I can't find good information on the Internet, so was hoping you guys could provide a bit of expertise.
An ice storm took down several large limbs and I've been cutting them up for firewood (my latest woodworking project, ha ha). How far away from the garage and house do I need to store the wood? It's going on racks, but the only hard surface is a small patio next to the garage.
Puckdropper
If you have carpenter ants in your clime, I'd not store it *anywhere* around the house. Not where it's wet, anyway.
What is the concern ?
John T.
I agree with what was said above, that the main problem is insects. and add snakes, small animals and birds.
While we have carpenter ants the ones that cause the most damage are the termites.
I have our wood pile on a the back of a plant oasis that is about 80' from the nearest point on of our house. I have the wood stacked on rails that are supported by cinder blocks. This gives room for air to circulate all around the fire wood. The rails were cheap as they are about 3" diameter and 10' lengths of the trunks of young catalpa trees.
Since it is behind the plant oasis it can not be seen from the house but still close enough the patio fire ring to be convenient.
Negatives are it on the back side of the plant oasis, and the plants sometime try to hid in the wood pile. I also have to use the string trimmer to cut the grass from under the rails.
If the wood is clean of carpenter ants and termites and you're primarily concerned about drying it, I'd leave a gap of 2"-3" between the wood and building. You can do that and still have a steady pile by having the occasional piece touch the building. Sort of like how a brick tie holds the brick veneer to the building while maintaining the space.
If you have a contract for insect control, the contract may be voided if you have wood stored 2"-3" from the house regardless of the current state of insects.
In the southern US you almost have to have a insect control contract. While I have never experienced it I have heard is required by some insurance companies and mortgage companies.
In the far north, termites aren't a problem. Termites seem to dislike the cold as much as I do anymore. However, carpenter ants more than make up for them. DAMHIK
I didn't have a contract for this house until this year. I found some in the frame of the basement doors last summer so had a company come in right quick. The damage was limited to the frame and that not too badly but it was a wake up. I have an unfinished basement so thought I'd catch anything right away. I probably would (did, in fact) but sleep is more than worth the price.
True. It's easy to forget that folks here are scattered around the globe and have different conditions... Me, I'm in the NE US. Clean sound wood is what I take for firewood when I'm felling trees. Anything with rot, black ants, grubs, or evidence of borers stays in the woods. The worst thing that happens occasionally is over-wintering mosquitos hiding in the crevices of the bark awaken in the house. It is odd to see the mosquitos flying near the windows with snow on the ground and a frozen lake in the background. ;~)
Note that in CT one is required to have a permit to bring firewood across the state border. Apparently our legislature, which mostly represents people who spend most of their waking hours in Manhattan, is unaware that insects are capable of flight.
There are insects that do not fly but can be carried with the wood an infect a new area. When the emeral ash bore was a problem you coulnd not bring wood from outside of the state parks for your camp fires. I believe there are similar regulation where ever there are this type of insect.
NY has had transportation restrictions related to the emerald ash borer for the past 5-6 years, perhaps more. I believe there is still a 50 mile transportation limit unless the wood is heat treated (not kiln dried). You are also supposed to complete a self-issued permit that states where the wood originated, the destination, and the quantity. They have changed the regulations a number of times in the past 5-6 years so I check before I move any wood around. What I've cut for myself hasn't moved more than about 30 miles.
Regarding the EAB... there are no live ash trees in this area. The ones still standing are collapsing like crazy. Some break off mid-stem, some break off near the ground, and some break off at the roots. I stay out of the woods on windy days as I've seen trees break off and drop large tops... the small branches are long gone. I've cut down and/or cut up many 100s of them. I took about 50-55 off my parents' property alone. Most I've felled or cleared from a couple rail trails that I help maintain. Believe me, when you work on 15+ miles of trail there are a lot of trees falling year round, and most have been ash for the past 5-6 years. That is sad enough, but now most are so far gone they aren't even good firewood.
I originally took Game of Logging training to do volunteer upland wildlife habitat work but the vast majority of the volunteer cutting has been on rail trails and land trust properties. I scored a bunch of beaver killed cherry a few years back and have that wood stickered in my lumber shed. No good walnut thus far... it's all been rotten (the beavers haven't touched any so there are no good ones to remove).
Emerald Ash Borers fly just fine.
My last house in CT had concrete poured wall for 4 feet so I put it right up to the wall about 3 1/2' high. Never had a problem in 30 years. If it was siding I'd keep it a couple of feet away.
I also sprayed the wood stack with insecticide in spring or early summer.
You weren?t concerned with burning wood that was sprayed with insecticide?
Any nearby neighbors?
No, it would be gone by the time it was burned. Same stuff is used on vegetables, flowers, lawns.
snipped-for-privacy@ccanoemail.ca wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Insects, overall health of the garage.
Puckdropper
Off the ground will help prevent premature rot and never store any wood near/against your structures. What eats firewood will eat the structure.
There is nothing keeping "black ants" (carpenter ants) from infesting the wood after transport. It's a very bad idea keeping wood anywhere close to the house, particularly where it can get wet. I lived in NY and VT for just under 40 years and found out the hard way.
And in the South, it is a subterranean termite issue more than ants.
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