The woodpile with your own hands

The woodpile is an ideal option for storing and drying wood on your own suburban site. Of course, firewood can be stored in a special building or in a corner of a barn, but why not build a woodpile with your own hands, especially when it's easy?

Why do I need a woodpile?

The woodpile is not only a great place for keeping firewood, but also the addition of landscape design. Today, there are many options for creative design of this building, and if you attach a faint to your work, you can successfully "revive" the site.

Tips for locating the woodpile:

• to build a woodpile is best in the backyard not far from the garden path so that you can easily reach it and take firewood;
• a small woodpile can become an excellent table for a barbecue;
• in the winter season, the woodpile will act as a barrier for snow, so cleaning the garden path near it will be much easier.
  

How to store firewood

Storage of firewood depends on the design, where you will store them. The most difficult option is the construction of a log house, which is both a woodpile and a convenient place for storing tools.

Some owners of countryside sites prefer to store firewood, folding them in the backyard in the form of a large heap, while others collect a tree inside the house. But not everyone has the opportunity to take part of the space for firewood, so it's better to build a woodpile and not to rack your brains.

There is a special rule for storing firewood stating that they should be tied together in dense packs, packed in rows or bundles, but necessarily dry. It is recommended to split thick and long logs in half or in 4 parts. Do not make a woodpile near the playground or parking for reasons of fire safety.

Storage:

• a bundle - a knitting log can be placed near the yard construction, leaning against the wall of the house or to the fence. Be sure to prepare the ground so that the wood is dry. For this, stones or bricks are laid on the ground in an even layer or pegs are driven in, and wooden logs are laid on them;
• forks is a popular way in the northern regions of Russia. On the rows of logs lay birch branchy branches, clasps the forks with forks and press the branches from above. You can grow such a bundle up to the top of the woodpile or shed. From above, firewood is covered with roofing felt, sheets of tin or any other waterproof material;
• stacks - the logs are laid with their butts facing out, slightly tilting them sideways. This is the most compact method of storage and is suitable for those who do not have a large space. It is better to put firewood on the table, leaning against some structure, because in itself such a construction is very shaky and can collapse from a strong wind;
• "cage" - firewood packed with "cage" is more stable. So, the logs are stacked with 4 logs in a row and reinforced with sections, alternating the horizontal and vertical directions. Such a construction can be located anywhere and without support;
• mop - firewood, laid tightly to each other in a circle. The more dense the firewood is laid, the more reliable the design will be. The only drawback is that this method takes quite a bit of space.

It is very important to immediately determine the size of the future woodpile by calculating the optimal number of rows. As practice shows, three rows are sufficient for the normal drying of firewood. If there are more, airing will be worse. Remember that as the firewood dries up, their volume decreases, and subsidence occurs. Thus, a three-meter birch bale of firewood will settle about 20 cm, so it is important to ram the log as much as possible.

Construction of woodpiles with their own hands

Regular woodpile

Every ordinary landlord will be able to lay down an ordinary small woodpile. Creation of a skeleton can be entrusted even to children-teenagers - so it is elementary!

Required tools and materials:

• hammer;
• clamp;
• screwdriver;
• circular saw;
• tape measure;
• self-tapping screws;
• board 3х15 cm length of 3 m - 2 pcs;
• board 3х15 cm length 1.5 m - 4 pcs;
• board 3х15 cm long 1 meter - 1 piece.

Procedure:

1. Choose the most convenient place for the location of the future woodpile. It is best to install it on a prepared concrete foundation, but if there is not one, you can lay out an improvised stone or brick foundation. This site is necessary to prevent rotting and soaking of wood.
2. Fold the frame of the woodpile, first cutting a board 1 meter long into 4 identical lengths of 25 cm in length. These segments will be crossbars for the future woodpile. If you store firewood shorter than 25 cm, it is better to immediately shorten these boards, since they should be several centimeters less than wood.
   
3. Process the frame boards and assemble the structure, as shown in the video lesson below.
   
4. Put the firewood in the woodpile.
   

Round woodpile

Creating a round woodpile will take a little more time and effort, but such a structure will look much more interesting. We suggest to consider the most simple way how to fold a round woodpile.

Required tools and materials:

• polyethylene film;
• rope;
• marker;
• nails;
• measuring tape.

Do not think that the construction of such a woodpile is easier, because it does not have a skeleton.

Procedure:

1. Prepare the base of the woodpile - remove excess debris from the ground and level the surface. Lay a polyethylene film on the ground to protect wood from rotting and damp.
2. Since the woodpile will be round in shape, later the corners of the film will have to be cut, but you can do it right away - hammer the nail exactly in the center of the film and attach the end of the twine to it. At the second end, tie the marker, pull the rope and draw a circle of the required diameter.
3. Exactly and most densely lay the firewood in a circle( the extreme end of the film).Do not exceed the limits of the film so as not to spoil the wood. Better even leave the allowance a couple of centimeters. It is important to spread the firewood as flat as possible, otherwise the design will turn out to be a curve and unstable.
   
4. When the first row is completed, proceed to laying out the second, third and so on, until the height of your woodpile reaches a meter and a half. Then fill the void inside the formed ring. With this, everything is easier - put the firewood tightly and as smoothly as possible.
5. Continue laying the outer rings of the woodpile until you reach the desired height. It is better that it was not very large. If the woodpile is about 1.5 meters in height, then for its stability alternate the laying of firewood from the outside and inside.
6. The roof for a round log is made of the same firewood. For convenience, you can make the inner ring a little higher than the outer ring and ditch the roof, like tiles.