# Extremely long Firewood Storage



## Chago (Jul 14, 2014)

Hey guys, as part of the new homestead we have a large number of very old Ash trees that were recently killed by the ash beetle. I am legitmatly looking at around 25 trees, roughly 35 cords of wood. Honestly I think I am being conservative in that number. We have some 150 year old trees that have 12 trees called branches on it. 

I have a company who is going to come knock them all down and break them up into 18" logs for me, and of course clean up the brush. So I am in central Ontario Canada. I am thinking 4-5 cords per year is very likely. So I am likely going to be around 7-8 years worth of firewood. I wasn't sure what the best way to manage this amount of wood would be?

First, would it make more sense to store them as 10' logs and cut and split the year prior for next years use? Would the full logs be prolonged this way? Or is it smarter to split and dry it all and just use it as needed?

My plan was to buy one of those shelter logic hoop house style of sheds. They have some that are 12'x24' and 12' high. I could likely stack 24 cords in there. I was thinking of taking some old logs that I have from another clearing. Lay them down on the floor then lay some tarps over them as a vapour barrier from below. Then just stack all of the wood in there. I could leave the doors open to leave the air flowing through. But I imagine it will still get pretty hot and humid inside in the summer. Thoughts?


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## WinonaRail (May 20, 2020)

I only store dry wood indoors. It needs sun and primarily wind to dry properly. It also depends on what they charge to buck to 18". I would stack and store that and then split as time allows.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I was taught that a tree 18" at the base and about 25' tall will cut up into about a half cord of wood.
8 years is quite a ways out. It doesn't need to be stored indoors, but just protected from rain to avoid rot. Yes, I would stack logs on a raised surface (not on the ground) and then I would cut as time goes by. I would sell some the first two years, then after about 3 years start cutting wood to put back into the rotation.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Get them off the ground. Either stack on pallets or on other logs running perpendicular. If you cover, make sure there is good air circulation under the tarp.


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## Oldhat (Jun 2, 2014)

Seems like a lot of wood for 25 trees. I could see it being possible if you use limbs down to 3"-5" or so. 

Also seems a bit low on the amount you need to heat with during the winter. I am in Tennessee and we have mild winters. I heat with wood only when the forecast heading into late fall/winter stays below 55 degrees during the day. I have a Buck model 91 w/catalyst. I burn with hardwood (hickory, locust, oak, ash, and maple (prefter hickory and locust) bank twice per 24 hours and typically have to toss in 3-4 sixteen inch splits around 5:00 in the eve to get me to my 10:00 pm at night bank...and I burn 4 cords per year. Usually start burning in early Nov and burn until 1st week of April. I am heating just at 2000 sq ft. 

I hand split all my wood, story outside with small tarps over top. About this time of year (July) when the hot and dry season starts I take the tarps off the top of the rows that I will burn this winter, this let's it dry out more. In late Sept/early Oct (before the fall rains set in) I move the wood over to a lean-to on the back of our garage.

If I were you I'd build some inexpensive lean-tos and store long term under them. Under cover (lean-to) and off the ground that would should last for years (5? 10?). When my sawmill shows up this fall right after I get the shelter (lean-to) built for it, I will be making lean-tos for both firewood and wood storage. 

Ash is a pretty good wood. If you can run a chainsaw, can dig holes, then building a lean-to should be fairly easy. Find you some used tin roofing and build you a wood shed or 3....even if not for wood, we all can never have enough storage. 

Pics are of one of my firewood drying areas (behind guest small guest house), all hand split, stacked in single rows with small tarp over top. I always have 3 years worth stacked and drying, and always want to dry my wood out like this for 2-3 years before burning. 15% or lower moisture level in your wood is what you want to try and achieve before burning. Big Ash logs will take years and years to dry to 15% moisture level if not split. 


Have the discipline, make the effort...but I have to ask: Why are you not falling those trees yourself?


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## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

I also agree with MichaelZ 
Get them off the ground, even put landscape cloth under the pallets first ! make sure there is a slop to drain rain, snowmelt run off. Cover it but with something that will not condense moisture & drop it on the wood, preferably a sloped rood (shed style) and also air air to move freely around the wood.

Keeping it for a Long Time.. That gets tricky, bugs love to eat dry wood, rot is always a concern, and some critters love to live in woodpiles... Snakes ! Oivey love it... I have herds of them in my pile. One Most Valuable trick about bugs.... Generously sprinkle MuleTeam Borax Powder around the perimeter of the wood pile (6-8" from pile) about 2-4" wide. Bugs HATE Boarax and if they eat anything "contaminated" with it, it kills them. It's not toxic/harmful to you or pets and works, just apply a sprinkle every spring around the pile.

PS: The Borax Trick works great to keep them out of your house too... It solved my War with Ants which was a losing battle till I sprinkled borax around the perimeter of the foundation which made me a believer in it.


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## Chago (Jul 14, 2014)

Some great help here guys thank you. 

I am not knocking them down myself only because they are technically on city property as they line the road. They have given me permission to knock them down, but there are some rules and guidelines etc. But to be honest about 80% of them I can easily handle. But there are a few that are easily 36-40" diameters, with like 12 full size trees as branches up there. And many lean all over the road so its well above my pay grade to be messing with these. Its an absolute travesty that they need to come down, but Ontario has literally lost over 95% of the ash trees in the entire province due to the emerald beetle. So they need to come down before I can erect any horse fencing etc.

As per the outdoor stacks. How does that old up with snow drifts? Won't the wood absorb the moisture all winter long? Up here if I had piles like that you wouldn't find them until spring. It would literally be buried by 4-5' of snow. This is why I was debating buying one of those cheap hoop house shelters. They only cost about $600 which with the price of lumber today is 1/10th what it would cost to build a wood lean to. And I could leave the two ends open but turning it away from the prevailing wind so snow drifts wouldn't be an issue. I do need many lean to's on the farm, but the location for this one would be a complete waste later as it would be in a location that I would not need that storage every again. As ideally in the future I will always keep 2-3 years worth of wood not 8 lol. 

Are you guys concerned it would just take too long to dry in the hoop house? Or would it rot? If too long is the issue then thats ok as the rows on the outsides would dry first and I could pull them first and work my way towards the middle as the years go on. Or do you think that middle would never dry? Thanks


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I don't want to store firewood more than a couple years. 
If it's not indoors it is going to start deteriorating, and if it is indoors it will be so dry by the time you use it, it will burn like match sticks.

Just cut up and store what you think you can use in the next couple years and give the rest away or discard it.


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

Take down the ones that you can handle and store them as full logs on a raised platform like pallets that will allow underneath them, but cover them to keep the rain off. These logs will be saved for years in this manner. Have the city cut up the big logs for you, and use this wood first, but only split what you need for one Winter at a time (Ontario will probably require more than 4-5 cords per year unless your house is super insulated) I live in Northern Ohio, and use 5-6 cords a year of mostly beetle killed ash.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

What I do is lay 2 10” logs on the ground , then 25’ trees cut into 13 foot pieces so your pile 
could be 13x13 just lay them across leave a little space , I flip the logs fat to thin . 
Next layer go’s across I load and un load with equipment so I go 8/9’ high 
if it dosent get filled up with leaves I’m sure the stacks will last 10 years .
You could tarp the pile the brown and silver tarps from home Depto last 5/6 years just cover the top . 
I am buying 100 doller tarps all the time . 
I no I could not check out with 35 cord of wood stacked up 🤗


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