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Creative Ideas for Firewood Storage
If you’re like we are here at Chimney Care Plus, then you probably spend most of your free time fireside. We love our fires, and dedicate ourselves to maintaining chimneys here in Maryland so that our neighbors can enjoy their hearths as much as we do. Now, if your fireplace and firepit prove to be a focal point in your day to day, then you may be spending plenty of time walking back and forth between the fire and the woodpile. But how do you store your firewood? Do you just have a pile out back that barely keeps rainfall from penetrating the wood? Or maybe you have a woodshed that’s a quarter-mile from the property — which is fairly inconvenient when you just need a log or two. It’s time to create convenient, accessible storage for your firewood. We’ve cataloged a few ideas and guidelines that you can employ to make a creative storage solution for your firewood.
Indoor Storage
While some homes have firewood storage shelves built into the home, most homeowners are in charge of making their own apparatus to store a few dozen logs for convenience’s sake. There are all sorts of plans and projects that you can complete to store your firewood. Here’s our advice as you start to get creative.
Store Safely
Before you start, you should consider where you will be storing wood. You shouldn’t have the wood too close to your fireplace, or it may be in danger of igniting due to an escaped ember. But it should also be conveniently placed so that you can reach firewood without removing yourself from the cozy atmosphere of the fire. You can consider a contained fire storage method which will enable you to keep your firewood closeby, yet protected from flying embers.
Upcycle
Nowadays, there are hundreds of items that you can “upcycle” to use as firewood holders. Consider using a rusted, old washbasin to keep firewood in the corner of your living room. Or transform an old bench into a storage chest by turning the seat into a hinged door. Visit a secondhand store to look for cheap, creative options.
All-in-One Storage
If you’re building shelving or a firewood storage stand, consider including a space to store matches, firestarting paper, kindling, and other tools that you use for your fires (e.g. your fire poker, fire gloves, etc.). You can build a storage shelf to suit your needs, and the design of your home.
Outdoor Storage
For all of that wood that you keep near your firepit, you’ll want to ensure that the elements don’t render your wood unusable. Beyond that, you can get creative to make your firewood a beautiful decorative element of your firepit.
Keep Wood Covered
First thing’s first, you want your wood to be covered, so that precipitation doesn’t soak into the dried wood. You can invest in a few tarps for a quick, easy, versatile solution. Or you can create a wood shed for the ultimate protection from snow, rain, sleet, you name it. You can even throw a section of tin roof over your woodpile to do the trick.
Keep Wood Elevated
It’s a good idea to keep your wood elevated off the ground. Wood that rests on the earth can attract pests, and it can grow mold easily. Plus, it’s more likely to wick water from the soil. Beyond that, mud can build up around your woodpile which will make it difficult to pull out wood when you’re running low, and that wood may be unusable. Build a wood stack on top of a couple of railroad ties, or invest in a wood rack that will hold a cord of wood or so.
Creative Storage Ideas
When it comes to outdoor wood storage, you’ll have plenty of room to play. Consider building a storage system out of old barrels to keep your wood dry, accessible, and neatly stacked. Or flip an old canoe on its end to convert it into a makeshift roof to cover your wood supply. You can easily create a wood storage shed out of old pallets, spare 2 x 4s, or other scraps in your workshop. If you want an earthier, more natural look, you can gather a stack of stones and build an arch or half of the hemisphere, under which you can store your wood. Just make sure the stones are placed properly so that the structure isn’t at risk of collapsing.
Keep Your Chimney in Tip-Top Shape With CCP
Regardless of how you choose to stow your wood, there’s only one company to choose for all of your chimney care needs. Here at Chimney Care Plus, we’d be happy to help you to keep your chimney free from soot and creosote, so that you can ensure your fires remain safe. Give us a call for an inspection or a cleaning — we provide service throughout Maryland from our hometown of Frederick.
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