it is kind of a science or maybe luck doing this right, USE THE ELEMENTS folks. 1. wind. especially the wind. stack it on a pallet or the bottom row with the round part down and spaced a few inches apart so the air and moisture can get away from the pile.
when wind blows through the pile , there is a venturie effect. the air looses heat gets cooler and piks up moisture. (now pay attention here boy) aquires moisture. so when it comes through the first pile it is cool and damp. so you want space between piles. preferrably stacked North and South so the prevailing wind will (continually dry your wood.) the rows must have enough space so this heavy damp air can get away. the ends of the rows must be open. imagine it like a invisable river of damp air. ( which it is ) that must flow away because it is cooler and heavier it is on the ground crawling like a beast trying to get away. if it can not. it will simply condense and soak into the bottom wood or ground. perfect for thirsty bugs. (PLEASE REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THIS INFORMATION ON STACKING WOOD. OLD TIMERS KNEW ALL ABOUT THIS. THIS COMES FROM MY GRANDFATHER. I STILL HAVE HIS SAWS FROM THE HAY DAY OF TREE HARVESTING IN MI
2. more on the wind. when air blows through a hole here are some serious things that take place. i repeat. it picks up moisture. so when you build a wood shed, a sheet metal building is absolutely the worst thing that you can do. it is sort of ok for a roof. kinda ok as long as there is plenty of air space around the edge of it so NO air is trapped in the building. no sides are ok
the old wood sheds had boards spaced about a inch apart.. this promoted the evaporation of the air. I have been to auction sales of old farms and the wood has been in there for 40years in the back. it is as hard as stone and perfect. I mean perfect condition. so hard a bug couldnt eat it for no reason
3. air is the key. I found a slab wood pile from a old sawmill. huge, large slabs of logs. had been there for 20 /50 years. it was perfect. the wood was bullet proof. NO bugs. staked on sand. pure dry sand. no roof. but where the wind could move the moisture away from it.
if you can stak it on cement, rocks or bug proof medium. I just saw a novel idea. the guy had put a layer of his ashes under the wood pile. I know for a fact NO freakin bug is going to crawl through that stuff to get to the wood. if I were to pour cement slab I wood put down about two inches of ashes. get them wet and pour the cement over them. take that bugs.
this reminds me of the guy that lived in a condo and was lonly. wanted a pet really bad but rules said no pets. he goes to the pet store anyway and asks what can he have for some companionship that woodnt be considered a pet.
pet store guy says. I have just the thing. I have this centipede. if fact the thing can talk.
i gotta see this the guy says. meets the centipede. they hit it off. home with him the centipede goes.
they get along just fantastic. one day the guy is going to go down town and asks the bug if he wants to go along. no answer. asks again. no answer. finally he walks over to the bugs little box he lives in. piks up the lid and says. hay. for the third time I say. I am going down town. do you want to go along.
the bug says. and for the third time I say. hold your horses I told you I am putting on my shoes.
so where were we. HMMMMMM dammit. i hate digressing.
oh. air under pile. stacked N/S so wind blows through ( I KEEP HARPING ON THE WIND. ITS CHEAP. EFFECTIVE, AND THE ONLY ANSWER ”
covered with blak plastic or sheet metal or use the top flat piece up. roundpiece down and make a shingle roof using the wood. one side of the pile higher so water runs off and drips on the edge of the pile instead of soaking in and thrugh the pile.
do battle with the bugsbefore they get in the stack. not after..
put the roof bigger then the pile. make it so the air can flow through. if you must use plastic or tarps to cover the wood. do NOT USE CLEAR plastic.
absolutely no light penetrating plastic. have you ever heard of a terrerieum. ( sp ) hay. i am the wood guy. not a freakin librerian. hell i cant even spell it. either one for that matter. i gets smallwords. those big uns kik my ass.any.way. you know. that little glass bowl with the clear plastic over it thatpeople have on their coffee table.
guess what. clear plastic does the same th ing to your wood pile.. creating a perfect moisture suppply for bugs. its the buggs and fungus thatyou must be at war with all the time
you need to do this especially if you are going to leave your wood pile there for several years. I personally just discovered a termite problem behind the wall from a building that i put strand board for wind and structure then nailed ruff cut wood over it for siding. the termites got behind the siding and went all over the osb and ate about 1/4 in off the face of the osb. came up through the dirt. in they went. the dirt is the key. they must have a medium they can live in. ashes or I am thinking chloride flakes. no bug can crawl through that stuff. and it is simply serious salt.
if you put down plastic and pour concrete over that. guess what. concrete craks. they eat through the plastic. they are in and what you have done is create a perfect barrier for their good.
we use pallets and have a tracctor to move them. we stack them all over. sometimes inside. I have a hill that is close to thehouse. i put them in rows out there for a whole winter and let them freeze drry. works awesome.
i took a pallet of green oak just for the hell of it and put it on a hill out back.right up on top where the wind just whistled all winter. next spring that stak of wood was craked and totally dry
here is how we handle our cut and split for drying and our personall use. makes it so hand. take it from the barn to the garage where our boiler is inside. it goes from the splitter to the boiler. the tractor with the forks is the key.
231-846-0346, i am whipped. goin bak to bed