How to Store Firewood Outside in Winter

A roaring fire is a quintessential element of winter, bringing warmth and comfort into a family home while lowering your electricity costs. Learning how to store firewood outside in winter will determine the efficiency with which your wood burns during these colder periods.

For those who cut their firewood, a common question may arise: when and where should firewood be stored outdoors to ensure its optimal drying and usability?

This article provides tips and methods for outdoor firewood storage, suggests locations to store your firewood, discusses challenges to burning damp wood, and essential tools and techniques to make the process easier and more effective for a successful wood-burning season.

Greenwood and Dried Firewood: Spotting the Differences

If you're new to chopping wood from your backyard, it's crucial to know how to properly dry wood before burning it as a source of warmth.

For instance, greenwood is a type of firewood that has recently been cut straight from a tree. Completely waterlogged, greenwood isn't recommended for immediate use and often leads to a log pile that smoulders quickly, doesn’t conduct much warmth, and creates a lot of smoke if burned prematurely.

Like a fine wine, the key to drying or seasoning wood is the passage of time. Once firewood is free from moisture, it becomes usable dried firewood that burns correctly and offers warmth.

Consider these differences between greenwood and dried firewood.

Colour: Ready-for-use firewood is grey and less vibrant than newly chopped wood. 

Weight: Cured wood is considerably lighter than water-logged wood. 

Sound: Tap your wood with something heavy - if you detect a dull thud, it must dry more still, but if it sounds light and hollow, your wood is free of moisture. 

*Top-tip: moisture meters give accurate readings of the moisture content of your firewood. Say goodbye to accidentally burning damp wood!  

Where to Store Firewood Outdoors 

Susceptible to inclement weather like rain or snow, pests, and more, firewood requires proper storage facilities, like weather-resistant shelters that are out of reach of wood-eating bugs and insects.

Here are some ideal storage locations to keep your wood perfectly seasoned and dry during the coldest period of the year.

Sunlight: seasoning wood can take months. To dry your timber before the cold sets in, position it under direct light. Shadier areas can also dry your logs but over a longer period.

Against walls: stack your wood against walls, remembering to leave a space between the wall and your wood to allow air to flow freely and prevent moisture build-up.

Elevated: never carelessly stack wood on the bare ground - this promotes rot, and pests like termites and hinders the drying process.

Inside outdoor woodsheds: sheds come in handy to safeguard your wood against bad weather forecasted, but if you don't have the luxury of a sheltered outdoor area, consider covering your exposed wood with tarpaulin or another weather-resistant cover.

Where Shouldn't I Store Dried Firewood?

Where on your property should you store your wood, and can you stow it inside if you don't have access to a yard or garden?

When preparing for the winter, bear in mind that you don’t want to be out in the cold for long, hauling around heavy bundles of wood. Therefore, it's crucial to find an ideal spot close by, within 150 feet of your home's entrance. If you choose to store it out of the way, invest in a wheelbarrow or a firewood cart for easier transportation.

Although storing firewood in your home offers seamless access, it may attract myriad household bugs into your home and slow down drying due to a lack of exposure to the wind and sun.

If you have no available storage space outside, consider installing a firewood rack to keep your logs off the ground and away from potential pests. Alternatively, a well-ventilated garage or basement may be adequate for storing logs.

Why Isn't My Wood Drying Properly?

Among other things, the most valuable takeaway from this guide is that wood shouldn't be left on the ground, and here's why.

Less airflow: the danger of leaving your stack of wood directly on the ground is that it won't receive adequate airflow, and without sufficient aeration, your timber can't dry properly.

Too much water: Wood tossed onto soil will absorb its moisture, resulting in decay or fungus forming.

Insects: if you don’t want your newly-cut wood populated by unwanted critters, consider elevating your stack a couple of inches off the ground so that it’s not touching the soil.

If you've already lifted your wood from the ground, then why are you struggling to season it successfully? Take a look at the below for potential problems and possible solutions. 

You Aren't Keeping The Wood Dry 

Wood can prove challenging to keep dry when stored outdoors. Not only do you need to safeguard your woodpile from inclement weather with protective coverings, but you also need to shield it correctly so that it receives enough air to dry. 

Here's how you do it: shield the top of your wood stack at an angle so that rain runs off it without soaking your bundle, but leave the sides of your woodpile uncovered to allow air to flow through. 

You Didn't Start Seasoning Early Enough 

While different types of wood dries at varying rates, preparations for seasoning and wood storage should start during summer. Failure to begin timeously results in wood not drying before wintertime. 

You Haven't 'Split' Your Wood

Unless you plan on throwing large chunks of wood into a bonfire, split your wood before you dry it. This process is best done while the wood is freshly cut and unseasoned, as it is softer and easier to chop at this stage. Splitting wood not only speeds up drying but also aids in igniting the fire.

You Didn't Stack Your Wood Correctly 

There’s a right way to stack, and incorrect implementation could result in wood that doesn’t dry fast enough or at all. We’ll look at stacking techniques in-depth later on, but for now, it’s important to note that for moisture to evaporate, both ends of a wood piece must be exposed to sun and wind.

The Best Way to Stack Wood Outdoors

How you stack your wood is as important as where you store it outdoors, as it can significantly affect how your firewood dries.

This means stacking your wood on a base to prevent damp or unwanted creatures from creeping in, making it unusable. 

Create the base using asphalt, gravel, tarp, or other materials, such as pallets, cinder blocks, or bricks. Once constructed, you can start arranging your wood by placing the more substantial pieces of wood at the bottom for stability. Although you can have a tall wood stack, it shouldn’t tower over four feet for safety purposes and accessibility.

Pack your wood in an orderly fashion but loosely, leaving spaces between the pieces to allow air to move freely and speed up the ‘seasoning’ process. While various stacking methods exist, we feature a popular technique that ensures safe and efficient drying.

What is Norweigian Round Stacking?

Some might call wood packing a 'lost art' that must be painstakingly learned before the wood-burning season begins.

And while that might be true for particular methods, Norweigian round stacking doesn't require a huge degree of skill or precision. It's also considered to be a more stable structure, reducing the risk of wood tipping over.

Round stacking consists of a horizontal base arranged in a cylindrical pattern, with logs placed inside the centre to provide support and prevent an inward collapse, topped off with a layer of small logs with the bark facing upwards.

Not just aesthetically pleasing, round stacking is the ultimate time-and-space-saving technique.

Firewood Drying Time: A Species-Specific Guide 

With firewood, some types burn longer and conduct more heat than others, with contributing factors, like density and water content, affecting the wood quality. Generally speaking, the denser and drier your wood is, the better and warmer your fires will be. 

Planning to snuggle up in front of a fire with hot chocolate or a glass of wine? Carefully selecting your firewood - taking note of varying drying times - is crucial for having enough dried wood stores to last throughout the season.

Which is Better: Hardwood or Softwood?

Typically, hardwood is denser than softwood. Although it's expensive upfront, hardwood burns hotter and for a more extended period, making it ideal for a longer-lasting fire. Therefore, it's more economical to buy than softwood, which often depletes rapidly.

On the other hand, if you want your logs to catch alight and burn quickly or make a large outdoor bonfire, softwood makes for ideal firewood.

Though it requires extensive seasoning, ashwood is a popular example of hardwood that burns hot and produces long-lasting fires, emitting minimal smoke when properly dried. Cherry firewood is another top choice, releasing a wonderful wooden aroma when lit and burning significantly less smoky than other options. Red and white oak are also excellent options, burning slowly and steadily for a longer duration, but they require additional attention for seasoning.

The least recommended firewoods are softwoods, specifically pine, cottonwood and cedar, as they don't burn as efficiently and contain more water, resulting in a significantly longer drying process. In addition, creating a fire made from this softwood requires a high degree of maintenance, as the wood burns through quickly, leading to more logs added to the fire.

Seasoned Versus Unseasoned 

As previously mentioned, drying wood in winter is essential because burning unseasoned timber is ineffective, unpleasant, and even outright dangerous.

Unseasoned produces more residue wood, which can lead to chimney blockages and, in turn, an uncontrolled fire. If you prefer using this wood, burn it outdoors in a bonfire or fire pit for safety reasons instead of a fireplace.

Equipment To Haul and Store Firewood Easily

We’ve rounded up essential equipment you may need to store firewood efficiently. 

Firewood Log Carriers

Log carriers simplify the task of carrying logs into your home from the outdoors. Bid goodbye to awkwardly hauling around bundles of firewood while dealing with wood splinters.

This log carrier carries large pieces of wood, so you don't have to make multiple trips to your storage place. It's also sturdy, durable and weather-resistant!

Firewood Covers

Protect your firewood from the elements and pests with a heavy-duty cover for year-round use.

Designed with velcro straps, you don't need to remove the entire cover to access your firewood.

The product also allows for ample circulation, so you don't have to worry about moisture build-up resulting in soggy or rotten wood.

Wood Moisture Meter

Tired of burning wet firewood that’s results in smoky and ineffective fires?  A wood moisture meter gives accurate readings of the level of moisture in various types of wood, including firewood, so you can ensure an effective burn every time.

Recap: How to Store Firewood Outside 

Do you dream of evenings cosied up in front of a crackling fire during the height of winter? Without proper firewood storage, you'll likely wind up disappointed.

This article has provided a comprehensive overview of where to store firewood during sub-zero temperatures, ensuring that your wood is dry and well-seasoned.

If your wood isn't ready to be burned, feels damp or has become infested by insects, you're likely storing it incorrectly. We've discussed the best locations and settings for storing firewood, including the least recommended spots (note that storing firewood inside is generally discouraged). Additionally, we've covered the dos and don'ts of firewood seasoning in terms of preparation, placement and stacking.

This article also features a helpful guide on selecting wood, outlining the differences between hard and soft wood and unseasoned (or green) versus seasoned (or dried), and highlighting the most widely used firewood and its benefits.