Do you cover your wood if not going to use it this year?

[Vikestand]

Leaves make nest come spring. The least amount of critters in my pile the least likely I get the chit scared out of me by a snake come summer. Plus what everybody else said.

All of the time we take to split and stack why fuss over $10 tarps and something so easy to do? There are no negatives to covering outside of tarp costs. There are negatives to not covering.

 

[Vikestand]

Leaves make nest come spring. The least amount of critters in my pile the least likely I get the chit scared out of me by a snake come summer. Plus what everybody else said.

All of the time we take to split and stack why fuss over $10 tarps and something so easy to do? There are no negatives to covering outside of tarp costs. There are negatives to not covering.

 

[beatlefan]

There are a lot of good posts here about top covering from the beginning. I think I'm going to top cover everything from now on.

 

[mass_burner]

There are a lot of good posts here about top covering from the beginning. I think I'm going to top cover everything from now on.

There are posts here, but it doesn't mean it's effective, just what folks are doing.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Nope never do but my climate allows it. If I lived in a really wet place I probably would

 

[Paulywalnut]

For the last few years I finally started top covering my stacks with heavy duty black plastic. I've really noticed the wood to be a bit drier, but also cleaner. No walnuts and acorns and junk down between pieces, and the black plastic does not rot or fall apart like clear does. I'm a fan now.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

It also adds a layer of compost and junk that is a perfect spot for mice, ants and all sorts of other creatures that you really don't want waking up when you bring the wood into the house in the winter.

It also traps moisture very well, and promotes rot and mold and fungi.


If you want to get rid of some wood without burning it, bury it in a pile of leaves.

I'm consideering getting some of those mesh tarps for my 3 year piles, just to keep the leaves off.

 

[bioman]

Hello, always cover your wood unless your using it !

 

[bag of hammers]

Spent 15 or 20 minutes picking a heavy layer of sopping wet leaves out of a partially exposed pallet this weekend. The leaves work their way far down into the stack and hold water like a sponge. Mice love it (pup too, chasing the mice) but I'm not so thrilled finding critter houses in the stacks. Trees (maple) are probably 2/3 bare now, still more to drop, one more frosty day and good wind should do it. A 6" split will disappear if left on the ground. Where the wind drives the leaves into the tree line the heavy cover will reclaim anything left on the ground and turn it to compost. Top cover is standard procedure here.

 

[BradleyW]

I stack my wood in an open, breezy, 100% sunny place, uncovered. Seems to work fine. If I lived in Oregon, or if my wood was in partial shade or near the woods, I would probably cover it. But with my situation, it really doesn't seem to matter. As is the case with a lot of wood burning issues, it all depends on your particular situation.

 

[ADK_XJ]

I've done both and found, not surprisingly, that the effort of covering seems to be worth it for drying performance and peace of mind. I had two cord of cherry and ash out in the open for 18 months and it certainly lost moisture but didn't come below 20% until this summer when I covered it up with old plastic roofing panels. Maybe that was just a coincidence for the season and seasoning of the wood but I certainly felt like that extra 15-20 mins of work was worth it.

Since then, I use 3' wide strips of 25' long 4mil black plastic and the ugly pieces On top to cover anything that's not going in this year. This year's victims get the roof panels AND the plastic because the roof panels are old and have cracks and seams but give good structure to the plastic so it over hangs the sides.

I have about a half face cord rack that I knocked together from old Douglas fir 4x4s, barn wood and fence picket cast offs that lives on the screened in porch and that was my final staging area last season.

Now I've added one of those fancy shmancy circle racks in the living room near the stove and that's not only helped my wood obsession but also gives those 20-30 pieces a good final dry out.

TL;DR Yes, I top cover now.

 

[fire_man]

It's simple: Wood + Water = ROT.

Top Cover!

 

[mass_burner]

OK, so for non oak species, we're talking 1.5 years depending on when you stack it. For all the time/effort dealing with tarps etc, you could just build a simple shed. Fugit about top covering, and at about 1.5 years, just move it to the shed and sleep well at night.

 

[maple1]

I don't think there's much question that top covering will get your wood drier over a given amount of time, than if not top covered. But you can also get your wood 'dry enough' if you have enough time, without top covering, if your climate & site conditions are OK for that.

Keeping leaf debris out is a good reason to do it. Another is keeping ice buildup out of the pile over the winter. A couple/few freeze/thaw cycles can load your piles with ice, and it takes a long time for that to thaw out when winter finally ends. Which then adds on to the dry time quite a bit.

 

[firefighterjake]

Depends . . . on climate, how soon you plan to burn your wood, etc.

Me personally . . . wood is generally stacked outside for a year or two before being moved into the woodshed where it typically sits for another year before being burned in Year 3 or 4 depending on how long it has been sitting outside. Left uncovered for a year or two . . . the wood is fine -- no rot, plenty dry (probably helps to have it under cover for that extra year before burning.)

That said . . . if I didn't have a woodshed and/or if I was only a year ahead I would most definitely top cover my stacks.

 

[Vikestand]

OK, so for non oak species, we're talking 1.5 years depending on when you stack it. For all the time/effort dealing with tarps etc, you could just build a simple shed. Fugit about top covering, and at about 1.5 years, just move it to the shed and sleep well at night.

I don't know what type of tarps you have up yonder, but down here they are simple squares that you open up, spread and throw a coupl logs on. Bam. Done.

 

[mass_burner]

I don't think there's much question that top covering will get your wood drier over a given amount of time, than if not top covered.

I think there is a question, at least beyond it being negligible. The wood I'm burning now, red oak, is burning fine, no rot, finely seasoned. Never covered, got leaves, ice, rain, whatever.

 

[ElmBurner]

Stack it out in the sun and wind, with plenty of space between stacks and then you don't need to bother. I put my cords of wood into 24'L / 16" D / 4' H stacks about 10" off the ground, oriented so the sun shines on it and wind blows through it. Everything but oak dries in a year and stays in the 16% - 20% range until I burn it.

The more of these things you can't do (single row stacks, keeping it in sun and wind, keeping it off the ground), the more seriously you need to consider a top cover or a shed, in my opinion.

 

[fire_man]

For all the time/effort dealing with tarps etc, you could just build a simple shed. Fugit about top covering, and at about 1.5 years, just move it to the shed and sleep well at night.

Try that when you are 6+ years ahead! That would have to be a pretty BIG shed!

 

[fire_man]

I think there is a question, at least beyond it being negligible. The wood I'm burning now, red oak, is burning fine, no rot, finely seasoned. Never covered, got leaves, ice, rain, whatever.

Whatever works for you, my friend. I agree with Maple1, especially in the Northeast climate. You are kidding yourself if you think burning "never covered" wood in a climate that averages 40 inches of rainfall per year results in negligible difference.

Been there, done that, never again.

 

[mass_burner]

Try that when you are 6+ years ahead! That would have to be a pretty BIG shed!

Never had/will have that problem., not enough room. I'd figure something out though, I hate dealing with wet tarps.

 

[mass_burner]

Whatever works for you, my friend. I agree with Maple1, especially in the Northeast climate. You are kidding yourself if you think burning "never covered" wood in a climate that averages 40 inches of rainfall per year results in negligible difference.

Been there, done that, never again.

Well if I'm not mistaken, I've been burning since 2012 without tarps in eastern MA.

 

[fire_man]

I hate dealing with wet tarps, too. I ended up putting cheap OSB sheets under the tarps so they shed water and the tarps last MUCH longer.

Honestly, I almost gave up on burning before I realized I needed to top cover. It may have to do partially with the stove, some stoves are less forgiving than others.

 

[Vikestand]

I spend the extra dollar on canvas tarps. They'll last forever since I take them off come spring. Then I stack my middle higher than ends. Sheds water and snow fine.

Do whatever tickles your fancy.

 

[Applesister]

I top cover from the start because I cut alot of deadfall(punky sapwood). And some species dries quicker than expected while others may take 3+ years. So I jump around. If I have Red maple thats dry in 9 months I burn that instead of a scheduled stack. If something turns buggy, it jumps to the front of burn schedule. Etc...
And I have plenty of scrap metal roofing.