Shed Plans

 

Reasons for Firewood

There are several reasons for using firewood as a source of heat and beauty. Its cost is low or can even be free with your own source. It is a renewable resource and, properly harvested, it can be helpful to forests and property owners.

While people often think of burning wood as dirty, newer high efficiency woodstoves and outdoor wood furnaces are quite clean-burning, often burning at over an 80% efficiency rating.

Burning firewood doesn’t require electricity. When the power goes out on a cold, snowy night there is nothing better than a hot fire to huddle around with your family.

Wood burning appliances come in many shapes and sizes these days and are made with many different materials. With typical iron woodstoves, soapstone, and enamel, there are plenty of attractive choices for wood burning.

There is my favorite, of course: an open fire within an attractive fireplace. Nothing else quite compares. Fires are romantic, beautiful, and – an added bonus – put off heat.

Finding Firewood

Without firewood on your own property, sourcing good wood can be a challenge. I always recommend starting in the classifieds of local paper. Checking the phone book can often yield fruit.

Where I live it’s quite common to see dump trucks full of firewood parked at Lowes or any well traveled area with a for sale sign on them.  Here’s what you have to watch.  Many people selling firewood cut, split, and load firewood themselves.

This wood may be just fine, but you should burn it only once it has been aged for at least one year.  A good firewood business will be selling firewood that is properly aged and ready to use.

Firewood Storage and Aging

Whether you plan to age your own firewood or are going to buy it pre seasoned, firewood must be properly stored.

Often people just stack their wood and cover it with a tarp. This is one of the worst ways to keep firewood stored. The tarp can trap moisture from the wood and from the ground this creates a sauna. The wood like people can not dry in a sauna. This trapped moisture can also promote rot.

Storing firewood in a shed is the best way to go. A roof and three sides are all that is necessary. This allows for plenty of air flow and access to your stored wood.

I recommend installing a floor of some kind; several inches of gravel with plastic underneath will even work. The plastic acts as a vapor barrier and keeps moisture from beneath the logs. At the same time this discourages critters and pests.

Freshly cut wood should be loosely stacked in your firewood storage shed and left for an entire season so that air can circulate. This will dry the wood and make it burn more cleanly. Already seasoned wood should be kept in your woodshed to insure that it doesn’t pick up any moisture from the ground or as a result of rain or snow.

Plans for your Firewood Storage Shed

Building a firewood storage shed is the cheapest and best method for storing your wood. Wood shed plans can be found online pretty easily. Get plans that include construction directions, several plans to choose from, and a list of materials. Having a materials list will make getting materials much easier and cheaper.

Take your plans and materials list to supply yards and box stores to get a quote. They will often compete with each other for your business. Your supplier will likely become an invaluable recourse once you buy your materials. They should happy to answer any questions you might have during the building process.

Firewood Storage Shed Placement

When planning the placement of your firewood shed, be sure to think of accessibility. You don’t want to have to trudge all over the place to get wood, on a cold, snowy night.

Look at the direction weather usually comes from position your wood shed with the opening facing the other way. If rain and snow is always blowing inside of your shed it won’t really be keeping your firewood dry.

Remember also that no matter who is delivering your firewood, you or they will have to move it from a vehicle to your storage shed. It’s a good idea to situate your firewood shed so that you can fill and empty it with ease. If you don’t have a location that will serve both of these needs well, remember that filling is only done once, whereas you will be getting firewood all winter long.

Summary

Firewood makes a clean and rewarding source of heat when properly aged and stored. It is renewable, cost effective, efficient, and beautiful. A well planned storage facility will allow you to enjoy every aspect of your wood heating experience. Even if you burn a small quantity of wood each year for ambience, having properly aged, easily accessible wood will make having that fire easier and more enjoyable.