Firewood Racks

Simple firewood racks can be quick and cheap to build, but can make a big difference if you have to store and season a lot of firewood. While it is possible to simply stack firewood directly on the ground, the ends of stacks can be prone to collapse, and the lower layers of logs never dry as they suck up water like a sponge from the ground beneath.

Even if your personal carpentry skills are limited you should be able to assemble the rack in the video below without too many problems. It has the advantages of being simple, cheap and robust, unlike many of the other firewood storage racks I have seen plans for. The overall length of the rack is entirely at the discression of the builder, so you can fit the rack exactly into the space you have available.

All the logs are supported off the damp ground, and a nice neat stack like this would be easy to put a firewood rack cover over. The ends are neatly secured so that the pile won't collapse outwards and, when it reaches the end of it's useful life, the pieces can be recycled through your wood stove.

We tested out this design ourselves and ran into a few minor problems of contruction, mostly because we tried to cut some corners.

• Predrilling the holes is important
• The washers stop the screws digging too deeply into the wood instead of binding everything together. We didn't see washers in the shop so tried it without and had some trouble getting everything to bind tight enough.
• We burned out the motor on the electric drill - not the fault of the firewood rack design - but it scuppered my attempt at recording the process.

The resulting racks are servicable and neat and we customised them to fit nicely in the space available.

Professional Racks

If you are looking for something with a bit more class, or just prefer not to get involved in the DIY side of things, there are many firewood racks available to buy online.

Just remember that these can end up being expensive if you intend to do all your firewood storage like this. A typical 8 foot long rack will hold around a quarter of a cord. A household burning wood for most of their winter heating will need between 3 and 5 cords per heating season.

A well built firewood storage shed is a much better long term option.

A pair of log hoops makes a great indoor feature; when full they provide enough for a full week of burning without needing to go outdoors and stock up - brilliant for bad weather or the Christmas holiday.