How do you stack your wood grain side up or bark side up?

[Tony H]

I do not bar code yet however to speed drying time I drill a hole two inches from the end of each split and string and hang them like popcorn on a tree , just make sure they are high enough you don't bonk your head on the when you ride thru on the lawn tractor BTW did you know those mowers with the hydrostatic transmissions will keep on going after you fall off and mow right over flowers and small bushes. True!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Mostly bark side up but if one happens to fit better the opposite way, that is how it gets stacked. Looking over my piles, it appears over 90% is bark side up.

 

[Wet1]

Mostly bark side up but if one happens to fit better the opposite way, that is how it gets stacked. Looking over my piles, it appears over 90% is bark side up.

+1

 

[John the Painter]

I always stack bark down.As a kid I learned that the moisture would evaporate up and so it would be easier to dry.Wheither or not this is true I don't know but it was what I was taught.

 

[kenny chaos]

I always stack bark down.As a kid I learned that the moisture would evaporate up and so it would be easier to dry.Wheither or not this is true I don't know but it was what I was taught.

Yes, that is true. You had a brilliant teacher.

 

[firefighterjake]

I honestly don't think it really matters, but I've tended to stack the top layer or two of my stacks bark on the top and the wood's "meat" under . . . thinking perhaps like Quads that the bark was always exposed to the elements so I might as well let it continue its job in death as it did in life. I suppose a part of me is also thinking that the bark would help "shed" water since my stacks are left uncovered for a year until they go into the woodshed . . . but in reality the water, snow and ice will percolate down a bit into the wood anyways . . . again, I don't think it really matters which way the wood is stacked as long as it is stacked for several months.

 

[NitroDave]

I stand them on end... like a little army of soldiers..... the trick is to get them to march into the funace room.

 

[Corey]

I stack 'what ever fits best' side up. and by fits best, I mean 'loose but still stable'. This allows good air flow for seasoning, but keeps the pile stable. In all my years of burning, I've never noticed any difference between a stick which was stacked bark up vs one which was bark down.

 

[drdoct]

Nothing like a good question to draw out all the people with OCD. I usually stack mine sideways with the bark. heh... how's that for up or down? ;-)

 

[smokinj]

My wood goes on a heap for 2 years then in the shed for 6-12 months. Don't worry about what side up.

+1 but little less than2 years

 

[raybonz]

One of my wood guys told me to always stack it bark side up because the bark holds water and I have found this to be true.. In fact my wood tends to mushroom if stacked the other way because of the moisture fungus has a field day!

Ray

 

[gpcollen1]

I find it amusing that folks do it one way or another - no offense. I just split it an stack it so it does not fall over. All I do is make certain that the stack will never fall over...

 

[FireaddictSC]

Who would have known that such a question would bring so many responses. Thanks for all the feed back, next time i'm splitting and stacking i will think about something that could solve the economy woes and ask the question on here. I'm sure we all have lots to say about that!

 

[Valhalla]

Outdoor stacks have the splits placed for the best stability.
In my shed and barn, the same for an obvious reason.

The bark adds little moisture protection since rain water,
snow/ice melt and heavy dew can penetrate at all angles.

Stability of my stacks is very important.

 

[Gator eye]

I do not bar code yet however to speed drying time I drill a hole two inches from the end of each split and string and hang them like popcorn on a tree , just make sure they are high enough you don't bonk your head on the when you ride thru on the lawn tractor BTW did you know those mowers with the hydrostatic transmissions will keep on going after you fall off and mow right over flowers and small bushes. True!

Yeap those mower will keep right on going and going if you disconnect the seat sensor......they'll even drive themself into a pond.

BTW, Did you know that a lawn mower will float upside down with the rear tires just above the water line.........

 

[firefighterjake]

Who would have known that such a question would bring so many responses. Thanks for all the feed back, next time i'm splitting and stacking i will think about something that could solve the economy woes and ask the question on here. I'm sure we all have lots to say about that!

Yup . . . ask any question here and we can solve it . . . well most questions . . . I mean if you got a bunch of monkeys together pounding on enough keyboards for long enough they might be able to come up with the complete collection of Shakespeare right . . . I mean to say it's possible . . . and therefore if you ask a question and we all offer enough answers long enough who knows one of us might even come up with the right answer.

 

[lexybird]

seems to me if you are letting it season for as long as you should be ..then it wont matter either way
wood that has sat for over a year or two usually has its bark seperating and falling off the split anyhow

 

[JoeyD]

I don't pay any attention to it. Wood I have stacked or heaped outside is for future years, and remains out there to season, uncovered, for a year or two, (or more) until about a year before it's gonna get burned, then it goes into the shed...where it really doesn't matter what side's up, since it's all under roof. I think if I was gonna worry about my outside wood, I'd just stack it however it wants to be stacked, then I'd throw a tarp over the top of it. I wouldn't give a thought to how the bark's oriented. A pretty good percentage of my split wood has no bark on it anyway...either it fell off or the split was from the interior of the round where there was no bark to begin with. Before my shed was built, I had wood stacked out in the open, and I just kept a tarp over the top. In fact, I stapled it to the wood in a few places to keep it from blowing off. The primary function it served was to keep the snow & ice off the wood stack, for convenience in handling and bringing it inside. Rick

The most time consuming for me is planing the splits to identical sizes and weights, bar coding each one and scanning the information into the database. The stacking goes really fast.

Does this really help to dry the woods more evenly? What do you do if once planed to size the weights don't match up? If it does help I'm going out to shop tonight and fixing next years wood tonight. BTW I unusually stack with my bark N/S. This way the westerly winds hit bark side first.

 

[raybonz]

I don't pay any attention to it. Wood I have stacked or heaped outside is for future years, and remains out there to season, uncovered, for a year or two, (or more) until about a year before it's gonna get burned, then it goes into the shed...where it really doesn't matter what side's up, since it's all under roof. I think if I was gonna worry about my outside wood, I'd just stack it however it wants to be stacked, then I'd throw a tarp over the top of it. I wouldn't give a thought to how the bark's oriented. A pretty good percentage of my split wood has no bark on it anyway...either it fell off or the split was from the interior of the round where there was no bark to begin with. Before my shed was built, I had wood stacked out in the open, and I just kept a tarp over the top. In fact, I stapled it to the wood in a few places to keep it from blowing off. The primary function it served was to keep the snow & ice off the wood stack, for convenience in handling and bringing it inside. Rick

The most time consuming for me is planing the splits to identical sizes and weights, bar coding each one and scanning the information into the database. The stacking goes really fast.

Does this really help to dry the woods more evenly? What do you do if once planed to size the weights don't match up? If it does help I'm going out to shop tonight and fixing next years wood tonight. BTW I unusually stack with my bark N/S. This way the westerly winds hit bark side first.

Bark holds water like a bowl... makes sense if you think about it... wood tends to be wet between the wood and the bark.. Check this with a moisture meter....

Ray

 

[quads]

seems to me if you are letting it season for as long as you should be ..then it wont matter either way
wood that has sat for over a year or two usually has its bark seperating and falling off the split anyhow

The trees I cut have no bark on them. I still stack the side the bark would have been on up. Don't know if it makes any difference, I let them season for 3 - 5 years, but it somehow looks "right" to me. The other way looks like upside down wood.

 

[PJF1313]

I do not bar code yet however to speed drying time I drill a hole two inches from the end of each split and string and hang them like popcorn on a tree , just make sure they are high enough you don't bonk your head on the when you ride thru on the lawn tractor BTW did you know those mowers with the hydrostatic transmissions will keep on going after you fall off and mow right over flowers and small bushes. True!

Yeap those mower will keep right on going and going if you disconnect the seat sensor......they'll even drive themself into a pond.

BTW, Did you know that a lawn mower will float upside down with the rear tires just above the water line.. ......

... and a New Holland with a hammer knife will keep goin' until it drowns itself - just ask my boss ;-) .
It took us a couple of hours, with a Case back hoe, a bunch of chain and cable and a couple of "wet" employees, to get it out. After draining all the fluids, a few gallons worth, it restarted nicely, but hasn't been the same since.

 

[Todd]

Probably doesn't make any difference either way since most of the moisture will evaporate from the split ends. I always stacked bark up to shed off water but now I have a wood shed and it gets stacked whichever way fits best.

 

[kjayhawk]

I always stack bark down.As a kid I learned that the moisture would evaporate up and so it would be easier to dry.Wheither or not this is true I don't know but it was what I was taught.

+1.

And it has played out in my red oak stacks this year. The splits stacked bark side up aren't ready. The splits stacked grain side up are.

 

[Bone1099]

after reading every post in this thread i went out and pushed over all my stacks of rounds turned em over and stacked em on three different sides still confused. so now im sitting in the middle of a pile of wood passed out drunk scratchin my head or ... is it my butt i dont even know my name any more.

 

[Birdman1]

I been stacking bark side down, gives my O.C.D. somethin to do so I can actually get stuff done.

Maybe next stack will be bark up or side ways.
As long as the O.C.D. is not focused on the edges of the stack all being lined up I might get some work
done, I just hope no one tells the O.C.D. on me cause then I will never get anything done.