firewood piled in a heap will not dry properly. The logs need to be stacked appropriately. There is a variety of options for stacking firewood.

You can place a few logs side by side to form a layer. On top of this layer, place another layer of logs in a way that the ends of the logs in the second layer face the direction that the sides of the previous layer of logs do. This will generate a criss-cross pattern. Form a pillar with the stack. Stacking the logs in front of a wall is recommended since this will lend stability to the structure.

Here’s another way to stack logs: Build a ring with the split pieces of the logs. Now place the logs on this ring side by side with each piece sloping downwards. Keep stacking the logs in this way, one layer above the other. The end result will be a cone-shaped structure. This is also known as a round stack.

Another method would be to store the wood in a rust-resistant log holder, a copper bucket, a steel rack etc. A multipurpose bench can function as a rack for storing firewood as well.

Things to Keep in Mind While Stacking

While stacking and storing firewood, there are certain things that you should keep in mind. Some of these include the following:

• Storing the firewood outside is a good idea since this is ideal for drying the wood quickly. Also, it removes any scope of termites or other insects from entering the house.
• While storing the wood, leave a little gap between the wood stack and the wall. This will ensure that there is enough air circulation. Also, ensure that the wood isn’t sitting directly on the ground. Placing two long logs at the base before stacking the wood is important.
• You should keep the wood pile covered with a tarpaulin with the sides exposed in order to prevent it from getting soaked in the rain.
• Wood may attract various kinds of insects, thus ruining its ability to burn properly. You can easily prevent this by spraying insect repellants around the pile. Avoid spraying the liquid on the wood.
• Always watch out for snakes inside the woodpile.

You can consider storing firewood in your garden shed. This way, it will have adequate scope for air circulation and also enough shade from the rain.

Preventing Rotting of Firewood

A woodpile can be prone to rotting if the logs aren’t stored properly. For this, include irregular pieces of wood in between the piles to allow enough air to circulate through the pile. While storing, always keep the bark side up. Always store wood in a place where water doesn’t get accumulated.

While wood is a wonderful fuel option for your fireplace, the smoke and ash that it generates while burning can quickly build up creosote inside the chimney, thus limiting its function. This is why it is important to get your chimney inspected and cleaned at regular intervals. If you live in Tonbridge, you can avail the services of a competent chimney sweep in Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 for this purpose.