How to properly stack a round woodpile of firewood. How to stack a round woodpile of firewood? Assembling a woodpile without a frame

The oldest material used by man to satisfy certain needs was wood. And today, 2 million years after the first acquaintance of a primitive ancestor with a stick, wood is widely used. One of them is firewood. They are used not only for cooking, but also in baths and saunas, for heating a private house or cottage.

The concept of “firewood” is familiar to many. They are sawn and chopped pieces of tree trunks and thick branches.

The optimal length of logs is 400-600 mm. Chocks of longer length are rarely used, mainly for burning in fires or industrial furnaces.

Currently, as a rule, the procurement and sale of chopped firewood is carried out by specialized organizations. If you do this work yourself, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the basic recommendations:

• It is convenient to saw a log into shorter logs using a mechanical chain saw or a two-handed manual saw;

• It is easier to chop straight, short raw logs without knots, cross-layers or twists; The main tool for this is a cleaver. This is a special type of ax with a large (about 30°) sharpening angle. For mechanical splitting, homemade or purchased electric wood splitters are used.

• It is convenient to store and dry finished firewood in a special stack, popularly called a woodpile.

When choosing wood for heating a stove, bathhouse or fireplace, you need to know some of its features. The best in terms of calorific value are considered to be hard wood species such as beech, hornbeam, ash, and oak.

Such firewood will provide maximum heat; their coals smolder for a long time, giving off the maximum amount of heat. The only drawback of such firewood is their prohibitive cost.

Pruning trunks of fruit trees - apple, plum, pear, cherry, apricot and others - are good as fuel in a fireplace or barbecue. They have a fairly high hardness, and when burned they release a unique aroma that fills all rooms of the house.

Birch wood is more suitable for use as firewood. It is much cheaper than other hardwoods, accessible and widespread throughout our country.

Its disadvantages include the content of tar, which settles on the chimney and clogs it.

Another type of common firewood is pine and spruce wood. They are also available to the majority of the population; they burn well due to the presence of resin, but when burning they crack a lot and scatter coals, which is dangerous when used in fireplaces.

The last types of inexpensive firewood available are aspen and alder wood. It burns well, produces a little ash, and, importantly, cleans the chimney of tar. Experts recommend finishing the firebox by burning several aspen logs.

How to stack a woodpile correctly

As already noted, in order to dry and preserve firewood, it must be placed in a woodpile. With the right approach, it can perform not only utilitarian functions, but also become a decoration for your yard.

Putting up a woodpile for firewood is not difficult if you know and follow certain rules. The main purpose of a woodpile is to store firewood safely and beautifully. The woodpile needs to be folded so that it is convenient to take firewood from it.

You should start laying firewood by moisture-proofing the lower layers. To do this, you can use the remaining bark, laying it in an even thick layer. You can lay a couple of bars along the future cassette on several supports.

If you lay the first two or three rows on the ground, then after a while they may simply rot.

A special art is to fold a round woodpile. Here is a short video on this topic.

How to fold a round woodpile with your own hands

First stage– determination of the optimal diameter and marking of the contour. Drive a wooden peg into the center of the future woodpile and loosely tie a piece of rope about two meters long to it. Tie a round or square stick to the other end of the cord. Now, having pulled the bowstring, draw a circle on the ground with the free rod.

Second phase– laying the base. To do this, place chopped firewood one after another along the perimeter of the marking line.

You can put a layer of bark under them. We lay out the first row of firewood on it in a radial direction, close to each other.

If there is a large volume of chopped logs inside one row, you can lay out the second and third rows in the same way. The process of making a woodpile for firewood with your own hands is more clear from the photos offered in the article.

Stage three- stacking the woodpile. To do this, we lay out the firewood in a ring, layer by layer, gradually rising to the desired height. If the rows slope outward, we periodically make a ring of firewood similar to the base one. To strengthen the structure of the woodpile, the inner space of the ring can be filled with logs, throwing them on top.

It is difficult to cope with this task alone. It is better to call an assistant to help.

Stage four– production of roofing. No matter how well you make a woodpile, if you don’t have a quality roof, your work will be meaningless. You can make a high-quality roof, as in the photos presented, from the same logs that were previously folded into a round stack. To do this, after filling the entire “capacity” of the woodpile, we lay dense round rows on top, gradually reducing their diameter, placing the logs at an angle to the horizontal.

Precipitation falling on flat rows of firewood will roll down them without penetrating inside. A conical roof made of other natural materials, for example, reeds (cattails), reeds, and straw, will also look harmonious on such a structure.

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If for some reason it is not possible to create a decent place to store firewood, then creating a woodpile with your own hands would be a very good option.

In addition to the fact that a woodpile is necessary for drying firewood, it can also be used in landscape design. How to do it? Everything is very simple, you need to fold the structure beautifully and in the right place in the garden.

Firstly, you won’t need to walk through the entire garden (through mud) in bad weather, and secondly, in winter, a wall of firewood will save your time when clearing snow from the garden path (the woodpile will act as a barrier).

In addition, this structure can be used as a base for a table in a barbecue area.

As you can see, a woodpile can be used for very different purposes, so creating such a garden element makes perfect sense.

How to fold a regular woodpile?

Materials and tools

In order to put together the simplest woodpile for firewood with your own hands, you will need the following tools:

• Carpenter's clamp (for convenience)
• Hammer
• A circular saw
• Screwdriver
• Wood screws (length depending on the thickness of the boards)
• Roulette

Materials for creating the frame:

• Two 3-meter boards, at least 3 cm thick and 10-15 cm wide (base)
• Four 1.5-meter boards of the same thickness and width (side parts of the woodpile)
• One board is 1 meter long, 3 cm thick, and the same width as all other boards.

Once all the materials and tools have been collected, we move on to the main process.

Site preparation

First, we select a place for the woodpile. It is recommended to install it on a concrete base (if there is one) or, as a last resort, lay out a flat area of ​​red brick.

Such a platform will protect the boards from rotting, which can quickly occur when the lumber comes into direct contact with the ground.

Once the base is prepared, you need to fold the woodpile frame.

Creating a wireframe

To begin with, we cut a meter-long board into 4 even parts (25 cm each). The resulting short boards are necessary to create the cross members of the frame. If the length of the logs in the woodpile is less than 25 cm, the boards must be shortened so that they are shorter than the material being laid.

Now you need to assemble the frame. So that you can clearly see the whole technology, we recommend watching this video lesson, which shows all the intricacies of carpentry using a screwdriver and clamp:

Video: how to make a woodpile with your own hands

After creating the frame, it is necessary to lay the woodpile.

Laying technology

Laying a woodpile with your own hands is no less important than creating a frame. The stability of the structure and, accordingly, its durability will depend on how correctly you stack the logs.

It is recommended to lay the logs close to each other, with the longest and straightest lumber placed at the bottom. The maximum height of our woodpile is 1 meter 30 cm. A slide no more than 20 cm in height can be placed on top. When laying, ensure the stability of the structure. If the logs begin to deform the frame, it is better not to risk it and remove excess materials.

We draw your attention to the fact that loose stacking of the woodpile after the firewood dries out will make itself felt, because... materials decrease in volume and form voids, due to which the entire building can collapse.

That's the whole technology for creating and laying a simple woodpile for firewood. As you can see, there is nothing complicated, the main thing is to do such work efficiently, conscientiously.

It should be noted that the disadvantage of this design is that it is not protected from rain and snow. For protection, you can put two slate sheets on top, making a slight slope of firewood in advance to ensure water drainage. Please note that the width of one sheet is 113 cm, so it must either be cut in half (lengthwise) or the firewood must be laid out in two or three rows.

How to fold a round woodpile?

It will take more time to create a round woodpile, but this design looks much more beautiful. Now we will look at the simplest technology for laying such a structure.

Materials and tools

To assemble a round woodpile with our own hands, we will need the following materials and tools:

• Polyethylene film
• Roulette
• Nail
• Rope
• Marker

Apart from the logs themselves, no other materials are required, i.e. the frame will be missing.

Preparing the base

First you need to prepare the base. In our example, the installation will take place on the ground, so it needs to be prepared: remove excess debris and level it.

Next, a plastic film is laid on the prepared ground, which will protect the logs from direct contact with the soil. Since the object will be round, the excess film must be cut off. To do this, drive a nail into the center of the piece and fasten one end of the rope. We fix a marker to the second end of the rope and, using tension, create the outline of a circle. We cut off all excess, after which the base for the woodpile is considered ready.

Laying technology

In order to fold a round woodpile with your own hands, you must first lay out the logs evenly in a circle, without going beyond the film. We draw your attention to the fact that the very first row must be laid out with the utmost care and attention. If the row is uneven, this will certainly affect the stability and aesthetic appearance of the entire structure.

After laying out the first row, it is necessary to repeat this activity until the height of the building is half a meter. After this, you need to move on to filling the space inside. There is nothing complicated here - you lay out the material along the inner diameter, making sure that the logs lie evenly.

Next, you again need to move on to laying out the outer ring of the round woodpile and carry out this activity until the required height of the structure is reached. If the woodpile is too high (about 1.5 meters), it is necessary to alternate the laying out of the outer and inner rings so as not to create difficulties during installation.

Finally, move on to creating the roof of the round woodpile. To do this, we recommend that you make the inner ring slightly higher than the outer one and, using planks, lay out the roof like a tile (as shown in the picture).

If you doubt the stability of the structure, we recommend that you dig wooden posts on the sides that will serve as a kind of supports!

How to make a simple woodpile?

A simple version of a woodpile is the creation of a structure, as in the first version, but without a frame. The base will be boards, and on the sides you can make stops using the same logs, carrying out the laying, as shown in the picture.

Most cottages and private houses are heated using a stove or fireplace. Therefore, most owners are faced with the task of collecting firewood almost every season.

Splitting firewood is not a tricky task, but stacking it correctly is much more difficult. It is important that the woodpile looks neat and complies with several generally accepted rules for the good preservation of wood.

Woodpile options

The main thing is to stack firewood at the dacha so that it is well ventilated and does not get wet. Therefore, the woodpile must be placed on pallets. This way the bottom rows will not get damp and all the firewood will retain its properties for a long time.

The stability of the woodpile plays a big role. To ensure that the firewood does not spread in different directions and does not violate the integrity of the structure, various folding techniques are used. Usually the sides of the woodpile are secured with pegs or other suitable means.

It is worth highlighting the three most common options for laying firewood:

• cage - each row is carefully placed perpendicular to the previous one;
• stacked - logs are stacked on top of each other;
• stack - in this case the stack method is used, only the firewood is arranged in a circle.

There are other effective ways to store wood from external influences.

The most common option for stacking firewood on the street without a shed is to place a woodpile between the trees. The main thing is that they stand next to each other, otherwise the whole structure may fall apart. This option is not suitable for folding into a round woodpile.

You can also arrange to put firewood in a woodpile right under the windows of the house or near the bathhouse. In addition, in the warm season it can serve as a stand for flower boxes. At the same time, the firewood dries perfectly.

Sometimes you can stack chopped firewood outside without a shelter. Naturally, this is undesirable, but it is acceptable in cases where there is too much fuel and there is no suitable storage space.

Creative owners of private homes turn woodpiles into entire works of art. They fold them in different shapes, sometimes adding additional decorative elements. But in this case, it is worth remembering that before you start beautifully stacking firewood in the woodpile, you should also take care of the safety of the fuel.

A simpler option is a woodpile secured with reinforcement, wire or pegs. The ideal option would be a through frame to prevent firewood from falling. Thanks to it, air flows well from all sides and quickly dries the logs. In addition, with the help of such woodpiles you can easily divide the area into several parts or stack firewood. In bad weather, the structure is covered with film or tarpaulin.

How to stack firewood in a woodshed

As mentioned earlier, the main factors that must be observed when storing firewood are the absence of moisture and good ventilation. Therefore, the woodshed must be installed on a flat, dry area with drainage.

It is correct to stack firewood in the woodshed according to the same principle as on the street. Pallets are pre-installed under it, only after that you can start stacking firewood. This way the bottom row will be ventilated. Instead of pallets, strong boards, bricks, logs or other suitable means are often used.

It is also important to take care of the integrity of the roof in the shed. If it leaks, then all the work will be in vain. The firewood will still get damp at the first rains and will have to dry for a long time. Damp wood is clearly not suitable for heating.

It is most convenient to place the woodshed close to the house, bathhouse or other outbuildings. This will reduce the time for building the premises and labor costs. If possible, make the woodshed open on one side. In a completely enclosed space, the firewood will not dry well, rotting may begin, and mold may appear. This happens for the same reason: humidity.

note: Place the woodpile in the woodshed so that there are small gaps between the wood. This will significantly improve air circulation.

The simplest option for a woodshed is to extend part of the roof from a house or bathhouse. In this case, a through frame is used to secure the woodpile. The structure is completely open, so it is necessary that the firewood does not spill. If the overhang from the roof of the house is small, then it is enough to stack the firewood in the woodshed and secure the woodpile with supports on the sides.

note: Do not create woodpiles that are too high. Firstly, it is dangerous, a log can fall from above at any moment, and secondly, it will be inconvenient to get the next portion of fuel.

Thanks to the beautiful texture of the logs, you will get a beautiful decorative element for your personal plot, in addition to the fact that the firewood will be reliably protected from external influences. And the proximity to home will provide convenience - you won’t have to go somewhere far for the next armful of fuel in winter. At the same time, do not forget to leave small gaps so that air flows to the wall of the house.

In the private sector, preparation for the heating season begins in the summer. This includes preparing and finding a place to store a large amount of firewood. For this, the owners equip a separate room, part of a room or yard. And so that the firewood always remains dry, and also in order to save space, you can build a compact, convenient woodpile with your own hands. Its production will not require large expenses, and the benefits will be noticeable immediately.

Why do you need a woodpile?

It serves to protect firewood from precipitation and ensure good ventilation. The shape and size of the structure can be any, but the location must be chosen carefully so that in the middle of winter you do not have to walk across the entire site for firewood. Its correct installation is a guarantee that the fuel for a wood-burning stove or fireplace will be dry at all times, will not become damp, or become covered with fungus.

The woodpile in the country is also used as an element of landscape design. Made in the shape of an unusual figure, an animal, or a table near the barbecue, it will become the highlight of the estate.

Where is the best place to place it?

The location for the structure is selected taking into account the region, the area of ​​the yard, the type and duration of storage of logs, and the required level of drying. Woodpiles are:

• street;
• portable;
• indoor;
• stationary.

Photo: woodpile combined with toilet

Outdoor buildings and separate indoor spaces are popular. Let's look at them in more detail.

On the street

A smart solution would be to locate an outdoor woodpile next to the house, along a paved path, to make it convenient to replenish supplies in rainy weather. If wood is needed for cooking meat on a grill or barbecue, then it is better to place the logs next to them.

In the case where the structure serves only the role of decorating the estate, it should be placed in the recreation area.

An important advantage of a woodpile is saving space. So, a cubic meter of chaotically thrown logs will take up 2–3 m2 of a yard, and in a building 2 m high it will be possible to place the same amount of firewood, occupying only up to a meter of territory. In addition, it is much more convenient to take an armful of stacked logs than to bend over and take them from the ground every time.

You shouldn't make the woodpile too low. The bottom row is completed with waterproofing material or a raised flooring is made.

In room

An equally convenient option is to place the structure directly in the house and decorate it as an interior detail. An example of such a solution is shown in the photo.

You can equip a separate shed for firewood. If logs are needed to heat a bathhouse or sauna, then during the construction of these structures a niche for firewood should be provided inside.

In closed gazebos equipped with a fireplace, the woodpile is made small so that it does not clutter up the space.

Selection of material for making the frame

The shelf life of the wood and the percentage of its drying depend on the quality of the created product. Therefore, before you begin assembling the main parts, you should draw up a detailed drawing of the future structure. The image will allow you to see and correct possible shortcomings on paper in a timely manner.

You also need to consider the material for the base. The service life of the product and installation features depend on the type chosen.

Metal

Using metal as a woodpile material has several compelling advantages. Among them:

• long service life;
• resistance to environmental influences;
• Beautiful design.

One option is a woodpile made of aluminum profiles. It can be done in a few hours. It will be light, so it will be convenient to carry it from place to place.

An interesting solution is a product made of iron or steel. To build it, you need to know how to operate a welding machine, and purchase the material in a store. If opportunities allow, then it’s worth drawing a picture of the future design and turning to specialists for help.

Tree

It is in greatest demand among owners of country houses. Often, every yard has leftover wood building materials, so a woodpile will be inexpensive because it can be made from existing raw materials. Beams, boards, bars will do.

In addition to the low price, among the advantages of a wooden woodpile are:

• quick assembly;
• the possibility of manufacturing a portable structure;
• a light weight;
• long service life;
• efficiency;
• neat appearance.

This material requires pre-treatment and periodic maintenance, since it is not resistant to moisture and insects.

A typical woodpile is a canopy. Consists of a frame, roof, one or two walls. The last element is made of boards or lathing with thin strips for better ventilation. Slate, polycarbonate, metal sheets, awnings, and polyethylene are used for covering. Laying a foundation for a canopy is not necessary.

The building must be placed in such a way that the firewood located in it has constant air exchange and a minimum percentage of humidity.

The procedure for stacking firewood in a woodpile

Proper stacking of logs in tiers will extend their shelf life and ensure dry wood.

1. Firewood is stacked close to each other - in a stack.
2. If this is an outdoor woodpile, then it must have a stable frame. Otherwise, it will need to be placed next to the fence and other buildings so that the logs do not scatter.
3. The structure should not have a height of more than 2 m - it is inconvenient to get firewood from there. Its optimal height is 1.5 m.
4. The lower tier is formed from the smoothest and longest blocks and dies.
5. You shouldn't fill the woodpile with a mountain. Excess weight leads to deformation of the structure.
6. Firewood is placed on a prepared base made of bricks and wood.

If you ignore the advice, the consequences of improper installation will be a damaged woodpile and scattered firewood.

Making a frame for storing firewood

For self-construction, you need to prepare materials and tools in advance so that during the work all accessories are at hand. You will need:

• a circular saw;
• screwdriver;
• roulette;
• hammer;
• wood screws;
• boards 3 cm thick, 11–15 cm wide.

Since the woodpile is made of wood, it is better that the area under it be made of brick, concrete, or tile. This way the structure will not rot. When the base is ready, you can begin assembling the frame.

The boards for it are pre-sawn to the designated length:

• 2 pcs. 3 m each (base);
• 4 things. 1.5 m (sides);
• 1 PC. - 1m.

The latter needs to be cut into 4 parts of 25 cm each. These parts will be useful for creating transverse structural elements. Next, all elements are connected to each other with self-tapping screws. The frame is ready.

To make a cover, it is important to lay the last rows of firewood on a slope.

Wave slate 1.13 m wide or thick polyethylene film are suitable as roofing materials.

Assembling a woodpile without a frame

If you don’t want to make supports for the storage, then you can be patient and lay out the blocks in the form of some kind of figure.

The laying technology is as follows:

1. The first 3 rows are tightly packed together.
2. The next row is formed perpendicularly. This little trick will raise the edges and prevent the wood from spilling.
3. 2 more rows are done in the standard order.
4. The last row goes perpendicular.

As a result of this alternation, a semicircular woodpile is obtained.

Features of laying round firewood

This form of the product is more suitable for decorating a site than for long-term storage of firewood. In these structures, laying is done directly on unprotected ground, which is why the firewood quickly absorbs moisture, becomes damp and rots.

But if you decide to make a round woodpile, you should think about the base for it. The most inexpensive would be polyethylene film flooring.

The diameter of the building is selected individually, depending on the amount of firewood and space on the estate.

The support of the structure is a pin that is driven into the ground. A rope with a stick is attached to it. Using such a compass, a circle is drawn within which the masonry will be carried out.

Logs need to be laid systematically. They should be the same size and fit snugly together.

Formation is carried out in rows around the perimeter of the circle. The frame for this is being built.

The result will be a structure in the form of a tower or barrel.

Video: master class on assembling a woodpile

Photo gallery of finished products

The structure performs a decorative function on the site. It was given the appearance of a fairytale house.

The fireplace wall is filled with firewood. This placement gives the room a cozy look, and firewood is always at hand. In addition, wood looks great as a finishing material.

An original solution of concrete rings allows you to compactly stack logs and decorate your garden area.

The mobile woodpile is only gaining popularity. It's good because it doesn't take up much space. The colors are determined by the interior design.

Design ideas

Each owner decorates a firewood storage facility according to his imagination and capabilities. It doesn’t matter whether it is in the yard or in the house.

A small forged woodpile will serve as a bench or chair.

If you stack the firewood outside the house on a pallet and equip it with boxes on top, you will be able to compactly place things in these boxes, and protect the firewood from precipitation and moisture.

Barrels are also used as woodpiles. If you have a lot of barrels, then keep in mind that they will make an original divider of the estate into zones. Concrete well rings are used according to the same principle.

A niche for solid fuel near a fireplace or stove would be appropriate.

Small logs can be collected in bundles, decorated with colored ribbons and stacked in several tiers.

There are no limits to the decor ideas for such structures, because each owner is guided by his own preferences, the free area of ​​the site or room, the volume of material for the firebox, and a woodpile made independently will become an author’s work in a single copy.