The Wood Burning Stove and Open Coal Fire Thread

Ah right. I was imagining something a bit more garish whereas that looks quite nice.

Doesn't it mrpon

Yeah mines all black and dark too

Hmm

I know what you're saying. I am just now building my log store from leftover wood from another project. I am worried about leaving it open to the elements generally, so will be having am overhang on it for sure.

Mine is a lot lower than that as it sits next to a retaining wall which is about 900mm off the ground so I shouldn't be troubled as much by the rain but I was thinking I can put a tarp under the overhang and drape it down if it was needed.

As far as snow goes, yeah bit of an issue but then the overhang should help with that somewhat.

Often the advice online is talking about seasoning your logs as well - drying out the internal moisture which is why the airflow is important. Kiln dried don't need to be seasoned as they are already dry so keeping them that way is more important.

It's a head scratcher. But with a lack of experience I would suggest a tarp to keep rain off and that would help the snow too.

Cheers DB, but these logs are kiln dried so no curing needed. I am assuming he's worried that the mould on the logs is rotting them etc.

I have a roll of Tyvek breather membrane that I will use under the timber roof. Won't be suitable for a front piece though and I want to look at my logs dammit!

Thanks for the advice. I forgot to mention my neighbour's log store is smaller and shorter than mine, but hasn't been affected by the rain at all. Some of his logs even protrude out the front of the store, beyond the roof overhang, but the rain hasn't affected his logs in the slightest!

I'm thinking there might be a slight damp issue in the bottom of my store for whatever reason, but the base is slatted and raised, so water shouldn't be pooling. It's sat on paving slabs, so rising damp shouldn't be an issue, but maybe the wooden frame of the log store itself is absorbing and retaining rainwater, or rainwater is somehow pooling on the paving slabs under the log store (where the sun can't reach it) and slowly evaporating up into the logs and causing general damp conditions.

I think buying a tall log store was possibly a mistake, but I wanted the storage capacity. I may have also stacked / tessellated my bottom row of logs a bit close together without enough gaps, because I wanted a firm base to my log stack.

Edit - Yes my logs are kiln dried so they don't need to be seasoned. As nexus6 said, I'm more worried about mould and rot. I only filled the store with logs just over a month ago. I can't believe I'm having potential mould issues already. The weather's looking a bit drier and warmer this week, so I'll just have to see what happens. I wouldn't want to have to stack all the logs again, but I may have to.

Log store 1, from a charity shop. Super heavy.... I know the beams of the lean-to roof are fucked btw. I'll sort it out one day

The rain is bouncing up off the slabs and soaking the lower logs

If the rain is flowing down the roof and then affecting the logs could always try a bit of guttering to divert it away.

I store mine in two of those large plastic garden safe things that I think are designed for bikes. There was two in our garden when we moved in and we keep bikes in the shed. They're fully enclosed so the logs can't breathe much but I figure they're all Kiln Dried anyway.

There's some tips and stuff here:

www.cozilogs.co.uk/blog/what-to-do-if-your-kiln-dried-oak-logs-get-wet/

I note that they suggest you don't have it against a wall. Almost every log store I've ever seen has been against a wall or has otherwise backed onto something. They also suggest you don't use a plastic sheet to cover them.

The actual store itself is wet at the bottom as well, which is another indicator it's rebounding rain. To eliminate the chance it's surface water soaking up the frame (a stretch, as the logs are fairly uniformly west by the looks of it) you could empty the store, get some nice thick plastic sheet and stick it under each leg or area in contact with the ground.

My money is still on the rain though. Mine is going on pebbles which should make it a bit less severe.

And as long as it's not fully tight, having a loose sheet that still allows air to circulate around it should reduce risk of condensation

Yeah, the entire log store structure was soaked this morning, and it's progressively been drying out all day. I think it's more a case of the legs are simply the last bit to dry, rather than the legs actively soaking up water. Again, isn't this common for any wooden structure, or are these log stores just not fit for purpose?

I think I might wrap the legs in plastic sheet anyway though, good shout. My boss told me to get one with legs wrapped in metal, but I couldn't find one for sale anywhere.

I'm not relishing the though of unstacking all the logs, but I think I'm inevitably going to have to do it. I could also put it up on bricks.

Yeah I'll probably have to put a loose sheet on the front. I think airflow should remain okay, because the logs are on a raised slatted base, and there's ventilation at the back too. It'll somewhat impact the aesthetic though

I was thinking it might be that because in the photos it looks like the back of the log store isn’t raised very much, maybe it has settled a bit because of all the weight.