Keeping a wood pile dry

49801

Anyone got a better idea of how to keep a wood pile dry outdoors?

Had bought medium gradetarp 3x3m from tarpaulinfactory.ie but as you can see in attachment it is getting holes. So am a bit fed up it’s not more robust.

Genghis Cant

I'd the same problem here with a reek of timber I had outside. I covered it with plastic I had here and even some used wraps from bales and stuck the tarp over them.

my3cents

Put tyres down first under the tarp before you tie it down.

The other problem is that most of the tarps you buy now are rubbish and nothing like they used to be. Even if they don't get cut up like yours after about 6 months in the sun they start to disintegrate.

accidental forester

Try to get hold of a lorry curtain-sided cover. These are very tough. Country markets and car-boot sale are a good source. You can pick up a grommet kit at Lidl/Aldi or online and customize it to size. A bit of old carpet over the sharp edges might help save your regular tarps.

49801

Genghis Cant wrote: »

I'd the same problem here with a reek of timber I had outside. I covered it with plastic I had here and even some used wraps from bales and stuck the tarp over them.

Ya I get u and the layer of tires is a good one too.

Think there is a few bulk fert bags about that I could put on top before putting on tarp that would smooth out the top.

Cheers

timfromtang

49801 wrote: »

Anyone got a better idea of how to keep a wood pile dry outdoors?

Had bought medium gradetarp 3x3m from tarpaulinfactory.ie but as you can see in attachment it is getting holes. So am a bit fed up it’s not more robust.

4 posts, 2 beams, 6 rafters, 3 purlins, tin roof........ job done.


tim

wayoutwest

Hi 49801 - yeah i bought one of those green tarps - total rubbish as it was peppered in holes within months. Strongly recommend the Tarpaflex 'monocover' tarps - they have a fibre grid embedded within the plastic and are a decent thickness (170 gsm). Would still use an underlay of sorts like posters have recommended.
clear mono.jpg

20180318_103428.jpg

Effects

timfromtang wrote: »

4 posts, 2 beams, 6 rafters, 3 purlins, tin roof........ job done.

Pictures or it didn't happen.

Effects

wayoutwest wrote: »

Strongly recommend the Tarpaflex 'monocover' tarps - they have a fibre grid embedded within the plastic and are a decent thickness (170 gsm).

That's a nice looking setup.

Feisar

I make sure as best i can not to have any pokey bits sticking up that'll pierce the tarp

gctest50

If the pile isn't huge stand a few pallets around the outside, put carpet over the sharp corners

Helps air circulate

CelticRambler

All the serious woodpilers around here use sheets of old corrugated iron, weighted down with a heavy, knotty, unsplittable lumps of wood; but they'd be bigger logs than you've got there, and stacked narrow and high. gctests suggestion of pallets and carpet sounds like the best arrangement for the size and shape of your sticks.

timfromtang

Effects wrote: »

Pictures or it didn't happen.

i was jus suggestin............


for a good long term job you know


tim



sure at home here my sawmill is still waiting for a roof let alone the woodpile.

Effects

I have old corrugated sheeting over mine, from an old hay shed, weighted down with stones from an old barn.

I was meant to build a proper outside store this year but just didn't have time. Maybe I'll get it done over the winter.

I tend to dry it outdoors, then stack it in the shed. I don't live in the country so bring it back to Dublin bit by bit, and keep it in a nice wood store I made from Siberian larch.

the_pen_turner

No substitute for a decent shed. Proper floor and good ventilated sides.
Timber is expensive to cut or buy so keeping it dry is a must. Wet timber is useless

Effects

Mine is in the west so I prefer to season it outdoors first then move it into the shed once it's fairly dry.

CelticRambler

Effects wrote: »

I was meant to build a proper outside store this year but just didn't have time. Maybe I'll get it done over the winter.

That's what I've been saying for the last ten winters! :pac:

Effects

I'll have to do something soon as I've a load of leylandii coming down and nowhere to put it!

80sDiesel

I always thought about getting an old livestock trailer. Seems like a ready made structure for drying wood.

https://www.donedeal.ie/trailers-for-sale/ifor-williams-12-x-510-livestock-trailer/20188501

Mach Two

Under evergreen trees facing north. Throw some silage cover over the timber. Leave the sides open so as to allow the dry northerly winds through the pile. The pile will then be facing the sun as well when it comes out. Only very heavy rain will fall under evergreen trees. Hence the need for the cover. Use a few blocks to keep the cover down.

Glebee

Pallets under and for sides are a great thing as well.

wayoutwest

Five pallets, some scrap plastic, a small handfull of 5x80mm screws, a few batton offcuts and half hours labour makes a mini log drying barn. Holds just under 1.5 cubic metres.
20181117_125022.jpg
Was just transfering these ash logs to my logstore today. Felled and split March 2017 - now reading 17 - 18 % moisture content.

wayoutwest

Effects wrote: »

That's a nice looking setup.

Thanks Effects - It holds about 6 or 7 cubic metres - the pallets were free and the rest ( 2 sheets of light gauge reinforcing mesh, 170 g tarp , 4 batons + a packet of cable ties) cost €100. To stop the tarp wearing away where its touching the mesh, I put a couple of layers of plastic down first. An improvement on the design would be to cover the grid in foam pipe insulation - this would do away with the need for plastic 'underlay' and (because the tarp is clear) turn it into a solar kiln.
20181117_124741.jpg
Contains willow at the moment - felled and split Jan 2017 - now reading 16 - 18 % moisture content.

the_pen_turner

wayoutwest wrote: »

Thanks Effects - It holds about 6 or 7 cubic metres - the pallets were free and the rest ( 2 sheets of light gauge reinforcing mesh, 170 g tarp , 4 batons + a packet of cable ties) cost €100. To stop the tarp wearing away where its touching the mesh, I put a couple of layers of plastic down first. An improvement on the design would be to cover the grid in foam pipe insulation - this would do away with the need for plastic 'underlay' and (because the tarp is clear) turn it into a solar kiln.
20181117_124741.jpg
Contains willow at the moment - felled and split Jan 2017 - now reading 16 - 18 % moisture content.

Great idea.

49801

wayoutwest wrote: »

Thanks Effects - It holds about 6 or 7 cubic metres - the pallets were free and the rest ( 2 sheets of light gauge reinforcing mesh, 170 g tarp , 4 batons + a packet of cable ties) cost €100. To stop the tarp wearing away where its touching the mesh, I put a couple of layers of plastic down first. An improvement on the design would be to cover the grid in foam pipe insulation - this would do away with the need for plastic 'underlay' and (because the tarp is clear) turn it into a solar kiln.
20181117_124741.jpg
Contains willow at the moment - felled and split Jan 2017 - now reading 16 - 18 % moisture content.

Looks a great job in fairness to you!

49801

I had a delivery from future forest for some hedging and they sent on a pallet with high sides. I got a pallet cover from the tarpaulin factory in limerick for €20 and to be fair working well enough. I put a batten across middle and corri board I had to support the top.

timfromtang

wayoutwest wrote: »

Thanks Effects - It holds about 6 or 7 cubic metres - the pallets were free and the rest ( 2 sheets of light gauge reinforcing mesh, 170 g tarp , 4 batons + a packet of cable ties) cost €100. To stop the tarp wearing away where its touching the mesh, I put a couple of layers of plastic down first. An improvement on the design would be to cover the grid in foam pipe insulation - this would do away with the need for plastic 'underlay' and (because the tarp is clear) turn it into a solar kiln.
20181117_124741.jpg
Contains willow at the moment - felled and split Jan 2017 - now reading 16 - 18 % moisture content.

A great solution. I'd say you are still getting some solar gain as the plastic is translucent to a degree.
tim

Bill Hook

If I buy a load of kiln-dried wood and store it in an old shed (rough stone walls, tin roof) will it absorb moisture and be useless for burning?

my3cents

Bill Hook wrote: »

If I buy a load of kiln-dried wood and store it in an old shed (rough stone walls, tin roof) will it absorb moisture and be useless for burning?

Of course not. It may absorb a bit of moisture but if you keep water off it (roof) stack it if you can off the floor (on old pallets) and allow good ventilation it will be perfect.

In the summer it would probably dry out even more.

wayoutwest

Bill Hook wrote: »

If I buy a load of kiln-dried wood and store it in an old shed (rough stone walls, tin roof) will it absorb moisture and be useless for burning?

If your logs are not touching the (possibly damp) floor or walls of the shed, then they will only absorb a tiny amount of moisture which you wouldn't want to worry about. If the logs are,say, 15 or16% M.C when delivered, then they will maybe rise to no more than 18% M.C at this time of year, which is still happily within the range for effective clean burning. Just put pallets on the floor and pallets or some plastic against the walls.

80sDiesel

I actually have 'too' much wood in that I have 40yr+( 16 to 20 inch trucks) spruce that I got taken down which are full of knots. So I figure that I will make a wood sheed out of wood. Cut.the trunks into manageable slices and create a Gable type structure with pallets on the floor and a heavy suty tarp on top.. Should work right?

49801

Anyone ever try a holden hausen wood pile that look like a beehive hut?

https://goo.gl/images/yJTtym

Water John

Our climate might not suit that as much. Ventilated covered area would work best.

Accidentally

Sometimes done with turf, with a plastic sheet below the first layer. Not sure it's any better than the normal methods, but looks nice.

mobfromcork

My wood pile a few months ago. It was a very cheap build as I got the 6x2s for the frame and most of the roofing for free from remnants of other people's projects. Picked up the pallets locally and had blocks for the base left over from another job. Bought the 2x2 for the purloins. It's a bit fuller now so will have to floor the second half soon.
I had to cut the pallets to fit onto the base so if doing it again I would have made the base the width of two full pallets - however I had to make it fit under the roof lengths which limited me a bit.
I followed this build on YouTube https://youtu.be/3MabF5X5LV4 and changed it to suit what I had. Turned out pretty well so far.