How can you properly store firewood? What you need to know about yard and garden storage
What could be nicer in the cold season than to make yourself comfortable at home in front of the crackling fire? Whether reading a book, watching your favorite films and series, or simply relaxing with a glass of wine in hand, the cozy warmth of a fireplace is a real pleasure. Most fireplace owners know that proper firewood storage is essential to heating with wood. But what is the ? Where is the best place for the logs and what do you have to consider when stacking them? The answers to these questions as well as many tips and practical ideas for storing firewood in the garden and yard can be found in the article.
The question of where to stack your firewood is as important as how to stack it. Many still think that firewood is best kept in a decorative pile next to the fireplace. This is not a good place to store firewood, however, and for one very important reason: If you carry the logs inside, there are likely to be some uninvited guests. If you don’t want spiders, mice, ants, termites, or other pests crawling around your house, consider storing the wood outside. The best way to store firewood is in an orderly pile in the garden, preferably with a canopy. This ensures good air circulation so that the logs can dry well.
If you have a wood-burning stove or an open fire at home and use one of them for heating, you should have a good supply of firewood. So you first have to roughly calculate how much wood you actually need to determine the size of the storage area. Another role is played by whether you cut the firewood yourself or buy oven-ready (dry) firewood every year. Dry wood can be used for heating, but fresh wood must first be stored to dry.
Since fresh wood has a water content of around 50 percent, it must be dried before it can be used as firewood. The optimal wood moisture content of firewood is 15-20 percent and it takes at least two years for fresh wood to reach these values. In order for the wood to begin to dry, it is chopped into logs and split, leaving some of the bark intact.
Dry firewood burns faster are easier to light and provide better warmth than wood with more moisture. Damp wood, on the other hand, can smoke your house dangerously and is harmful to the environment. In addition, the efficiency of wood is much worse if there is a large amount of residual moisture in it. Tip: To ensure that the firewood does not lose its calorific value, it does not have to be stored for longer than four years, depending on the type of wood and the weather.
Firewood is best stored in a wood store or an open woodshed in the garden. You can also stack your wood in an open barn or just under a shelter. The selected place must meet the following requirements for firewood storage in the garden:
- You should always store firewood in a dry and airy place – outdoor areas that are roofed and have a certain distance from the house wall and floor are ideal.
- The place must be easily accessible, both from the house and for the delivery of the wood – when choosing the location, note that you should access the wood store quickly and easily every day during the winter months. Secluded parts of the garden are therefore unsuitable.
- If the space for storing firewood is not near the entrance to the house, there should at least be a paved garden path, for example with step plates, to facilitate access.
- The storage location should be easily accessible, especially with large stocks of wood – so think about how to move the logs to the storage area. The best place is a place that is close to the garage entrance so that the firewood can more easily reach the wood store.
- Do not place your wood storage near doors and windows to prevent insects from entering the house.
Important: Never store fresh wood in a closed garage or basement, where optimal air circulation is not possible. This leads to poor aging and is a possible nesting place for pests.
In order for your wood to dry well and have an optimal calorific value, you need to stack it. In this way, fungus and mold can also be avoided. If the logs are not stacked well, the wood in the middle of the pile is more likely to rot than dry because it is not properly ventilated.
If you have already found the right location, you now have to build your pile of wood. If the firewood is not completely dry, stack it with the bark facing down so the moisture can continue to easily evaporate from the wood. Once the wood is dry enough, you can stack it with the bark facing up to naturally protect it from rain and snow.
Here are some tips on how to properly stack wood:
- Stack logs of roughly the same size
- Use lengthways logs at the beginning and end of the pile for more stability
- Stack firewood that has already been split
- Build the pile of wood so that it tilts slightly inwards so that the wood does not collapse
- Do not build the pile of wood too high so that you can always easily reach the logs
To protect your firewood from snow and rain, you can use a firewood cover. Be sure to leave the front and back of the stack completely open so that the logs are properly ventilated.
Nice and practical ideas for storing firewood in the garden and yarn for inspiration in the following images
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