Drying Split Wood

[chrispr1]

Is it wise to store split wood inside an enclosed shed?
I have a limited area outside to dry it and am running short on room.
I intend to rotate the indoor stock as space permits but it would likely be there for over a year.
Thanks

 

[Adios Pantalones]

It will dry in there, but airflow will definitely speed it up a bit. If you have doors/windows to leave open in the shed- then do. Will you be burning this next year, or this year?

One of my sheds is built "loose" to allow airflow for drying... but the snowblower and tractor need the roof more than the wood

 

[Henz]

I know one thing, I am real late on getting my wood done. Still havent been delivered logs yet! I am heading into my woods to drop a few trees and a couple that have been leaning and basically down for a few years that are still good. have close to 2 cord oeftover from last year so I should make it. I will be splitting them alittle smaller this year though cause I would rather burn smaller dry wood than larger wet wood and the only way its gonna be ready is to split it smaller from this point foreward!

 

[fossil]

I have a woodshed, recently completed, that will hold nearly 8 cords. We built it off the ground like a deck, and sided it with cedar fencing boards. We left liberal spacing between both the deck boards and the siding boards for good airflow. With all that, though, I won't use the shed to season from green. I'll load the shed with wood that has seasoned outside in the sun and wind until ready to burn (or nearly so). The shed provides for a generous supply of ready wood, close to the house, under roof (no more tarps for the winter's wood...plus an open corner under roof where I can split kindling or whatever. Rick

 

[RonB]

Fossil,
That is one good looking wood shed! Sun and wind will dry your wood the fastest but that shed will keep it dry.

 

[myzamboni]

I stack my wood out in the sun, but let me run this by you guys. I cannot stay in my shed, in the summertime(even with the door open) for more than a couple minutes without sweating profusely. With the 140+ temps that a shed in the sun would get, why wouldn't the wood inside 'kiln dry'?

Note I am talking a metal shed, not the fancy shingled affars you all call sheds.

 

[fossil]

Vent it, zambo. Could be that a big contributor to your profuse sweating is that the wood is drying, but the moisture has nowhere to go. The heat's good, the moisture retention's bad. Make sure the shed's well vented. Rick

 

[jebatty]

I have no reluctance to stack green wood splits in my ventilated shed. Wood dries a minimum of two seasons, always dry when it is time to burn. Too much work to stack it outside and then re-stack in the shed later. The less I can handle the wood the better.

 

[fossil]

...Too much work to stack it outside and then re-stack in the shed later. The less I can handle the wood the better.

Yeah, I hear ya, Jim, and I share that sentiment. I have more wood on-site than will fit in the shed, so I'll fill the shed with the stuff I know is the most seasoned, and the rest will stay stacked outside. I should have no problem burning through a season without emptying the shed. In the spring/summer, I'll replenish the shed from the stuff that has been seasoning outside, and bring in new wood to make up the difference. At least that's the plan. Rick

 

[Burd]

I have a woodshed, recently completed, that will hold nearly 8 cords. We built it off the ground like a deck, and sided it with cedar fencing boards. We left liberal spacing between both the deck boards and the siding boards for good airflow. With all that, though, I won't use the shed to season from green. I'll load the shed with wood that has seasoned outside in the sun and wind until ready to burn (or nearly so). The shed provides for a generous supply of ready wood, close to the house, under roof (no more tarps for the winter's wood...plus an open corner under roof where I can split kindling or whatever. Rick

Ha Rick did you build that your self? Im in commercial construction and from what I see in that picture is some really nice work. I hope that you get many good years out of it and don't hurt your back loading all that wood in there you need to save that back to ride your hog. Ha ha Again Rick nice work

 

[Burd]

I stack my wood out in the sun, but let me run this by you guys. I cannot stay in my shed, in the summertime(even with the door open) for more than a couple minutes without sweating profusely. With the 140+ temps that a shed in the sun would get, why wouldn't the wood inside 'kiln dry'?

Note I am talking a metal shed, not the fancy shingled affars you all call sheds.

If you could find a way to remove all that moister from the shed it would work. So I think. Our It will turn your shed in to a rust bucket
I read some were that one cord of oak will evaporate 55 gallons of water be for it is season properly

 

[fossil]

...Ha Rick did you build that your self? Im in commercial construction and from what I see in that picture is some really nice work. I hope that you get many good years out of it and don't hurt your back loading all that wood in there you need to save that back to ride your hog. Ha ha Again Rick nice work

Didn't build it all by myself, Burd. We've just had a builder friend begin a major renovation on our home, and he had a couple of carpenters he wanted to keep busy for a few days before that work began. I sketched out this shed, he & I figured out how we wanted to build it, sited it, and I helped a bunch during the construction, but it was actually put up by professionals. I could have done this, but not nearly so quickly. I can take only partial credit. I'm very pleased with it. Gotta add some paint & stain and start loading it up. Rick

 

[Burd]

Ha
Rick now I no why you groan about peaple asking if they can burn pine. I GET IT NOW IM SO SORRY.( PA has alot of hard woods) I seen the two pines surrounding the shed. Well one thing that good for you is when them trees are ready you wount have to carry them far What other kind of work are you doing to the house. I just removed four stumps from the back yard and the wife and I are thinking about putting 30x20 addition on.But the way economey is heading I don't no If thats going to happen.I think Im going to see whats going to happen this winter and save all the money I can Now that I have free heat I should be able to save even more.

 

[fossil]

Them's not pines, burd, them's junipers...my property's covered with 'em. Juniper, properly seasoned, makes for some decent firewood, and I'll likely be taking down a few, but I'm not one of the lucky woodburners who owns his own forest to manage and harvest...and I'm too old and ornery to go get a permit to fell, limb, and buck...so I buy almost all my firewood, either in rounds or split. Pine is just the most commonly found wood out here for us, and I burn a lot of it. If I had ready access to other species, I'd certainly burn a more varied mix. For me, it's pine, juniper, larch, douglas fir, and an occasional bit of a couple of other woods, but mostly pine. Our house is completely gutted for a major renovation/remodel...big time, not a subject for this forum...maybe the ash can :lol: Rick

 

[Ken45]

If you could find a way to remove all that moister from the shed it would work. So I think. Our It will turn your shed in to a rust bucket
I read some were that one cord of oak will evaporate 55 gallons of water be for it is season properly

Probably more than that. IIRC, the difference in weight between green oak and seasoned oak is almost 1000 pounds. At 8.5 pounds per gallon, that would be over 100 gallons.

As for the shed holding moisture, maybe a small box fan in the doorway would provide some air movement to help the seasoning and cut the moisture?

Ken

 

[Jags]

chrispr1 - I utilize a shed (actually a large old chicken coop). Any green wood that is stacked in there is for 2 or more years out, so I don't really worry about the seasoning time. And by design, it has 2 large windows on the south facing side, tin roof, and ventilation. All of those attributes makes that thing a pretty good storage building for firewood. And it will hold 12 cords when full.

For wood that is harvested and intended to be burned in the same year, I would probably suggest the old sun/wind method though.

Rick - sweet shed. She's a beaut.