# Holz Hausen (Haufen?) Pics



## Mo Heat

German holz hausen (wood houses) or holz haufen (wood heap) method of stacking wood.
Location: Near Poland and Lithuania.
Size: Big one! Looks like about a 10 foot diameter.
Source: Public domain photo from Internet.

Add a photo of your own holz hausen or holz haufen to this thread (if you feel like it).


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## Mo Heat

Here's a half hearted effort at a half-pint holz hausen, but with an interesting twist regarding the foundation.

http://www.tonysimon.org/mt/archives/000175.html


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## wg_bent

Mo Heat said:
			
		

> Here's a half hearted effort at a holz hausen, but with an interesting twist regarding the foundation.
> 
> http://www.tonysimon.org/mt/archives/000175.html



Interesting, but I think the guy is optimistic about how much wood he's got there.  Long splits, but looks closer to 1.5 cords to me.


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## Todd

When are you going to build yours MO? I think you got the itch!


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## Mo Heat

Todd said:
			
		

> When are you going to build yours MO? I think you got the itch!



I had the itch and finally scratched it. I've included a pic of my first holz hausen (or holz haufen).

Todd, I appreciate you sharing your pics and technique. They got me interested enough to build one. As a side note of moderate interest, when Mother Mo Heat first laid her eyes on the completed structure, she actually gasped and said, "It looks just like a little house!" Seemed like a big coincidence after earlier discussions of whether the correct term was holz hausen or holz haufen. Maybe both are correct.

Some comments regarding my holz hausen. 

It's built on a hillside so it's taller on the lower side and overall, a bit shorter than Todd's.
It's about 7 feet wide and 6.5 feet tall. I needed a step ladder for the top, none-the-less.
My center post (a cheap 1 x 2) was warped, so my stack got a little squirrely in places (asymmetrical circle).
I didn't account for my wood well, so I can only guess it contains about 2 cords.
The bottom half is fresh cut wood, the top half is year-old wood.
It took longer to build, and required more artistry in stacking, than I anticipated.
The foundation is of limbs laid cross ways with others laid around the perimeter (no splits touch the ground).
Note the landscape timber on the lower hillside with three stakes for stability.
My next holz hausen should be a bit easier to build. I learned a lot.
Building the top half went much faster than building the foundation of random limbs and the bottom half.
I may make the next one a bit wider and taller. I think lesser angles will be easier to stack.
I won't use full splits as stringers next time like I did on one of the bottom courses. Smaller stringers are less distracting.
Six inch half rounds make great shingles for the top.
I feel like I've created a work of Yard Art. 
It looks ogranic. As though it grew out there. More pleasing to the eye than the wood rows it replaced.
So far, everyone that's seen it, loves it. Mrs. Mo Heat thinks it looks like a giant pine cone.


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## Mo Heat

Here's a couple more photos...

The guy is my brother-in-law. For reference, he's 6'2" tall. 6'3" with his shoes on.


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## Mo Heat

And a couple more...


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## Mo Heat

Thanks to Marcus for the original post... Here's the thread that started it all:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1630/

I thought it would be nice to have a consolidated holz hau[sf]en (Unix regular expression substitution  thread that included Todd's photos (buried in the link above -- I got tired of searching for them), so here are Todd's photos...


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## elkimmeg

Mo does that location get any useful sun exposure?


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## Mo Heat

elkimmeg said:
			
		

> Mo does that location get any useful sun exposure?



I was hoping no one would ask that... 

The answer is no, but it's the same story for the whole back yard and my wood seems to dry okay out there. I've thought about that a bit and theorize that, for many reasons I'll leave unwritten, it may not make as much difference as you'd likely think. I'm also abandoning covering my wood until next winter is nearly upon me. And since I bring in about two weeks of wood into my basement, I may just skip covering it altogether and see how that works. Covering is a pain and Mrs. Mo Heat hates the way some of my solutions looked. If there are problems, I'll report back (I'll need somewhere to whine about it . If no problems, I'll try to remember to report back also.

The web site that lists average moisture content for wood doesn't even consider sun exposure, although I'm sure it has some effect. But consider that lumber left in any location, even inside the lumber barn, eventually reaches a steady state of moisture, depending on all the factors most of us are familiar with. I'm counting on that chart to see me through next winter. And maybe the Missouri summer heat. If you've ever been to Missouri (pronounced: miz' - er - y  in the summer, you'd realize the ambient air temperatures here will probably make everything right.

BTW: Isn't it time you built yourself a holz hausen? I bet your wife would love it if your woodpile is within eye-shot of the house.


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## elkimmeg

Here is a bit of advice when you know there is going to be a soaking rain cover it. Leave the cover off all the rest of the time till mid to late Sept.  Me I have teied and true methoids of stacking I have used this method in the past. My problem is I keep getting more and more wood. Any wood I get now is two  or 3 seasons out
 Current inventory enough cut split and stacked 6 cords for next season. 6 more cords roughly 2 years old, split still need some processing and stacking.  3 cords in log lenght, partically cut to rounds, that need splitting and stacking. At least 3 more cords log lenght to pick up and I will probably add a cord or two more. 

Then I give away a cord or two to help this guy out that can only process  rounds up to 10/12" Anything more he cannot handle it. pl I rebuilt his stove. He was going to be the reciever of the free stove donor program, but pride, and looking needy, and publicity He wanted no part. So I did the next best thing rebuild his stove
1987 Defiant Encore.  Believe this, he never used the cat never dampered down, till I would load his stove each day as he recovered from medical opperations. The cat was still in decent condition and usable.


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## Turner-n-Burner

Mo,
   Nice looking pile!  I think I want to try this.

Did you make just one ring of splits and fill the center with horizontals?  I was wondering if in an 7-8 foot diameter stack you could make a ring within a ring?  Did you take any pictures while it was still in progress?

-Dan


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## Mo Heat

Turner-n-Burner said:
			
		

> Mo,
> Nice looking pile!  I think I want to try this.
> 
> Did you make just one ring of splits and fill the center with horizontals?  I was wondering if in an 7-8 foot diameter stack you could make a ring within a ring?  Did you take any pictures while it was still in progress?
> 
> -Dan



Thanks T-n-B. I recommend giving it a try. It was a bit of work, but I like the finished product, and I think my neighbors will too. I'm going to start another one just for the aesthetics and the economy of real estate. It will be a conversation item during the next neighborhood progressive deck party. And it will allow plausible deniability that I am a wood burner. I'll just tell them it's _yard art_. 

Mine has only the outer ring of splits. The center was filled with splits stacked _on end_, but by the time I got to the top, it was a free-for-all, any way I could get them in there and balance the roof splits on top. You probably *could *make a ring within a ring configuration. Yard art allows artistic license.  There was some speculation that the vertical position of the middle pieces allowed better air flow, but I'm not sure how beneficial it actually is. I think we're all experimenting at this stage and probably will be forever more.

Check out these links for more ideas:

http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/yxboken/bok04.htm

http://www.thechimneysweep.ca/6seasoningwood.html

http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature_and_environment/1986_november_december/holzhaufen

I took no pics in progress. All my cameras are down for the count. Had to barrow the b-n-l's camera to get the above pics and to keep Brother Bart at bay.


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## fbelec

hey mo

am i mistaken. did i read somewhere that a holz haufen dries quicker than a normal stack.
3 months? i can't find it.


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## Mo Heat

fbelec said:
			
		

> hey mo
> 
> am i mistaken. did i read somewhere that a holz haufen dries quicker than a normal stack.
> 3 months? i can't find it.



The first post of Marcus' original thread includes an implied reference from this supplied link:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1630/

I'll quote it below:

_Now after only three months in a Holz Hausen, my free firewood is burning nicely._

I might add that none of us can yet corroborate this somewhat extreme claim.


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## fbelec

oke doke

did you paint your center pole?
i know wood shrinks but the amount they are talking sounds extreme


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## BrotherBart

Mo Heat said:
			
		

> fbelec said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> hey mo
> 
> am i mistaken. did i read somewhere that a holz haufen dries quicker than a normal stack.
> 3 months? i can't find it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The first post of Marcus' original thread includes an implied reference from this supplied link:
> 
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1630/
> 
> I'll quote it below:
> 
> _Now after only three months in a Holz Hausen, my free firewood is burning nicely._
> 
> I might add that none of us can yet corroborate this somewhat extreme claim.
Click to expand...


The darn thing probably works like a compost pile. Organic material giving off heat and evaporating out the top drying the wood pretty quick.

And cooking the squirrels living in the middle of it.


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## fbelec

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Mo Heat said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> fbelec said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> hey mo
> 
> am i mistaken. did i read somewhere that a holz haufen dries quicker than a normal stack.
> 3 months? i can't find it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The first post of Marcus' original thread includes an implied reference from this supplied link:
> 
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1630/
> 
> I'll quote it below:
> 
> _Now after only three months in a Holz Hausen, my free firewood is burning nicely._
> 
> I might add that none of us can yet corroborate this somewhat extreme claim.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> The darn thing probably works like a compost pile. Organic material giving off heat and evaporating out the top drying the wood pretty quick.
> 
> And cooking the squirrels living in the middle of it.
Click to expand...



you got to eat when your working hard to keep the energy up :smirk:


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## Mo Heat

fbelec said:
			
		

> did you paint your center pole?



I used a wax pencil to mark the top 18 inches in 6 inch graduations so I can see how much my holz hausen shrinks and settles.

Since half the wood I used in the outer ring and the inside is already dry, I'm only expecting half the predicted settling, or even less since the predicted settling seems extreme (20% of height).

Of interest is the fact that wood tends to shrink mostly laterally, and not much at all longitudinally. Probably a third of the wood in the middle of my holz hausen is stacked at least partially _on end_ (vertically). It seems like this would reduce the visible settling somewhat since my middle shingles (next to the measuring pole) sit (at least partially) atop partially vertical splits.


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## Todd

Nice job Mo, 
3 months does seem a little exteme, but I built my second Holz Haufen about 4 weeks ago with fresh cut Oak and my cheap little moisture meter was pegged at 35%. Today they are averaging 15%. I figure my meter is not the most accurate, but I can see a difference over time. So maybe 3 months might be the case? It seems to be drying pretty well and I don't have full sun on them.


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## Mo Heat

Todd said:
			
		

> ... about 4 weeks ago with fresh cut Oak and my cheap little moisture meter was pegged at 35%. Today they are averaging 15%.



Dang, Todd. Your moisture readings are not just impressive, they're sort of scary! 

I was thinking about the holz hausen design while sipping a frosty brew yesterday and admiring my holz hausen from the deck when I had what I felt was a minor epiphany ( *hick*  regarding why the holz hausen might dry wood faster than a row of stacked wood.

No matter which way the wind blows, and it is usually blowing from some direction or another around here, it will be entering into the holz hausen at a 90* angle to some point on the perimeter, which could slightly pressurize the space inside, forcing air out in all directions, over all the splits. On the sides, the wind will be creating a venture effect, further inducing air movement through the pile. And on the side opposite the wind, there will be continuous turbulence and low pressure that should further aid exiting air from the pile. In theory, this should deliver significantly more air movement than the more common row structure, where the wind rarely blows thru the row at a 90* angle (ideal), usually blows thru at a lesser angle (less than ideal), and sometimes blows along its length, where it is effectively _wasted_ with regard to drying the non-exposed splits.

That's my working theory until someone proves me wrong.


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## Todd

Your theory sounds good to me Mo. Don't trust my meter readings. It's only a cheap $20 meter. The real test will be this fall in the stove. Or maybe sooner in my back yard fire pit?


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## BrotherBart

Todd said:
			
		

> Your theory sounds good to me Mo. Don't trust my meter readings. It's only a cheap $20 meter. The real test will be this fall in the stove. Or maybe sooner in my back yard fire pit?



I'm with you Todd. Yesterday I whacked a sixty foot red oak, hauled it, split and stacked it. That tree was as wet inside as any red oak I have ever taken down. My twenty buck moisture meter went off the scale too. Today I stick the stuff and it reads 21-22 percent and I guarantee you that stuff wouldn't burn if it was dipped in gasoline.

When I bought the meter I tested against my carpenter neighbor's mega-bucks meter and they were close. But I am not believing what it is telling me about this wood.


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## fbelec

todd and brotherbart despite the meter reading how about the feel of the wood? does it feel any lighter in wieght?
over the weekend i got hold of 3 oak trees taken down by a friend in his yard. these rounds were just cut. so i tried to split some with the maul and it bounced off, it was so wet inside. i had to throw my back, arms, legs, knees and head into the maul to split them. i can't believe a few weeks with a fan blowing on them or certain type of pile would dry these babys.


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## BrotherBart

fbelec said:
			
		

> todd and brotherbart despite the meter reading how about the feel of the wood? does it feel any lighter in wieght?
> over the weekend i got hold of 3 oak trees taken down by a friend in his yard. these rounds were just cut. so i tried to split some with the maul and it bounced off, it was so wet inside. i had to throw my back, arms, legs, knees and head into the maul to split them. i can't believe a few weeks with a fan blowing on them or certain type of pile would dry these babys.



I did something this morning with the meter that I have intended to do for a while. I took one of those red oak splits and stuck it with the meter. Reading came back 22%. I then took a drill and drilled two holes in the split the width of the meter tines and about an inch deep. Slightly smaller diameter than the tines. Stuck the meter tines into the holes and viola, back to 35%, the max on the meter. The wood is just too hard for the tines to sink far enough in and surface drying causes an inaccurate reading without getting farther into the splits. I am going to see if, over time, the difference between surface and interior moisture stays constant. If it does then I can just adjust readings based on the constant difference factor. Also I am going to test just reusing the drilled holes in the current test splits vs. fresh drilled ones each time. If the pre-drilled split tracks with a freshly drilled one over time then all I need to do is periodically test the pre-drilled one and save the hassle of drilling holes each time I test.

The option is to pay five hundred bucks for a meter that lets you hammer it so the tines sink in. Not an attactive option to this cheapskate woodburner.


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## fbelec

definitely not a option. not when you can pick up a piece and feel that it weighs a ton and know that it is still wet. hitting two pieces together doesn't always tell the story either. i just got a green cord delivered and hit some of those pieces makes the bowling pin sound like it was dry wood.

the holes you drilled might dry leaving them open maybe put something over the holes like tape or find a plug for the hole so that the surface of the holes doesn't dry again. just a thought.


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## Turner-n-Burner

For those of you that have built one of these, or are planning too...

Are you expecting to have to take it down and re-stack the wood for burning?  Or do you just work from top down?  You'll lose the shingle effect as you go, and I'd imagine it'd take several weeks of burning at least to get through even a small one?


-Dan, and suddenly reconsidering my plan to stack this way


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## Mo Heat

Turner-n-Burner said:
			
		

> Are you expecting to have to take it down and re-stack the wood for burning?  Or do you just work from top down?  You'll lose the shingle effect as you go, and I'd imagine it'd take several weeks of burning at least to get through even a small one?



Restacking? No way!

In St. Louis, we don't get a lot of snow (moisture), but even if we did (or you do), it is a simple enough thing to cover the pile with a tarp when expecting precip and while consuming the wood pile (HH) next winter. In fact, a std tarp (like the ones I use to carry leaves in the yard and buy at the evil big box stores) will cover a holz hausen more efficiently than they cover my wood in rows due to the more compact shape of the HH compared to long rows which I cover with 30 gallon black garbage bags cut up the sides and that always tear and leak and blow off and are hated by Mrs. Mo Heat, etc., etc.

Be daring, be artistic, be different, be all that you can be, build a HH.  ;-)


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## Eric Johnson

I think a scale would give you a more accurate mositure reading. As suggested in some of the above posts, a chunk of wood's water retention is best judged by weight. One spring I weighed a piece of green beech and wrote the weight on the end of the chunk with a sharpie. I always intended to re-weigh the chunk when it was dry, but somehow it got burned before I had the chance.

But I'm sure some of you engineering types could figure out how much lighter (in percent) a chunk of green wood (your choice) would weigh compared to its dry weight.

Also, it's cheating to draw any conclusions from the condition of a piece of wood on or near the outside of the Holz Hausen pile. Anybody can dry a piece of wood at the top or outside of any pile. If you want to know what's really up, you gotta dig one out from deep inside. As BrotherBart observes, the condition of the surface of the wood (or the pile, for that matter), doesn't tell you very much. Tells you whether it's rained recently is about all.

Before Craig upgraded this site, somebody (Mo maybe?) posted an excellent description of the mechanics of wood drying. It has to do with "bound" water, which exists within the cell walls, compared to the moisture that's flowing around between the cells. The latter comes and goes easily, while the former takes its own sweet time leaving the wood. Short of a dry kiln, I don't think there are any shortcuts to getting rid of the bound moisture.

The Holz Hausen may or may not work better than a conventional straight stack of wood, but nothing said so far proves the case one way or the other, IMO.  This summer, let's all grab and weigh a piece of green wood, then re-weigh it this winter when it's nice and dry. And while we're at it, why not measure the lateral height of the piece? I've got some unfinished business with Dylan on that, and the bigger the sampling, the better.

For the sake of full disclosure, I spent my Memorial Day weekend re-stacking 20 full cords of wood into more-or-less conventional rows, so I don't want to hear any more of this "Holz Hausen is superior" nonsense. Next you're gonna tell me that Mac is better than a PC. Anyway, I think I figured out a wood storage system that will avoid most of that re-stacking in the future.


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## bruce56bb

i wonder what the coriolis effect has on the holz hausen vs the standard type of wood stack?


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## Mo Heat

Eric Johnson said:
			
		

> Before Craig upgraded this site, somebody (Mo maybe?) posted an excellent description of the mechanics of wood drying. It has to do with "bound" water, which exists within the cell walls, compared to the moisture that's flowing around between the cells. The latter comes and goes easily, while the former takes its own sweet time leaving the wood. Short of a dry kiln, I don't think there are any shortcuts to getting rid of the bound moisture.



FYI: Here's my old post on the basic biology of wood drying:

_On Wed Oct 5, Snowfreak wrote
-----------------------------
> When will water boil out the ends of the pieces? 26 percent? 30 percent?  
_
When MC (moisture content) is greater than right around 28%.
_
> The water boiled out of my test pieces fairly quickly would this indicate they are getting close to being seasoned? 
_
Not necessarily. I explain below.
_
> Why does wood that has a moisture content between 20-25% not boil water out of the ends?
_
Because there are two places water is stored in wood. 'Free moisture' is water within the wood 'cell cavities' (inside the wood cells). 'Bound moisture' is water bound up in the 'cell membrane' or the 'cell wall' itself. Removal of 'bound moisture' BTW is what causes wood to shrink.

'Free moisture' exits a wood split's ends (during drying and burning) via normal phloem networks utilizing the perforated ends of the wood cells stacked end-to-end and forming something like straws, if you will. These are the same passages responsible for normal water movement from roots to leaves in a living tree. It's actually more complex than I describe, but hopefully that will suffice for the purposes of this discussion.  Water exiting in this manner when a split is burning is seen 'boiling' out of the ends.

Once wood dries below around 28% MC all the 'free moisture' is gone. At that point, only the 'cell walls' contain water and they don't release it through the phloem channels (at least not as readily) so it isn't seen boiling out the ends. There can still be quite of bit of moisture (as high as 25 - 30%) left in the wood though, and it still must be evaporated from each 'cell wall' before that cell can exceed 212*F and actually burn. The cells don't actually burn [until after the volitiles] gasify into various combustible chemical components when heated [leaving combustible carbon]. These components in turn undergo additional chemical reactions [during combustion,] into simpler components like C and CO utilizing the heat produced by previous reactions while producing heat themselves and so on until only CO2 and H2O remain if combustion is absolute IIRC.

Hopefully that all sounds believable. 

Mo Heat


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## Eric Johnson

bruce56bb said:
			
		

> i wonder what the coriolis effect has on the holz hausen vs the standard type of wood stack?



Where is Dylan, anyway? On some kind of a summer sabbatical?

I think his last post was the infamous "xxx" message. Maybe he's finally gone around the bend, so to speak.


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## BrotherBart

Eric Johnson said:
			
		

> bruce56bb said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> i wonder what the coriolis effect has on the holz hausen vs the standard type of wood stack?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Where is Dylan, anyway? On some kind of a summer sabbatical?
> 
> I think his last post was the infamous "xxx" message. Maybe he's finally gone around the bend, so to speak.
Click to expand...


I wondered if the XXX was him kissing hearth.com goodbye.


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## Eric Johnson

He's probably hanging & chillin' with Frank Ivy.

I know Frank lurks around here because I said something a few months ago that elicited a response from him. But that was it.

Maybe Dyl's spending the summer in charm school.


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## Turner-n-Burner

"Anyway, I think I figured out a wood storage system that will avoid most of that re-stacking in the future. 
"

You gonna share?    enquiring minds and all that...

-Dan


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## Eric Johnson

Not much to tell, really. The problem is that I burn a lot of wood and I have at least a two-year supply heading into any given heating season. My old method of stacking wood over the course of the summer (I cut and haul about a cord a week) left the stacks with the oldest wood in the back. So, I would take wood from the back to heat for the winter, leaving the stuff in the front hanging out there all by itself in the spring. You can see what I'm talking about here:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/43/

Now, instead of a back-to-front arrangement, I go with a left-to-right strategy.

That's one of those obvious, slap yourself on the middle of your forehead, things that takes a couple of production cycles to figure out. This is the first year I actually had to restack all the leftover wood (20 cords in this case), which forced me to come up with a better plan.


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## Turner-n-Burner

20 cords... Wow!  I see what you mean.  It looks like you're able to burn a lot of rounds though, so a bit less splitting, but still - Wow!

I think I saw you mention needing a better tarp strategy on another thread...  I saw a picture once where another large volume burner found a simple solution.  He stacked his wood row upon row like you did, but instead of keeping the height level, he tapered in down away from the middle.    Then he just dragged a tarp over it.  No pooling...  That might complicate your first-in - first out needs though.

-Dan


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## Eric Johnson

Warren (I think) suggested laying semi-rigid plastic fencing with a chicken wire pattern across the tops of the piles before laying the tarp on. That way, with just a slight pitch the pile should drain off. I'm building it so that it crowns in the middle. Should work pretty well, I think. I'm optimistic about the left-to-right strategy.


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## wg_bent

Eric Johnson said:
			
		

> Warren (I think) suggested laying semi-rigid plastic fencing with a chicken wire pattern across the tops of the piles before laying the tarp on. That way, with just a slight pitch the pile should drain off. I'm building it so that it crowns in the middle. Should work pretty well, I think. I'm optimistic about the left-to-right strategy.



Yup, I use the green painted roll fencing.  so far it works really well keeping stuff dry and puddles off the top of the stack.  I stack on pallets, so stacks that sit side by side with a foot or two in between always ended up with a big puddle in the middle of the row.  Using the wire also keeps the stacks looking nice and square on top. I'm only about a year into this drill, so I haven't figured out a good stack rotation strategy.  I can see problems coming with the current stacks though.  

Hey Eric, What do you stack those long rows on top of to keep the wood off the ground?


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## Eric Johnson

I stack the wood right on the ground, Warren. The pieces in direct contact with the ground stay wet, but everything on top of them dries out just fine. When it's time to pull the wood into the barn, I just set the bottom course pieces aside and rotate them higher up in next year's pile. I've started using small branchwood for the bottom course. If the pieces touching the ground are going to remain wet, might as well make them as small as possible.


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## wahoowad

How is this holz? I think some monks did it.


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## Todd

Wow! Wonder how many cords are in that thing? Still looks like they have a way to go?


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## fbelec

looks a little to tight for air circulation


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## BrotherBart

Mo Heat said:
			
		

> Here's a half hearted effort at a half-pint holz hausen, but with an interesting twist regarding the foundation.
> 
> http://www.tonysimon.org/mt/archives/000175.html



I just came across this comment from the guy that runs tonysimon.org. Seems he posts the month's top search strings from his log files. hearth.com rang in high when Mo posted this link.

"This was a pretty good month for search strings. The leader in overall quantity was one that has been knocking on the top spot for several months now. Without further ado, I present you how to make nunchucks. The next six in order of frequency:


holz hausen
gay shorties
truth drums
tony looks like
tony simon
how to make roofies

The appearance of my own name in that list is interesting. I won’t deny the fact that I google myself periodically, but I’m fairly certain I was not responsible for 15 hits in March alone. The increased pings from holz hausen are probably a result of this forum posting https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/1726/ which resulted in 100 or so visits. Welcome, firewood dorks! "


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## Mo Heat

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Welcome, firewood dorks! "



A visit from a couple hearthnet lumber jacks with a splitting wedge and sledge (can you say super wedgie?) might improve Tony's attitude.


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## BrotherBart

Mo Heat said:
			
		

> BrotherBart said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Welcome, firewood dorks! "
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A visit from a couple hearthnet lumber jacks with a splitting wedge and sledge (can you say super wedgie?) might improve Tony's attitude.
Click to expand...


I was kinda thinking of using him for the wedge.


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## Wet1

Thought I'd bring this back from the grave and see if there was any feedback regarding using the HH method...

Did using this design significantly speed seasoning times at all?  Other than taking up less real estate and looking cute, were there any real merits to using this design?  If so, was it worth the increase in stacking time?  Lastly, what keeps the vertical splits off the ground (are you guys laying rounds or blocks down first)?


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## Adios Pantalones

I put down pallets.  People that claim to have done a side-by-side comparison (don't know if you'd call it a controled study) claim that it dries about like a single stack.  Looks better in the yard and takes up less space seem to be the benefits.


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## Mo Heat

I agree with Adios, and I'd add these two benefits:

- a square tarp covers it nicely (couldn't find a round tarp) 

- it holds a lot of odd size wood pieces I generate that are otherwise really tough to stack

I'm no expert. I've built two of them. It's a labor of love and takes a bit more time, care and skill than a row. The chipmunks seem to love them and I've seen at least one raccoon and an opossum crawling in and out from beneath the tarp, although they seemed to just be exploring.

On my first holz I used junk branches in the middle to keep the wood off the ground with some splits as the perimeter foundation, using an old RR tie and some stakes on the downhill side. On my sloping hillside (probably 3 or 4% grade) this thing moved (above the base) a bit and I had to re-stack after a part of it collapsed after about 5 months. It was surprisingly quick to repair, though. The foundation is important. Level ground is best.

On my second holz

http://picasaweb.google.com/moheatmail/MoPhotos/photo#5141018242337323218
(see also: "My Wood" link in my sig)

 I used some landscape blocks for half the perimeter (lowest side of hill) with spits for the rest to try and get a level foundation. It was more level than the first holz, but not perfect. I put branches inside again to keep the wood off the ground. This one moved less. It did bulge though, after about 5 months, so I unstacked the bulge and redid it before it probably would have "blown out". Didn't take very long to fix.

The next one I build will probably have the landscape blocks as about half the perimeter (lower half) with some gravel to eliminate the need for branches to keep the wood off the ground. That's my plan, anyway.

I love these things, but my neighbors are the kind that have threatened to call the police on me (and did once) just for making a little noise during tribal gatherings, so I figure they are less likely to complain if they think I commissioned some esoteric "wood art" than if I am simply a "termite magnet".

It's not your father's wood pile.


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## Mo Heat

Here are some more pictures of my 2 holz hausens if you are interested.

http://tinyurl.com/5d2hje


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## begreen

Cool sequence Mo. How did the wood dry in the Holz?

BTW, how is your porch doing on that hillside, still attached?


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## Mo Heat

The wood dried well. I don't think it was any faster than rows, though, maybe a bit slower if I had to guess.

The porch? Well, it's still there. I need to work on it. My temporary deck support is still on the job. I work at the speed of molasses. I finally finished up the flower boxes (just today) that I started last Summer. (see: http://tinyurl.com/5fkh58 for Google pics)

I've got to put up a couple more rain drip strips to stop water from getting in through the windows and rotting my sills. Then to finish up the rotted window sill repair in the bedroom, which has most of the design work sitting in place, just need to make sure things have stopped leaking before I nail it all in there and paint.

Then it's on to the deck repair if the chain saw repair doesn't push it back.


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## Hogwildz

Gald to see ya pop in MO!!
LOL, gotta love how the lonnnnggg list of home repairs never ends. Start a project, and 5 more spring up.
Good to hear from ya.


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## sullystull

Mo-
I noticed your center splits were stcked randomly in a horizontal pattern.  Have you tried building a holz stacking the center splits vertically?  I just wonder if this technique would season the wood faster.  Nice stacks and thanks for sharing the pics.


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## Mo Heat

I tried stacking the center splits vertically on holz #1, but it became unwieldy and took more time. And after a few vertical rings radiating out from center, there was so much space between leaning splits that I couldn't keep them standing upright very well anymore, so I abandoned that approach and started just tossing them in.

Personally, I think the "just throw 'em in the middle" method dries faster than stacking the middle pieces tightly. It allows more space between center pieces and thus more air movement. I figure randomly thrown-in pieces take up 50 - 100% more area than if I stacked them symmetrically somehow, same as with nice rows vs. just thrown in the truck bed. Or criss-cross stacks vs. parallel stacks. It's a LOT faster to just toss 'em in there, too. 

More space = more air movement = better drying (unless perhaps you hold to the holz compost heat generation theory, the holz chimney effect theory, or the holz corealus affect theory).


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## fbelec

hey guys

what if you were to not put in any vertical and kept that space open with a small tarp over the whole thing, would that really increase the air flow and drying? oh ya and some how keeping the tarp up off the wood high enough to keep the air flowing.

mo
i noticed in the picture that shows the beginning row that the splits were not level and angled inward would that bring in rain water to the middle? if so that would be a bad thing over here in mass. we had rain everyday this summer so far after 3:00 pm

frank


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## Mo Heat

fbelec said:
			
		

> what if you were to not put in any vertical and kept that space open with a small tarp over the whole thing, would that really increase the air flow and drying?



I'd think that would be the case, but that middle space adds stability (if populated) and is the best place to dry my odds and ends. It would be an interesting experiment if you were a little short on drying time that season (if it worked).



			
				fbelec said:
			
		

> mo
> i noticed in the picture that shows the beginning row that the splits were not level and angled inward would that bring in rain water to the middle?



That was my first thought too, but it doesn't seem to do that, at least not enough to cause persistent wetness. If you start with a gravel, a pallet, or similar elevated foundation, things will be pretty dry even if the ground is wet.

BTW: that inward slant is crucial to the structural stability of the whole thing IMO. In fact, one of the big things I've learned is to make sure the bottom courses are markedly slanted inward and that as I stack upwards I never allow any pieces to tilt outward, and when I notice I've got a course that is looking like it is, or will be, level, then it's time to put in some batons to lift the outside of the next course to re-establish the inward slant. I believe all my "blow-outs" occurred where wood was either level or slanted outward.


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## adrpga498

I use 4 pallets for my base.


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## fbelec

adrpga498 said:
			
		

> I use 4 pallets for my base.



do you also slant the bottom pieces inward?
how big do you guys make them?
when you put down pallets do you put down 4 ?


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## adrpga498

fbelec said:
			
		

> adrpga498 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I use 4 pallets for my base.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> do you also slant the bottom pieces inward?
> how big do you guys make them?
> when you put down pallets do you put down 4 ?
Click to expand...


Yes  to both questions, 4 pallets per base, and slant  first row for sure. Six to 7 feet tall.


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