Our first year in our home we learned a harsh lesson- heating your home with oil is expensive! It's also not very eco-friendly and doesn't help with our goal of being self-reliant. There was no question that we would install a wood stove when we could save the money. Thanks to government tax credits for biomass, installing a wood stove isn't that expensive and we were able to install it last fall.
Below is a how-to guide to building a firewood rack. The best part about this system is it is entirely customizable. Whether you are stacking one cord, three cords, five cords you can easily add or take out racks. This is a beginner friendly build and doesn't require many tools. It took me about 45 minutes to build one of these racks.
Background Information
Why Heat With Wood?
Heating your home with a wood stove offers numerous benefits that extend beyond mere warmth. Firstly, wood stoves are highly cost-effective, especially if you have access to a free or inexpensive supply of firewood, reducing your reliance on pricey fossil fuels. One of the biggest perks of Joe's job as an arborist is free firewood! Although we do need to cut, split and stack it. Additionally, wood stoves are environmentally friendly, as burning wood releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that the tree absorbed during its lifetime, making it a carbon-neutral energy source. Wood stoves also provide a reliable heat source during power outages, ensuring your home stays warm in any situation. Moreover, the radiant heat from a wood stove creates a cozy, inviting atmosphere. There's nothing like sitting next to a wood stove with a cup of coffee watching the snow fall.
Importance of Stacking Wood
Type of Wood
Materials and Costs:
For each rack, you will need:
5 8-foot 2x4's ($3.75 each)
3 cinder blocks ($2.50 each)
Small box of 3" deck screws ($11/box)
Tarp or other cover
Shovel
Spade
Level
Saw (any type will do)
Drill
Total Cost: $37.25 per rack
How To Build a Fire Wood Rack
Determine Quantity: Start by deciding how many racks you need. Each rack holds about a half cord of wood. We decided to build 8 racks.
Select a location for your racks. Ideally, place them away from your house to prevent pests from migrating from the wood to your home, but not so far that retrieving wood becomes inconvenient. Make sure there's enough space near your racks for firewood delivery.
Create the base. You will need two 8-foot 2x4's and cut three 11" sections from another 2x4. Screw one of the 11" sections in the middle. Screw the remaining two 11" sections about 4" from each end of the 8-foot 2x4's.
Space the cinder blocks. Arrange the cinder blocks so that the cross beams of your base rest on the long side of the cinder block, where the block is strongest.
Level the cinder blocks. If your site is on a slope, dig down under the cinder blocks until the base is level. Ensure the base is level in all directions. Fill in dirt around the cinder blocks, making sure the holes in the blocks are facing up.
Install side supports. Cut two 8-foot 2x4's in half. Place these 4' sections into the holes in the cinder block and lean them outward away from the rack.
Repeat for additional racks. Space each rack the width of a cinder block apart to allow for good air circulation between the rows.
Stack your wood! Once your racks are built, stack your wood on them. Cover the top of your wood with a tarp or another material to keep it dry while allowing air to circulate between the logs and help them dry.
Note: You can make longer racks if desired (see above). However, longer racks require more effort to rotate old and new wood. By using shorter racks and spacing them appropriately, you can access wood from both sides, making it easier to use older wood first and add new wood without rearranging the entire stack.
Following these steps, you'll have a functional, cost-effective firewood rack to keep your wood dry and ready for use all year round.
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