Tips for making a log store?

Not sure if this is the best place for a DIY type question, but as logs are a major source of fuel when everything else is not an option, i thought i'd put this here....

I bought some would to make a log store, at present i will just be using the logs for the fire pit in the garden, but in the future i could possibly get a wood burner.

Are there any things i need to be aware of when storing logs or building the store? I was thinking of something basic like this...



Does it matter which way the logs are facing? I've heard some people say that it should face south here in the UK?

Thanks,

CX.

reply to post by CX


I'm assuming you have heard that it should face south so that it gets the most sunlight possible to help dry the wood. Makes perfect sense. Other than the addition of a tarp to help keep the wood dry, it looks pretty damn good

Wood fire heat is the best heat imo. But if you want to heat your home with it, you need much more storage space. This storage would give you three weeks of fire I think.

Thanks for the tips

The one i will be making will be somewhat bigger than this, just a similar design. Think i'll put some airing gaps in the sides and back too.

Thanks.

CX.

reply to post by StareDad


That storage would only provide wood for 1 week, if you heat everyday.
I only use wood to heat the house and to cook, sometimes with a mix of coal.
We don't have any sort of storage, we keep some outside(terrace with roof) and some in the basement.
I don't realy have problems to dry wood. Just chop it in summertime and let it dry for winter.
To keep it dry when raining you could use a plastic cover. Make sure if you want to dry in the sun to take away the cover, it will dry double as fast.
If you have wet wood(depending how much of course) you can mix it with dry wood, it will still burn(just a bit slower).
If you are looking for something to heat you house and water and at the sametime cook your food, I recommend the sort of heating i use.

Too much bother for what little wood it will hold.
Either use bricks or old wood you don't want to burn to keep it off the ground and stack it so that the ends face south.
Keep a tarp over it when it's rainy and off when sunny,
It takes about a year for wood to season properly, perhaps longer there in the dreary isles.
When you see lots of cracks in the grain you're good to go.

PS - Don't burn conifers (pine/evergreens) = toxic fumes, creosote buildup.

You have all the tools you need to cut /split the wood?
I can give you some good tips on that if you need CX.

I've found that a full cord of wood is the least you should store for a winters burning
Of course, it does depend on what kind of stove or fireplace you have, and its efficiency.

For example:
I installed a soapstone stand alone stove with about 65% efficiency in trilevel 2600 SQft hm
with minor additions to heat transfer fans.. I was able to heat this home for 5 wisconsin winter
months, temps averaged from 30 to -2 last year.

My wood storage was 8x4x16.. and last year i used 3/4 of it.
home is well insulated.

Shed was just a roofed non-enclosed structure. kept wood tarped in winter, open to breath in summer

I have a seventies fisher grandpa bear wood stove in the basement for emergency heat. It is a good stove, I used it a few times when the power went out and the furnace quit and needed parts. We recently got an old 50's wards cookstove for the diningroom for emergency cooking and heat. It heats the whole 2000 sq ft house when the weather gets to twenty. works great and it is in really good shape.

If you get a cookstove you should be aware that you can't leave the heat go around the oven when going to bed. It will set off the carbon monoxide tester in the house because there isn't enough draft to make it go around the oven without loosing the carbon monoxide when it just has coals left. The Carbon monoxide leaks out the lids on top and the fill door. It was only seventy ppm so it wasn't really dangerous but you could wake up with a headache. I push the lever so the exhaust can go directly out when we go to bed now and the carbon monoxide tester doesn't peep anymore. I doubt if this would kill anyone but there is also no reason to desire a headache in the morning if you don't have to.

this is what we do in Tasmania.

We don't make these waste of time projects.

We get 4 by 2 bits of timber running parallel next to each other along the ground.
This lets the logs sit off the ground 2 inches, so they do not rot.
Then we stack our wood with a pig sty at both ends, this will stop the logs rolling.


see on the end of this wood stack 3 bits of wood one way then 3 bits of wood the other, this is a what we call a pigsty.

Now then because our weather in Tasmania is not dry during the winter we cover it with black plastic or tarpaulin.

I have the art of stacking wood down pat been doing in since I was 6.

The biggest problem i have seen with wood stores or barns is bees.

I have seen some with 4 to 5 hives in them. The bees will built hive down in the wood pile making for a fun time when you need to use the wood or restock the wood piles.

reply to post by ANNED

i have never seen bee's nest in a wood stack. Only spiders.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals

You have all the tools you need to cut /split the wood?
I can give you some good tips on that if you need CX.

That would be most appreciated.

All i have at hand at the moment is a decent size axe and Kukri machete, i've always got by with those but somehow it doesn't seem as easy as others make it look.

That probably sounds funny to some of you, but i've never really had a major need for logs, just for leisure on the fire pit. For many, cutting logs is a way of life that they probably don't give a second thought to.

So yes, any tips for making log cutting easier would be most appreciated. Could even be a separate thread on it? A total idiots guide so to speak, from tools to techniques.

Thanks everyone, your help is most welcome.

CX.

reply to post by amraks


Thanks for the pic and advice

Thats a neat way of stacking wood, and yes i see what you mean about "waste of time projects", however i've never made anything like this so it's going to be a learning project for me and the kids to do at the weekend.

Will give me a few pointers for when it comes to making other structure in the garden too.

Thanks again,

CX.

For the log store, plenty of air circulation to allow the wood to season nicely.
The roof in your photo could do with more of an overhang, to help shield it from the rain.
I use a slice of old tree trunk to chop my logs on. Always chop down the grain of the log.

reply to post by CX



If you plan on having this as a SHTF stash, I would do my method at the back of your shed or your back fence.
You could have a stock stack of a few meters of wood. we usually have a stock stack of about 18 meters and have 6 meters left by summer.

Then use your wood store as a place to keep your wood on your backdoor step so it looks tidy.

then once your down a few logs keep topping it up.

We had a nice wood box on the house my dad built. but we sold the house. My mum uses a old fridge for a wood box.

Also a little tip use a product called smart burn. wish we had this product when we started using a wood fire.

reply to post by CX


Honestly, I find buildings like the one you have pictured as a huge waste.
Just use a tarp if you need to keep things somewhat dry.

I get skids to store my wood on, usually in 4'x8'x16' stacks or about 7-10 cord a year.
Depending on how much time I put in every year but always up off the ground.
My wood piles usually always face south and lay uncovered until fall.
A little rain never hurts during summer, plus it seems that seasoned wood burns too fast.
Almost as if it helps to have a little moisture in the split logs to slow the burn time.
I always keep my chimney pipes clear and the wood burner cleaned out yearly.
Just to keep the creosote build-up at a minimum, because it gets bad no matter what.

As far as woodpile insects:
I always run across spiders, termites and ants.
But it doesn't stop me unless I don't want those pests in my home.
Then I'll just throw the log over the hill until next year.
Never had a problem with Bee's.

For splitting I use a 10lb maul and a splitting axe for easy work...
But my gas powered log-splitter is used for the majority of the wood.
(I split huge logs sometimes 3ft in diameter....a maul just don't won't cut it)
I do have a stash of hand saws and mauls in case gas supply becomes an issue.

As far as finding wood goes:
I always try to get standing dead trees or felled trees at least one year old.
Never really like to mess with rotten wood cause its just crap...
And never like to burn green wood, or "live" trees, because of creosote.

Never burn pine unless it's been dead for years.
Thats my last resort wood.

reply to post by havok


Agreed.
With pine you will give a lot of creosote buildup.
But pine cones are one of my favorite fire starters, it dries and burns fast, gives a lot of heat and a nice smell too.
Most of the time i use chestnut, oak, birch and eucalyptus. They sell at around 50 dollars for 1000kg.
I don't often buy them but collect it myself. 2 weeks after a windy, rainy period immense amounts of wood wash up on the shore here. All coming from rivers, after 1 week it become driftwood in the sea and 1 week later it all wash up on shore. Just take the trailer and collect. The community is happy because they have a clean beach again and you are happy because you have free wood(except for the gasoline you used for the car of course).

Then you just need to cut and split it. Any chainsaw will do, but if you intend to use it a lot I suggest to buy a descent one which will cost you easy 300-400 dollars.
Of course if you buy your wood you normally don't have to cut it only split it. You can get very cheap used ones, any german brand will do they sell at 20 dollars for the blade or less and sometimes you can find a whole axe for that price. it doesn't matter if they are rusted, you can sharpen, paint and clean it yourself.
I got me a blade or head for 10 dollars and a 5 dollar handle. After sharpenned, painted and assembled, it is still doing the job after 5 years of chopping.

I prefer to do it old style but you can always buy a log splitter Saves you time and muscles.

reply to post by CX

You'll want a good stump for splitting your wood on, something 1 foot and a half in diameter and around knee height cut very flat and even. When you're splitting the ax or maul should be hitting the piece you intend to split a little higher than your waist. This gives you plenty of drop on the swing and keeps the ax from going too low at the end of the split. This is very repetitive work and form is very important. It should never be too strenuous or either your tools, form or wood isn't right.
Trying to go too fast will get you injured as well. If you're tired or sweaty take a break.

Don't bother trying to split pieces where large branches come off from it, the knots inside are very hard to break and can make the ax blade come through the side of the piece making it dangerous. At best your blade with stick in the piece and end up wasting time and energy trying to free it.

What kind of saw you're going to use depends on the girth of the wood you'll be cutting and where you're going to do it at. I'd recommend a chainsaw, an electric one if feasible. They work surprisingly well and can cut anything the blade is longer than the wood is wide. I have one will a little 12" bar that does just about anything I need done but none of my wood is thicker than 18" or so.
If cost is a big factor get the biggest bow saw available (36") longer blade means less strokes. Sandvik makes excellent blades and they are sharp as heck, use extreme care with these. Split a piece of garden hose and use it to cover the blade when not in use.

You can make a cutting crib (just google it) out of spare lumber. it will make sawing pieces much easier. You can buy fancy metal ones but thats more $. It's worth the savings on your back to be cutting it at the right height relative to your body rather than bending over etc.

Your ax is your main investment, get the best you can and learn to keep it sharp. Trust the Canadians or Scandanavians on their advice - they have generations of experience. Much will depend on personal preference (single blade or double bit) as well as the length of the handle and weight.

You'll want a splitting maul, again same as axes but the heavier it is the more force you put in to it. I like my fiberglass handle but if you miss it gets really bouncy. (!) Another reason to not split or cut when tired or distracted in any way.

Use common sense which I know you have in abundance and you'll be fine.

General safety: Wear steel toe boots - dropping wood on your toe or even worse an ax blade in your foot can be a probem.
Chainsaws: Always wear hearing protection, eye protection and leather gloves.

This just scratches the surface but once I know some more details we can discuss this further.
Hope this helps a little CX.
be safe and enjoy the work, it's really healthy for you if done safely and very satisfying,
They say wood heats you twice, when you burn it and when you cut it.

ETA - I forgot about splitting kindling. Get yourself a small ax/large hatchet for this work. You can use a regular ax but you have to grab the handle up near the head for control.

MUST HAVE BOOK: Bushcraft or Northern Bushcraft by Mors Kochansky - great reference on axes, knives www.amazon.com... vrand=5436217481677310731&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_6ffuuuo56g_b

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
reply to post by CX

 

Don't bother trying to split pieces where large branches come off from it, the knots inside are very hard to break and can make the ax blade come through the side of the piece making it dangerous. At best your blade with stick in the piece and end up wasting time and energy trying to free it.


They say wood heats you twice, when you burn it and when you cut it.

You got that right. Remembered in the beginning, come into the cold house so decided to put on the stove but needed to split some wood first, after that I said why put on the stove it's not cold it's rather hot in here.

Yes and don't bother with pieces that have knots in it, 9 out of 10 your axe will get stuck and could take some time to free it. If it's realy stuck a way to free your axe is hammering a piece of wood into the groof so that the wood opens a bit. If you have room of course to do it.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Just a question on splitting mauls.
I have i think what they call a forest axe and a hatchet. Since it does the work for years now, i never realy looked into the subject or asked any questions. Will this make the work easier or what does it different from an axe?