Firewood Stacking Tips and Techniques

Firewood stacking is an important part of the storage process. Proper stacking allows the wood to dry quicker and easier. This will ensure that your wood is ready to burn in a timely manner.

Common Problems

The most common problem that people seem to run into when stacking firewood is having unstable piles. Seriously, do you really want to stack the wood more than once? The answer to that question should be only when moving it to another location (ie from the outside to your firewood shed).

Instability and stacking your firewood too high usually leads to problems. Depending on your setup, having four foot tall stacks may be the best way to go about stacking. For one thing, it makes it easy to measure how many cords of wood you have cut. Four foot stacks will also be less likely to fall over due to unstable stacking or heavy winds.

2 Simple and Effective Methods

The easiest and most simple method to stack firewood properly is to arrange the end pieces in a criss-cross pattern. Similar to building a log cabin, each row is perpendicular to the row beneath it. It is, however, important that you find similarly sized pieces to ensure stability. Once you have done this to the end of the stacks, you can fill in the middle of the stack with the normal method of stacking.

This method is nice because it doesn't require additional materials and it is quick and easy to do. As long as you do it properly!

The second methods is to drive a couple of posts into the ground at the ends of the pile. This will allow the wood to rest against the posts and remain stable. Just make sure that the posts are secure in the ground. Also, you may want to put additional supporting posts in front or behind the pile to add side support to the stack.

Both of these methods work great, just keep in mind that doing it right the first time will save you time and aggravation.

Don't Forget!

The most important reason for stacking firewood is to speed up the drying process. For that reason, it's best to arrange your stacks one length of firewood deep. Stacking 3 or 4 rows deep will lessen the effects of the wind and sun drying the firewood.

When you are dealing with large amounts of firewood, it may not make sense to stack your firewood this way. Use a little common sense and remember that the more sun and air circulation your wood gets, the quicker it will season.

Remember, you never want to stack firewood directly on the ground. This will cause the wood on the bottom of the pile to decompose and stay wet. You can use dimensional lumber, pallets or even posts to do the job.

Good luck and happy stacking!

Return to Drying Firewood from Firewood Stacking
Visit Firewood Home Page from Firewood Stacking