A Firewood Rack for Uneven Terrain

Q: DEAR TIM: My husband says we need a firewood rack, but I say it's not going to work. The only place available at our home for firewood storage is a sloping hillside. All the storage racks I've seen are made for level ground. Do you know of an outdoor firewood rack that has adjustable legs? Is there another way to solve this issue inexpensively (money is really tight right now). -- Melissa T., Stowe, Vt.

A: DEAR MELISSA: I have to agree with you. I've searched exhaustively, and the photos of every firewood rack I've seen show it on level ground or a driveway. That's not to say firewood racks can't be modified, but that could take some work.

I'm also sensitive to your budget concerns. I solved my outdoor firewood storage problem recently by building three racks in one by using the actual split firewood and salvaged oak 4-by-6s that came in a shipping crate. The project cost me some time but no money out of pocket.

Salvaged wood beams for a project like this can often be found at trucking companies or businesses that ship and receive granite, stone or marble. You can also buy these materials at a lumberyard. Get treated lumber if possible.

Homeowners frequently underestimate the weight of firewood, especially if it's a dense hardwood such as oak or locust. This is why you frequently see the firewood rack glamour shot with the rack resting on a concrete, brick or blacktop surface. If the rack were placed on soil, the weight of the wood would probably drive the rack's legs into wet or damp soil.

The ground surrounding my outdoor fire pit is sloped like yours. I used 4-foot-long 4-by-6s to make level, or nearly level, stacking platforms for my firewood. With shorter wood beams, you don't have to lift the downhill end much to make it level. Often a medium-size piece of split wood placed perpendicular across the end of the first step of the beams is enough height to set the next step of the storage platform.

The primary purpose of the firewood racks I've seen is to create support at the ends of the pile and a level surface to keep the wood from touching the soil. The short beams in my homemade rack provide plenty of space for air circulation at the base of the wood pile. I use the split firewood at the ends of the pile to provide the necessary support so gravity doesn't cause the wood to tumble off as the pile grows.

My homemade rack works best with split firewood. I've discovered over the years that fires seem to burn best when you throw on pieces of wood that are not too much larger than the diameter of the fat end of a baseball bat. Split wood also dries and cures faster, so you might as well split the wood before you stack it so it's ready to use when you want to burn it.

I take similar-size split pieces of firewood and use them at each end of the pile to create a stacked structure that retains the weight of the wood next to it. All you have to do is place the first row of the wood perpendicular across large, flat 4-by-6s that are set parallel and spaced about 14 inches on center. This tight spacing allows the beams' outer edges to be about 18 inches apart. This is typically the ideal length for pieces of firewood. This spacing provides more stability as you stack the wood.

The next layer of wood at each end of the pile is set perpendicular to the row beneath it. Use three or four pieces of wood in each row, not just two. You will discover quickly that this stacking method is quite stable. Always stand at the end of the rack and look at the pile as you build it to ensure the wood is centered over the beams. The firewood placed between the two end structures can be stacked in the same direction perpendicular to the run of the wood beams.

Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http://www.askthebuilder.com/printer_Submit_Question.shtml.