The biggest challenge in understanding how to store firewood outside is keeping the logs as dry as possible. These steps will keep your logs dry so that they burn clean and store well.
How to store firewood outside
- Avoid letting the logs touch the ground Elevate firewood from the ground to ensure it is properly ventilated and doesn’t soak up moisture from the ground. Our expert, Nick Greenway, suggests using wooden pallets to stack logs on as they are cheap and can often be found for free.
- Stack logs tightly together As a key part of how to store firewood outside is avoiding introducing any moisture to the wood, you should keep your log pile watertight by tightly stacking them together. This means that only the outer layer gets wet when rain or snow falls and the center will not be exposed to mildew or mold.
- Keep a gap between firewood and surfaces A popular choice of location for log storage is against a wall, the advantage being that your firewood is provided some cover from the elements. Just don’t forget to leave a gap of a couple of inches between the wood and the wall, as this will promote airflow around the wood to dry it out and stop dampness from the wall from seeping back into the wood.
- Choose the location that sees the most sunlight Nick educates others on the ins and outs of not only how to store firewood outside, but how to cut, split and treat firewood on his website firewood-for-life.com (opens in new tab). He advises choosing a sunny location with exposure to the wind to season the firewood. Seasoning wood means allowing all of the internal moisture to dry out of the logs. This helps them to burn well, meaning they give off hot, clean flames. Discover more guides for the garden… Cheap chainsaw deals (opens in new tab) Best leaf blowers (opens in new tab) Best pressure washers (opens in new tab) Cheap pressure washer deals (opens in new tab) Best patio heaters (opens in new tab) Best inflatable hot tubs (opens in new tab)
