The best and easiest way for how to stack firewood off the ground is to store it in a rack. I’ll go through several good examples of firewood racks below.
If you have too much firewood to store it in a rack, we’ll go through some alternatives as well.
And lastly we’ll cover why it’s important to stack firewood off of the ground, along with a few best practices.
How to Stack Firewood Off The Ground: Use a Firewood Rack
Firewood racks can be purchased at your local hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe’s, or online. They come in different sizes and are elevated to keep your firewood off of the ground.
Here’s a couple examples of good ones (we have used these):
4’ Firewood Rack with Cover
This is your basic firewood rack: it’s sturdy, holds enough wood for a few good firews, and keeps your firewood off the ground. We keep this rack conveniently close to our cabin for when we need to grab wood, and then a larger rack father away.
8’ Heavy Duty Firewood Rack
For a larger rack, this option is 8’. It’s heavy duty and will see you through many winters. If you plan to make fires regularly through the winter, this larger size is a must.
Adjustable Firewood Rack Bracket Kit
This option is most cost-effective. It’s also adjustable – just buy your desired length of 2 x 4s and add them between the ends of the rack.
If you’re not sure what size rack you need, or want a budget-friendly option, this is the right choice.
For large amounts of firewood (1 or more cords):
If you’ve gotten a cord or more of firewood, you’ll need more than just a rack to store it. Here’s a few options to store large amounts of firewood:
- Stack it on pallets
- Stack it on gravel, bricks, or stone. While it won’t be off the ground, these options will have less moisture and help prevent rot/erosion of your wood
- Use multiple firewood racks. Get the large firewood racks and stack them back to back to store more wood.
Ultimately, aim to stack as much firewood off the ground as possible. In some cases it may be tricky to have your firewood in the ideal environment: off the ground, away from your home, and covered. But that’s the goal.
When looking to stack & store your firewood, here’s a few other guidelines:
- Keep firewood away from your house: try to stack if 5 feet or more away. This is because firewood is a fire hazard, and pests/critters are attracted to it.
- Don’t store it in your house. You can have a small indoor rack (like this one), but don’t try to store a lot of wood inside. Again, this is because it’s a fire hazard and it will attract critters!
- Keep it dry: store wood in a place where it’s covered or add a tarp to the top. Firewood burns best at 20% moisture, so keeping it protected from rain and snow is key.
Joan Breckwoldt
I’ve had some experience with firewood (lots of it!) and these are great tips! Especially the part about not stacking firewood too near the house because of critters. We try not to stack wood in the garage for that same reason!
Megan
Yes! That is so important! Glad you have found the same in your experience 🙂