How and Where to Stack Your Firewood

The type of firewood you purchase—green wood, semi-seasoned wood, seasoned wood, or kiln-dried wood—determines whether you can store it indoors or outdoors.

Leave green and semi-seasoned wood outdoors to let the sun get at it so it can properly season.

We recommend leaving green wood outside between six and eight months before you burn it. That’s because the moisture content (over 45 percent) is the highest of all the firewood we sell. Firewood is seasoned and ready to burn when the moisture content is below 20 percent.

Falling between green and seasoned wood is semi-seasoned wood, which also needs to be left outdoors. We can measure the moisture content prior to your semi-seasoned firewood delivery and give you a timeframe for how long you should stack it outside prior to burning.

Stacking Firewood Outdoors

Once delivered, we recommend stacking your wood as soon as possible as it furthers the drying process.

You’ll want to find a dry area to place your firewood. Many customers will stack their wood on pallets. We’ve also seen customers place their wood in a lean-to.

Because we use a tumbler to remove all dirt and debris from our wood, it’s clean enough to stack near the house. If you do so, we recommend keeping a space between the house and your firewood to allow air to flow.

Wherever you place it, you’ll want the wood exposed to the sun and the air. We recommend putting a tarp on the top and over a portion of the sides. Lay a few logs or large stones on the top to hold the tarp in place. Keep the sides exposed to air so the wood can properly season.

There are several indicators that your wood is seasoned and ready to burn, including:

• Moisture Meter. If you have one handy, the meter should read between 10 and 20 percent for seasoned wood. If you want us to conduct a reading, contact us and we’ll do our best to test your wood, depending on our availability.
• Weight. Over time, your firewood will lose its moisture content, becoming lighter. The weight difference is noticeable when comparing green wood with seasoned wood.
• Solidity. As your wood dries, it becomes harder and more compressed, making it difficult to split. Try splitting it open; if it’s dry to the touch on the inside, your wood is seasoned.
• Smell and Color. Your firewood won’t smell so strong as when it’s fresh, and its color won’t be so vibrant, the longer you let it season.
• Loose Bark. As wood dries, its bark becomes loose. In some cases, the bark may have already fallen off. If the bark is still on, try taking it off; it should be easy to remove.

There are a few places you should never stack your wood, including on grass, mulch, or anywhere that retains moisture.

If your firewood does get wet, you will know it’s rotted because it is soft, spongy, and squishy. Usually, white mold will develop on the outside of the wood. We don’t recommend burning moldy wood, especially inside the house.

Stacking Firewood Inside

Both our seasoned wood and kiln-dried firewood are clean enough to store inside the house. Many of our customers store it in the garage, basement, or near the stove or fireplace.

Our only recommendation is to keep it in a place that is dry. Don’t store it in a place that has high moisture, such as a damp basement. amp area or where there is high moisture.

We Are Here to Help

If you have any questions about where to store your wood, simply ask us. We can give you some recommendations upon delivery.

And we also offer stacking services for customers who don’t want to stack their firewood themselves. Just let us know prior to delivery.