Woodpile for firewood: types and methods of laying, making a frame

According to statistics, about 40 million Russians spend their weekends and vacations outside the city, some on their favorite six hundred square meters, and others in cottages or in the village with their grandmother. At dachas and on private plots you can work hard and relax away from the bustle of the cities with a barbecue and cognac.

It is impossible to prepare a delicious, smoky-smelling kebab without dry firewood crackling in the fire. You can bring them with you in the trunk of your car, but the easiest way is to prepare and store them right here on the site. And in order for the wood “ammunition” to always be in full readiness and at hand, you need to store it correctly and conveniently. And there is no need to “reinvent the wheel” for this.

Everything has already been invented. Since the beginning of fire, woodpiles have appeared. Villagers landscaped the wood dump and turned it into works of art. Old-fashioned methods will never go out of fashion. A woodpile for firewood is built with your own hands on almost every personal plot. It does not require large financial expenditures.

Let's try to make a woodpile with our own hands from materials available to every owner.

Types of woodpiles

The art of storing wood is not just drying logs, logs or firewood, it is storing them in such a way that they do not deteriorate and do not lose their appearance and function. A woodpile is a design that allows already dried firewood to lie flat and be stored for a long time without loss of quality and appearance. In this way, you can not only carefully stack the wood, but also take care of the safety of the material.

All woodpiles can be divided into 2 large groups: open and closed. The essence of open ones is simple - they lie in the air, are dried or stored for a short period of time, for example, such woodpiles are made for quickly lighting a barbecue, tandoor or bathhouse. They can be covered from above from rain and from below from moisture from the ground.

Closed type are assembled:

under small canopies or awnings;
in a bathhouse, outbuilding, barn, entryway;
near the fireplace or stove.

An open firewood stack can be placed in the yard. In this case, it is advisable to lay the wood not directly on the ground, but on a bed of boards or an iron stand, so that moisture from the ground does not wet the firewood.

Open woodpile Source cdn10.roomble.com

If such a structure does not have any shelters on all sides, then the wood in it will quickly ventilate and dry, which means it will burn better. But if it rains, then it will be very difficult to dry the firewood and the woodpile will have to be dismantled.

Storing firewood in closed woodpiles is more appropriate. It will be especially useful if the firewood will be used in winter, as there will be no snow, ice or drops of water on it and the firewood will remain dry, which means that you can immediately heat the stove with it, without waiting for it to dry out.

Closed firewood storage Source holzprofi24.de

Woodpiles are also built directly next to houses, barns or other buildings. This way you can find support for the firewood so that it does not lose its stability when stacking a large number of logs on top of each other.

Where is the best place to place it?

The location for the structure is selected taking into account the region, the area of the yard, the type and duration of storage of logs, and the required level of drying. Woodpiles are:

street;
portable;
indoor;
stationary.

Photo: woodpile combined with a toilet.
Outdoor buildings and separate indoor spaces are popular. Let's look at them in more detail.

On the street

A smart solution would be to locate an outdoor woodpile next to the house, along a paved path, to make it convenient to replenish supplies in rainy weather. If wood is needed for cooking meat on a grill or barbecue, then it is better to place the logs next to them.

Photo: honeycomb-shaped woodpiles

In the case where the structure serves only the role of decorating the estate, it should be placed in the recreation area.

An important advantage of a woodpile is saving space. So, a cubic meter of chaotically thrown logs will take up 2-3 m2 of yard, and in a building 2 m high it will be possible to place the same amount of firewood, occupying only up to a meter of territory. In addition, it is much more convenient to take an armful of stacked logs than to bend over and take them from the ground every time.

You shouldn't make the woodpile too low. The bottom row is completed with waterproofing material or a raised flooring is made.

And to make the logs less wet, it is recommended to stack them.

In room

An equally convenient option is to place the structure directly in the house and decorate it as an interior detail. An example of such a solution is shown in the photo.

Photo: niche for storing firewood

You can equip a separate shed for firewood. If logs are needed to heat a bathhouse or sauna, then during the construction of these structures a niche for firewood should be provided inside.

In closed gazebos equipped with a fireplace, the woodpile is made small so that it does not clutter up the space.

What are woodpiles made of?

In order for the firewood to lie stably, it is necessary to choose the right structure of the frame itself or the laying of the woodpile. This way you can avoid its slope and fold the logs in a convenient way.

Attention! The main thing is to make the structure and approach to it as convenient as possible. The firewood should be placed so that it can be taken without damaging the entire structure. The logs lie flat on top of each other without large free spaces between them.

The frame of the woodpile must be dense and durable. It is advisable that it does not get wet and does not provide excess dampness, which will only harm the tree.

Construction materials

For the woodpile use:

Tree . The easiest way to build a closed woodpile is from wood. Both new and old boards will do. Such designs can be of a wide variety of shapes. You can build a standard rectangular canopy or make original isosceles triangles. At the same time, it is important to impregnate and treat the wood, that is, the frame itself, so that it does not rot. And varnish or paint will give the tree a fresh, decorative look.

Wooden shelter structure for firewood Source jimcdn.com
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in stoves and fireplaces

Metal . Metal products are more durable than wooden firewood structures. In addition, they can be much more skillfully executed. They will become not just a place to store firewood, but also a good design solution for decorating a garden plot. You can make them from old metal, pipes or barrels, or order a designer product. The main thing is that the coating is protected from rust, otherwise, if moisture gets in, the frame will begin to lose its appearance and rust.

Metal structure for firewood Source jimcdn.com

Polycarbonate . Such designs are becoming popular due to the ease of fastening the material and its design qualities. The woodpile will not only be beautifully decorated, but also reliably protected from moisture from those sides that are covered with polycarbonate sheets.

Canopy with polycarbonate roof Source tproekt.com

Fantasy . Anyone can design their own original base for a woodpile, just use your imagination. You can use old iron bed frames, tanks, pipes and much more. Basically, such woodpiles are of a design nature.

Woodpile frame made from pallets Source gardensite.co.uk

Good firewood. How is that?

For any tree to burn cleanly, efficiently and safely, it must meet several criteria, which do not always depend on the species.

Dry;
Clean;
About 12 cm in diameter;
Approximately equal in length and thickness;
Made from hard hardwood.

Even ironwood firewood can be very bad if it is damp. Most of the energy will go into evaporating moisture and releasing smelly, toxic creosote. Or for burning resin:

Drying pine

You can determine whether a tree is dry enough by eye in several ways:

Cracks in the cut of logs may indicate dryness, but this is not the most reliable indicator. Some woods may have cracks even in high humidity, and dry wood will not have cracks.
Wood tends to darken as it dries, ranging from white/cream to varying shades of gray and even yellow. With acacia, I also noticed the opposite trend - the fresh cut was yellow-green, after 3 months all the firewood “faded” to light gray.
The knock “stick on stick” will be “empty” and ringing, wet firewood sounds dull, “full”, “dull”.
A dry tree weighs much less than a wet one.
The bark holds tightly - the firewood is damp.
Fresh sawn wood may feel damp to the touch and have a strong odor.
It is enough to set fire to a small chip. Dry wood is flammable, wet wood hisses, smokes, stinks and is very difficult to burn.
According to the moisture meter, the moisture content of the firewood should be within 15-20%, which is quite achievable if you start harvesting no later than six months before the heating season.

Assembling a standard woodpile

In order to stack wood correctly, you need to understand the principles of stacking wood in a woodpile. A simple way to stack firewood :

Find a support point or build a frame for a future structure.
For installation, choose only dried logs, preferably approximately the same size and without any defects.
For the bottom, the longest or most massive firewood is used, which will form the basis of the structure.
Lay out the logs, pressing one log tightly against another log.
Alternate the next row, that is, stack the firewood in the gaps, filling the voids and placing it on top of the already lying firewood.
The woodpile should not exceed 1.5 meters in height, otherwise it may collapse. In addition, getting firewood from a height greater than this will be inconvenient.

The main thing in building any woodpile is its ease of use and correct location in space. If you need firewood to dry, it is better to build it where there is sun and fresh wind. And, if you need to shelter it from precipitation, then it is better to make an additional awning or place it behind a fence or house.

Video description

Visual recommendations for creating woodpiles are in this video:
Tips on how to build a woodpile from firewood so that it does not fall :

under the first tier of any woodpile there should be a flooring or frame (support, stop);
do not allow a large distance between the firewood, stack tightly;
observe the alternation of logs, and not stack them one on the other;
it is advisable to choose a support on one or several sides of the woodpile (house wall, frame);
Do not build woodpiles that are too tall or long, which are unstable by design.

If you do not follow these tips, then it is quite possible that the construction of the structure will not only take too much time, but will also become useless, because the risk of its destruction will increase significantly.

Assembling an open woodpile

Particularly difficult is the installation of this type of woodpile, since it will not hold onto anything, because open structures are usually built without support for anything. But their advantage is that they can be placed anywhere, and the firewood in them will dry much faster than in other types where the walls are closed.

Storing firewood without a frame Source stoydiz.ru

Making firewood carriers: review of 2 popular devices

There are a lot of emotional emotions in adding wood to an evening forest fire or the firebox of a winter country house. But, besides romance, there is also an understanding that this firewood needs to be prepared and brought. It can take a lot of time to provide firewood for a barbecue, or to supply it for a home fire in the harsh winter.

A device for carrying firewood is what will help you save energy and time. Carrying firewood is very beneficial. We list their advantages compared to the manual method:

At one time you will carry 4-5 times more firewood in a carrier than by hand.
Your hands and clothes will remain clean.

Laying in a circle

In order to make a designer laying of firewood, you can use the method of circular layout of firewood. This can be done either in a ready-made frame in the shape of a semicircle, or laid out yourself. It is much more convenient to lay out in a mold, and besides, this design will be much more stable and solid than the option laid out along the contour.

This option for storing firewood can be called the lowest in terms of the quality of its preservation over time. Since the collection of firewood begins directly on the ground, the wood quickly begins to rot, absorbing moisture from the soil. Therefore, such “crafts” are more useful as decoration than for actual fuel storage.

Stages of steps on how to stack firewood in a round woodpile :

Firewood is laid out on the ground horizontally in the shape of a semicircle.
Another batch of logs is inserted vertically in the center.
Then they continue to build rows of boards laid horizontally in a semicircle.
A thick stick, pin or reinforcement is sometimes placed in the center for support.
This is how it is brought to the desired height.

Round woodpile design Source stroyfora.ru

Landscape design

The highlight of the landscape design of your site will be the decision to zone the area using a woodpile.

Making such a woodpile with your own hands is very easy. You can build a border from short round logs or already split logs no more than half a meter high. The length and number of such logs must correspond to the developed plan.

When the firewood is used up, the zoning scheme can be slightly changed for the new season. Thanks to such a wood fuel storage system, the territory of your site will be visually updated every year. This type of firewood for a summer residence is very popular.

You can ask the question of how to store firewood, of course, you shouldn’t just put firewood on the ground, this will lead to the bottom layer being hopelessly damaged. In order for the firewood to remain safe and to easily change their location, it is best to build a wooden base or several bases. The choice of firewood base will depend on your zoning plan.

Don't make it too dense. For natural ventilation, leave openings of a few centimeters between the boards. A layer of straw, tree bark or sawdust placed on the base before laying firewood will not be amiss to protect against moisture.

The height of such a podium can be from 20 to 30 centimeters above the ground. The base can be placed on wooden posts or on red brick posts, which can be easily disassembled and moved to a new location. It is recommended to cover the top of such a woodpile with film or other water-repellent material.

Briefly about the main thing

Thus, the assembly of a woodpile for storing firewood for a long time or in a design version is carried out according to the principle of structural strength. Any assembly of firewood requires evenly laid out rows that are well secured and do not wobble. In this case, the location of the wood should be convenient. Covered woodpiles with a height of no more than 1.5 m, well protected from bad weather, are optimal. Frames can be made from various materials that are at hand: wood, old pieces of furniture, metal structures, etc.

There is always room for creativity, so stacking firewood can turn into a whole picture if you set a goal to put together a certain design. But it is better to choose proven options for storing firewood under a canopy.

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