Basement storage for wood

[oldspark]

I dont think you whipper snappers understand, IF the wood is good and dry (not punky or past its prime) and its been good and dry out side there will not be any bugs to speak of. Some parts of the country may be different but a lot of people on this forum report the same. Wood that has not been dried in single rows is more apt to have bugs in it due to the lack of wind and sun directly on the wood. Been putting wood in the garage (warm when I do it in the fall) and HAVE NEVER had a bug problem in 34 years.

 

[oldspark]

I am sure people put all sorts of wood that should not be put indoors just as they put wood in their woodburners that does not belong there also! Chimney fires and termites are the proof.

 

[maple1]

I dont think you whipper snappers understand, IF the wood is good and dry (not punky or past its prime) and its been good and dry out side there will not be any bugs to speak of. Some parts of the country may be different but a lot of people on this forum report the same. Wood that has not been dried in single rows is more apt to have bugs in it due to the lack of wind and sun directly on the wood. Been putting wood in the garage (warm when I do it in the fall) and HAVE NEVER had a bug problem in 34 years.

I agree. I have been putting 7 cords in my basement every September for 15 years - if this had been creating a bug problem, I would have been living here alone years ago.

 

[Cascade Failure]

A 1/2 cord at a time goes by the stove. Once I had an issue with ants. I have also had an issue with ants that was not wood related. I will continue to bring a 1/2 cord in at a time.

 

[SKIN052]

Got quickly tired of bringing wood in from the cold last year so this year, 1 cord in the basement, 1.5 cord in the detached garage. Wood is seasoned well, knocked of all the visible bugs and then sprayed lightly with a Raid product after it was brought in. I have been checking every day and except for a couple half dead rain spiders, no bugs to speak of. Wood is stacked on some "EZ stack" stands and off the walls of the basement. My basement is partially finished, walls are almost all dry walled but the ceilings are still open to the joists and the stove is n the basement.

 

[Got Wood]

Call me odd .... I like the daily ritual of going outside to bring in wood. In the winter it gets me off my fat a$$. I happen to work at home and am on the computer and phone all day. Getting up and outside for even a small amount of time is a very welcome break.
I have a small wood rack in the garage and a utility wagon that I keep filled in the garage...in mid winter it amounts to about 3-4 days worth of wood. I have one of those canvas bag wood holders that I use to move from the garage to the stove (very close by).

 

[maplewood]

I only put seasoned wood in my basement. 4th generation to do it.
I put 12.5 cord in my unfinished concrete room.
Sometimes I run the dehumidifier if there is some surface moisture.
My new in-floor heating helps, but the previous 90 years of family history didn't have that option.
I appreciate the art and work of bringing it in all winter, and respect those that store it in the garage,
but I'm not going to carry in 15 cord one arm-full at at time when its -20C outside.

 

[firefighterjake]

Call me odd .... I like the daily ritual of going outside to bring in wood. In the winter it gets me off my fat a$$. I happen to work at home and am on the computer and phone all day. Getting up and outside for even a small amount of time is a very welcome break.
I have a small wood rack in the garage and a utility wagon that I keep filled in the garage...in mid winter it amounts to about 3-4 days worth of wood. I have one of those canvas bag wood holders that I use to move from the garage to the stove (very close by).

Well only since you insist . . .

From here on in, Got Wood will now be known as Odd . . . maybe Odd Job.

And no, you're not odd . . . I enjoy the cool air in the winter as well . . . one reason I love snowmobiling so much . . . it gets me outside.

 

[fire_man]

I am a new burner I just started last year. What a blast I love the warmth in my house. My question is about storage of my wood. Last year I keep my wood outside and covered with tarps This did not work well and I am looking to move my wood into my basement this season. All of my wood is split and has been seasoned a year and is stacked outside. My basement is enclosed but not finished and stays around 55 degrees in winter but my wife is worried about ants from the wood. What is the best way to handle this situation. I am sure a lot of members have tackled this problem.

HighHeat: I have to ask - why did you have such problems with the tarps? The only problem I really had was scraping snow off in the winter to get at the wood. And sometimes a rodent would chew through a tarp and make a hole, resulting in some wet wood. I solved both problems by placing pressure treated plywood sheets over the stacks, and tarps on top. Snow slides off, and no more holes! It was a little pricey, but cheeper and less permanent than a shed. Others have had good luck with corrugated roofing, I keep meaning to find some of that stuff! I just don't see it around New England.

 

[onetracker]

And you can find an 80 year old that's smoked 2 packs a day for 60 years who says it has not hurt him but I'd not recommend that either.
Posted this before in other threads but you asked

“As a real estate agent I hear home inspectors rant about this if they see fire wood inside or even close to a building. I remember one home where the owner had this huge basement with 12 ft ceilings-walk out style- and he had a wood boiler in that basement. He stored 4-5 cords of wood in there and when I listed the house told him a home inspector might red flag that but being the old timer that he was he said pfft been doing this all my life
Well long story/short buyers moved in before closing on a rental agreement, tore up the floor above where the wood was stored to install hardwood floors and ta da! Termites! Big time. They were not visible from the basement so the home inspector did not find them but they had eaten sub flooring and most of an 16 ft section of 2x6 wall and the sills below it. Many dollars later….....is the moral of the story. “
Come to think of it this guy smoked too

And I think its fair to say you’re not going to kill off the bugs with wood getting a few freezes or even spending a whole winter outdoors. Bugs are designed to live thru that- that’s why we have still bugs in cold climates

I keep my seasoning wood a long way from the house, my seasoned wood in a shed close by for convenience and maybe 3 or 4 days worth piled in the stove room. We can pass wood thur an open sliding window fairly easily so that set up works for us. Having seen home sales crater from home inspections uncovering insect damage and wood stored inside is sometimes the culprit and heard many many stories from home inspectors about this happening often so I'll never keep a sizable quantity of wood inside of my living structure or anything attached to it. I've considered using my detached garage but then where would the boat, snowblower, John Deere and all my other junk "live"- good luck

thank you for your perspective serious -

and
houses that don't burn or store firewood also get termites. correlation is not causation.
your results may vary.

OT

 

[Got Wood]

I am a new burner I just started last year. What a blast I love the warmth in my house. My question is about storage of my wood. Last year I keep my wood outside and covered with tarps This did not work well and I am looking to move my wood into my basement this season. All of my wood is split and has been seasoned a year and is stacked outside. My basement is enclosed but not finished and stays around 55 degrees in winter but my wife is worried about ants from the wood. What is the best way to handle this situation. I am sure a lot of members have tackled this problem.

HighHeat: I have to ask - why did you have such problems with the tarps? The only problem I really had was scraping snow off in the winter to get at the wood. And sometimes a rodent would chew through a tarp and make a hole, resulting in some wet wood. I solved both problems by placing pressure treated plywood sheets over the stacks, and tarps on top. Snow slides off, and no more holes! It was a little pricey, but cheeper and less permanent than a shed. Others have had good luck with corrugated roofing, I keep meaning to find some of that stuff! I just don't see it around New England.

One trick I found for getting the snow off your wood stacks - use your Blower. If the snow is fresh and hasnt compacted yet it works well.

 

[stee6043]

I propose a poll If only I knew how to create one. Far more people are responding "I store in the basement" than I would have guessed. Maybe this isn't as uncommon as I thought it would be. I'd still never do it...but who cares what I think. ha.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I have a small supply of wood in the basement for emergency purposes, a 55 gal. drum full of good solid, dry, chunks of oak. I have another 2 or 3 drums full of split kiln dried kindling down there. Other than that, ALL my wood is stored outside, all the time, tops always covered with strips of rubber roofing material, the sweetest stuff on the planet for covering piles.

 

[nate379]

It's not so much that, but I like the wood I put in the stove to be at least room temp and not full of ice/snow. I have tried burning frozen wood and it takes a while to thaw and get the moisture cooked off.

Call me odd .... I like the daily ritual of going outside to bring in wood. In the winter it gets me off my fat a$$. I happen to work at home and am on the computer and phone all day. Getting up and outside for even a small amount of time is a very welcome break.
I have a small wood rack in the garage and a utility wagon that I keep filled in the garage...in mid winter it amounts to about 3-4 days worth of wood. I have one of those canvas bag wood holders that I use to move from the garage to the stove (very close by).

 

[maple1]

If I didn't have a basement entrance I can roll a pallet of wood through, I would chute it in through a basement window, right into some kind of big wood bin containment wall thing where it could stay confined just as it landed from coming through the window - as long as I had room - and I think I would try my hardest to make room. Time spent piling wood nice and neat over and over is just too much time wasted, to me - I do whatever I can think of to avoid re-piling wood.