It’s winter. You are having a great family time while your youngest, feeling cold, asks you to start a fire. And there “drama”, you can’t find a dry log! 

Nobody will throw the stone at you for delaying firewood storage but this article will avoid your fire to do “pshht”

Firewood is an essential element of keeping those lucky to own a fireplace during winter. Not only that, but there is no better cozy area to gather during family times.

Last week, we gave you tips on which firewood to purchase, and if you have made the right choice, it is now time to learn how to store it properly!

• Select the right location

Firewood is heavy, and it is likely that you will do a couple of trips to gather enough logs to keep the fire going for long enough. Thus, you better choose a location as close to your house as possible to avoid unnecessary back pain. However, if you have wood in your home as furniture or structure, a location at a safe distance will be better to avoid termites from invading your home. Then, the best solution will be to invest in a wheelbarrow or a carry bag.  

• Avoid indoor storage

For safety as well as health concerns, do not store firewood inside your home. A couple of logs is fine as long as they do not stay there for long, but regular trips to the stockpile will avoid spiders, termites, ants and other bugs inside your home.

• Avoid storage in contact with soil

The combination of wood and soil is the perfect ground for your firewood to rot, grow mushrooms and invite all kinds of bugs. 

Ideally, get a couple of pallets from your local transport company to provide some insulation from the ground. If possible, you can also pour an area of concrete, or use a thick layout of gravels. There are also very good looking firewood storage racks available online.

• Stack your firewood properly 

It can be tempting to throw your firewood in a random pile, but that would be a big mistake.

More often than not, people try to stack their wood as densely as possible to save space, but it would stop air from circulating. This would result in moisture and rotting wood.

Try overlapping each row,to add stability to your stack instead of placing each layer of wood, in straight, vertical rows.

• Cover your logs

To avoid rain or even snow depending on your area, the ideal solution really is to use a tarpaulin. They are relatively cheap and will work wonders in keeping your firewood in ideal burning conditions.

Enjoy winter and your warm fire: Stay safe!