Wood sheds wood boxes and managing the mess
Minimize the work, maximize the enjoyment
Come fall, after the wood has stood in the sun and wind all summer, it needs to be brought in under cover to a convenient location for winter use. And you'll want toarrange the supply to minimize effort and mess. After all, once the work of preparingyour fuel supply is done, wood heating should be a pleasure.Storing your fuel wood supply inside a building is a really good idea, but only after thesun and wind have dried your wood to below 20 per cent moisture. Firewood will not drywell when densely packed inside a building, so dry it first outside. After letting it standout in the open for the summer, storing your winter’s wood inside will keep it dry andmake it more convenient to bring a day or two’s supply into your house.A woodshed is an uninsulated building, usually attached to the house. Some are designedto have air movement through the building, usually under the eaves, but this is notterribly important if the wood is properly air dried before being put into the shed.
Woodshed design considerations:
a.the shed should hold at least a year’s supply of wood for your home. b.there is room to store different categories of wood, if you are so fortunate as tohave a variety, such as
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the main pile of hardwood (assuming you are in an area that has hardwood),
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an easily accessible kindling spot,
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a section of softer woods like birch and poplar which are great for those short, hotfires in the spring and fall,
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perhaps a special pile for some "uglies", those impossible to split pieces that aresuitable mostly for a long burn on the coldest winter night, and
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maybe a special pile for the cook stove or central furnace (assuming the main pileis for a stove or fireplace)c.enough room to allow a bit of wood splitting inside; it’s pretty common to need tomake some fine kindling or split a few firewood pieces during the heating season.Here is a plan for afunky wood shed.Having the shed on the same level as your wood burner can save a lot of effort intransferring the wood - something that increases in importance as we age. Some peoplehave a door from their wood shed strategically placed so that they can pass wood directlyinto the wood box inside. This saves a lot of steps and heat loss because this small door isnot opened nearly as much as the "human" door to bring in a couple of days’ supply of wood.
This is the door to the wood box,viewed from the wood shed side.And this is a view of thesame wood box frominside the house near thestove. Now that is slick!Some folks who can’t have their woodshed on the same level as their stove use a woodelevator to move their fuel upstairs. The elevator basket forms the wood box when raisedinto position near the stove. This is a good alternative to carrying wood upstairs.Here is a woodelevator being loadedfrom wood storage inthe basement.And here it is in itsnormal positionupstairs beside thewood stove.
What if I don’t have a wood shed?
If you don’t have a wood shed to keep wood dry and close to the house, you could stack it on your porch, or under the eaves. You’ll need to cover this tightly packed pilecompletely - sides and top - with a tarp or plastic. It’s a good idea to stack the wood on pallets or rails to keep it off the ground or porch floor so that it won’t freeze in place or attract surface water into the bottom rows.
Bringing Wood into the House
It is generally better to store no more than a week or two’s supply of wood inside thehouse. The frequent cycling of the indoor supply lets you check for and control bugs better than if you attempt to store most of the winter’s supply inside. While some peopleworry about bug infestation, my experience is that bugs are not a problem at all if thewood is properly processed and seasoned before being brought indoors.While storing too much inside is not recommended, storing too little can be a problem aswell. It's a good idea to have at least a day’s supply inside the warm house to avoidshocking a fire with icy cold wood. Warmed up wood will ignite more quickly, and thefire doesn’t have to expend valuable energy to bring the logs closer to combustiontemperature.
Interior Wood Boxes
You’ll need a wood box close to the heater, although not closer than the appliance’sminimum installation clearances. Wood boxes can be built in, freestanding, or on wheelsfor easy moving. A good wood box will hold at least one full day’s fuel. The handy wood box gives easy access to a variety of wood piece sizes to fit into the stove in different patterns to achieve different goals, like a compact load for a long burn while away atwork or a loose load of small pieces to quickly warm the home after returning fromskiing.
Managing the Mythical Mess
One of the biggest criticisms of wood space heaters and fireplaces - as opposed to basement furnaces - is the mess, bugs and dirt that heating with wood brings to our clean,modern homes. The utilities make much of this point in advertising their simulatedfireplaces. For most of us though, the potential for mess is easily managed. Mind you,those who cover their furniture with clear plastic shrouds and don’t let the kids in theliving room might be more comfortable with the artificial ambiance of a manufacturedfire.Wood mess can be eliminated with just a little planning. Properly dried wood has beenmoved from the drying area to the wood shed or other spot close to the house. By thetime the firewood is ready to be brought into the house much of the bark and wood chipsare left behind. The loss of bark is just fine because bark has a low heat value and tends
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