# Getting wood dry enough for next season



## KennyK (Mar 10, 2018)

I've got about 3/4 of a cord of cut and stacked partially dry wood now, and another cord or so of rounds from a tree felled in November (Norway maple) that I plan on splitting in the next few weeks. I'm hoping to have 3 to 4 cords for next season. I see some folks in my area selling split green wood now for around $185 to $200 (which is the cheapest in my area, aside for getting a grapple load of logs, which I'd love to get but don't have the space for). This is generally listed as a mix of hardwoods - cherry, oak, maple. If I split my wood now, and get a delivery of some green wood within the next month or so, should this be ready for next season? I figure I can start next season with the 3/4 of a cord of split wood I have now, which should be good to go, and and once I get through that I can move on to the other stacks. I could get a delivery of green wood as soon as next week, but I'm planning on building a deck with a wood storage area this spring, so it would be more convenient to get the wood delivered after that is in place. I also have another reliable and honest company that could deliver wood that's been split and stacked for four months this spring, but it's pricier. Any thoughts and/or anything I should look for in regard to green wood I have delivered now, would be helpful. I know oak takes longer to season, but again, most people around here just advertise "a mix of hardwoods," so I don't know if I can try to get them to avoid oak. Thoughts?


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## Allagash350 (Mar 10, 2018)

Maple dries quick in my opinion. 
If you do single stacks and they get good airflow the maple might be ready by the middle of winter. 
The wood you can buy already split is a crap shoot in terms of it would be ready. It can dry quicker stacked in the right spots, but the bottom line is you need time sunshine and wind. 
You could also mix it with the stuff you already have split


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## begreen (Mar 10, 2018)

If you can get some split ash now, that has the best chance of seasoning quickly. The maple probably will not be ready for next season unless conditions are perfect. If you are planning on a larger stove by next season you are going to need more seasoned wood. I would guess at least 3-4 full cords. Shop around, maybe someone has standing dead trees that they will be splitting up?


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## weatherguy (Mar 11, 2018)

I was able to order no oak one year when I needed the wood to be ready in one year, he brought ash and birch. If you can get semi seasoned that could be ready and don't want to move wood twice might be worth to pay extra for the semi seasoned. Get that thing built and get working on the following years.


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## Poindexter (Mar 11, 2018)

I have read here repeatedly that the soft maples cn season in one summer, the hard maples generally take two.  I don't know my maples well enough to know which are which.  I think rock and sugar maples are among the hards and big leaf is one of the softs...

Pine brother, bring in some pine.  That will reliably season in one summer.


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2018)

I've tried soft maple in 6 months, it burned, but with low heat and some sizzling on the ends. Much better to go a year, year and a half. Doug fir, otoh can do it if we have a dry summer.


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## Alpine1 (Mar 11, 2018)

If you can, go with evergreens: Norway spruce, black pine, Douglas fir, silver fir... whatever. Usually cheaper than hardwood (at least here) and if stacked (covered) in a sunny spot ready to burn in 6 months or so.


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 11, 2018)

Keep your splits on smaller side. I just split up some ash for use this fall. I’m confident it will be ready, but I split it smaller. Also, I feel to have waited a month more to get that wood cut split and stacked wound have been unwise.  Top covering I have learned is very important. The very wet weather around New England lately has impacted my wood greatly.
    I am a believer that wood can be dry for the stove if cut split and stacked by Easter. That said, your drying conditions have to be at least average, wood split smaller, and no dense wood like oak. If you can get your hands on black birch, I have found this to be an awesome wood and dries rapidly, like ash. Again, smaller size splits.
    And as said earlier, pine will be of help, but definitely top cover that stuff.


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## KennyK (Mar 11, 2018)

All these responses are super helpful. A few thoughts and questions:

I'm keeping my eye on Craigslist to see if there are people who are not wood dealers but have older (or newer) stashes of wood they want to get rid of (perhaps they used to burn wood and don't any more). What I can see now that falls into the categories of what people here have said are the following:

1) A guy has over a cord of pine for sale pretty cheap ($100). He says it's been stacked and seasoned for four years (from the pic it looks grey). He doesn't say what kind of pine and he probably doesn't know. My questions are: is 4 year seasoned pine overseasoned and in general how much should I worry about which kind of pine or should I just get my hands on any kind of pine, at least under my current circumstances? (I see other folks with unsplit pine too, and they never say what kind of pine). This would also require my picking up and loading (and then unloading and stacking at my place) which is a PITA, and would involve me renting a uhaul or something as my minivan won't cut it, but it's cheap so maybe worth it.

2) Someone has over a cord of ash and maple logs. He says the maple "was dead and already dry," and the ash is green. Again these are unsplit. Very cheap (he's asking for $40), but again would require me renting a uhaul or something and moving. 

3) I have some trees behind my house that fell and have been down, but uncut, for anywhere from a few months to a few years or possibly more (before you jump to the conclusion that I'm a bonehead for not getting this wood sooner, remember I just got into burning!). I know that to really season wood should be split, but for some of these that have been down for a while, might they be dry or close? What should I look for to see if these are good to use, not infested with bugs, etc. I haven't used a chainsaw yet, and I'm a bit nervous about it, but I guess it's time to learn!

4) Related to all of this, I'm thinking about storage and starting to worry about how to best do this. As mentioned, I'm planning on building a deck, and building a wood storage area  on that that should be able to fit 2 to 3 cords. I planning this, I hadn't thought about just how much all this wood weighs and now I'm wondering if a deck can handle it. The part of the deck that the wood would be on is mostly ground level and then the ground slopes down so the rest of the deck will be above ground up to about 4-5 feet. Thoughts on wood weight on a deck? I have another deck already that is attached to the house (the new deck won't be) and could get a cord or a bit more there without hampering use of the deck for enjoyment) but it's about ten feet above ground, and I worry about the weight. I have a concrete storage are that's below that deck that I think might have been built for wood storage, where I can get about a cord and a half - it's outdoors but gets no sun, and is right up against the house so not great wind flow. I also have some other spots where I can get some wood, but all up against the house so not great wind flow and I've heard you should not store wood up against the house due to bugs. Is that true? Finally, I have a good amount of land behind my house, all of which gets some sun and great wind, however it's all a fairly steep hill. There is one flat section, but it means hauling up and down the hill to get to that area (ugh!). I know there's a lot here, but any thoughts or suggestions are very helpful. Thanks!


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## firefighterjake (Mar 11, 2018)

KennyK said:


> All these responses are super helpful. A few thoughts and questions:
> 
> I'm keeping my eye on Craigslist to see if there are people who are not wood dealers but have older (or newer) stashes of wood they want to get rid of (perhaps they used to burn wood and don't any more). What I can see now that falls into the categories of what people here have said are the following: *The key is to always be on the look out . . . especially later this Spring and Summer when folks may be selling their homes and moving and may not want to move the wood or are told by the realtor to clean up their lot. *
> 
> ...


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2018)

I'd go for the pine if it's still available. It's a low btu wood, but will be fine for shoulder season burning. If it's not punky and that well seasoned then it may also be useful to mix with less seasoned wood. Keep on looking!


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## blacktail (Mar 11, 2018)

I'd go for the pine. Doesn't matter what kind or how long it's been stacked. 
At 2400+ pounds per cord for the lightest of wood, I wouldn't store much on my deck.  Put some lumber or pallets down to keep your firewood off the ground and stack on that.


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## Simonkenton (Mar 11, 2018)

Build a woodshed like mine.  It dries wood in 7 months.


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2018)

Looks like there isn't a lot of ventilation there. Ours lets the winds blow right through it.


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## Durantefarm (Mar 11, 2018)

how about tarp color ? I'm keeping all my newly split wood uncovered at this time but i was wondering if i did cover it in summer with a black tarp will his dry out the wood faster ? i know if i do tarp to not cover all the way down so it can vent . i also know that some pl don't tarp and some do but IF i do end up covering it will the black tarp dry faster ?


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2018)

I don't think the tarp cover color would matter too much except the top row. Orienting the stacks so that the prevailing winds can blow through then seems much more effective.


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## Simonkenton (Mar 11, 2018)

No, my woodshed has no ventilation.  It works because water vapor will pass right through the wooden walls and floor.
On sunny days my woodshed gets real warm.
On rainy days, and on foggy nights, my wood is not exposed to moisture-laded air.


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## Poindexter (Mar 11, 2018)

How many acres have you got?

Besides wood handling, what other needs have you got.

You might think about a tractor if you have a lot of mowing to do, or a skid steer if you have a lot of snow to handle, or an atv if you have a lot of hunting to do.

What i am getting at is with adequate acreage you can season your wood away from the house...and bring seasoned wood in on a trailer from the south 40 acres with any of the foregoing.


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## Durantefarm (Mar 11, 2018)

the most frustrating part about cutting down trees is taking the branches off anyone one have a good system you use? or do you cut tree down and just cut and flip the tree and cut again ?


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## KennyK (Mar 11, 2018)

blacktail said:


> At 2400+ pounds per cord for the lightest of wood, I wouldn't store much on my deck.  Put some lumber or pallets down to keep your firewood off the ground and stack on that.





Simonkenton said:


> View attachment 224197
> 
> 
> Build a woodshed like mine.  It dries wood in 7 months.





begreen said:


> Looks like there isn't a lot of ventilation there. Ours lets the winds blow right through it.
> View attachment 224201



@Simonkenton and @begreen those are some beautiful wood sheds! 

@Simonkenton, what is it about your shed that makes it dry wood so quickly? How many cords does your shed hold? 

@begreen, how do you feel about his with closed sides versus yours that lets more wind flow? How many cords does your shed hold? Looks big!

This is all helpful and I'm thinking that my new plan is to build a woodshed on the level part of the ground, which is only about 3' x 8' or so, but maybe with a sting foundation I can get that a bit bigger and then have that open up to a deck where the ground slopes down. I've got a good carpenter whose going to take a look as soon as we get past the upcoming blizzard (two Nor'easters and now a blizzard expected within a few weeks over here in Beantown!). I have some carpentry skills, but I'm not a pro, so my original plan was to have him build the foundation for the deck and I'd do the decking to have it done right but also keep labor costs down a bit. Maybe he'll have some ideas for creating a solid foundation for a woodshed that will help me get it a little bigger than the 3'x8'.


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2018)

Simonkenton said:


> On rainy days, and on foggy nights, my wood is not exposed to moisture-laded air.


Of course it is. The humidity in the shed is most likely going to be the same or higher than ambient. If the wood walls let the humidity out they are not going to do a lot to stop it from coming it. I'm sticking with the best wood shed design is open and oriented so that the prevailing wind can blow thru the stacks. 

kennyk. our wood shed holds 3 cords per bay.


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## KennyK (Mar 11, 2018)

Poindexter said:


> How many acres have you got?
> 
> Besides wood handling, what other needs have you got.
> 
> ...



Acres?!?! I'm a city slicker!  I've got a surprisingly large lot for Boston, and I'm in a neighborhood of the city that is a bit more suburban with more houses than apartments (though that seems to be evolving as there's a new construction every time you turn around), but I am actually in the city, and while I'm not totally sure, I've probably got less than a quarter acre! And, most of that is a big hill with a dozen or so Norway Maples and a few other smaller fruit trees. I'm trying to work what I've got 'cause this city slicker's got a little country in him!  (Some of my fondest times were living in the Hudson Valley for five years and since I was born I've spent parts of every summer in the Catskills).


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## Poindexter (Mar 11, 2018)

Durantefarm said:


> the most frustrating part about cutting down trees is taking the branches off anyone one have a good system you use? or do you cut tree down and just cut and flip the tree and cut again ?


 
What i used to do before i put down my chain saw was cut the branches off where they were about 1.5 to 2 inches thick.  That little stuff is slash for the chipper.

From there i would run the tip of my sawblade down the branch, through the bark, sort of unzipping, till i got to wood 4 or 5 inches in diameter, big enough to split.

The cut all those 2 to 5 inch diameter pieces off at stove length and throw them in the truck.  They wont season as fast as splits, but they will season and they got btus in them.

You want to do all that while the branches are still attached to something heavy, like the rest of the tree.  If you try this stunt with the branch disconnected from the rest of the tree it's a lot of trouble to make it hold still.


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## blacktail (Mar 12, 2018)

begreen said:


> Looks like there isn't a lot of ventilation there. Ours lets the winds blow right through it.
> View attachment 224201


One thing I like about this design, and I incorporated into my shed, is the pallets for the floor. That way the shed doesn't have to support the weight of the wood. If/when the pallets go bad it's quick and easy to replace them.


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## Montanalocal (Mar 12, 2018)

Durantefarm said:


> the most frustrating part about cutting down trees is taking the branches off anyone one have a good system you use? or do you cut tree down and just cut and flip the tree and cut again ?



What I do with a down tree with a lot of branches is to go up one side and down the other and cut off all the non-weight-bearing branches.  The weight bearing branches hold the trunk up off the ground.  Then, starting from the top, I work my way down the trunk, cutting the trunk into my preferred lengths, and trimming the weight bearing branches as I go.  I can usually get quite close to the butt before I have to let the trunk fall on the ground, and by that time I can cut part way through and roll it to finish.


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## Montanalocal (Mar 12, 2018)

KennyK said:


> 4) Related to all of this, I'm thinking about storage and starting to worry about how to best do this. As mentioned, I'm planning on building a deck, and building a wood storage area  on that that should be able to fit 2 to 3 cords. I planning this, I hadn't thought about just how much all this wood weighs and now I'm wondering if a deck can handle it. The part of the deck that the wood would be on is mostly ground level and then the ground slopes down so the rest of the deck will be above ground up to about 4-5 feet. Thoughts on wood weight on a deck?



I learned the hard way about building a heavy weight-bearing deck.  I had an existing deck that I wanted to expand to put a hot tub on.  A large hot tub full of water is rather heavy.  I contacted a contractor to build my deck expansion, and told him what I wanted it for.  Well, he did not do it properly.  He built it like most decks are built, with a rim joist around the edge sitting on the supporting posts, and then the cross stringers were merely nailed in from the sides of the rim joist.  In other words, the only thing holding the weigh of the deck was the nails coming in from the side of the rim joist.

Well after I had installed the hot tub and filled it with water, I noticed that the stringers were sagging, because the nails were bending.  I had to disassemble the deck supports, and install a perimeter beam underneath the stringers, consisting of three 2 X 6's screwed together and installed on top of the vertical supports.  The stringers were then supported securely on top of the perimeter beam.  Make sure your contractor knows that you want a heavy duty deck that can take weight and is built like this.


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## KJamesJR (Mar 12, 2018)

I'm in this same boat right now. I've dropped about half a dozen sugar maples and cherry. With the weather though (and another nor'easter coming) I haven't gotten around to bucking and splitting it. Not like it would dry covered in snow anyways. I saw a thread on here about a kind of solar kiln. I was thinking of doing a simplified version of with some clear mil plastic. Might be worth looking in to if you haven't got a covered wood shed.


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## Durantefarm (Mar 12, 2018)

KJamesJR said:


> I'm in this same boat right now. I've dropped about half a dozen sugar maples and cherry. With the weather though (and another nor'easter coming) I haven't gotten around to bucking and splitting it. Not like it would dry covered in snow anyways. I saw a thread on here about a kind of solar kiln. I was thinking of doing a simplified version of with some clear mil plastic. Might be worth looking in to if you haven't got a covered wood shed.


I actually looked into that also ! So many options and everyone has diff opinions on each . I’m going to tarp some , keep some exposed and going to make a simple solar kiln .


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## MissMac (Mar 12, 2018)

Poindexter said:


> I have read here repeatedly that the soft maples cn season in one summer, the hard maples generally take two.  I don't know my maples well enough to know which are which.  I think rock and sugar maples are among the hards and big leaf is one of the softs...
> 
> Pine brother, bring in some pine.  That will reliably season in one summer.


I second this - get some pine!!  It throws some really hot heat, and fast!  And as long as you've got it split this spring and stacked somewhere where the sun and wind can hit it, it will be good and ready for you come next winter.  Mine was measuring between 12-16% this fall, and was green going into last summer (some of it)


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## Simonkenton (Mar 12, 2018)

My woodshed is 8 x 12 feet.
I know the prevailing wisdom is that wood needs ventilation. And that makes sense.
Nobody else has a woodshed like mine, so only I know how well this non-ventilated woodshed works.
From green to dry in 7 months, oak and beech.  No kidding.


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## KennyK (Mar 12, 2018)

Simonkenton said:


> My woodshed is 8 x 12 feet.
> I know the prevailing wisdom is that wood needs ventilation. And that makes sense.
> Nobody else has a woodshed like mine, so only I know how well this non-ventilated woodshed works.
> From green to dry in 7 months, oak and beech.  No kidding.



That's where it's at! I don't doubt you. 8 x 12 x 4 would give you three cords, but it looks like you can go quite a bit higher than 4'. How many cords do you/can you get in there?


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## ValleyCottageSplitter (Mar 13, 2018)

I had good luck with this single row covered rack I made.  Just the standard cinder block design with some uprights to hold a 4' wide tarp. It holds 1/4 cord per segment and can easily be taken down or moved.  I got some recently dead ash cut and split @36% in June 2017 and by December it was reading 18% (measuring a fresh split with the grain).  Smaller splits with lots of sun and air.  I'm surrounded by trees but it get's the most sun as possible.  I think the single layer makes a big difference.  It was burning great this winter.  It's not very space efficient but that is as fast as you'll get without some type of solar kiln.

My Norway Maple on the other hand was going slowly.  It was CSS in March, moved to this rack in June and is sitting around 24-26% now.

I may expand it to 2 cord to fence the rest of the tree line... The other 3 cords are slowly seasoning tarped on pallets in the woods.

Good luck.


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## Rich L (Mar 14, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Acres?!?! I'm a city slicker!  I've got a surprisingly large lot for Boston, and I'm in a neighborhood of the city that is a bit more suburban with more houses than apartments (though that seems to be evolving as there's a new construction every time you turn around), but I am actually in the city, and while I'm not totally sure, I've probably got less than a quarter acre! And, most of that is a big hill with a dozen or so Norway Maples and a few other smaller fruit trees. I'm trying to work what I've got 'cause this city slicker's got a little country in him!  (Some of my fondest times were living in the Hudson Valley for five years and since I was born I've spent parts of every summer in the Catskills).


  Kenny sometimes my wood is not seasoned as well as I like so I buy a pallet of canawick bricks from norther fence on route  1.I'll put three or four bricks in the stove at one side of the wood.Start the bricks going which burn super hot and they in turn get the wood going easily.


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## FLINT (Mar 14, 2018)

Norway maple is kind of between the soft maples (red and silver) and the hard maples (sugar and black).  

I think the fastest way to season is to do a single uncovered stack in the most exposed area in your yard, where the sun can beat on it.  leave it there all summer.  then in the fall, put it all in a shed if you have one.


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## KennyK (Mar 14, 2018)

Rich L said:


> Kenny sometimes my wood is not seasoned as well as I like so I buy a pallet of canawick bricks from norther fence on route  1.I'll put three or four bricks in the stove at one side of the wood.Start the bricks going which burn super hot and they in turn get the wood going easily.



Thanks Rich! Very helpful info. Can you use the canawick bricks by themselves? On Northeastern Fence's website, they claim that these are highly efficient, burn longer, and can be used for heating or starting material.


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## KennyK (Mar 14, 2018)

FLINT said:


> Norway maple is kind of between the soft maples (red and silver) and the hard maples (sugar and black).
> 
> I think the fastest way to season is to do a single uncovered stack in the most exposed area in your yard, where the sun can beat on it.  leave it there all summer.  then in the fall, put it all in a shed if you have one.



I split most of the Norway Maple before the blizzard - about a 1/3 of a cord. I made the splits thin for the most part and stacked in a double row, though I can adjust that, and stacked alternating direction - not sure if that makes a difference or not (I've heard mixed opinions). Pic below (need to work on my stacking skills a bit!) I have a few more rounds of the Norway Maple, and another third of a cord or so of cut rounds of an unidentified tree (need to work on my tree identifying skills too!) that fell in the "no man's land" between a few abutting houses onto my property this past fall. I also have at least another cord or so of the rest of that tree, which is mostly suspended off the group and perhaps another cord of another tree that has been on the ground for a couple years (I have to look to see what condition that's in). My very nice neighbor, with whom I share a back yard (we live in a single family attached house, like a side-by-side duplex), is going to give me a chainsaw less to go at these!


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## DuaeGuttae (Mar 15, 2018)

KennyK said:


> I split most of the Norway Maple before the blizzard - about a 1/3 of a cord. I made the splits thin for the most part and stacked in a double row, though I can adjust that, and stacked alternating direction - not sure if that makes a difference or not (I've heard mixed opinions). Pic below (need to work on my stacking skills a bit!) I have a few more rounds of the Norway Maple, and another third of a cord or so of cut rounds of an unidentified tree (need to work on my tree identifying skills too!) that fell in the "no man's land" between a few abutting houses onto my property this past fall. I also have at least another cord or so of the rest of that tree, which is mostly suspended off the group and perhaps another cord of another tree that has been on the ground for a couple years (I have to look to see what condition that's in). My very nice neighbor, with whom I share a back yard (we live in a single family attached house, like a side-by-side duplex), is going to give me a chainsaw less to go at these!
> 
> View attachment 224387



I don’t recall details of what you own, and I know nothing about your neighbor, but I wanted to offer up chainsaw rule number 1:  Buy and don all proper personal protection equipment before undertaking work.  A lot of folks seem to scoff at that.  I just don’t get it.


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## Simonkenton (Mar 15, 2018)

If you decide to build a non-ventilated woodshed, here is what you need to do:

1. Get it off the ground. Mine is 16 inches off the ground in front and 5 feet in the back, built on a hill. You need air circulation under the structure.
2. Metal roof, all wood walls and floor. No paint, no stain on the wood. Water vapor readily passes through bare  wood.
3. Massive roof overhangs.  We don't want the rain to hit the walls we want those walls dry.
4. Set it out where the sun shines. It is a solar powered wood drying kiln.  We want sunshine on the roof and walls as much as possible.


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## Rich L (Mar 15, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Thanks Rich! Very helpful info. Can you use the canawick bricks by themselves? On Northeastern Fence's website, they claim that these are highly efficient, burn longer, and can be used for heating or starting material.


 Yes Kenny you can burn them by themselves.These things got so hot once I thought my stove was going to melt.Next time around I didn't use as many.I find them to burn longer than bio-bricks,hot bricks, and envi blocks.However the longest burning wood blocks that I've come across are the Idaho logs and the Hot brick logs.


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## ValleyCottageSplitter (Mar 15, 2018)

KennyK said:


> I split most of the Norway Maple before the blizzard - about a 1/3 of a cord. I made the splits thin for the most part and stacked in a double row, though I can adjust that, and stacked alternating direction - not sure if that makes a difference or not (I've heard mixed opinions). Pic below (need to work on my stacking skills a bit!) I have a few more rounds of the Norway Maple, and another third of a cord or so of cut rounds of an unidentified tree (need to work on my tree identifying skills too!) that fell in the "no man's land" between a few abutting houses onto my property this past fall. I also have at least another cord or so of the rest of that tree, which is mostly suspended off the group and perhaps another cord of another tree that has been on the ground for a couple years (I have to look to see what condition that's in). My very nice neighbor, with whom I share a back yard (we live in a single family attached house, like a side-by-side duplex), is going to give me a chainsaw less to go at these!


I had my N Maple crib stacked uncovered in the woods like that from March- May. It was raining 5 days a week on average. I quickly changed my mind and got a tarp just for the top.  I had exactly 1/3 cord, 4x8x1.5 regular stack.  It came out to eight 4.5' tall cross stacks. Still wasn't ready by November with the cover.
Ash is your best friend for starting a wood stash, if you can find any...


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## Rich L (Mar 15, 2018)

KennyK said:


> I split most of the Norway Maple before the blizzard - about a 1/3 of a cord. I made the splits thin for the most part and stacked in a double row, though I can adjust that, and stacked alternating direction - not sure if that makes a difference or not (I've heard mixed opinions). Pic below (need to work on my stacking skills a bit!) I have a few more rounds of the Norway Maple, and another third of a cord or so of cut rounds of an unidentified tree (need to work on my tree identifying skills too!) that fell in the "no man's land" between a few abutting houses onto my property this past fall. I also have at least another cord or so of the rest of that tree, which is mostly suspended off the group and perhaps another cord of another tree that has been on the ground for a couple years (I have to look to see what condition that's in). My very nice neighbor, with whom I share a back yard (we live in a single family attached house, like a side-by-side duplex), is going to give me a chainsaw less to go at these!
> 
> View attachment 224387


 I also find if you cover the top and a little of the sides with black rubber roofing that black absorbs serious heat from the sun and will bake the moisture out of the wood.Just don't cover the wood totally so the moisture can escape.


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## KennyK (Mar 15, 2018)

DuaeGuttae said:


> I don’t recall details of what you own, and I know nothing about your neighbor, but I wanted to offer up chainsaw rule number 1:  Buy and don all proper personal protection equipment before undertaking work.  A lot of folks seem to scoff at that.  I just don’t get it.



Very good reminder! My neighbor is very cautious about safety. That said, what is the personal protection equipment I should be getting if I'm going to use a chainsaw?


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## Simonkenton (Mar 16, 2018)

I always use Stihl "headphones" to protect the ears.  Sometimes use earplugs and the headphones.


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## Alpine1 (Mar 16, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Very good reminder! My neighbor is very cautious about safety. That said, what is the personal protection equipment I should be getting if I'm going to use a chainsaw?



If the use you make is limited (i.e. a few hours per year) steel toe boots, chainsaw chaps and eye and ear protection will suffice IF YOU ARE VERY CAUTIOUS. 
For prolonged (professional) use add helmet, jacket and gloves. It’s quite pricey gear, but will last many years.
And your arms, legs, fingers etc are pretty valuable tools.


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## DuaeGuttae (Mar 17, 2018)

Alpine1 said:


> If the use you make is limited (i.e. a few hours per year) steel toe boots, chainsaw chaps and eye and ear protection will suffice IF YOU ARE VERY CAUTIOUS.
> For prolonged (professional) use add helmet, jacket and gloves. It’s quite pricey gear, but will last many years.
> And your arms, legs, fingers etc are pretty valuable tools.



I, too, would consider boots, chaps, and eye and ear protection the minimum.  My husband always uses gloves, and recently we’ve both acquired forestry helmets with face shield and ear protection built in.  In our former home in suburbia we never had occasion to do anything other than deal with wood that was already down, often already bucked as well.  We’ve moved and have a lot of work to do.  We’ve discovered since acquiring the helmets that we actually prefer to use them all the time.  I particularly like the mesh face shield.

The protective gear is pricey but so is a trip to the emergency room.  We’ve never had an accident while working with wood and hope never to, but we also make sure that someone is around for medical assistance and to call 911 if necessary. 

There are also good training videos on chainsaw use on some of the manufacturers’ websites as well as educational documents put out by forestry services.  They really are worth a look.


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## Jeffm1 (Mar 17, 2018)

Durantefarm said:


> the most frustrating part about cutting down trees is taking the branches off anyone one have a good system you use? or do you cut tree down and just cut and flip the tree and cut again ?


Hatchet, small handsaw or depending on their thickness, your chainsaw. Then when the trunk in de-limbed, buck it into rounds.


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## KennyK (Mar 18, 2018)

firefighterjake said:


> *The key is to always be on the look out . . . especially later this Spring and Summer when folks may be selling their homes and moving and may not want to move the wood or are told by the realtor to clean up their lot. *



Hey firefighterjake, as we say in Boston, "you're wicked smaaaaht!" I just scored the motherload of high quality wood exactly as you said. I've been on the lookout and found a wood burner who recently put his house on the market and was looking to get rid of his wood stash. I bought three plus cords of 3-year split (all right around 16 inches) and stacked oak, maple and a bit of cherry (some of which I'll be cutting into smaller chunks to go into my smoker and impart some delicious flavor into ribs and chicken!) for $150 I rented a 15 foot uhaul cargo truck, and made two trips (had to make two trips due to weight concerns more than space). The guy even helped me load it all up and threw in a big blue tarp, a couple nice rubber roof pieces great for covering a cord or two, and six nice wood fence posts that he had the wood stacked on. Pics below. The wood burns great and I split a few pieces after sitting in the house for a day and they measure 14% on my moisture meter. The uhaul was another $100, plus $30 in gas, so for $280 and a good days work, I've now got three cords ready to go (plus the wood I already had)! I'm feeling that I'm now in a good place as I can start thinking about getting ahead, seasoning wood for future years without stressing about the now and next season. But first, a good amount of stacking in my near future!

One question for y'all: I've got a space for about two cords build next to the foundation of my house. It's a concrete base up against the outside of the fieldstone basement of my home, and under a wooden deck. I believe it was intended for storing wood or coal. I put some pallets down to not have the wood right on the concrete. I'm thinking that as this wood is seasoned, I'll store as much of it as I can stacked there (it's the closest space for wood I have to the house and probably not great for seasoning, as it doesn't get sun and less wind than other areas). As it's right up against my home I worry a bit about bugs, especially the wood eating kind that could potentially effect my home, and possibly also mice. Should I put some bug/ant poison down and possibly some mouse traps or poison before I stack the wood there, and/or also on top of the wood? If so, what do you recommend?


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## KennyK (Mar 19, 2018)

I'm starting to get a hang of this keep your eyes open for wood all the time thing. Today I passed a team of three guys taking a tree down. I pulled over and asked them if I could have some of the rounds. They smiled and were happy to lighten their load. They cut some logs into manageable pieces and I took as much as I could. They said it was oak - I'm not sure. Look correct from these pics? 

Also, anyone have any ideas on what I wrote in my last post about stacking my  seasoned wood in a space next to the foundation of my house under my deck - should I spread any bug/ant/mouse poison or traps before stacking the wood there?


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 19, 2018)

Good score! Looks like hard maple to me.


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## Simonkenton (Mar 20, 2018)

Might be oak I am not sure.  But, you got a lot of joints there, places where a big branch comes off of the trunk. Nearly impossible to split with a maul, hope you have a gasoline powered splitter.

I haven't had much problem with bugs getting into outside wood piles.  I have had some rats get in there but you can always add a rat trap later.  Do what I did get a Havahart trap, that way if it is a squirrel or chipmunk you can let him go.


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## maple1 (Mar 20, 2018)

begreen said:


> I don't think the tarp cover color would matter too much except the top row. Orienting the stacks so that the prevailing winds can blow through then seems much more effective.



I have had better luck orienting stacks the other way - so prevailing winds blow against the end of the stack. And therefore across the ends of the wood. That way prevailing moisture that comes with the prevailing winds doesn't get driven into the stack, it only hits the end of the stack & won't go in very far - you could keep it out all together by covering that stack end if you wanted. Most of the time in a rain, I can look out & see the ends of my wood staying mostly dry. The wind across the ends of the wood pulls moisture out from both sides. Since my prevailing winds are southerly, that also means those stacks get early sun on one side & late sun on the other. I have no choice in how to orient one of my stacks, it runs east/west - the back side of it always seems to burn harder than the front side of it (I double stack). Which may also have something to do with the fact the the sun never hits the north facing side.


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## Rich L (Mar 21, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Hey firefighterjake, as we say in Boston, "you're wicked smaaaaht!" I just scored the motherload of high quality wood exactly as you said. I've been on the lookout and found a wood burner who recently put his house on the market and was looking to get rid of his wood stash. I bought three plus cords of 3-year split (all right around 16 inches) and stacked oak, maple and a bit of cherry (some of which I'll be cutting into smaller chunks to go into my smoker and impart some delicious flavor into ribs and chicken!) for $150 I rented a 15 foot uhaul cargo truck, and made two trips (had to make two trips due to weight concerns more than space). The guy even helped me load it all up and threw in a big blue tarp, a couple nice rubber roof pieces great for covering a cord or two, and six nice wood fence posts that he had the wood stacked on. Pics below. The wood burns great and I split a few pieces after sitting in the house for a day and they measure 14% on my moisture meter. The uhaul was another $100, plus $30 in gas, so for $280 and a good days work, I've now got three cords ready to go (plus the wood I already had)! I'm feeling that I'm now in a good place as I can start thinking about getting ahead, seasoning wood for future years without stressing about the now and next season. But first, a good amount of stacking in my near future!
> 
> One question for y'all: I've got a space for about two cords build next to the foundation of my house. It's a concrete base up against the outside of the fieldstone basement of my home, and under a wooden deck. I believe it was intended for storing wood or coal. I put some pallets down to not have the wood right on the concrete. I'm thinking that as this wood is seasoned, I'll store as much of it as I can stacked there (it's the closest space for wood I have to the house and probably not great for seasoning, as it doesn't get sun and less wind than other areas). As it's right up against my home I worry a bit about bugs, especially the wood eating kind that could potentially effect my home, and possibly also mice. Should I put some bug/ant poison down and possibly some mouse traps or poison before I stack the wood there, and/or also on top of the wood? If so, what do you recommend?
> View attachment 224535
> ...


 
Kenny that's some good looking wood for a great price.You were blessed  with that deal.I'll have to check out craig's list more often


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## KennyK (Mar 24, 2018)

I'm keeping my eyes open and today I picked up a mini score of some free pine rounds. Would have gotten more, but my minivan is in the shop and I could only fit so much in my rental (a small SUV). Nonetheless, a bit more free wood for 15 minutes of work (and of course upcoming splitting), and the first of my pine stash!


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## begreen (Mar 24, 2018)

Every bit helps. Split the larger rounds into halves to accelerate drying.


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## KennyK (Mar 24, 2018)

begreen said:


> Every bit helps. Split the larger rounds into halves to accelerate drying.


 
They are oozing sap from the ends. How long should I wait before splitting?


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 25, 2018)

If it hasn’t been said, definitely top cover that pine.


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## maple1 (Mar 25, 2018)

KennyK said:


> They are oozing sap from the ends. How long should I wait before splitting?



Imo all wood should be split as soon as it is in rounds. Ideally.


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## KennyK (Mar 25, 2018)

maple1 said:


> Imo all wood should be split as soon as it is in rounds. Ideally.



I think I read someone here saying that with pine he lets it sit in rounds for a bit and that way it doen't sap up his maul so much when splitting.


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 25, 2018)

That’s probably right to some degree, but def get split sometime soon for use this fall.


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## KennyK (Mar 25, 2018)

Ctwoodtick said:


> That’s probably right to some degree, but def get split sometime soon for use this fall.



Wow, use this fall? Does pine dry that fast? I was thinking maybe this time next year...


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 25, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Wow, use this fall? Does pine dry that fast? I was thinking maybe this time next year...



As long as not split big, yes.


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## nola mike (Mar 25, 2018)

Alpine1 said:


> If the use you make is limited (i.e. a few hours per year) steel toe boots, chainsaw chaps and eye and ear protection will suffice IF YOU ARE VERY CAUTIOUS.
> For prolonged (professional) use add helmet, jacket and gloves. It’s quite pricey gear, but will last many years.
> And your arms, legs, fingers etc are pretty valuable tools.


Disagree. Helmet and face shield aren't optional. I've seen more than one kickback to the head/face. My head is more valuable than my legs...though I'm fond of all of my appendages.


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## KennyK (Mar 25, 2018)

nola mike said:


> Disagree. Helmet and face shield aren't optional. I've seen more than one kickback to the head/face. My head is more valuable than my legs...though I'm fond of all of my appendages.



Nola Mike, to you and all the folks who have offered safety advice, thank you! All of this is a very helpful and welcome reminders. I think it's very easy for many people (myself included) to forgot just how important it is to never put your guard down when using something like a chainsaw. I will take this advice all very seriously. One related questions. My neighbor has a small 14inch electric chainsaw. He will be teaching me to use a chainsaw with this, and then down the line I'll decide if I'm going to invest in my own and at that point I'll decide on size, gas vs. electric, etc. In terms of safety, is a small electric chainsaw any different than using a gas chainsaw? I imagine that even though it's probably not as powerful as a gas saw, one still has to exercise the utmost caution and safety, but perhaps it's a little less prone to things like kick-backs due to less power - not sure. Any thoughts or input?


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## maple1 (Mar 26, 2018)

nola mike said:


> Disagree. Helmet and face shield aren't optional. I've seen more than one kickback to the head/face. My head is more valuable than my legs...though I'm fond of all of my appendages.



I also wouldn't consider standard steel toe boots, as saw boots. They leave a lot of your foot/shin unprotected - that toe doesn't go very far. Any nicks in my boots are into sort of the side of them - behind the toes.


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## Simonkenton (Mar 27, 2018)

Here I am ripping a white pine beam for my new log cabin.  I am not saying you should not use safety gear, you should.
A chain saw is a very dangerous tool and it can kill you.

However this  is my way, I would find all that gear cumbersome, and hot, so this is what works for me and I do a lot of chainsaw work.


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## obie1kanobe (Mar 28, 2018)

If I split winter-cut oak into small pieces (2"x3"x18") how much will that speed up the exit of water from within the cells? It needs to be dry enough to burn efficiently when added to an existing fire in a Hearthstone stove.  I'll stack it along a ridgeline that gets full day sun and frequently gets 15mph minds.  

I don't want to go to the extra work if it doesn't cut at least a year off the drying time.  (The downside is, at that small size, it will burn too fast once dry.)


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## Ctwoodtick (Mar 28, 2018)

obie1kanobe said:


> If I split winter-cut oak into small pieces (2"x3"x18") how much will that speed up the exit of water from within the cells? It needs to be dry enough to burn efficiently when added to an existing fire in a Hearthstone stove.  I'll stack it along a ridgeline that gets full day sun and frequently gets 15mph minds.
> 
> I don't want to go to the extra work if it doesn't cut at least a year off the drying time.  (The downside is, at that small size, it will burn too fast once dry.)



I think that that wood should be good in 18 months. It may not be 15% mc, but likely around 20, IMHO.


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## Rich L (Mar 29, 2018)

maple1 said:


> I also wouldn't consider standard steel toe boots, as saw boots. They leave a lot of your foot/shin unprotected - that toe doesn't go very far. Any nicks in my boots are into sort of the side of them - behind the toes.


 Man if your nicking your boots with a chain saw your cutting method is so unsafe it's ridiculous.


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## KennyK (Apr 9, 2018)

Another score today! Almost a cord of 3 year, cut, split and stacked seasoned oak, plus about an 1/8 cord of green split unidentified wood for $80! Close to my house, so two full loads today in the minivan with seats down and another tomorrow! Working towards the three year plan! Here's the oak, I'll post then unidentified tree tomorrow when I pick it up for some identification help!


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## Ctwoodtick (Apr 9, 2018)

80 bucks is a great bargain for more than a month and half of heat in the winter. Excellent score!


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## Simonkenton (Apr 10, 2018)

3+ cords for 80 bucks!   You ought to be arrested.  Dammn what a deal.


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## DuaeGuttae (Apr 10, 2018)

KennyK said:


> Another score today! Almost a cord of 3 year, cut, split and stacked seasoned oak, plus about an 1/8 cord of green split unidentified wood for $80! Close to my house, so two full loads today in the minivan with seats down and another tomorrow! Working towards the three year plan! Here's the oak, I'll post then unidentified tree tomorrow when I pick it up for some identification help!
> 
> View attachment 225616



You should look into getting a trailer hitch put on that van.  We used to be mini-van scroungers as well, and it was much nicer to be able to keep the wood (and spiders) out of the seating area.  We had the hitch put on and used a rental U-Haul on occasion until we found a suitable trailer on Craigslist.  The rentals are so inexpensive that it could be a viable long-term option.


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## KennyK (Apr 10, 2018)

Simonkenton said:


> 3+ cords for 80 bucks!   You ought to be arrested.  Dammn what a deal.



It was a good deal, but not quite that good! More like a cord (I think you misread that it was seasoned for 3 years as 3 cords).


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## KennyK (Apr 10, 2018)

DuaeGuttae said:


> You should look into getting a trailer hitch put on that van.  We used to be mini-van scroungers as well, and it was much nicer to be able to keep the wood (and spiders) out of the seating area.  We had the hitch put on and used a rental U-Haul on occasion until we found a suitable trailer on Craigslist.  The rentals are so inexpensive that it could be a viable long-term option.



 That's a great idea! Fortunately, my minivan is 13 years old, and not in pristine condition so I don't mind putting down a blue tarp and when I'm done with everything getting in here with the vacuum.  That said, the trailer hitch seems like a great plan, would be easier, and gives me something to think about for when I eventually get a new car which probably won't be another minivan.


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## KennyK (Apr 10, 2018)

Just picked up the final load. Here's a pic of the unidentified green wood. Any thoughts of what species?


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## ValleyCottageSplitter (Apr 10, 2018)

Looks a lot like Red Maple to me...


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## ValleyCottageSplitter (Apr 10, 2018)

DuaeGuttae said:


> You should look into getting a trailer hitch put on that van.  We used to be mini-van scroungers as well, and it was much nicer to be able to keep the wood (and spiders) out of the seating area.  We had the hitch put on and used a rental U-Haul on occasion until we found a suitable trailer on Craigslist.  The rentals are so inexpensive that it could be a viable long-term option.


I did that over the summer and it worked well. A tree company was giving away about 200 full length logs close by but would only load to a trailer. I got about a cord of ash, sycamore and red oak and the rental was $35.  The hard part was getting the logs out in 85°F.  I only was able to make one trip before I had to clean and return the trailer.  To buy a similar trailer might be $2-4K.  That is 57 cords worth of uhaul rentals...


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## spudman99 (Apr 11, 2018)

A trailer is a great help.  I have a 14 year old Toyota Sienna with 170k miles and it is not running well.  Hauled this load in 3 trips yesterday.










Trailer cost me $1k about 5 years ago.  Works great hauling splits or in my case rounds.  I use it to carry brush, wood, drywall, lawnmowers, all kinds of stuff.


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