# Storing wood on small property



## dafattkidd (May 24, 2010)

I have like 1/3 acre.  It's a corner lot.  My house is spread over most of the property, and sits awkwardly on the lot.  I live where two hills meet so there's a lot of levels in my yard.  Figuring out where to stack wood is challenging.  Does anyone else share this challenge?  Those of you who are also stacking wood on small lots of land I'd love to hear from you.  How do you get creative?  How do you keep it from looking messy?  Are you stacking higher than four feet?  I'd love to hear some ideas.


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## firefighterjake (May 24, 2010)

Well my lot is two acres . . . and it's pretty level . . . but I believe I may be able to answer some of your questions.

Some folks with smaller lots go with the Holtz Miete (aka Holtz Hausen) as they feel it offers a compact way to store a good amount of wood and looks nice at the same time.

Some folks with smaller lots build small woodsheds, but stack high . . . heck even some folks with large lots like to stack high. I think LL has some pics of his woodshed and high stacks.

Some folks with uneven lots have built up platforms with one end resting nearly level to the ground and the other end being supported several inches to a few feet with blocking/piers.


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## northwinds (May 24, 2010)

I had 15 cords on a similar lot. It was a challenge, and I had a neighbor who wasn't happy about it.  The problem went away 
when I moved to a 2.6 acre lot this month.  Hopefully, you have nice neighbors who you can bribe with beer.  Holz Hausen
wood piles are also a way to place a large amount of wood in a small amount of space.  

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

Edit:  While I type, jake beats me to my answer.


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## Lumber-Jack (May 24, 2010)

I have a small lot, only .15 of an acre. My wood storing solution was to build, and incorporate my wood shed into a fence, making use of the small unused area between my driveway and the fence line. This is the area I was storing my wood anyway, but with the woodshed I'm able to store more wood in a much cleaner and more organized fashion, not to mention the wood stays drier with no unsightly tarps to content with.





Shot from the backside.




Here's a short video of the area during the construction phase showing the narrow strip of unused land that I utilized for the woodshed.


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## thewoodlands (May 24, 2010)

northwinds said:
			
		

> I had 15 cords on a similar lot. It was a challenge, and I had a neighbor who wasn't happy about it.  The problem went away
> when I moved to a 2.6 acre lot this month.  Hopefully, you have nice neighbors who you can bribe with beer.  Holz Hausen
> wood piles are also a way to place a large amount of wood in a small amount of space.
> 
> ...



Hey northwinds how do you like that extra room, when we moved from the village on top of each other out in the country what a difference plus when outside pick a tree any tree.   

Zap


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## firefighterjake (May 24, 2010)

northwinds said:
			
		

> I had 15 cords on a similar lot. It was a challenge, and I had a neighbor who wasn't happy about it.  The problem went away
> when I moved to a 2.6 acre lot this month.  Hopefully, you have nice neighbors who you can bribe with beer.  Holz Hausen
> wood piles are also a way to place a large amount of wood in a small amount of space.
> 
> ...



Sorry . . . I'm a very fast typist . . . thanks to taking a high school typing class and four years of college in learning how to be a journalist.


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## northwinds (May 24, 2010)

zapny said:
			
		

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It's woodstacking paradise.  I've got five cords in the pole shed and five cords behind the pole shed.  Plus, there's room for lots more.  The neighbors can't see any of it.


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## LLigetfa (May 24, 2010)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> . . . heck even some folks with large lots like to stack high. I think LL has some pics of his woodshed and high stacks...


LOL

Ja, 18 acres and I still cram it 9 & 1/2 feet high in my shed.  I don't put it in the shed straight away.  I leave it sit out for at least the Summer or longer before putting it up in the shed.


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## fishinpa (May 24, 2010)

This wood shed looks familiar. Didn't you post a video of a secret crawlspace under the palat in the middle of the shed?

Yeah, well if I remember, it ain't no secret really.


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## Flatbedford (May 24, 2010)

I keep about 8 cords on my 1/4 acre. I stack on pallets 4' deep X about 5' high. One row is about 25' long, the other is nearly 40' long.




The short stack




The long one.
These two cover most of the 100' of my property line. My neighbors tease me that I am too cheap to put up a fence and stack wood instead. No complaints yet.


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## EatenByLimestone (May 24, 2010)

I raise my stacks up on concrete blocks.  This may allow you to level the areas under the blocks and leave the rest of the area sloped.   On top of the blocks I lay a frame made of 12 foot long 2x4s and use 2x3s nailed perpendicular to them to keep the long ones spaced 1 foot apart.  I stack about as high as my head so it's not too hard to reach the higher pieces when standing on ice.  Too high and there is a greater chance they will fall over too.  So my stacks are about 5-5.5 feet tall on top of a 1 foot air space made of concrete blocks and a 2x4 frame.  I drive a 7 foot T-post in each end.  They hold about 2/3 of a cord each.   

Matt


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## Flatbedford (May 24, 2010)

If you stack on pallets, you can step them up or down hill with one end on top of the one next to it to go with the terrain.


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## dafattkidd (May 25, 2010)

These are great!  Keep 'em coming.


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## dafattkidd (May 25, 2010)

Holy crap, Carbon Liberator,

That woodshed is amazing.  I saw it once before on the forum.  I will never have the time to build such awesomeness.  It seems like it would cost me more money in material and time than I will be saving this winter in oil.  And I think my wife would kill me if I put that much time into the wood.  But that is an awesome woodshed.


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## madrone (May 25, 2010)

I have a tiny little .11 acre suburban lot. I built a very simple shed that holds 1.5 cord of ready-to-burn wood (4x8x6), and I can fit another cord to 1.5 along my driveway in a single row. I have extra "emergency" (can't stop scrounging) space next to the shed, and the week's worth on the porch. I've had up to 4 cords at one time. At any given time, I usually have about 3 cord. As a scrounger, I get serious about finding more wood when the shed's about half empty. 
Burning mostly softwoods in a temperate climate makes this possible. If I had to wait 2-3 years for oak, I'd be cold for a year or 2. (Unless I score somebody's seasoned oak. It happened a couple of years ago, and it really sucked to go from that to the cottonwood in the next stack.)


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## Backwoods Savage (May 25, 2010)

I have a tiny little 40 acres so I pack it in tight. Here is 9 cords.


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## Flatbedford (May 25, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> I have a tiny little 40 acres...



Did you get the mule to go with it?


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## firefighterjake (May 25, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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Hehheh . . . I do the same . . . well I don't stack it 9 1/2 feet tall (more like 6-6 1/2 feet tall) . . . what I mean to say is I keep my wood outside all summer before loading up the shed . . . even though my wife keeps asking me when I'm going to put the piles stacked on the front lawn into the shed (well technically only a couple piles are on the front lawn, the rest are kind of to the side of the lawn) . . . I'm thinking she would prefer I move the wood sooner rather than later.


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## LLigetfa (May 26, 2010)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

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My wood processing area is beside my driveway between my house and the road.  In fact, the house is not visible from the road but my outdoor stacks are.  The wife nags me to get them moved into the shed.  My shed was full last Winter so 5 cord stayed out and is still outside.  I have the perfect excuse now... A pair of Flycatchers (Phoebe) returned to nest in my woodshed so I have to wait until they leave.  They sometimes have more than one brood so it may have to wait.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/id

Here's what a 9 & 1/2 foot tall stack looks like.





Here is a view from the outside after the Flycatchers left but before I filled it back up.


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## golfandwoodnut (May 26, 2010)

Here is a neat way to store about 5 cords and make a great conversation piece.  My Holz Hausen.  This one is 10 feet in diameter, I also built one on four pallets, probably about 1/2 as much wood.


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## dafattkidd (May 26, 2010)

Golf nut,

Do you find that the wood dries out faster than stacking?


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## zzr7ky (May 26, 2010)

Hi - I've done it both ways.  I don't see any difference.  I've gone back to squarish stacks, about 10'X12' and 6' high to fit the bumper crop of Ash we're having this year.  I'm not worried about drying speed anymore as the wood will all be 2 years or better when burned.  

I might build a Haus style stack of Oak just for the novel look once the tidal wave of Ash is past.


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## firefighterjake (May 26, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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I've got a pair of nesting phoebes as well . . . but they've built their nest in my garage . . . this is the third year the pair have come back. Last year they had two broods . . . gotta confess that they can be a bit messy sometimes, but I really get a kick out of seeing them . . . plus I figure they're doing some good by nabbing a few of the bugs around the house.


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## oldspark (May 26, 2010)

Jake that is impressive! I love the HH method, it looks neat as he!! but from what I have read it can be a PITA to do and the drying time is the same or worse than single rows.


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## golfandwoodnut (May 26, 2010)

The HH style probably does not dry any faster, but they are impressive and hold alot of wood in a small footprint (the point of this post).  Once you get the hang of it they are not any harder to build than regular stacks.  In some ways they are easier because you can take all the misfits (small and large pieces) and just throw them in the middle.  You can also easily build them on slopes etc, which can be hard with normal pallet stacking.  The key is just keeping the wood slanting inwards by occassionally putting in a cross piece once you see the stack getting level.  This inward slant makes for tremendous strength where you can climb up and down the HH with foot holds (not something I would try on my normal stacks).  You friends will be impressed, we tend to gravitate on the deck and talk about the HH when people come over.


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## Archer39 (May 27, 2010)

Here is 9.5 cords stacked on 1/4 acre. There is a pile of rounds next to the shed that you can't see and another 2 cords behind it the shed. The long stack is 6 feet high and the stack under the shed roof is 7.5 ft.


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## Slow1 (May 27, 2010)

Ok - for the HH fans out there who have burned them.  How about when you go to tear them down.  How easy/hard is it to break into them and not have a massive collapse as you pull wood out of the HH?


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## kbrown (May 28, 2010)

For the HH, don't all the splits need to be relatively the same to build the main body of the HH? I would like to try one, but unless I got a large load of the same type and size I think it would be difficult. The second challenge is to convince the wife. She will not listen at all to the reasoning of doing one and looks at as taking up more space vs long 16" deep racks along the fence line.


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## golfandwoodnut (May 28, 2010)

Slow1, when I tore down the HH there was no big deal with falling wood.  Obviously some would fall but nothing I thought was overly dangerous.  In the middle is only where it is the tallest.

Heatit, you really do not need same size splits to build the main body.  Just keep them sloping inwards.  I would not use real small pieces or big stumps on the outside edge.  You can just throw those in the middle.  You do need a fair amount of wood to build one, but it will actually take up less space and I bet your wife will be impressed in the end.  For your first one use 4 pallets and build one, it does not take nearly as much wood or as long to build one.  A 10 footer holds alot of wood.


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## adrpga498 (May 29, 2010)

Another thing I like about the HH is ................, say you only burn 2/3rd of your original hh. You now  have a stable base and well seasoned start for your newer model. Just start stacking on top of what is left over from the previous HH. Works for me.


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## golfandwoodnut (May 29, 2010)

adrpga498 said:
			
		

> Another thing I like about the HH is ................, say you only burn 2/3rd of your original hh. You now  have a stable base and well seasoned start for your newer model. Just start stacking on top of what is left over from the previous HH. Works for me.



I agree, I used half of my HH this season and just filled it back in.  Now next year I will start on the other half and I know that half will be well seasoned.


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## Dregan (Jun 23, 2010)

I have about 1/10th of an acre (standard city lot)

Here's my front porch (which is all cement and brick under the all-weather carpet)  The wood actually sits on a row of cinder blocks, although you can't see them in this picture:






and the side of the house:






The side stack is about 8" off the ground, and I stack it over my head, and I'm 5'11".  I'm not too worried about bugs because it is off the ground and on asphalt.  I'm replacing the current racks this year with something that will allow me to stack two deep.

I also have about a face cord stored inside, but I don't have a picture of that.  I'm also working on some storage in my back yard, but that presents many more challenges...


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## dafattkidd (Jun 23, 2010)

...And the winner is...(drum roll please) ...Dregan from North Eastern Ohio with splits coming out of his ears!  I heard a rumor that he processes the wood in his kitchen.  

Dregan, your level of commitment to wood burning is admired by all.  We might seem crazy to outsiders, but to this small niche of lunatics here on the forum, you're a hero.


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## Flatbedford (Jun 23, 2010)

Dregan,
That is pretty impressive! I have about 8 or 9 cords on 1/4 acre, and I get teased by my friends. Folks must think you are crazy!! Nice work.


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## akennyd (Jun 23, 2010)

Nice looking wood piles in here

My start a HH of my own just to give it a try but I really like the looks of Carbon_Lib's set up!!  My wife has already complained about my wood pile (and my sudden obsession with wood scrounging :^) ) even though my pile is behind our garage, which is behind our house and really unseen from the house or driveway.  And we have no neighbors close by either.

Kenny {

John 3:16 
It WILL matter to you, sooner or later!!


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## Slow1 (Jun 23, 2010)

So how much do you figure you have stored there Dregan? I too am impressed with your dedication to stacking in such tight quarters.  I'll have to remind myself of your setup next time I feel like complaining about my lot.  Then again at least you never have to go far to get to the stacks in the winter eh?


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## Dregan (Jun 23, 2010)

I have several friends and family with a lot of land, oaver 2000 acres combined on the family side, and most of them let me take what I want if I keep them in supply as well.  Free wood for a little time splitting, not a bad deal.

Each of the stacks on the porch is 4'x8', which I call an even cord put together.  There's about 2 face cords on the side stack, plus the little 4-foot rack, plus the wood box inside, call that another even cord (with maybe just a little extra.)

If you really want to get insane, here's a picture of the inside of my trailer.  The trailer is 6 feet wide and 10 feel long with 4 foot tall walls, and you can see my wife's grafitti on the left wall:






This is a load of slab wood that I mix in with the splits or to start a cold fire.  I'd put more in it, but this load (about 2/3'd of a cord) almost maxes out the piddly axle on the trailer.  I try to keep it about this full, and put a tarp over it.

With the trailer and everything full, I can keep a little more than three cords on hand, about half ready to go.  I plan on adding at least one full cord to that this year, two if I can get something worked out in the back yard.

(The back yard is about 3 feet higher than the rest of my plot, with an akward-at-best retaining wall, preventing me from using a cart to schlep wood to and from.  I need to build in some better steps or a ramp or something.)


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## fossil (Jun 23, 2010)

Theoretically (mathematically), if you can stake out and build a simple shed 12' x 16' (or equivalent), built in such a way that you can stack 7' high in it, you could have 10½ cords neatly stored under roof and out of sight.  Rick


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## kbrown (Jun 28, 2010)

Dregan said:
			
		

> I'm replacing the current racks this year with something that will allow me to stack two deep.



I have been thinking about doing double stacks in my yard, but the problem is that I want to be able to get to any of the wood on the stacks since all my stuff is from scrounging. There is wood at various rates of seasoning on each rack. If I put in walkways between stacks, that is space taken from our small yard and with two small kids and dogs, I'm afraid of stacks falling over. All my racks are 2x4 construction, 8' long and normally 5' - 6' tall standing 8" off the ground. This keeps all the critters out as well as good looking for neighbors, family, etc. I have a 110' x 110' property so I have just been putting up racks against the fence line. Double stacks are really the answer, but how do you guys organize it so you are not moving it all around all the time? Seems like unless I get a crap load of wood all at once then I don't have to worry about what stack I need to get to in the winter.


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## oldspark (Jun 28, 2010)

If you need to season your wood as quickly as possible the double stacks take longer to cure.


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## midwestcoast (Jun 28, 2010)

heatit said:
			
		

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That's one of the pains of scrounging that I'm finding. My greenest wood always wants to go on-top or in front of my more seasoned stuff since I'm to lazy to build a new rack for every little score when I already have one half-full ready to take more wood.
If you want to double stack, you could build the front stack first, then when/if you need to put a row behind it you'd have to carry your splits around behind from both sides & build out from the middle or just from one side & stack yourself out to the end(s).


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## Slow1 (Jun 28, 2010)

Best thought I have on the matter is to stack two deep from one side to the other (left to right?) and just fill that way.  Not ideal, and you can't fill to top unless you have some sort of divider in middle, but at least you don't have full back side filled first before starting on the front.

Alternative that I'm hoping for is to get far enough ahead that a rack /double stack/whatever is fully filled and can be just left alone long enough that the whole thing can be ignored until the last piece has been there until it is ready to burn (in theory then the first is ready too eh?).  Harder to do the less space you have though...


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## Dregan (Jun 28, 2010)

The last thing that I'll stack is slab wood, which has gone through a kiln before it gets cut, so it's already in the 15% range.  If I burn it first (which I would) it will give the rest a dececnt time to season.  I'm splitting my way through about 2 cords of cherry that a friend of my mother's called me about to come get, it's reading 23% right now, fresh split.  Probably be in the mid-teens by December.  I'll put that behind the slab, and I'll be good to go.


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## SolarAndWood (Jun 29, 2010)

Slow1 said:
			
		

> Best thought I have on the matter is to stack two deep from one side to the other (left to right?)



That is what I do, 2 deep X 32 ft long x 9.5 ft high.  If you dry in a heap and then stack all at once in the October before you intend to burn it, filling it is a lot easier.  Another benefit is the shrinkage happens in the heap instead of the shed.  This was going to be our front porch but I think it has found its true purpose.


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## Flatbedford (Jun 29, 2010)

I stack on pallets, three rows, or four feet deep, about five feet high and as long as I can. I just start burning at the end that has been there longest and work toward the new stuff. Get far enough ahead and you can just keep going end to end filling in behind with new stuff. Soon I will have about 60 feet stacked this way. This is about 2.5 years worth so I should be able to keep it going end to end perpetually. That's the plan anyway.


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## midwestcoast (Jun 29, 2010)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> That is what I do, 2 deep X 32 ft long x 9.5 ft high.  If you dry in a heap and then stack all at once in the October before you intend to burn it, filling it is a lot easier.  Another benefit is the shrinkage happens in the heap instead of the shed.  This was going to be our front porch but I think it has found its true purpose.



Mini-lights add the perfect touch to any woodpile...
32' long & 9.5' high?, shoot, you must be tall; and very skilled at making a stable pile.  Mine start getting wobbly at about 7' high.

Has anyone else made a kind of hybrid rack/shed?  I built a 12' long rack out of 2x4's with pieces of busted-up concrete slab under it as footings and then added supports at the top for a little roof made of a 30" wide piece of that corrugated plastic roofing at about 8 1/2' high. Yeah, I should post a pic... 
It's a bit of a trial run before building a long, open woodshed similar (I hope) to what CarbonLiberator did & so far it looks good & seems very stable.


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## LLigetfa (Jun 29, 2010)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> 32' long & 9.5' high?, shoot, you must be tall; and very skilled at making a stable pile.  Mine start getting wobbly at about 7' high.
> 
> Has anyone else made a kind of hybrid rack/shed?


I make my stacks in my woodshed 9.5' high but then it's on a concrete slab.  I use a scaffold to reach that high.  Last year I modified one half of my shed by adding slots for the ends of the stacks to hold them plumb.  I need to do the same to the other half this Summer.


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## SolarAndWood (Jun 30, 2010)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> Mini-lights add the perfect touch to any woodpile...



Between Thanksgiving and Christmas they count as festivities. 




			
				midwestcoast said:
			
		

> 32' long & 9.5' high?, shoot, you must be tall; and very skilled at making a stable pile.  Mine start getting wobbly at about 7' high.



Average height, on asphalt and sub-standard stacking skills at best.  My 9 year old was on an 8 ft step ladder for the top two feet.  Stacked them in tight against the plywood on the underside of the trusses...no failures until the stack started to get narrow.  I am considering a row of pallets 5 ft up this year.


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## abby4000 (Jun 30, 2010)

this is how i store wood on my small lot. There is more that i do not have pics of. In total about 4 full cords. i usually bur 1.5-2 cord a year.


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## kbrown (Jul 1, 2010)

abby4000 said:
			
		

> this is how i store wood on my small lot. There is more that i do not have pics of. In total about 4 full cords. i usually bur 1.5-2 cord a year.



Nice clean setup there. I'll bet nobody tries to take a split with that "alarm system" you have there sitting in the middle of the yard! LOL. Noticed the splits seem larger than I have seen on other woodpiles. Do you split those again prior to burning or does you stove accomodate larger splits? I just added 2 more racks; both just over a face cord each (8' x 6' x16") so now I'm up to 4 cords on racks with another space by the shed that can store a cord. Plan is to store newest stuff by the shed and move it over to the  racks as it nears burn time. With our setup, 3 cords will get us through a normal winter but then again, it's only been 2 burning seasons under our belt. Both seasons there were times the stove was shut down due to home renovations going on so it's an estimated amount. Very hard to get a year or more ahead with limited storage.


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## firefighterjake (Jul 1, 2010)

Speaking of storing wood on small lots . . . whatever happened to the guy who had a wood "fence" in his outdoor patio area . . . I remember seeing a picture of this here a year or two back and it was pretty cool looking . . . privacy in the summer and it looked nice.


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