# I will NOT be storing my wood in the basement next year!



## ikessky (Nov 19, 2008)

I definitely like having this much wood at my finger tips, but it has put an unbelievable amount of moisture into the house.  Even with the wood furnace running, there is still some condensation on the windows and it is settling onto the wood trim.  I've even noticed some mold around my patio door.  Definitely not good!  I still have the dehumidifiers going in the basement and will probably have to keep running them until it gets truly cold here and I'm firing the furnace a few times a day.  Meanwhile, I will be making some plans to build a woodshed or a lean-to off the back of the house close to the basement windows.


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## LLigetfa (Nov 19, 2008)

We grow too soon old and too late, smart.


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## bsruther (Nov 19, 2008)

How much did you store down there at a time?
I plan on installing an add-on next year. I'm going to make a large bin that will hold about a weeks worth and drop the wood in through a window. Hopefully this amount won't create too much moisture.


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## LLigetfa (Nov 19, 2008)

Storing wood you plan to burn in a week should not pose any problem.  I assume you would not be burning one week old wood, so it would already have dried before moving it indoors.  Taking a little damp off already seasoned wood shouldn't rot your house.


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## ikessky (Nov 19, 2008)

Slightly over 4 full cords!  :cheese:   :red: 

Next year I'll keep it outside the window and throw down 1-2 weeks worth of wood at a time.


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## sly22guy (Nov 19, 2008)

was the wood green when you put it in your basement? you should never get that much moisture from seasoned wood.


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 19, 2008)

I have 3-4 cords in my basement... and STILL have less moisture in the house then previous...


It may not be the wood... %-P


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## Chrisg (Nov 19, 2008)

I have always tossed anywhere from 3 to 6 cords right in the basement with no ill affects ie. mold or condensation. Was the wood really green? The wood in the basement routine works extremely well for me I wouldn't have it any other way.


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## raybonz (Nov 19, 2008)

ikessky said:
			
		

> I definitely like having this much wood at my finger tips, but it has put an unbelievable amount of moisture into the house.  Even with the wood furnace running, there is still some condensation on the windows and it is settling onto the wood trim.  I've even noticed some mold around my patio door.  Definitely not good!  I still have the dehumidifiers going in the basement and will probably have to keep running them until it gets truly cold here and I'm firing the furnace a few times a day.  Meanwhile, I will be making some plans to build a woodshed or a lean-to off the back of the house close to the basement windows.



Personally I think it is crazy to store the wood in your cellar for 2 reasons:

Serious fire hazard having so much fuel in your home.

Destructive insect hazard such as termites and carpenter ants..

I keep my wood about 75' away for peace of mind.. 

Just something to consider..

Ray


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 19, 2008)

raybonz said:
			
		

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If the wood is seasoned and dry, termites should not be a concern, as they like moisture.

Fire hazzard... lets just say that my house is 110 years old. 110 year old hemlock goes up pretty f'in fast, probably faster than my firewood will go up. 

Where I live, probably 1 in every 5 houses burns wood, with most storing it inside. I have never read a story about a house fire where it was worsened by firewood in the house. Not saying it is not possible, just saying that chances are if you live in a house that old and have a fire, 9 times out of 10 its going to be a total loss anyways because of how fast 100+ year old timber goes up.


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## billb3 (Nov 19, 2008)

Is 250 (or more) gallons of fuel oil somehow safer ?


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## ikessky (Nov 19, 2008)

I'm starting to think that maybe my windows are getting worse every year.  Maybe only a face cord of maple was still fairly green.  Bugs don't really bother me.  I've yet to see anything major with them either.  A couple flying insects, but that's it so far.


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## d.n.f. (Nov 19, 2008)

CowboyAndy said:
			
		

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My third house fire (I was running the engine) happened at a house where the guy loaded up the woodstove and went out.  He had tons of paper beside the stove.  He also had a lot of firewood by the stove (maybe 1/3 of a cord??).  The guys couldn't get near the seat of the fire.  It was too hot.  That pile of wood was burning really good.  They eventually got it out (inside attack with four lines).
Captain said that all that wood was the problem.  

I store only a day or two worth of wood in the house.  Maybe a weeks worth outside beside the house.   Wood pile is 75' away from the house.  I am in forest fire country though so we take care not to add to the fire load.

Just a thought.  However if you are rural, by the time the fire dept get to you all they are doing is saving the neighbour's house anyways.


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 19, 2008)

d.n.f. said:
			
		

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No one is saying that it won't have any effect at all.

The story about the guy loading the stove, leaving and having paper/wood THAT CLOSE to the stove is just asking for trouble. My wood is about 15' away, with a 3 ft thick concrete wall (don's ask, they did some pretty f'ed up stuff with this house). The only thing with in spitting distance from the stove is the ash bucket and a 5 gal buckey (empty) for me to sit on.

There should be no problems with storing wood in the house as long as the proper precautions are taken.


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## Chrisg (Nov 19, 2008)

My main pile is appox. 45' away at the other end of the basement. I only bring over a wheelbarrow load at a time and work out of that. I am also very particular about keeping debris, paper and kindling picked up and stored away from the stove, just seems like common sense to me. My first thought was also what about the huge tank of oil down in the basement.


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## raybonz (Nov 19, 2008)

billb3 said:
			
		

> Is 250 (or more) gallons of fuel oil somehow safer ?



Yes because it in a steel tank and will only burn under the correct conditions.. Oil will not attract c-ants or termites either.. Just my opinion not looking for a battle over this.. If it works you that's great.. No offense intended..

Ray


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## d.n.f. (Nov 19, 2008)

I am just saying that all that wood will add to  your fire load.  So will gas in your garage, paint cans, and a whole bunch of other crap.

However like I said, if any of you guys are rural, the fire dept is not going to save your house.  Your fire dept is coming to save your out buildings and your neighbour's house.  

I worked for a volly dept where we were on scene in less than ten minutes.  Small town 12k people.  We did interior attacks.
I then moved to a rural dept. where we were lucky to be on scene in 15 to 20 minutes.  We prevent house fires from spreading.  We do no interior attacks unless it is some very small fire that by fluke hasn't spread.


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## Danno77 (Nov 19, 2008)

Get a big dehumidifyer and run it hard for now.


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## Chrisg (Nov 19, 2008)

I second the dehumidifier.


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## ikessky (Nov 19, 2008)

I have two smaller dehumidifiers running right now (sorry, I don't know their specs).  The good, newer one is in the room with the wood.  The older model is in the other larger basement room.


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## bsruther (Nov 19, 2008)

I would look for other sources that the moisture might be coming from. With the amount of wood that you have that was green, it seems to me that you just shouldn't have that kind of moisture. The wood furnace alone should be able to handle the moisture that the wood is giving off.
How much water are you getting from the humidifiers?
Have you had a lot of rain or snow recently?


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## leaf4952 (Nov 19, 2008)

MY TWO CENTS: I dont have a basement to store my wood in. My wood stacks are 30' from my side deck on pallettes covered tight with tarps. Now ...I live on a plateau basically in a heavy forest. It's damp all year round except when its freezing. The exterminator said there are not termites in my area but will inspect for free yearly if it makes me feel better. We get snow more often and MORE OF IT than any other area within 70 miles. So I've adopted a conveyor belt method. I keep a 3'x5' rack full  IN MY HOUSE  5 ft from my stove. That way the wood gets any possible dampness warmed out of it from the heat of the stove nearby (but not too close). I have my teenage boys carry from the property wood pile 1 CORD early in the winter and put it up on the deck where I've made a wood "tent" right outside the sliding glass doors which are next to the 3'x5' wood rack thats inside. That way they dont complain & moan about fetching wood in deep snow and bitter cold or in the dark. We can re-up the reserve tent on a sunny mild weekend day when we get em. This way if we get socked in by a deep snow for days (and it happens here alot) all I have to do is shovel a few square ft of deck space to get to a reserve of wood. And NO I dont worry about fire. If a fire happens there is plenty of other things the fire would find suitable as fodder. Its 6 of one or half a dozen of another, if you know what I mean. I am careful with my stove and temperature. I do not allow smoking in my house and do not burn candles. These are more often the source of house fires. I do NOT use newspaper AT ALL and keep only metal things within 4' of the stove, do not burn over 550, and do not walk out of the house when my fire is on the upswing....only when it's embering down and shut tight.  And that- my friends- is how I can sleep at night and not worry !


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## leaf4952 (Nov 19, 2008)

WHERE IS YOUR DRYER MACHINE VENTED TO ?


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 19, 2008)

leaf4952 said:
			
		

> WHERE IS YOUR DRYER MACHINE VENTED TO ?




OUTSIDE! WHY!?


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## leaf4952 (Nov 19, 2008)

Good ! I do not  know how long you've been in your house....one doesnt always kow what surprises the prior owner has left such a loose or leaky dryer venting line or even worse...a dryer vented to the basement or crawl space and not to the outside ! That can cause alot of dampness. Also dryer lines should be made of metal because mice can qiuckly eat holes in a plastic one...besides the fire saeftly reasons.


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## billb3 (Nov 19, 2008)

Spiders THRIVE in moist basements.

One of the oil burner techs won't go into my cellar  unless I take all the cobwebs down first.
What a wimp. Now my plumber friend thinks that's really funny, but he won't go into my well cavern because there was a ring neck snake hanging out by the door.


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 20, 2008)

leaf4952 said:
			
		

> Good ! I do not  know how long you've been in your house....one doesnt always kow what surprises the prior owner has left such a loose or leaky dryer venting line or even worse...a dryer vented to the basement or crawl space and not to the outside ! That can cause alot of dampness. Also dryer lines should be made of metal because mice can qiuckly eat holes in a plastic one...besides the fire saeftly reasons.


Sorry, my attenpt at sarcasm didn't come through well... I'm really not the one who needs to answer where their dryer is vented to...





			
				billb3 said:
			
		

> Spiders THRIVE in moist basements.
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> One of the oil burner techs won't go into my cellar  unless I take all the cobwebs down first.
> What a wimp. Now my plumber friend thinks that's really funny, but he won't go into my well cavern because there was a ring neck snake hanging out by the door.



We have a very damp basement at times, mostly in the spring and fall, and if it rains alot in the summer. We can always tell when there is water down there because we see more spiders in the house.

Hey, that's country living for you.


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## ikessky (Nov 20, 2008)

It's been a pretty humid few monthes.  Not a lot or precipitation, just fairly humid.  Now that the snow is starting though, it's going to start drying out.  I haven't even had any nose bleeds yet!

The upstairs is starting to show signs of improvement, but I still have the dehumidifiers running and will keep both running until it starts getting too dry in the house.  I'm still planning on keeping the wood outside the house next year.  I need the room in the basement and it would be nice to build something big enough outside to store some of my other stuff underneath.


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## karri0n (Dec 4, 2008)

CowboyAndy said:
			
		

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ROFL! I was on the floor when I saw this one!


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## leaf4952 (Dec 5, 2008)

Well yea,  I guess it sounds pretty funny. But some people buy a house without knowing exactly where things are vented to and what is inside the walls until they are already living in it trying to do stuff.  It's nothing to be ashamed of for the buyer. It's the kind of thing some people assume will be corrected later(sellers point of view). And some poeple RENT and can't be super nosy before signing the dotted line. You'd be amazed at the funky illegal or unethical stuff I've uncovered either working in demolition of buildings for renovation OR when asking the right questions when previewing a rental. It's amazing what some idiots rigg-up out of sight. It's frightening actually - safety wise.


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## NorthlandMN (Dec 5, 2008)

I move my wood into the basement after a few frosts kill off the bugs. It beats going outside for wood; plus it dries quicker.  I run the DE-humidifier for 24 hours every other day. Works great for me.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 5, 2008)

NorthlandMN said:
			
		

> I run the humidifier for 24 hours every other day. Works great for me.


Hmmm... you don't get too much humidity from the wood?  You have to add even more?  Where does it all go?


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## leaf4952 (Dec 5, 2008)

Obviously he meant DE-humidifier. Boy,  sometimes you guys are real a**holes to each other.


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## ikessky (Dec 5, 2008)

We're men.  It's what we do.  You should hear the nicknames we call each other at work.


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## bsruther (Dec 5, 2008)

NorthlandMN said:
			
		

> I move my wood into the basement after a few frosts kill off the bugs. It beats going outside for wood; plus it dries quicker.  I run the DE-humidifier for 24 hours every other day. Works great for me.


This just in: Freezing temperatures don't kill bugs.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 5, 2008)

USDA has specifications for heat treatment to kill bugs.  Some guys try to pass that off as kiln dried.


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## Bigg_Redd (Dec 5, 2008)

leaf4952 said:
			
		

> Obviously he meant DE-humidifier. Boy,  sometimes you guys are real a**holes to each other.



Yes, yes we are, @$$hole.


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## gibson (Dec 6, 2008)

Yah, no firewood inside my house...ever.  Not because of the fire risk, but I never trust that the bugs have died until after christmas.  Also, I have a covered patio that I store 1/4-1/2 cord on for the stove.  The wood pile is 100 yd away.


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## Gooserider (Dec 6, 2008)

carl spackler said:
			
		

> Yah, no firewood inside my house...ever.  Not because of the fire risk, but I never trust that the bugs have died until after christmas.  Also, I have a covered patio that I store 1/4-1/2 cord on for the stove.  The wood pile is 100 yd away.



But there's a lot of BTU's in bugs....  :coolgrin: 

(I bring about 3 days supply in at a time, main wood shed is about 8' from the garage, old wood shed and reserve stacks are further away...)

Gooserider


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## leaf4952 (Dec 11, 2008)

Bigg_Redd said:
			
		

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Well,   Now I feel like one of the guys.   Thank you so much Bigg_Redd


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## leaf4952 (Dec 11, 2008)

carl spackler said:
			
		

> Yah, no firewood inside my house...ever.  Not because of the fire risk, but I never trust that the bugs have died until after christmas.  Also, I have a covered patio that I store 1/4-1/2 cord on for the stove.  The wood pile is 100 yd away.



I will apoligize for what I'm about to say up front because I don't mean to offend you in particular but I will likely offend somebody, . . . 
I can't imagine what kind of bugs in Lincoln, RI could be so offensive or detrimental to your household or health that you would be so worried !  Does your neighborhood have a history of termites, carpenter ants or some other wood destroying insects you can easily determine by a free yearly inspection by your local franchised pesticde company ?  
I lived in the Boston area for 20yrs (your neighbor). The only bugs my last 10 yr long landlady (aged 82 & the owner of this 100yr old building her whole life) had to worry about was a brief encounter with termites & carpenter ants. Her typical challenge was mice traps in the basement and raccoons in her backyard vineyard & fruit trees. It ended up that her biggest struggle came a year before she died when she rented one flat to a family from a 3rd world country. Suddenly the building became infested with cock roaches....no problem...that can be fixed !  But then there was another plague...the mystery bug...turned out to be BED BUGS eminating from the new tenants apartment !  It took a full year to diagnose, carry out termination, and fully treat the problem. I had to get SUPER PRO ACTIVE to diagnose & start legal action to fix it (my landlady died meanwhile) I had my kids sent home from school due to the multitude of bites that were visable!  I still have- to this day- visable scars from bed bug bites on my forearms. No matter what apartment building/house I could have moved to - that plague was on the upswing city-wide and I was not gonna even consider the possibility of dealing with the trauma of it for my children EVER again ! So I moved to the woods of PA. It was a pretty good reason to move from Boston.
I have to ask what kind of bugs are you worried about ? Do they hide in your walls and creep out at night to attach to the skin of your loved ones to suck & gorge on their blood then retreat into your walls just to come out and do it again the next nite like vampires ? If this isn't the case I don't know what the heck you're so complaining about. Go to Home Depot and buy a bottle of your average insect spray.  And don't worry, be happy.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 11, 2008)

A lot of the Poplar I cull have huge infestations of carpenter ants.  By seasoning my wood outside, they have pretty much vacated long before the wood comes in the house.  They don't like dry places.

We don't have termites in this area.  Termites don't run around in hot dry places anyway.  Their bodies can't take it.  They build closed raceways to travel in so unless you store large quantities of wet wood in a damp basement, they probably are not much of a threat.

I have never seen any insect come out of any firewood I brought in from the woodshed.  Maybe I'm just lucky.


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## savageactor7 (Dec 11, 2008)

^That pretty much my experience too. We only bring seasoned wood in the house, maybe a few hibernating flys but no bugs.


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## WonderingWoman (Dec 13, 2008)

I've never heard of a dehumidifier. Where do you get one and how much do they cost?


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## fossil (Dec 13, 2008)

WonderingWoman said:
			
		

> I've never heard of a dehumidifier. Where do you get one and how much do they cost?



Commonly called an air conditioner.  Make air cold, the relative humidity of the air increases to 100%, water condenses out (that's the condensate that's always dripping out of air conditioners...whether in a building or your car).  Air comes out colder and dryer than it went in...too cold?  Heat it back up, it'll have an even lower relative humidity.  There are cars that sense the outside air conditions, and when you turn on the heater, the air conditioner comes on, dehumidifies the air, the heater comes on and heats the air, then that's the air delivered to you inside the car.  Warm and dry.  Rick


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## WonderingWoman (Dec 13, 2008)

Oh, I don't want to buy an air conditioner. No one has one aroung here, not needed.


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## ikessky (Dec 13, 2008)

Dehumidifiers and air conditioners work off similar principles, but are not designed for the same purpose.  An air conditioner has a much higher rating (do they rate these in BTU's also?) that allow them to super cool the air.  Dehumidifiers have a much lower rating which simply allows for them to pull the air through a coil, which condenses the humidity and then catches that water in a container for disposal.


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## Tony H (Dec 13, 2008)

Wonderingwoman - don't be mislead dehumidifiers are NOT commonly called air conditioners in most areas. While AC units do dehumidify the air humidifiers do not air condition / go to one of your area appliance stores, sears or hardware store and ask if they carry them. We run 2 in our basement during the summer to dry out the air to prevent that moisture from causing damage to the house and to help take the load off the AC by reducing the moisture it has to remove.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 13, 2008)

Beware that dehumidifiers consume considerable energy so read the specs before you buy one and expect an increase in your electric bill.  A HRV uses considerably less electricity and will remove as much or more humidity in the winter.  Summertime is a different matter.


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## WonderingWoman (Dec 13, 2008)

Thanks for the info, I think I'll look into these.


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## Chris S (Dec 13, 2008)

Re:  Storing wood in a basement

I also have fought fires started by errant wood burning appliances. We put them all out ,  some turned into structure fires.  Most that I can remember were from heat conduted to places that it  shouldn't have ( improper installation, or storage of combustibles too close to the appliance)

When I burned wood in my basement,  I usually kept between 1/4 & 1/2 cord nearby at the ready, and I installed 2 sprinlker heads.  One right over the boiler, and one over the wood pile, with a ball valve to shut them off in case somebody accidentally broke them.  My house was on a well, but I know that water would help a lot until the FD arrived.  With fire sprinklers becoming mandatory in new construction soon, they should be fairly easy to get.

Chris


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## maplewood (Jul 23, 2009)

I store 8.5 cord in my basement, 5+ feet from the wood boiler. We've always stored wood in the house - for at least 4 generations. For the first week we sometimes have a little extra moisture on the windows, but it's just surface water coming off - the wood is seasoned properly. I used to put a dehumidifier in the middle of the pile, positioned over a floor drain, but it stopped shedding water after that first week or two. 
As far as bugs go: sometimes a couple of 1/2" flying things, never ants, and sometimes a couple dozen tiny flies come to my basement shower ceiling light. They die and fall onto the shower stall floor, and are washed away when the kids take their morning shower. (A shower that gets its water from my domestic coil inside the boiler.)
By the way, I live in a log kit home, with no air exchanger (I've got log walls - who needs an exchanger!) and all wood (no sheetrock, wall board or paint).
Happy burning!


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## ikessky (Jul 23, 2009)

I only have half the room in my basement for wood as I did last year.  I can also say another thing for certain.  My wood was less than fully seasoned last year.  I've worked hard this spring and early summer to get as much wood cut as I can.  I still have some large maples to take down, but they will be in a pile for next year.  I'm pretty confident that this year's burning will be much better.


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## ccwhite (Jul 29, 2009)

I had 3 cords at a time stacked in the basement last year. More than ever before because I got rid of the oil tanks. I'm reworking it for this year so I can get a little over 4 cords in. I'll stack another 1.5 - 2 cords just outside the basement door. I've never had a problem with moisture aside from a little when bringing in wood in the winter with snow and ice on it and that goes away in a day or two with just a fan blowing on the pile. If I could get rid of some more junk I'd put 2 more cords inside and I would be set for the winter.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 29, 2009)

ccwhite said:
			
		

> I'd put 2 more cords inside and I would be set for the winter.



I'm with you Charlie.  As soon as I am done with the house and get the boiler in the lower level, there is going to be wood storage inside for the entire season.


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