# Why we elevate our wood...or should.



## skyline (Apr 7, 2012)

Our first day without rain for a while and I thought these pictures show clearly how the wood touching the ground, even if its asphalt, (which is why I didn't bother putting down sleepers) doesn't dry. Every inch above the ground helps the wood dry a little better.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 7, 2012)

Ja, at one time I used to lay down stringers and a first course of junk Poplar as sacrificial wood and put my good wood on top of that.  Then I switched to using pallets.


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## ScotO (Apr 7, 2012)

Yeppers, thats why we use pallets.  And those pallets go bad rather quickly, but the wood on top of those pallets dries out nicely.  Good post, Skyline...


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## JoeyD (Apr 7, 2012)

That is why I also use pallets. This year I found a guy selling plastic pallets for $5 so I bought 10 of them. He ended up giving me 14 because a couple had some cracks. Time will tell if it was worth it. I stacked oak on 6 of them 5 feet high and they seem to fine so far.


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## timusp40 (Apr 7, 2012)

Skyline,
Great photos that speak for themselves. Also the reason why I took the advise from Hearth menbers and keep the wood off the ground!
Tim


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## Woody Stover (Apr 7, 2012)

Scotty Overkill said:


> those pallets go bad rather quickly


I stacked the last few cords on pallets with bricks under the 2x4s. Those pallets should be there a long time. I'm also experimenting with landscape timbers supported by concrete half-blocks laid on their sides.


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## Gark (Apr 7, 2012)

It has been said here that the air is more moist closer to the ground.  That leaves another reason to lift the stacks, but we don't know how high  they need to be. Sort of explains why the upper splits are dryer than the lower splits. Ours are 3" above grade and I wonder if that's high enough.


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## timusp40 (Apr 7, 2012)

Woody,
Same here. If you can get the pallets and bricks or something else for cheap, why not? Some of my stacks are on downhill ground so I figure when it rains, let the water run right on through.
Tim


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## skyline (Apr 7, 2012)

Gark said:


> It has been said here that the air is more moist closer to the ground. That leaves another reason to lift the stacks, but we don't know how high they need to be. Sort of explains why the upper splits are dryer than the lower splits. Ours are 3" above grade and I wonder if that's high enough.


 
Gark,

Yes the humidity is definitely higher closer to the ground. All 3 factors, source of moisture, lower temps, and less air movement contribute. Pallets are good but pallets and a vapor barrier is even better, especially in a wood shed. The ground is an endless supply of moisture. I won't be so lazy next time, even on asphalt.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 7, 2012)

Good post skyline.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 7, 2012)

Gark said:


> It has been said here that the air is more moist closer to the ground. That leaves another reason to lift the stacks, but we don't know how high they need to be. Sort of explains why the upper splits are dryer than the lower splits. Ours are 3" above grade and I wonder if that's high enough.


 

Gark, we typically stack 3" above ground and sometimes less and have no problems. However, if I lived on clay ground I'd stack higher, but we live on yellow sand and you won't find much standing water here. Water goes through sand like a sieve. When in doubt, go a couple inches higher.


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## nate379 (Apr 7, 2012)

I am going to start redoing my wood stacks this summer once the snow melts and everything dries up.  The ground is not level so it's a pain to shim everything or stack at an angle.  Gonna make a "bed" for the pallets with gravel or maybe crushed rock.


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## weatherguy (Apr 7, 2012)

nate379 said:


> I am going to start redoing my wood stacks this summer once the snow melts and everything dries up. The ground is not level so it's a pain to shim everything or stack at an angle. Gonna make a "bed" for the pallets with gravel or maybe crushed rock.


 
I have that problem too, not sure if its as bad as your land but I use bricks to level the pallets and sort of tie the pallets together to make them more stable.
You can see on this part of my rack


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## timusp40 (Apr 7, 2012)

weatherguy said:


> I have that problem too, not sure if its as bad as your land but I use bricks to level the pallets and sort of tie the pallets together to make them more stable.
> You can see on this part of my rack


 I like it! Stack it, dry it, burn it and you are a happy camper. Good set up Weatherguy.
Tim


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## nate379 (Apr 7, 2012)

Yeah pretty much same as what you have.  I'm going to also cut some pallets up to make my rows 6ft wide instead of 4.  Right now I have to hang the first and last rows off the ends to allow for some space on teh middle row.



weatherguy said:


> I have that problem too, not sure if its as bad as your land but I use bricks to level the pallets and sort of tie the pallets together to make them more stable.
> You can see on this part of my rack


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## JP11 (Apr 7, 2012)

I've bought close to 150 pallets so far.

It takes 3 pallets and a 8 foot 2x3 to make a U that I use.

So 9 pallets per cord.  I found a nice old couple that deliver me 30 at a time for 2 bucks each.

Handling the wood fewer times is priceless.  It goes right on the U from the spiltter.  Next time I touch it will be to put it in the Vigas.

JP


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## Adabiviak (Apr 7, 2012)

I like the idea of lifting the pallets off the ground a touch with some spare bricks.


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## Oregon Bigfoot (Apr 8, 2012)

In my driveway, I've been using 1" by 4 foot runners under my wood, because my driveway is only a temporary holding area for a few months, until I get time to put it in the wood shed.  Even one inch off the driveway, it really helps with drying.  Water does not pool at all under splits.


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## Redlegs (Apr 8, 2012)

I've started usng pallets too after seeing some of the setups on here and reading about how it helps with drying.  I first started stacking wood on some railroad tie...anybody else try those?  I liked them b/c they're heavy and felt stable.  I disliked them b/c they are so heavy its not practicle to move them it you wanted to clean up/reorganize the woodlot.  I've wondered about "bad chemicals" from the railroad ties seeping into the firewood - anyone heard of this?  I've not seen the wood looking discolored but as I just installed a new insert and liner, I wouldn't want it gooked-up with chemicals.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 8, 2012)

I'd love to get my hand on some old railway ties to lay on the ground to elevate the pallets.  My dad used ties butted tight together to make the floor in his woodshed.  He had a railroad cross his land and the workers would drop off more ties than he could ever use in a lifetime.


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## BobUrban (Apr 8, 2012)

I put plastic under my pallets because I had some(a lot) from a 100' slip-n-slide we made a couple years ago.  I was thinking it would help keep the grass and weeds from growing up and through but now think it will also help preserve the pallets a little longer.  I have unlimited access to them but changing out rotted pallets every season or two does not sound like much fun.  Time will tell if my experiment helps with weeds or pallet longevity but I have lots of that so we will see.


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## jeff_t (Apr 9, 2012)

This is why I stack it up off the ground. This is after the second back to back 4" rainfalls from overnight t-storms late last summer. The bottom two rows of splits were in water.


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## cptoneleg (Apr 9, 2012)

My Ash----Oak and B L--Ground it and it will rot.


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## Pat53 (Apr 9, 2012)

In my woodshed I put down a 2" layer of 2"-3" crushed limestone rock on top of sand and the wood stays bone dry.

Pat


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## timusp40 (Apr 9, 2012)

Like they said in the olden days. Got to keep your powder dry boys! Tough when you have low ground. Hopefully things will dry out for you during the summer months.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 9, 2012)

Pat53 said:


> In my woodshed I put down a 2" layer of 2"-3" crushed limestone rock on top of sand and the wood stays bone dry.
> 
> Pat


I poured a concrete slab in my woodshed and with the amount of sawdust, chips, and bark that I regularly sweep out of it, I can imagine the effort it would be to keep the crushed stone clear of all the debris.


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## cptoneleg (Apr 9, 2012)

jeff_t said:


> This is why I stack it up off the ground. This is after the second back to back 4" rainfalls from overnight t-storms late last summer. The bottom two rows of splits were in water.


 


 Wow you need a hill or something for stacking, I live on a mtn. I don't have that problem.


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## BrotherBart (Apr 9, 2012)

BobUrban said:


> I have unlimited access to them but changing out rotted pallets every season or two does not sound like much fun.


 
No kidding. After three years I tossed the rotted ones in the trailer and headed to the landfill. Jerks made me go over the scale, even though we are taxed a flat $75 a year for using the landfill, and charged me six fifty for dumping 11 rotted pallets. They are now known as barbeque wood and outdoor stove wood since all of the ones I get are untreated oak.


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## velvetfoot (Apr 9, 2012)

I can't see the point of using pallets on asphalt.  Sure the lowest level is going to stay wetter, but will not likely rot.  Then you don't have to mess with pallets and the imprints they'll make on asphalt.  On dirt, I've standardized on pallets.


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## infinitymike (Apr 9, 2012)

I built mine with pressure treated lumber. I have the 2x4's on edge spaced 20" apart and10' long, the vertical legs are 6' tall. My splits are 24" so they hold 3/4 of a cord.
I get nice air flow under them. A you can see the racks against the house are covered with just plywood and the racks on the side have plywood and a tarp.


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## weatherguy (Apr 10, 2012)

Nice set up Mike. Im thinking of doing something like your plywood/tarp idea over my racks.


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## Redlegs (Apr 10, 2012)

@Jeff-t   Are you using pallets or anything underneath that stack?  Tough to prepare for 8 inches of rain in less than 48 hours.


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## infinitymike (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks weather guy. You cant see it from that pic but I have one more rack to the left and still enough room for 3 more racks that way and when I cut down the leaner I can add 2 or 3 more towards the driveway. I plan on getting those built soon. I may even go as far as framing  a real roof .


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## JoeyD (Apr 24, 2012)

Here are the pallets I picked up this year. I ended up using seven of them so together with another three I already had I have half of the wood I keep on plastic. Soon I won't have the chore of cutting up and getting rid of the wooden pallets at the end of every burning season.


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## goosegunner (Apr 24, 2012)

JoeyD said:


> Here are the pallets I picked up this year. I ended up using seven of them so together with another three I already had I have half of the wood I keep on plastic. Soon I won't have the chore of cutting up and getting rid of the wooden pallets at the end of every burning season.


 

I looked at some plastic pallets but they looked like they would hold water in the molded cups. I was afraid that they would be mosquito breeding water cups.

Are those designed to drain?

gg


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## JoeyD (Apr 24, 2012)

This is what the top looks like, some do hold water, most don't. I will have to wait and see if it is a problem, though I may dill holes in the ones that don't drain from now on.


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## Dakotas Dad (Apr 25, 2012)

I am in the treated 2x4 camp. Works good for me. I stack in the woods. I don't have a nice clear flat area.

I did recently drag a few lawnmower pallets home for a shorts/punks/uglies bin..


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## lukem (Apr 25, 2012)

I put down some 4" landscape timbers last year, but they aren't working out so good.  

1.)  My ground is soft enough they settled about 1.5".
2.)  Some sort of rodent varmit has gotten under the stackes and burrowed, pushing the dirt up and almost making contact with the wood.  My cat needs to get off her @$$ and kill some critters.

I'm thinking I need to elevate them a little further with some bricks.


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## mecreature (Apr 25, 2012)

lukem said:


> I put down some 4" landscape timbers last year, but they aren't working out so good.
> 
> 1.) My ground is soft enough they settled about 1.5".
> 2.) Some sort of rodent varmit has gotten under the stackes and burrowed, pushing the dirt up and almost making contact with the wood. My cat needs to get off her @$$ and kill some critters.
> ...


 
I do the same thing. I stack 2 8x16 pavers 2in thick then put the timbers on top of that.
Green wood make it sag in the middle so I have been supporting the middle with bricks.
seems to work.


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## davmor (Apr 25, 2012)

I use landscape timbers from HD to stack wood on that I season before I put in my shed. If you watch HD ads they usually have them for 1.97.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 25, 2012)

lukem said:


> I put down some 4" landscape timbers last year, but they aren't working out so good.
> 
> 1.) My ground is soft enough they settled about 1.5".
> 2.) Some sort of rodent varmit has gotten under the stackes and burrowed, pushing the dirt up and almost making contact with the wood. My cat needs to get off her @$$ and kill some critters.
> ...


 
I don't worry about a little sink as it won't do any harm. The critter digging under the wood is probably a woodchuck. I have one under one of our piles and will set a trap for him. Shoot, last week we had a ground hog (wood chuck, whistle pig. All the same) come up onto the porch looking to get inside. They do that as they are looking to make some new burrows. I caught up with him by the barn. No digging for him now.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 26, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> The critter digging under the wood is probably a woodchuck...


You don't want them critters chucking your wood.


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## firefighterjake (Apr 26, 2012)

Here's my favorite woodchuck . . .


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## Woody Stover (Apr 26, 2012)

JoeyD said:


> I won't have the chore of cutting up and getting rid of the wooden pallets at the end of every burning season.


My Original stacking area has pallets on concrete blocks, and the pallets have held up well for probably ten years. I don't know how long non-Oak pallets would go...


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