How important is top covering

[WoodBurnerInWI]

My stacks are top covered with tin roofing sections that were given to me by my wife's uncle (leftovers from his construction company). The sections are 10 ft long and I've just layered them over the bins that hold my cords. They are held down by wood screws as well as heavy odds and ends wood pieces that wouldn't fit good in my stacks. The wind (esp this year) has been a real PITA and I've had sections of roof come undone more than once, hence me adding the heavy wood pieces. I think I've finally got it to where it can't move, had 45 mph gusts over the weekend didn't seem to budge. I also notice with how I've placed the tin sheets over my bins the rain seems to run off the sides keeping the stacks dry. Heavy rain in the wind the wood is going to get wet no matter what and that's ok with me.

 

[Woody5506]

Any time in the past where I haven't top covered I've just ended up really regretting it once it's time to burn that wood. Yeah it may be seasoned but if its damp it just sizzles and takes forever to get going. So I guess for me I really prefer burning dry wood, as in both seasoned and not subjected to 3 years worth of rain. I guess some people do ok burning damp wood.

 

[Dabster13]

Depends on the season for me. Spring - Fall, Anything not in my actual woodshed is uncovered, but once winter rolls around I'll throw tarps up on the uncovered piles. Don't want snow to just hang out on top or the wood.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

In Southern New Hampshire, if I didn't top cover my wood would rot. I've tried it, it doesn't work here. In a dryer climate maybe.

 

[Chris Cringle]

Every stack that is not in a shed I top cover, using vinyl corrugated roofing panels, 2-ft wide x 8-ft long pieces of plywood, scraps of plywood, occasionally a tarp. But only because I have to store my wood in the tree line. Rain combined with tree debris that falls throughout the year is like a bunch of continually damp sponges on my stacks. That leads to rot, mushrooms, etc. if my stacks were away from the wood line I wouldn’t cover, except for the stack I was burning through at that time.

 

[Brenda66]

If you only burn a cord a year I wouldn’t worry about it.

The US forest service did a test in Alaska and found uncovered cord was subject to 110 gallons of rain water per year. I can only assume that would take longer to dry than wood covered from that.

For me if I don’t cover with a tarp it takes longer to get the wood hot enough to burn clean. I only have have about 4 cords of wood at any given time. Mostly hard wood but there is some pine mixed in.

 

[red oak]

Any longer than a year or two in Virginia and it should be covered. I used to not cover and had a problem with some wood rotting and leaves falling in between the stacks and trapping moisture. Wood burns much better now that it’s covered.

 

[Welderman85]

I'm chesaning Michigan. I decided to try top covering I started with tarps until i come up with something better.

 

[JotulOwner]

We get lots of wind, so I don’t bother top covering anymore. The wind was shredding the tarps, anyway.

Tarps are difficult to manage since most leak before long and then just trap the moisture they let in. Sometimes we still have to use them for one reason or another.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Tarps are difficult to manage since most leak before long and then just trap the moisture they let in. Sometimes we still have to use them for one reason or another.

Yeah, now I just use them in winter to keep snow and ice off the stacks I plan to burn.

 

[Woody5506]

Honestly I don't even understand this debate. Try this experiment - Make a camp fire with wood that's been uncovered and another fire with equally seasoned wood that's been covered. Which one burns almost instantly clean???

 

[Stinkpickle]

Honestly I don't even understand this debate. Try this experiment - Make a camp fire with wood that's been uncovered and another fire with equally seasoned wood that's been covered. Which one burns almost instantly clean???

I do it all the time. Both burn fine. But I get plenty of sun and wind.

 

[Country Living in VA]

I do a little of all of the above. When I moved into our house last summer and inherited an outdoor wood furnace, I immediately built a small covered wood shed right next to the stove. My stove is on a steep hillside behind my house and where the stove is sitting had to be dug out. I have an old barn of sorts with an area to store a couple of cords of wood, but it is probably 300+ yards downhill of my furnace. I was concerned that once the snow fell and stayed for a while, getting wood up to the stove was going to be an issue. Of course, this winter was somewhat mild and hardly any snow. I was able to back my truck up the hill and unload right next to the stove. I covered enough to last a few weeks along with what fit in the small wood shed. My stove really used a lot of wood and once it was burning hot, it didn't really matter whether the wood was dry or not, it would always burn up every 12 hours. Where I live is very windy and tarps were always flapping and making noise along with tearing on split stuff.

With my woodpile being on a hillside, for now I am not stacking it, just piling it up. What I did try to stack, generally eventually fell over. I do plan on adding a larger covered wood shed in the near future, but this will be a project and I hope to do it on the cheap using some locust posts I can cut off of my property. I agree with most of the posters that it depends on your situation-climate, wood furnace type ect.

 

[dyerkutn]

I have 6 cords drying in my back yard. Each set of 3 cords stays out there for 2-3 years. I don't cover. Too much work. I find that the spring, summer fall period here in MA is plenty of time to make up for whatever snow falls on it. Some years we can have several feet of snow but it pretty much melts away by March. It only really affects the top layer. I have been checking my ash level in my stove and pipe every spring when it is cleaned and never have more that a coffee can of ash. So I am assuming it is dry enough. I find the main factor is how many summers it is left out to dry. I should mention that I move it to a carport when I am ready to burn in the fall.

 

[buc74]

My experience is top covering is a must and I try to cover right away. Of course the location is a big factor. I'm on the 3 year plan so the more wood I have the harder it is to keep covered up. Plastic pallets, blocks, and rubber roofing work well for me.

 

[gggvan]

Top covering traps moisture from evaporating, and without any sort of drip edge, it delivers a good amount of rain into the stack. Once snow piles up on it, it takes way longer to thaw when the weather turns. And wind...well, you know.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Top covering traps moisture from evaporating, and without any sort of drip edge, it delivers a good amount of rain into the stack. Once snow piles up on it, it takes way longer to thaw when the weather turns. And wind...well, you know.

If you top cover while leaving the sides open, the stack stays dry from rain. Keeping it dry accelerates the overall drying process.

 

[Woody5506]

Top covering traps moisture from evaporating, and without any sort of drip edge, it delivers a good amount of rain into the stack. Once snow piles up on it, it takes way longer to thaw when the weather turns. And wind...well, you know.

Seems like on my stacks where the water drips off the tarp and hits the edges of the wood, it basically only soaks the ends of the splits. Those are exposed to air anyway and dry out quick enough. This also only happens in certain areas on mine, not the entire stacks.

 

[WiscWoody]

I use canvas tarps that I bought six years ago I’d guess and theyre still in good shape with a small tear here and there. I’m getting ready to build a 36x72 pole shed soon and I will put a lean on one side to cover my wood And it‘ll be nice to retire the tarps no doubt! I haven’t covered the oak I just finished stacking this summer yet and we got 8" of rain from last nights storms so it’s perty wet I’m sure.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I top cover in winter to keep the pieces from freezing together. I rarely top cover in summer. I read something years ago about rain breaking down the oils in the wood so it actually dries faster. I have never tested it, but it seems to work for me.

 

[axisx]

for rains and snow it's important indeed

 

[bholler]

Top covering traps moisture from evaporating, and without any sort of drip edge, it delivers a good amount of rain into the stack. Once snow piles up on it, it takes way longer to thaw when the weather turns. And wind...well, you know.

Yes you get some rain on the wood but a tiny fraction of what you would with no cover. Why would it take longer to thaw? The same amount of snow will be on the stacks regardless. And if it is top covered only there would be minimal effect on the wind exposure

 

[WiscWoody]

Last year we set a new precipitation record on 10/1, in just three quarters of the year and we ended up smashing it by the end of the year. This year we’ve gotten lots of rain again, we had 7" a month ago and two storms that produced over 2" three times since then plus smaller rainfalls. It gets humid up here at times too. I try to keep my wood covered but sometimes I get lazy about and it takes awhile before I get to it. kike I said above I like canvas tarps but eventually I want to build a carport or a lean on a pole shed to keep my stock dry.

 

[axegrinder]

I do not think in the 45 years I have burned wood to heat my house
I have ever covered my stacks. It is important to get it up off the ground
so air can circulate under the stacks. Depends on where you live I guess
When I put my wood into the basement in September it is at 16 to 18 % M/C
buy January it is at 12 to 14 % Just my nickels worth.

Same here. I don't use pallets. I run two rows end to end then stack normal. As I get down to the bottom I mix with drier wood in the OWB.

 

[GreenMountainBoy]

How important is it to cover wood stacks

My mom And a few other family's in her neighborhood had a bunch of trees dropped. I ended with with around 12 cord of wood. I only burn a cord a year so I got a good supply for a while it was all sugar maple and ash. I split and stacked it all now I'm just wondering how to cover it

My advice is to sell everything you won't burn within three years now, whatever the moisture content. You're definitely going to get rot, mold, decay, insects, critters, or some combination of those by three years out if left uncovered. The longer you wait, the less heat value you'll get from whatever remains.

If you can cover it, my preference would be 1) wood shed 2) a large tarp centered on a ridge line and staked down all along the sides 3) 2' x 4'/5'/6' corrugated tin (old metal roofing) held in place by stones, rocks, or junk chunks 4) tarps directly on the wood. Here in New England you can often get free corrugated metal (nail holes no matter) if you ask around and keep your eyes open. Tarps directly on your stacks seems easy and cheap, and they are, but my experience is that mice and chipmunks chew through them and ruin the tarps in two years max.