To Tarp or Not Tarp...that is the question?

[dafattkidd]

View attachment 187845 View attachment 187846 View attachment 187847
Sorry. Too many pics but they're not deletable and I was choosing best angle.
Most of the wall is a gifted red oak 3' abh and 70+ft tall. 20% of the wall is scrounge,
our standard fuel. I always ALWAYS split the rounds and stack before going in the house.
Rotator cuff surgery stopped the splitting but not the stockpiling. I wanna shred these with my
new Fiskars! (all grade 1 rounds) There's so much wood I've been permissioned that only the
best is grabbed. The rest will come home after a splitter comes home. The pile on the ground
in pic #1 may or not end up in various bonfires.

The pics are on a cloudy day of the southern face. Something to consider if one has a few spruces
on site. Easy to prune up too.

I noticed the spreader seems to have firewood in it. Are you using firewood to fertilize your lawn?

 

[CheapBassTurd]

LOL,
Previous homeowner left it. The spinner wire removed and repurposed as a kindling/ pre-kindling carrier.

 

[ohlongarm]

I have my cord wood single stacked on wood racks facing the north wind in the open sunlight. The wood tends to dry pretty quickly this way. I have some tarps on top but I'm wondering if having a tarp on top of each stack is really necessary? I'm asking because the seasoned cord wood is bone dry (about 16% to 17% MC) and I plan to move about a cord at a time into my garage for easy access during the burning season. So is using a tarp really necessary, because even if it rains on the seasoned cord wood stacked outside, it will usually dry off in the wind and the sun within a day or so? So I'm just wondering if messing with the tarps is really needed when I plan on moving the seasoned stuff into the garage before burning anyway??

This thread is making me nuts,anyway, I have four eight foot rows of miscellaneous wood ,ash,cherry,some oak that's been stacked tightly for about 14 months. UNCOVERED reading this got me worried so I dug into the pile today thinking I may lose the inner splits to moisture damage etc it sits facing south the rear north,other than a few white fungus things on a few oak pieces the wood was perfect. The wood sits about four inches off the ground on pallets. Myth dispelled? I don't know, I still plan on covering all stacks just the tops by Xmas.Just a few mouse nests and spiders.Interior bottom stacks dry and undamaged.

 

[HisTreeNut]

Using a tarp doesn't matter. What matters is if you stack bark up or down...

Just kidding folks...

 

[firefighterjake]

Using a tarp doesn't matter. What matters is if you stack bark up or down...

Just kidding folks...

Only matters in Norway . . .

Troublemaker.

 

[bholler]

This thread is making me nuts,anyway, I have four eight foot rows of miscellaneous wood ,ash,cherry,some oak that's been stacked tightly for about 14 months. UNCOVERED reading this got me worried so I dug into the pile today thinking I may lose the inner splits to moisture damage etc it sits facing south the rear north,other than a few white fungus things on a few oak pieces the wood was perfect. The wood sits about four inches off the ground on pallets. Myth dispelled? I don't know, I still plan on covering all stacks just the tops by Xmas.Just a few mouse nests and spiders.Interior bottom stacks dry and undamaged.

No one said you would loose it to rot that quickly. But uncovered in most climates it will not dry as fast because it will be getting wet every time it rains. You then have to wait for all that surface moisture to dry before you get back to drying the interior moisture. But I guess if left uncovered it would shorten the lifespan of the wood some but not that much

 

[revdocjim]

It is really damp and moist here from Spring thru early fall so covering wood is quite important. That said, I have been replacing my tarps with permanent roofs. My stacks are made of metal pipe (the kind used in construction scaffolding) and it is fairly easy to build permanent roofs over them. I've found that tarps hold too much moisture in the stack, leading to mushrooms, permanent damp sections etc. The roof keeps rain and snow off, but allows wind to blow thru as well. I'll post some photos when I get a chance.