Now that we are moving into summer you may not be needing your firewood or kiln dried logs quite so often, save for the occasional roasted marshmallow over a bonfire. In order to make sure your current stash of wood lasts through to winter, you need to store it correctly.
There is a ‘best’ way to store firewood and kiln dried logs, and that’s not in decorative piles next to your fireplace. Instead, you should stack the wood into an organised pile far away from your home.
Finding the Best Place to Store Firewood
It can be tempting to store your firewood in an aesthetic pile next to your fireplace, but this isn’t advised. Often when bringing your wood into the house you will bring with it hitchhikers such as spiders, mice, ants, termites or other pests. Also, it is not as likely to age well in the home, as there is less air flow
Instead, you should choose a dry, breezy area around your property to store your firewood and kiln dried logs. The locations should be at least 20ft from your home to prevent pests from having easy access to your home.
When stacking your wood make sure it is at least a few inches away from the nearest structure, so that there is a good flow of air to it.
When you stack the firewood and kiln dried logs the pile should be no higher than 4 ft high. If the firewood isn’t fully seasoned yet you should stack it bark side down so that the moisture can continue to evaporate. You can then rotate it to bark side up once it is drier, to protect it from the rain and snow.
How Long Should You Store Wood?
Wood that has been freshly cut is called ‘green wood’ and it needs to be aged, or seasoned, before it is burnt. If it is burnt whilst it is so green the water in the wood will lead to a smokey burn. Burning wood that has not been properly seasoned will also burn quicker whilst putting out less heat.
