# My Approach to covering  wood piles (picture heavy)



## peakbagger (Nov 2, 2020)

I was out with the camera this weekend and took some photos of my approach to covering wood piles. In all cases the wood on the faces of the stacks are screwed into the face of logs. I can get 3 to 4 feet of snow on top of these on occasion and have never had one fail.  The roofing is screwed to the crosspieces. It also keep the stacks from falling over. I was behind on wood a year ago and went to double stack depth versus a triple stack to increase drying. The third stack with the green roof is the last of my hand split wood. The structure on the right is my permanent wood shed buttoned up for the winter. Its 4 poles and roof and my town taxes it as permanent structure so I went to the temporary roofs support by the wood piles as way of avoiding any more taxable structures. The permanent one has a tarp out front and tarp on the upwind end but the back and downwind side are open. I load it up with dry wood and usually wait until later in the winter to pull out of. Almost all the materials are left overs, scrounged or gotten on the cheap. They key is to have an air gap on top with some overhang around the side. Since the stacks are protected from splash, the wood tends not to get as dark on the ends. This is mostly beech with maple and white and yellow birch mixed in.

By the way the second photo is pile in progress. Note I have a pallet on top under the tin. Once I finish this stack I will top it off similarly, although I am running short of scrap wood. 







	

		
			
		

		
	
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## osagebow (Nov 2, 2020)

Good stuff man. Looks better than my corrugated and rolled roofing with "uglies" thrown on top. I occasionally have to redo it from wind or critters, that looks solid


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## RodM (Nov 2, 2020)

I know nothing about this topic but looks good to me. Any way to be town zoning or ordinances is always good way hahahaha.


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## peakbagger (Nov 3, 2020)

I am in high wind zone and occasionally would end up with stuff flying around even with "uglies" on it.  Once we got some good snow pack that ended the wind issue. 

BTW There is fresh stack of wood dumped next to corner of the pile. I actually hit the pile and leaned it over a bit when dumping the load and everything still stayed together. I usually just split some flat splits for the ends to box them in. In the past with hand split wood I usually put something on either end and ran a rope from one end to the other to hold up the ends.


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## WoodBurnerInWI (Nov 3, 2020)

Nice stacks! Looks very similar to my "shed", right down to the pallets for flooring and scrap metal for roofing material. I too use random objects to hold down my roof, I have enough old bricks, rocks and pieces of wood I won't burn inside so why not use them. I've also got the material screwed into the tops of the ground timbers that I used to frame the bins of my shed. I feel for what its worth it offers a bit of extra wind protection (otherwise most of the roof would go flying off into the neighbors yard!).


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## mcdougy (Jan 4, 2021)

I've made something similar....do you leave the metal on all year? I think I remember some folks saying they remove the top covering during the summer?  I'm contemplating if I might close the sides in with vapor barrier in the summer to make a slow bake oven....my pile under one roof is about 10 chord and I think it may need some help to get it to season in 2-3 years as I have read that a stack this wide (6  splits) will not get enough air flow. The wood is all oak...90% red. I think I will get enough heat gain thru the roofing metal for the bake?  Not really a solar kiln but close?  Full all day sun where it is piled.


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## Osage (Jan 4, 2021)

For the wood I stack outside, I use combine draper belting. I'm retired but work part time at a John Deere dealership and get the old ones that have been replaced.
They are made of heavy rubber and measure about 40" x 30'. Wind won't blow them off normally.


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## WoodBurnerInWI (Jan 4, 2021)

mcdougy said:


> I've made something similar....do you leave the metal on all year? I think I remember some folks saying they remove the top covering during the summer?  I'm contemplating if I might close the sides in with vapor barrier in the summer to make a slow bake oven....my pile under one roof is about 10 chord and I think it may need some help to get it to season in 2-3 years as I have read that a stack this wide (6  splits) will not get enough air flow. The wood is all oak...90% red. I think I will get enough heat gain thru the roofing metal for the bake?  Not really a solar kiln but close?  Full all day sun where it is piled.



Yup, the metal roof pieces are up year round. We've had some nasty weather here and there and I have been very happy to have the wood piles covered. Before I built my wood storage all the piles were stored out at my wife's grandparents farm and they were only tarp covered. The tarps failed of course and my wood piles got punky, although they dried great sitting out in the open fields.


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## MoDoug (Jan 4, 2021)

It's always good to see how others are storing and protecting their wood. I've been wondering how to cover these racks, other than tarps laying on them. I'm going to extend the rack in the foreground another 10 feet, and I'm sure I'll need to purchase whatever I use for the covering.

Edit; I also have one of those metal carports that I'm slowly taking over for wood storage, it was originally intended as a picnic shelter for family get togethers. So far, my wife hasn't called me out on it!


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## peakbagger (Jan 5, 2021)

mcdougy said:


> I've made something similar....do you leave the metal on all year? I think I remember some folks saying they remove the top covering during the summer?  I'm contemplating if I might close the sides in with vapor barrier in the summer to make a slow bake oven....my pile under one roof is about 10 chord and I think it may need some help to get it to season in 2-3 years as I have read that a stack this wide (6  splits) will not get enough air flow. The wood is all oak...90% red. I think I will get enough heat gain thru the roofing metal for the bake?  Not really a solar kiln but close?  Full all day sun where it is piled.


Yes I leave my metal on all year. To me the air space underneath makes very big difference. Obviously in winter, snow melt would normally go down the stacks without the metal or some other waterproof layer on top. I have had frozen stacks in the past and it really bites when I need wood and hit a big chunk of frozen logs. They may be dry inside but I usually have to thaw them and dry them out for a week or two in the basement.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

MoDoug said:


> It's always good to see how others are storing and protecting their wood. I've been wondering how to cover these racks, other than tarps laying on them. I'm going to extend the rack in the foreground another 10 feet, and I'm sure I'll need to purchase whatever I use for the covering.
> 
> Edit; I also have one of those metal carports that I'm slowly taking over for wood storage, it was originally intended as a picnic shelter for family get togethers. So far, my wife hasn't called me out on it!
> 
> ...



I stack my wood this exact same way except single depth. Im running out of my alloted room in the yard though. Do you find you get good enough drying double depth?

I fear for my set up that one side will get significantly less sun. My stacks are on the edge of my property with one side facing the woods, the other the big open yard. So the back stack in a double setup wouldn't see much direct sun, but still get decent wind.






I've got room for one more stack to the right in this pic. Any further left and it's full shade so that's out.


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## SpaceBus (Jan 5, 2021)

I find the wind does more to dry the wood than the sun does. I can hang my clothes out to dry when it's 15 df outside and they dry in a day if there's good wind and no precipitation.


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## mcdougy (Jan 5, 2021)

SpaceBus said:


> I find the wind does more to dry the wood than the sun does. I can hang my clothes out to dry when it's 15 df outside and they dry in a day if there's good wind and no precipitation.


Yes, but put those clothes in a oven and its done that much faster.....in my case I have a big ball of wet comforters per say .  Its a very good spot but I think I might be too wide of a stack 6splits (8') and although it's a good windy spot, I doubt enough air will get to the middle...


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## MoDoug (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> I stack my wood this exact same way except single depth. Im running out of my alloted room in the yard though. Do you find you get good enough drying double depth?
> 
> I fear for my set up that one side will get significantly less sun. My stacks are on the edge of my property with one side facing the woods, the other the big open yard. So the back stack in a double setup wouldn't see much direct sun, but still get decent wind.
> 
> ...


I think I get reasonably good drying, although my stacks are on the wrong side of the trees. They're in more shade than I would like. There's about 10 inches between each rack, and with the height off the ground, I think it gets good air flow, they're oriented W/E so they get the west breeze down the middle. If I pre-planned better they would be out in the main yard, but it'll work out.

Looks like the family is out enjoying the snow, that's always good to see.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

Oh yeah everyone loves the snow. My stacks are exposed to the west so they get the best pm sun and the prevailing wind hits them broadside. The down side is that the side facing the woods doesn't get much sun. I think baking one side and the wind is good enough though. 

Thats why I'm leery about double stacking. The stack between the woods and front stack will get almost no sun other than breakthrough the woods/front stack.

This is my first year seriously burning so I need to get ahead fast. However I'm also running out of primo space. Maybe I convert to doubles after I get ahead more. I am torn.


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## SpaceBus (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> Oh yeah everyone loves the snow. My stacks are exposed to the west so they get the best pm sun and the prevailing wind hits them broadside. The down side is that the side facing the woods doesn't get much sun. I think baking one side and the wind is good enough though.
> 
> Thats why I'm leery about double stacking. The stack between the woods and front stack will get almost no sun other than breakthrough the woods/front stack.
> 
> This is my first year seriously burning so I need to get ahead fast. However I'm also running out of primo space. Maybe I convert to doubles after I get ahead more. I am torn.


More wood put away is better even if the drying area isn't "prime"


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## peakbagger (Jan 5, 2021)

My guess is stacking is far more important in the early drying stages and less so as the wood gets towards final dryness. My wood shed is my final drying spot before burning. it has a crappy location for sun and wind but nice in the winter when I load up my bulkhead. I put in three rows deep and intermix double and triple length logs in the piles to maintain 6" of separation. its seems to do fine with end stage wood. Right next to the wood shed is a bonus pile (that is the one with green roofing over it. That is three deep and gets green wood. Even with a bit of air space between rows its  quite noticeable that the center row dries slower. I am ahead enough on my wood that I just skip it when I fill my wood shed in the fall until its dry.

On the rows in front of my house I do a modified two row stack. its not obvious from the photos but the two rows are spaced out about 10 to 12 inches at the bottom and then I taper them up until the logs are touching up top. On occasion I throw "uglies" in the gap between the rows  It makes the piles far more stable especially when I weave in some long stuff between the rows. Then again with record dry summer like last summer I expect wood just piled up randomly probably got real dry. 

I have done single row in the past on top of gravel. it was an east west stack in full sun with good air flow. It checked up real quick and by the next spring it was ready for final drying. The big caveat is that I was burning mostly maple birch and on occasion ash. They all dry quicker than beech and since my new wood lot is beech I need to get a few years ahead to account for the slower drying time or start building solar kilns


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

That I agree with @SpaceBus. Im just concerned about meeting my next wintefs quota without supplementing. 

Maybe just double stacking now is best though. Get way ahead and if I have to supplement next year so be it. 2022 forward ill be golden.

That or just stack in the shade and let the wind hit. That is always an option too. At least its drying versus not.


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## SpaceBus (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> That I agree with @SpaceBus. Im just concerned about meeting my next wintefs quota without supplementing.
> 
> Maybe just double stacking now is best though. Get way ahead and if I have to supplement next year so be it. 2022 forward ill be golden.
> 
> That or just stack in the shade and let the wind hit. That is always an option too. At least its drying versus not.



Exactly what I was attempting to communicate. I stack my wood wherever I can since we have very little flat space. I was using several large trees around the property for end posts, but the recent storms brought some serious winds and a few stacks went down. If we can get a nice hard freeze this winter we can skid some logs and get the mill production back up. Perhaps I'll be able to squeeze in a wood shed, or at least a wood shed lean to built on a tool shed.


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## MoDoug (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> Oh yeah everyone loves the snow. My stacks are exposed to the west so they get the best pm sun and the prevailing wind hits them broadside. The down side is that the side facing the woods doesn't get much sun. I think baking one side and the wind is good enough though.
> 
> Thats why I'm leery about double stacking. The stack between the woods and front stack will get almost no sun other than breakthrough the woods/front stack.
> 
> This is my first year seriously burning so I need to get ahead fast. However I'm also running out of primo space. Maybe I convert to doubles after I get ahead more. I am torn.



This is my first year seriously burning also, and storing wood, I underestimated my original needs on wood, and I'm grabbing what I can while it's available. I find myself in the same situation as you, I had to scramble to add storage space, and I still have an extension to add.  A lot of it is white oak and hickory, so I'm looking at 2023 and 2024 for this seasons harvest. I'll have enough for next year, so it doesn't need to hurry. With that said, I'm seriously thinking of adding a rack out in the sunny side of the yard and rigging it up to kiln. I never suspected that a wood stove would take control of my life...

Keep pressing on, keep gathering and adding on. It's kind of like money in the bank for the future, at least that's what I keep telling myself.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

I just love the whole process. Its cathartic, much more rewarding than simply turning up a thermostat and paying a bill.

I think the verdict is clear. Ill add as many single stacks as I can where I can then start double stacking instead of waiting for space to clear. Never say no to more wood! Just don't tell the wife!


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## MoDoug (Jan 5, 2021)

One more thing, that @peakbagger mentioned is keeping the double stacks stable. When we have company, it concerns me a lot that kids may start climbing on the wood racks, and the thought on one tumbling over scares me. I cut some landscaping timbers, really just longer logs would be cheaper, and add them to the racks in a few places, they tie the double racks together and help to stabilize them. I put them about 2/3 of the way up, so there's a fair amount of weight on top of them.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

So what you're saying is leave little/no airspace between the stacks and then cut some 32" pieces of whatever and add them in the stacks in a few places towards the middle/top for stability, right? That makes sense. The weight pushing down will stabilize the stack.

Regarding the covering - I use tarps that I cut up to custom sizes on my single stacks. That idea obviously won't work with a double without redoing the tarps but quite honestly tarps suck. Where does everyone get all this sheet metal I always see? I'm in the middle of suburbia I only ever see that on or near farms.

I actually really like @peakbaggers idea of just using PT 2x4s and screwing them into some of the wood to hold up a roof. Cheap, easy to set up, and removable. I can use use PT plywood for a roof. Maybe get fancy and shingle it one day as it'll be reusable.

@peakbagger- what do you do when you start using the stack? The roof will start to be come unstable when you start taking weight off the logs the 2x4s are attached to. Just tarp it?

With my setup actually I could probably attach the roof to the outer 2x4s holding the stacks up and/or the landscape timbers beneath the stack. I can use use some extra timber to give me some thickness to mount them. That would be more permanent. Then I can just use 1 or 2 x 2x4s screwed into wood that are temp supports. Kind of a MacGyver shed if you will.

I could even integrate Doug's idea and actually attach basic 2x4 supports to the roof supports through the stack horizontally. That would give the whole structure a lot of stability. The only issue I forsee with all of this is what happens when the stacks start to get a little low. My whole system is supported by its own weight. The weight of the roof might be enough to keep it together. If not, maybe I have some cinder blocks on standby to put on the timbers when it starts to get low.


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## peakbagger (Jan 5, 2021)

My normal approach is my wood goes from my stacks to the wood shed then to my basement. My wood shed only holds a bit over 2 cords so I need a third cord off to the side. My bulkhead holds about 1/3 of cord up to 2/3rd if I want to stack it so I normally "cheat"about a 3rd of the cord out from under the roof by pulling splits that are not attached to the wood straps to do the first fill of my bulkhead and then take the five minutes to remove the tin and boards and remove more until the bulkhead is full. There is usually about a 2 foot high pile left and I either lay the metal on top of just rescrew the boards in. That is where I am right now. I figure I will be cleaning out what is left this week and then its time to raid the wood shed for the rest of the winter. I saw a accuweather report hinting of polar vortex heading south the end of the month after this warm spell so thats when I want the woodshed to make things quick.


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## mcdougy (Jan 5, 2021)

The roof is essentially temporary, don't over think it too much. Sheet metal would be much easier than plywood and shingles. The 25' of roof i put up literally tool me maybe 45mins to construct and all material can be reused for years. If you used the clear corrugated stuff it could really make a nice solar kiln.....im going to mess around with the the regular sheet metal and see what happens in an attempt to speed up my pile


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

Yeah I'm stream of consciousness posting lol. To me the easiest thing to do is as you said, consider it temporary. I can keep my current design but 2 stacks deep. Ill run 3 or 4 2x4s the 32" through the stacks as support from tipping. I can then just attach roof supports to those 2x4s and boom we have a roof. If I can find sheet metal. Perfect. If not ill just get some PT plywood and replace as needed. When its time to use the stack we just disassemble and reassemble as needed. 

Ez breezy. Glad we had this talk! LOL. 

I also have a pallet area I move my wood to then into the basement as the 3rd step. Its all a work in progress....not bad for year 1 tho. Gonna draw this up tonight.


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## mcdougy (Jan 5, 2021)

Any lumber yard will sell you roof metal.....29gauge high tensile will be a 38" wide sheet (36" coverage)  and you can order them as long as you want to handle. Therefore you could run 1 sheet the length of your stack, if the stack is approx 34"I wouldn't be concerned  that the ribs aren't running peak to eave, the water will get away. Or you could order them 40" long and run them the designed way. Here roof metal like that runs about a 1$ square foot. Find a local roofing company or barn builder in your area, they may have alot of extra sheets kicking around as most stacks come with a cover sheet on top of the pile.....thats where/how I have accumulated  my stuff


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## MoDoug (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> So what you're saying is leave little/no airspace between the stacks and then cut some 32" pieces of whatever and add them in the stacks in a few places towards the middle/top for stability, right? That makes sense. The weight pushing down will stabilize the stack.


My double stacks are right about 4 feet wide, I cut my logs about 19-20 inches, and have about 10 inches of space between the two stacks. I'm trying for a little air flow between them. I think I said it confusingly earlier.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

I cut 16" logs. So,  16 x 2 + 10 = 42" inches. If I wanted eaves I'd need 4 feet also. Buying 4 ft metal roofing and just using it sideways as mentioned above makes sense.


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## andym (Jan 5, 2021)

Caw said:


> Where does everyone get all this sheet metal I always see?


I can't speak for others, but I get mine from an uncle who builds polesheds. He often has some leftover pieces. Quite often the metal comes shipped with a sacrificial cover sheet as well. You could put an add on Craigslist or somewhere asking for used roofing metal. 
If you need to buy something, treated plywood would be a little easier to work with though. I would skip the shingles though, simply because of added weight.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

I think if I can find some free metal I'd go that route but otherwise yeah, PT plywood is easier. Agree on skipping shingles...easier to just replace any rotten wood eventually + weight. Also plywood comes standard 48" so no ripping necessary and I can just throw some roofing tape over the seams.


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## SpaceBus (Jan 5, 2021)

You could even throw a tarp over the plywood to give it a little more life.


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## Caw (Jan 5, 2021)

Whelp boys, looks like I gotta get to the lumber yard and get building. Next shipment of logs will be here later this week!

Just went and measured in the snow because why not and it beats the screaming kids inside! Stacks are 16' at base, 19' at the top and 6' tall, 5' being wood. So each is holding about 17.5 x 5 x 1.25 (16" logs) = 109 cu ft or approx 85% of a cord. I could go taller but I'm 6'2 and don't really want the wood being over my head for stability. Given that the roof will need to cover 19' ill need about 2.5 sheets if 8x4 PT plywood per stack and ill only need to make 1 cut on each roof so I can just rough it with the circular saw. Grab a bunch of 8' pt 2x4s and 2 cuts on each. 4' roof support posts then 42" beams/pieces to put in the stack to link them. Pretty simple.  

What thickness ply do you think? 1/2 should be more than adequate. 8x4x1/2 PT is like $40. Whole roof setup will cost about $175-$200. I'll have to but all the lumber retail, im fresh out of scraps.


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## mcdougy (Jan 6, 2021)

Plywood is more expensive per sq ft than metal....metal is lighter and will lat longer than plywood.....if investing ,i think metal is a better choice. Plywood will work great as well if desired.price out some metal , you may be surprised, I think galvanized might come in at about .70 cents a sqdt


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## MoDoug (Jan 6, 2021)

Caw said:


> Grab a bunch of 8' pt 2x4s and 2 cuts on each. 4' roof support posts then 42" beams/pieces to put in the stack to link them.


Are you going to use pt 2x4’s to link the stacks together? If yes, you could just use 2 or 3 branches, or small trees instead.  cut to length of course.


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## SpaceBus (Jan 6, 2021)

I wouldn't be using PT on stuff that isn't touching the ground. Furthermore I would just use exterior rated plywood and not fuss with PT.


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

Yeah thats a good point about just going exterior grade. It would certainly be cheaper too. 

Not gonna put PT to link the stacks. I didnt describe that well. I have plenty of large branches I can cut for that purpose.


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## unimog1300 (Jan 6, 2021)

__





						Why is the Show us yours wood shed thread closed???
					

I was going to post my wood shed that I just built, but the last post is from 2014 and it's locked, yet still a sticky. What's going on?  In case anyone is wondering, here is what I was going to post there:  I built a 12'x8' wood shed today. When packed completely full, it will hold over five...




					www.hearth.com
				




This is what I went with for storage. The hog panels work well and it's self supporting. Three rows of 16" splits inside. So far working  well.


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

Made some progress on the new stacks today. Built a second stack behind one, used branches to connect them. Took the chance to measure MC and was pleasantly surprised with the progress of the red oak (20-24% after just 9 months) and the maple/ash in there is done.

I was also able to get a good deal on metal roofing at Lowe's so I decided to go that route. Got 2 x 16' and 2 x 8' sections that are 26". I plan to attach the 2x4s to the logs, screw in 2x6s on the side of those for the roof rafters on a slight pitch. I'll then overlap the metal roofing to fit. The span is approx 20 feet x 4 feet so with overlaps it will fit nicely. The corrugated will run horizontally but whatever.

Two questions:

1. Do I need any double sided tape between the overlapping metal? I figure if its a couple corrigationa over a wood stack probably not but figured I'd ask. I plan to just eyeball an adequate pitch. Metal gives me some nice flexibility there.

2. Do I need any roof support perpendicular to the rafters? I'm doing 5 x rafters over 20 feet so I think that should be adequate to handle the snow load without any perpendicular beams (running the length of the stack) since the corrugation is running the long way. I need to make 3 more roofs after this one so I'm trying to be minimalistic with the lumber.

Also wtf lumber got expensive. Here are some pics of the progress today. I'll add the roof tomorrow or Friday depending on free time:


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## mcdougy (Jan 6, 2021)

Caw said:


> Made some progress on the new stacks today. Built a second stack behind one, used branches to connect them. Took the chance to measure MC and was pleasantly surprised with the progress of the red oak (20-24% after just 9 months) and the maple/ash in there is done.
> 
> I was also able to get a good deal on metal roofing at Lowe's so I decided to go that route. Got 2 x 16' and 2 x 8' sections that are 26". I plan to attach the 2x4s to the logs, screw in 2x6s on the side of those for the roof rafters on a slight pitch. I'll then overlap the metal roofing to fit. The span is approx 20 feet x 4 feet so with overlaps it will fit nicely. The corrugated will run horizontally but whatever.
> 
> ...



Tape won't do much imo.....your plan is to leave the sheets full length....or cut them to short pieces? Your rafters are 2x6 that will run the length of your stack?  I


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

mcdougy said:


> Tape won't do much imo.....your plan is to leave the sheets full length....or cut them to short pieces? Your rafters are 2x6 that will run the length of your stack?  I



Im going to leave them full length, yes. The corrugation will run the long way across the stack and ill just overlap the pieces to fit. It will be like 4' of overlap in the middle/the long way and then 4" the short way...maybe 1-2 corrugations...as I want it to be 48" and they are 26" pieces. rafters will be running perpendicular to the stack (the same way as the wood splits) every 4'.

I figure with the rafters being every 4' and being perpendicular to the corrugation i should have a lot of strength there and not need added support.


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## mcdougy (Jan 6, 2021)

Caw said:


> Im going to leave them full length, yes. The corrugation will run the long way across the stack and ill just overlap the pieces to fit. It will be like 4' of overlap in the middle/the long way and then 4" the short way...maybe 1-2 corrugations...as I want it to be 48" and they are 26" pieces. rafters will be running perpendicular to the stack (the same way as the wood splits) every 4'.
> 
> I figure with the rafters being every 4' and being perpendicular to the corrugation i should have a lot of strength there and not need added support.


Typically  metal is supported every 24" in a real world application.....since we are talking wood stacks, you can try 48" ....you will worry about wet or deep snow caving the metal.


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

I figured yeah its just on a wood stack let's see how it goes but also the rafters are usually running parallel to the corrugation making it much weaker.  Rafters every 2 feet would be a lot of lumber. If it does fail lesson learned and I'll add more support.

I suppose I could grab some cheap 1x4s and run them across the rafters and the metal can sit on those. That would add a bunch of weight though.


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## mcdougy (Jan 6, 2021)

Caw said:


> I figured yeah its just on a wood stack let's see how it goes but also the rafters are usually running parallel to the corrugation making it much weaker.  Rafters every 2 feet would be a lot of lumber. If it does fail lesson learned and I'll add more support.


No.... always strapping running perpendicular to the ribs.  How long is your stack? What is your material on hand? Maybe we could come up with a plan that will make it worry free?


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

mcdougy said:


> No.... always strapping running perpendicular to the ribs.  How long is your stack? What is your material on hand? Maybe we could come up with a plan that will make it worry free?



Ok that makes sense on strapping. Metal roofing is new to me.

Im largely out of lumber on hand. The stacks are about 20' end to end at the tops so its not a trivial amount. 2x4s, 2x6s, screws, and the metal for the roof is already about $250 versus just tarps. Im ok with that as it'll last basically forever. The problem is I need to do this 3 more times. I might just have to do 1 or 2 a year to spread out the cost.

Edit - it looks like 1x3x8 strapping is $5 a board.  I'd likely need hmm 8 per roof. 3 rows of 20'. That's unfortunate but maybe necessary it sounds like.

So, 48" spaced rafters that will be 48" long each coincidentally. Then three rows of 1x3 strapping the length of the roof.


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## mcdougy (Jan 6, 2021)

How many 2x6's and their length do you have?  How long are your metal sheets and how many do you have?


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## Caw (Jan 6, 2021)

mcdougy said:


> How many 2x6's and their length do you have?  How long are your metal sheets and how many do you have?



I have three 2x6x8 as I intended to make 5 x 48" rafters. The metal is two 26"x16' and two 26" x 8'.

It wouldn't be the end of the world going back and grabbing some 1x3s tomorrow. Id rather do it right.


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