The Firewood Shed
So you split your wood for the winter or had it delivered, and now you have to put it somewhere.
When I see what other people do, I see that the wood is piled up very close to the house, even on the porch. I see the wood covered with a tarpaulin or it is even sitting on one. We found that wood has to be off the ground and under a roof. The air must circulate around the wood to dry it. Then you have good wood when the heating season begins.
So we built a firewood shed. Of course there had to be some planning before we actually did it.
The wood house should be near your house so you can get to it without much effort. My rule of thumb is: I can carry a sling of wood to the house – even in 10 inches of snow – without getting out of breath. It should however not be against the house. It might contain termites, carpenter ants or beetles that may burrow directly into the house wall from the wood pile. In the fall and winter, when we take the wood out for burning, we always find “nests” between the wood pieces for squirrels or chipmunks.
How big should a wood house be?
It depends. If you live in your home full time, it should be more than the usage by “weekend” people. Our wood house is for 2 ½ full cords. A cord is four feet by four feet by eight feet of stacked, split wood. A face cord is 4 feet by 8 feet with a single stack of wood with pieces 16 inches long. When ordering wood, always get a full cord, it’s cheaper.
We found as weekenders we needed 2 ½ cords. As we began to stay longer, we needed more. I consider a nice wood fire as a support for our furnace. When we have a good fire going, the furnace is “silent”.
For more about firewood, see our piece About firewood. Constructing a wood shed like the one pictured here is really very simple. Simple hand tools, lumber and a modicum of skill are all that are needed. No foundation is needed and a flat level surface will be fine.
Watch this web site for a piece on how we constructed ours in one day.