A stable, space-efficient stack for a two-year rotation: add four to five cords each year, dry every batch for two years, then move seasoned wood close to the house for winter.
Stability governs the design. The pile must tolerate ground settlement and wind, remain coherent as wood is removed, and direct any collapse inward. Within those constraints, it uses the footprint efficiently while preserving practical airflow for two-year drying.
01
Add a yearly batch
Stack four to five cords.
02
Dry for two years
Leave each stack through its full drying window.
03
Move the seasoned batch
Before winter, move ready wood close to the house.
↺
Repeat by vintage
Add new wood while older vintages advance.
16 ft×8 ft×5 ft=640 ft³÷128 ft³ / cord=5 cords
01 · Build log
A circular experiment. A four-tower answer.
The opening image shows the finished stack. The log begins with the 2024 circular experiment, then follows this build in order.
002024 experiment · Scandinavian method
The experiment
Faster courses, but not enough stable height.
The Scandinavian circular stack promised speed: continuous walls eliminate the four interlocked corner towers of a traditional North American rectangular stack.
Stable height, however, required enough offset between splits to make every course lean inward. As the wall curved, wedge-shaped gaps made uniform pieces pitch toward the openings—and sometimes outward. Without aggressive staggering, the pile became unstable before reaching the target height.
01Just getting started
Set the footprint
Two 8 × 8 pallets. Four corner towers.
Two 8 × 8 ft pallets form a 16 × 8 ft base. Stacked five feet high, its 640 ft³ envelope equals five full cords.
Hunting through the general pile for tower pieces proved slow and imprecise, so I began splitting them specifically. Each corner needs similar-size pieces with roughly square, rectangular, or rhombic ends—rough rectangular or rhombic prisms whose broad planar faces cross-lap better than round-backed pieces.
02Tower in progress · custom-split pieces
Select by cross-section
Use quadrilateral ends where the courses interlock.
Each tower alternates direction by 90 degrees. Similar lengths and quadrilateral cross-sections create broad contact patches, making the courses behave like a crib instead of wedges.
Reserve curved profiles for the dense interior. Along the exterior walls, bed the broad faces of triangular-prism splits inward and present their triangular ends outside for a cleaner, more stable face.
TowersSquare, rectangular, or rhombic ends
Outside wallsTriangular ends facing outward
Interior fillAnything works here; favor circular or semicircular ends
03Core alignment · five-foot keyed row
Build outside in
Give the dense core one orthogonal key.
Most core pieces run parallel to the pallets’ 16 ft axis. One centered, roughly 5 ft row runs along that axis, but its individual splits rotate 90 degrees and lie transversely—or orthogonally—to the main field.
Build from the four towers and exterior walls inward so every face leans from the start. The transverse splits key the center while the opposing walls close around it.
Top-down strategy · center row runs longitudinally; its pieces run orthogonally · arrows show force from the long walls
04End-wall taper · successive courses move inward
Control the batter
The top is smaller than the base.
An inward batter means each course shifts toward the center, reducing the horizontal cross-section as the opposing faces converge.
The towers narrow with the walls, and triangular ends keep the face dense. Establish the taper on every side from the beginning. As the ground settles, wind loads the pile, or wood is removed, that inward bias directs movement toward the core. If a wall gives way, it should fall inward rather than outward.
topbase
Inward batter Each course shifts toward the centerline.
05Perimeter established · center still accessible
Enclose the core
Four towers hold the working opening.
The towers define the tapered envelope, triangular ends form the exterior, and the open middle still provides access to the longitudinal core.
The filled core and tall perimeter have now locked together; the opening is only working access and can close once the interior is full.
06Closing the final wall
Lead with the final wall
Raise the face while the pile keeps filling.
Set the final wall’s lower face pieces first, then keep that wall leading as you add to the rest of the pile. The towers, walls, and core already support one another, so the pile stays stable as access narrows.
Fill behind it by reaching over the wall or tossing splits into the remaining voids. The face and remaining fill rise together; the wall is not saved as a separate final step.
07Completed stack
Finished stack
The final wall closes beneath a small crown.
The finished face completes the inward-tapered envelope. Four towers and opposing walls now hold the dense core from every direction.
A shallow crown rises beneath the future tarp, prioritizing a rooflike profile over an aligned finish course. Without a cover, I might have arranged those top pieces more uniformly for appearance.
Geometry, not perfection
Shape names are selection targets, not machined solids. Use each split’s closest useful cross-section to predict its role.
A
Appendix A · Field stability test
The pile holds its ground.
A moving, off-center climb followed by 190 lb on the crown shows how the finished structure responds to a shifting external load.
Field stability test190 lb subject · completed stack
Observed result
No falling splits. Almost no visible movement.
A 190 lb adult male climbs the long wall and stands on the crown. No firewood falls; only slight movement appears near his footing, with no progressive slip, wall bulge, or tower separation.
The result shows this pile’s four towers, inward-battered walls, keyed core, and closed face acting as one stable mass.
subject
190 lb adult male
sequence
Approach, climb, then stand
result
No fallen firewood
B
Appendix B · Covering the wood
A slightly over-engineered tarp retention system.
A continuous paracord line woven through the tarp eyelets spreads the load along the hem. Short, elastic tie-downs connect that line to eye bolts in the pallet.
B.01Shared load · evenly spaced restraints across the long face
Start at the tarp
One woven line shares the pull.
Weave paracord continuously through the eyelets so each tie-down pulls on the shared line, not one isolated eyelet.
Screw eye bolts into the pallet as fixed anchors for measuring each link.
01Tarp eyeletscover edge
02Woven paracordshared load
036 in bungee60% of specified stretch
04Custom cord linkloop knot at each end
052 in carabinerpainted steel
06Pallet eye boltfixed anchor
Measure the complete assembly
Set the elasticity first, then cut the cord.
Measure the span between tarp and pallet eye bolt with the full assembly in place: adjustable loops at both ends of the cord link, a painted-steel 2 in carabiner below, and a 6 in bungee above.
Hold the bungee at 60% of its specified stretch; the remaining span sets the cord length. A heated rope cutter cuts and seals it before the loops are tied.
B.02Hot-cut station · measured cord, cut and sealed
B.03Upper connection · 6 in bungee to woven eyelet lineB.04Lower connection · loop knot, 2 in carabiner, eye bolt
Assemble from the anchors up
Carabiner below. Bungee above.
Tie an adjustable loop at each end. Clip the lower loop to the eye bolt with the carabiner; hook the upper loop to the bungee, then the bungee to the woven tarp line.
top
6 in bungee
middle
Measured paracord link
bottom
2 in carabiner + eye bolt
preload
60% of specified stretch
B.05Field result · covered stacks after high-wind exposure
Observed result
Enough tension to hold. Enough travel to yield.
The 60% preload kept the tarp seated while leaving enough travel for each restraint to yield under gusts instead of shocking the eyelets.
This installation held through roughly 60 mph gusts. That result applies to this specific tarp, cord, hardware, anchor layout, and stack—not as a universal wind rating.