Need to start a wood store for logs and wondering what are the basic principles for construction of store and storing of logs? Is it just a case of constructing basic shelter and stacking logs in any way they fit in ie not an exact science and doesnt matter if cut ends of wood get wet now and then? Any more tips other than using wooden pallets as base to aid air flow?

What your trying to achieve is weathering. A basic shelter with the logs stacked neatly front and back then just thrown into the middle works well.

In France, it’s popular to build a ring of logs with the bark facing out then the middle filled with the rest of your wood.

Weathered logs, start to crack at the ends and remember, different species of tree take different times to dry out.

Not that everyone has them but a pallet and ifor williams truck top from a landy makes a brilliant makeshift log store when you have a cube more than your store takes 🙂

I’m wondering about this too. I was planning to stack all my seasoned logs in my old shed and the tree’s worth I’m chopping down shortly in the open until this time next year. How does that sound?

I wouldn’t stack inside a shed, you want a bit of airflow, or you can end up with rotten timber. Simple principle really, you want it off the ground, facing away from prevailing wind, but slatted back and sides, with a roof.

I have three randomly banged together wood sheds . All made for nothing from scrap and pallets . You need a waterproof top , I use old pondt liner, open sides, I use the slats from pallets . The base needs to be raised I build on to a pallet and if exposed a waterproof front or back to stop rain driving in I use pond liner again. To make mine pretty I have put a raised lip round the top and filled with rubble and muck and planted a green roof.

Hmm – so I spent all of yesterday making my outhouse door an outie instead of an innie for no reason 🙁

i put soffit vents in my sheds – top and bottom of the door + wood stacked with pallets between wood and floor/walls + its in a very windy area so gets a heap of flow – but the timber i put in there has already been through the outside drying process and thus doesnt stay in there very long 😀 – i just stick the seasoned timber away in that shed to put it out of pikeys reach and make room for new unseasoned :d

http://m1176.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/crankboy1965/woodshed001.jpg.html?o=6&newest=1

So good air flow needed, a solid roof to keep wood dry, slatted sides if not in prevailing wind otherwise a solid structure to keep rain out of that side and stacked up on pallets. Sounds simple, looking forward to gathering wood now, eyed up tonnes of it on local walk, now to get it back!

I’ve heard 2-3 years to season wood…..I realise many variables but if you’ve got air flowing and kept dry does this sound about right?

Right, best go and read about log burning stoves, winter is approaching fast

Crankboy….I’m liking the floral roof, going to try to incorporate this in to design. Got plenty of decking boards, roof felt and old pond liner knocking about, i best get to drawing board.

I have made a few, these were the last ones, designed to be folded flat and stored away when not used, used some old feather board, cut a pallet down as a base, then measured the depth to allow two rows of logs to be stored, need to top them up as the wood dries.

The best store I have for drying wood is down a narrow ally way next to my house which gets a constant gust of wind blowing through, it worth thinking about air flow.

I am thinking about this but just need to get hold of some pallets.

I’ve heard 2-3 years to season wood

For hardwood I find/been told, about an inch a year for split logs, softwood can be as little as a year for well split wood, around 20% moisture content.

Don’t often get below 20% in the UK with stored wood I find.

3rd burn tonight, loving my Oak/Ash mix 😉

This logstore is on pallets and this year I rebuilt the roof with some plastic sandwich off a neighbour’s demolished conservatory, covered in felt.

The good thing about this is that it’s on the south facing wall of the house so it’s reasonably sheltered from the westerly rain yet it gets warm sunshine AND a good breeze blasting around the side of the house, so the best of all worlds. Being quite open it gets good ventilation and wood dries fast, in fact we’ve just started on a birch I cut down in February/March and to my surprise the wood is burning very well; hot and dry with no sign of steaming.

A bit of temporary damp from rain doesn’t matter as long as your ventilation is good; it soon dries off.

the other thing i do when i have too much wood at the start of the season – pile it against the wall and stick a laminated MDF plank i keep just for sticking over the top for rain protection.

works well for a temporary structure like ski’s ideas but less attractive.

Here’s mine I built last month.

I buy seasoned wood, so it’s only for short term storage. I’ve got a piece of tarp for the front to keep the driving rain off. No good for green wood, but it’s not for that.

Mostly left over deck boards and a selection of pallets:

Mostly left over deck boards and a selection of pallets:

Very nice!

1. Let as much wind and sun get to it for as long as possible
2. Get it under a shelter for a short while before you need to burn it

Different methods needed if you are buying in dry logs or chopping up your own.

from here:

to here (with a tarp over the top)

to here:

and here (when the landrover body work is out of it)

The field store has pallets down the back wall and prevailing end, as well as a few on the front. TBH they’r e abit of a pain and I only put them in as I was being lazy. I think it’s neater to have stacked faces. Rain on the ends isnt really a problem as theyre also in lots of air flow. Once Ive used the old stuff on the left, I’ll take the pallets away and stack the new wood as walls. The poplar (split or whole) is very easy to stack anyway.

As for drying rates, the willow in the store on the left has gone from 40% to about 20% (some a bit better) in around 2 yrs. The poplar, fresh cut in winter 2012 at about 45% and down to 35% mid summer is now around 30%. I wont be burning that this season unless it’s down to 20% by the end of the winter.

I have made a few, these were the last ones, designed to be folded flat and stored away when not used, used some old feather board, cut a pallet down as a base, then measured the depth to allow two rows of logs to be stored, need to top them up as the wood dries

I can’t think of a time when I have a woodshed not in use! That’s criminal!. 😀

Airflow is the most important thing you need.

Try and build something where you can get access to built and retrieve logs in rotation. I made this mistake building my first shed. I built it as a tunnel with an entrance at each end. It means I can only refill it once it’s empty.

At a minimum build something four feet wide. The wind will easily find it was two feet into the pile from each side. I’ve only used palettes once, and then only because I had them handy.

https://picasaweb.google.com/113038090087066024057/STWHolzHausenDay?noredirect=1#

https://picasaweb.google.com/113038090087066024057/20120126NewWoodShed?noredirect=1

Its a case of woodshed envy now, I best get out collecting before mcmoonter and stoner deplete stocks/forests/countries of their wood!

Thanks for all the advice, I’ve got a feeling I’ll bee posting quite a few q’s over coming months, this is a start from scratch project – not even a burner yet!

Make a base out of some old pallets
Build sides and roof from any old wood.
Stick wood inside.

Wood Store by Jon Wyatt, on Flickr

I’ve made a couple like this, just pre-treated 2″x 2″ and a cheap tarpaulin. It’s in the middle of no-where so looks aren’t too important.
It looks like the logs are on the ground but they’re resting on poles.

You must have a massive stove!

Ha!
No, I cut trees up into 1m lengths, and leave them in the pictured log store, then cut them up as needed into 30cm lengths, take home and split, and store in a smaller log store at home.

Here’s ours. Came with the house. Bit poor on airflow – but dry, and room for about 4m3 in this alcove and some space for another 1 or 2 nearby.

these woodshed threads are nearly as good as the kylie threads.

Posh blinds eh, very nice 🙂

first stage is to get a supply sorted out at least a season in advance – and then find space to store it. These may be incompatible!

We put a wood shed against a stone outbuilding, south facing, /slightly/ sloped roof. One side against the outbuilding, back outside wall, other side was slatted to provide some air flow.

It’s not big enough! and is if anything too deep to rotate the wood. At least it’s in two halves so one side is notionally for seasoning, the other side is for wood that’s dried out and needs sheltering.

Other wood is stored against the outbuilding to season out in the elements, in practice it doesn’t get too wet and it gets the sun and wind (plus some rain). Been collecting —