How to Stack and Store Firewood

Whether you burn it occasionally in a fireplace for ambiance or in a stove as a heat source, you must start your fire with dry wood. Knowing the proper way to stack and store your firewood makes all the difference in getting a fire started easily and keeping it burning hot and clean. Follow these steps.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Mark the trees you want to cut down with spray paint during the summer growing season when it's easy to identify the dead ones. Choose the diseased and dead trees first; removing them will create more space for the healthy trees to grow.

2. Cut your trees down in late fall through early spring when most trees are dormant and have no leaves. Then cut your logs to size and split them.

3. Avoid wood rot when you stack your firewood by placing the logs on shipping pallets so that air can circulate between them. It's best to stabilize the pile with a post driven into the ground at either side of the pallet. Be sure to place the largest logs on the bottom, and then make each row perpendicular to the previous one.

4. Cover your entire stacked firewood with a large canvas or plastic tarp and anchor the top with a few logs or stones. This will keep it dry until ready to use.

5. Gather kindling and store it in paper shopping bags. Place the amount you need to start a fire in each bag. Put the whole bag in the fireplace and top with some seasoned logs to start your fire.

Tips & Warnings

• The best burning firewood comes from oak, beech, maple, walnut, elm and poplar trees.

• Stack your firewood no more than six feet high to ensure easy access to the top logs as well as good stability.

• Never stack firewood against a wall or directly on the ground. Good air circulation is necessary to avoid rot while wood is seasoning.

• If you store firewood in your basement or garage, check it thoroughly for insects before bringing it into the house.