Would you stack firewood next to your shop?

[greasyfingers01]

I have a cinder block shop and I'm thinking of stacking firewood along the south facing wall. It's the closest side to the house and will get plenty of sunlight to help dry out the wood. Would you do it? Btw I bug bomb the shop every 6 months

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[aka Larry]

That's what I do, but unless termites start eating metal, I'm not too worried.

 

[larry_g]

I used to have a wood shed on the back of the shop. One year I got a rat infestation in the pile and they chewed through the wall and got into the building. Now rats are rare in this country and it was a one time event. But wood piles do attract bugs and varmints. So if your in a varmint prone area know it can be a problem. I've gone to storing wood in a shed away from the buildings and only move in a weeks supply when necessary. Just the other day I was moving some wood and came upon a possum nesting in the woodshed. I went my way and he went his.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[vettex2]

it's illegal to do that where I live
insurance co. will also drop you for doing that

 

[dirt_dobber]

no. Varmints and rats as mentioned above. I got carpenter ants doing this.

 

[kbs2244]

Cinder block will keep anything out of the shop.
But you will get bugs that will come into the house with the wood.
When you bug bomb the shop, throw a tarp over the woodpile and use one there also.

 

[lbperry]

Keep in mind that when you bug bomb the wood, the contents of the bomb will be released into the house when the wood is burned.
I had that pointed out to me when I had a similar situation. Includes treated wood.
Good Luck,

 

[four.cycle]

"...wood piles do attract bugs and varmints...."

^ true.

...and keep the stack a few inches away from the wall to allow air circulation.

 

[Brian_WK]

My cinder block house had some wood piles up next to it maybe 3 foot high for the fire pit. After one winter I had bubbling of the paint where the stack was. I quit after that happened.

Brian

 

[akdiesel]

Keep all fire wood or any other wood type products away from your house or shop. Stack the wood on an air gap pallet or structure to keep ants and such from housing in it.
Hay has been a big issue in barns for years with ants but it is one of those things that has to take place for its use.

 

[Rossco]

Yes. My shop has a purpose built Wood shed right off the East wall.

Never had a problem.

-29C this morning with -40C wind chills.

 

[Orionrising]

depends on the wildfire threat.

Also wood dries alot better with air exposure on both ends

 

[joes169]

I've been doing it for the last few years, on the south side of my block shop, without any downsides......

 

[tcianci]

Keep in mind that when you bug bomb the wood, the contents of the bomb will be released into the house when the wood is burned.
I had that pointed out to me when I had a similar situation. Includes treated wood.
Good Luck,

This is simply not true...think about it for a minute. If you can't figure it out, keep thinking.

 

[larry_g]

This is simply not true...think about it for a minute. If you can't figure it out, keep thinking.

So true, but I just couldn't think of an acceptable response when I read what lbperry wrote.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[lbperry]

Well, let lbperry in on it. It's not evident to me.

 

[Steevo]

I don't do firewood . . .

 

[jywilli69]

Here Folks with Rodent problems.

http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/faq_rodents_rodenticides.pdf

This will tell you what you can do and not do.

 

[larry_g]

Well, let lbperry in on it. It's not evident to me.

Anything toxic in the firebox is going up the chimney, if it did not then we'd have a lot of dead people killed by carbon monoxide, CO.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[lbperry]

Anything toxic in the firebox is going up the chimney, if it did not then we'd have a lot of dead people killed by carbon monoxide, CO.

lg
no neat sig line

If you want to stake you and your family's lives that all the toxins go up the chimney, that's your business.
I prefer not to burn any toxins in my fireplace. Not worth the risk.
Too much depends on the toxins involved; whether they'd be consumed by the fire or just out-gassed from the wood; and if they go up the chimney or how much is released into the room.

 

[brownbagg]

mine is on my front porch

 

[greasyfingers01]

Thanks for the responses. The plan is to stack it on 2x6 suspended over cinder blocks to keep it off the ground, and 8"-10" away from the wall so I can spray behind it and allow air flow. Last winter was our first winter in this house. We only went through a half a cord. We're working on the second half this year and it's burning a lot better. So we are going to get another cord this month so it can season for next year or 2. We are going to build a potting/gardening shed some time in the near future, and the plan is to have a lean-to off it for firewood. But the kitchen remodel is taking way longer than planned so the shed will be later than sooner. I don't want to put the time or $ into a fancy covered rack when it will eventually be moved.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[TractorJeff]

I have a rack 6 inches off the concrete floor on the porch where we keep a face cord for a weeks' worth of burning. I stack it with an air gap from the wall. The wood comes from the "wood shed" way away from the house. As wood is piled in there, it gets bug treated with powder. I have found an occasional mouse nest, feral cat and an opossum in there over the years.

 

[Dagny]

I went through half a cord since Saturday must be warm by you

 

[NUTTSGT]

I had firewood stored against my garage at one point when it had the T111 siding. it was clearly evident when Spring came that it was a bad idea. Since then, it's stacked free standing along a fence at the edge of the drieway.

 

[greasyfingers01]

Lol, yeah I'm in warm country. Just west of Columbus, GA. Recently it's been Dipping down to the mid to low 20s but warms up to the mid 40s by late afternoon. We keep the thermostat set at 50, start a fire early a.m. might throw on a few more logs before lunch when it's in the 20s 30s. It definitely helps we have a lot of large South facing windows so it warms up nicely once the sun comes out. Unfortunately we don't get heat from the insert back to the bedrooms, otherwise I'd load it up at night too. I'm thinking of putting in wall fans above the hallway and bedroom doors to circulate the heat. With the insert at full tilt, it'll get 80 degrees in the living room but still ice cold in the back rooms.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[tcianci]

If you want to stake you and your family's lives that all the toxins go up the chimney, that's your business.
I prefer not to burn any toxins in my fireplace. Not worth the risk.
Too much depends on the toxins involved; whether they'd be consumed by the fire or just out-gassed from the wood; and if they go up the chimney or how much is released into the room.

It's physics buddy,there's nothing going into your room. The same folks who get their ******* in a knot over this are the first ones to sit around a fire pit and have absolutely no control over what they're inhaling.

 

[cre73]

My wood dries out on pallet racks and then is moved into a Lean-to on the side of my shop when it is ready to burn. Never had any issues. Dry wood equals no bugs.

 

[davidhansen]

If it's made out of cinderblock, I definitely wouldn't think twice about it. I guess the types of creatures that will live in there will differ, depending on your location. The worst I get is squirrels and snakes. If it bothers you that much and you don't want to spray, like others mentioned, then make sure you use all the wood in the pile each year. What I've seen is that they typically take up residence when the wood is in the same spot for years.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I have a 1/2 face cord log rack. The wood sits approximately 6" above the ground and about 8" away from the outside wall of my garage. i find a good sized garter snake under it now and then, but no fuzzy critters ever.
I don't mean to say there's no possible issues with having a log pile right next to a building, just that the simple act of using a rack or getting an air gap between the ground and the building makes a difference with infestations and how long the wood lasts without rotting.

Tommy

 

[NUTTSGT]

It's physics buddy,there's nothing going into your room. The same folks who get their ******* in a knot over this are the first ones to sit around a fire pit and have absolutely no control over what they're inhaling.

There shouldn't be anything going into the room, but it does happen. When it does happen, there's generally a reason as to why it does and the biggest issue is poor draft or lack of.

lbperry, if you're suffering from a "smoke in the room" issue, you need to figure out what the problem is and what's causing it. Before you contact someone like a chimney sweep or mason to help solve your issue, try reading these links and do some research online, you might find it's a simple fix.

http://askthechimneysweep.com/2009/03/how-to-fix-a-chimney-fireplace-smoking-problem/

http://nordicstoveandfireplace.com/Drafting-101

http://www.gratewalloffire.com/Fireplace-smoke_ep_54-1.html

 

[cheechi]

I have a 'main' wood rack about 6" off the ground on my brick/concrete front porch, a second wood rack I bought last summer for cheap on the hearth of my basement fireplace, and a wood pile in the back yard for a short time over the summer.

So I had some wood inside the basement on the wood rack there I wasn't sure how much weight it would hold so I had filled it about half full. Few weeks later I wasn't doing anything really noisy down there (at the time a big change) and I hear some noise. Thought it was the clock ticking but nope it was something munching on wood. In case you're concerned in an empty shop that's basically what it sounds like, steady rhythm give or take 1-2 per second. Never did find out if it was termites, carpenter ants, or whatever else but I put it all outside and have just recently brought some of it back inside after its got much colder and been pretty much dry for a month with only a few exceptions. Now it sits on a tarp in the rack in case it all does need to go out again its easy to just grab the corners and drag it out as a bundle.