About our log stores

How our log stores are designed

The base, sides and back of our log stores are made in solid, 25mm (1 inch) thick timber to create a secure structure that could be supporting several tonnes of logs.

Our Classic A1 log stores are made of Larch with a Spruce roof. The Classic A2 will have a Douglas fir frame and Cedar cladding and roof.

All of our Custom log stores are made of Douglas fir with a Noble fir or Spruce roof.

The base, sides and back are all ventilated to provide good air circulation around the stacked logs. The roof is made of overlapping boards, which slope at 30 degrees. This angle has been chosen to best enable the roof to shed water after a rainstorm.

The roof is shower-proof. Being made of timber, as a natural material, the gaps between the boards are not sealed and there may be the occasional minor ingress of water during a severe storm. This will have no significant affect on the dryness of the stored logs.

Our log stores are not treated

The timber is not treated because we consider it is unnecessary. Our experience so far is bearing this out.

Timber is liable to degrade if it gets wet and stays damp. Typically problems occur when timber is in ground contact or built into damp walls. Your log store has been designed to shed water when it rains and to dry out after the shower has passed. Log stores should always be sited in well-ventilated areas so that the logs themselves can dry out if they start wet or stay dry if they arrive seasoned. Please see “Locating you log store” below for recommended practice to keep the feet dry.

Further, as timber preservatives themselves create environmental hazards, the disposal of any treated timber has to be through landfill rather than through recycling.

Locating your log store

You are buying a log store either to season wet logs prior to burning them or to keep dry logs that have already been seasoned. So it is important to choose a site that is well ventilated and not in a cul-de-sac with little air movement. Facing into the sun is not important as the sun’s rays will only catch the outward facing edges of the logs whereas moving air gets through the whole stack.

There are substantial gaps between the boards on the back to help the air flow around the logs. So we advise you to leave a gap of around 5cm (2 inches) between the back of the log store and the wall or fence that is behind it.

The feet should be protected from harbouring water. An ideal surface is well-drained gravel, concrete slabs or a wooden deck (if it is sufficiently strong to support the weight of the fully loaded store). You should avoid sitting the log store on grass or soil. Pads of slate under the feet would be useful.

The area you prepare to receive your log store will need to support the feet that run from front to back. The Classic A log store and One-bay Custom log stores all have four feet, equally spaced across the width. Two-bay Custom log stores have seven feet equally spaced across the width.

Staining you log store, possibly

Some of our customers have chosen to colour their log stores to match the house or garden décor. That is fine but we recommend that you only use a stain to allow the timber to breathe. Paints should be avoided as the sawn surfaces cannot be fully sealed and there is a danger of trapping water to the detriment of the log store.

Long term care

The body of our log stores is made of Larch or Douglas fir, both of which are classed as red woods – which gives the wood a glorious tint when the timber is freshly sawn. Like all species of timbers when exposed to sunlight, the colour will gradually change to grey. This is only a surface effect and does not affect the strength of the timber.