When you buy dry logs to burn in your home fire, it’s really important to keep them dry until you’re ready to use them. But as the grim weather is upon us, how do you ensure your logs are safe, dry, and protected from the elements? Let’s find out now.
Ensure air can circulate
For your wood to stay dry during the wet and cold months, you need to ensure air can circulate throughout your store. The best way to do this is to stack your logs with sufficient space between them.
If you stack your logs too tightly, air will get trapped and will add moisture to the logs. It may even cause them to rot if they’re left for too long. So, make sure you spend sufficient time adding your logs to your wood stock instead of just chucking them in without thought!
Keep your logs off the ground
Another really important step is to keep your logs off the ground. So, instead of stacking them directly on the ground, consider stacking your logs on top of a wooden pallet. This does a great job of keeping the moisture from the ground away from your logs.
Lots of garden centres actually give pallets away for free, so it’s worth checking in with a local store to see if you can pick up some pallets that they’re no longer using. Alternatively, you can order them online, and they’re inexpensive, making them a great base for your wood stack.
Protect your stack from the rain
Naturally, you will need to protect your wood from the rain by covering your logs. The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to invest in tarpaulin, but be careful how tightly you tie it. You should allow sufficient breathing space for the logs at the top of the pile while ensuring that the tarpaulin is tightly enough secured so it won’t blow away when the wind gets up. An alternative is to use iron sheets to keep your logs dry, but that requires a little more handy work on your part.
Leave a space between the logs and the wall
If you’re stacking your logs against the wall of your house, leave a gap of around 10cm between the logs and the wall itself. This will ensure that water running down the side of your house can pass the logs without adding to their moisture content. Leaving a gap also limits the number of bugs that are likely to try and make a home in your log pile!
What happens if your logs get wet?
Lots of people question - how to light a fire with wet wood? While it is possible to light your fire with wet wood, it’s not advised. Wet wood is much harder to light, emits more smoke, and doesn’t burn anywhere near as brightly as dry wood. It’s also much worse for the environment, so it’s really important to keep your wood dry throughout the year. Alternatively, you can buy ultra-dry firewood as and when you need it, as we explain below.
Buy ultra-dry firewood today
At Homefire, we stock a range of ultra-dry, sustainably sourced products that are perfect for your home fireplace. For instance, our heat logs have a moisture content of less than 15% and are extremely easy to burn, making them a popular choice for indoor fireplaces.
What’s more, our sustainably sourced kiln-dried firewood has been dried to a moisture content of 20% or less and is perfect for a range of uses. If you have somewhere safe to store your logs, you can order a standard crate of kiln-dried logs, which will serve you well long into the winter.
