Stacking Firewood
Drying your firewood before use is essential for energy efficiency.
If conditions are optimal for drying, plan on stacking for a minimum of two seasons. But if it's hard wood or wet conditions are present, plan on stacking your wood for four seasons minimum. Since you must look at the stack for that long, why not become artistic?
A simple metal framework surrounded by logs of varying size at the Malvern Show, UK. blog.theenduringgardener.com
Firewood fireplace. Stacking your wood in alternating directions allows for better circulation. Image by Jaedde & Sis: flickr.com
Green Roof on a log walled woodshed by Wildwood Landscapes www.wildroof.co.uk
Woodpile Gate at Sakonnet Garden in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
Via: www.slowlovelife.com
Woodpile sculpture on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. angelahemming.com
Firewood wall. Design by the super talented: alexscottporterdesign.com
Cord wood spiral, Woodstock, Vermont by Ken Woodhead, 12 feet high at center. kenwoodart.com
Assorted wood. Image via: youhavebrokentheinternet.blogspot.com
Round woodstack, Erlen-Kugeln, 2007 by Urs P. Twellmann: twellmann.ch
A felled tree. By Alastair Heseltine, Vancouver, BC. alastairheseltine.com
Woodpile with leaf in New Zealand. Stack wood bark side up, bark keeps water out of both living trees and dead. Photo : Lyn/Neale, acta.org.nz
A woodpile that will be hard to utilize. gowood.blogspot.com
Cordwood wall by expert Olle Hagman of Sweden. www.kubbhus.se
Cordwood wall with flowers. Via: LaBioguia
An addition to an ancient farmhouse utilizes a wood stack along the north wall. www.propellerz.at
Cordwood wall on north side of house, south wall is completely glass. www.propellerz.at
cordwood house
Stone Creek Camp, Flat Head Lake, Montana. Architect Anderrsson-Wise: www.anderssonwise.com
Stone Creek Camp, Flat Head Lake, Montana. Architect Anderrsson-Wise: www.anderssonwise.com
cordwood house
Stone Creek Camp, Flat Head Lake, Montana. Seasoned firewood is dry and free of insects. Architects: www.anderssonwise.com
cordwood house
Stone Creek Camp, Flat Head Lake, Montana. Stone wall on left, wood wall to right. www.stonecreekmontana.com Architects: www.anderssonwise.com
Cordwood Home of Armin Blasbichler. Cordwood and clocks are sandwiched between glass. www.arminblasbichler.com
Crates and logs. After wood has seasoned outside for a year, the wildlife has moved out and the dampness is gone. Swedish designers, Studio St Paul. gowood.blogspot.com
Firewood wall at Parliament Design Offices. weareparliament.com
Firewood alcove. Via: BobVila.com
Firewood holder by Olle Lundberg, California. www.lundbergdesign.com
Perfectly stacked firewood. lesliefineinteriors.com
The Cambrian Hotel by Peter Silling & Associates, Switerland. hotelinteriordesign.de
Firewood faced fireplace. www.villamiodula.pl
Cordwood in the bathroom. Must be stacked in clear resin.
blueforest.com
Birch wood panelled wall. How-to: marthastewart.com
Another similar wall here: marieclaireidees.com
Cordwood in an insect hotel. studiourbanarea.blogspot.com. Lots more Insect Hotels here: inspirationgreen.com/insect-habitats
Lean-to covered woodpile in Poland. www.kochamwies.pl
Create woodpile homes. Bark side up for roof shingles to deter rain. Don't forget to build houses for the occupant's pets as well! gowood.blogspot.com
Adding flowers to your woodpile is a nice touch. gowood.blogspot.com
Woodpile in Italy. The metal roof is a good idea. Lots more photos: www.casaetrend.it
Cordwood wall by cordwood expert Olle Hagman of Sweden. www.kubbhus.se
For more cordwood inspiration: inspirationgreen.com/cordwood-homes
“Wood heats twice” as you work up a sweat choping, spliting and stacking, and again when you burn it. Actually your wood will dry fastest exposed to direct sunlight, but in wet environments it is best to cover it.
The efficiency losses from burning wet wood (30-50% moisure content) vs dry wood (15-20%) is about 30%.
• Dry wood is lighter in weight.
• Dry wood has cracks in its end grain.
• If you bang two pieces of dry wood together, the sound is hollow, whereas wet wood makes a dull thud.
• Firewood darkens with age, from white or cream to gray or yellow.
• The exposed face of a freshly split piece of seasoned wood feels warm and dry, but green wood feels cool and damp.
• Wet wood hisses and sizzles when burned and dry wood doesn’t.
Or buy a wood moisture meter ($25.) to test your wood.
Resources:
The Science of Stacking Firewood: motherearthnews.com
The Best Firewood: motherearthnews.com
BTUs per wood species: woodheat.org/firewood.html
How to build a Holz Hausen. The Holz Hausen is a round wood pile used to store a lot of firewood in a compact space. It is also called a Beehive Wood Pile: youtube.com
Interesting Design - Large Metal Firewood Stacker: leenders.nl
More Ideas here: inspirationgreen.com/firewood-as-art
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