Beautiful and functional woodshed with your own hands

An old structure – a fireplace – has again become a fashionable element of the interior. It is laid out to create a cozy, warm atmosphere in the house, in the country. Firewood, fuel briquettes, which are stacked nearby, are used for heating. It is convenient to use a fireplace woodbox for storing them. It will allow you to neatly place the firewood and decorate the room.

General information about fireplace wood holders

Firewood racks are used to store logs at home or outdoors. They can be stationary or portable. Decorative structures that match the interior are installed in rooms, or recesses are made in the walls. In courtyards, structures are placed that protect firewood from moisture, allowing it to dry out.

Main Features

When constructing or purchasing a firewood shed, you should evaluate its capacity. An outdoor one should contain a volume of firewood sufficient for the heating season. A stationary home one should provide a supply of fuel for the evening, so as not to leave the cozy warmth for the cold.

The presence of a tray or stand in the structure will allow you to carefully collect the bark fragments, chips, and dust falling from the logs.

A portable firewood rack is selected in such a way that it is easy to bring logs into the house.

Forged structures with a metal tray are widely used. They go well with the fireplace, are lightweight, and at the same time are highly durable.

Firewood holders woven from willow twigs, rattan, cord, and vines look homely and cozy.

The structure is installed on the side of the stove or fireplace. This is the safest place. Sparks will not fall on the wood, and it will be convenient to throw firewood into the firebox.

Functional purpose

Stoves and fireplaces are built not only to heat the house, but also to create an atmosphere of comfort and coziness.

The purpose of a firewood storage is to provide a supply of fuel for the day (evening), so that you don’t have to go outside for a new portion.

The dried, warmed logs are placed on the fire, and a new bunch is brought in as needed.

Firewood piled on the floor looks unaesthetic. Therefore, the second purpose of firewood racks is to decorate the premises.

Main options

The structure intended for storing logs can be made from various materials:

The products can be stationary and mobile, outdoor and indoor. Everything depends on the purposes of use and the preferences of the home owner.

Street

They are a structure with a roof to protect from rain and snow. To ensure air circulation and drying of firewood, 1-2 walls are left open or grates are made from boards. In a simple version, they can be a canopy or a shed.

Indoor

They can be stationary or mobile. The former are a special recess (niche) in close proximity to the fireplace. The latter are made of various materials. They are easy to move from place to place.

Wicker and forged firewood holders fit well into the interior. The simplest option is a box made of boards.

Stationary

Stationary structures for storing logs can be indoors and outdoors. They are made of brick, wooden boards, iron. Forged wood bins look good in a special area in the yard where an outdoor stove and barbecue are located.

Portable

These are the most compact models. They are designed to carry firewood into the house. They are small in size and light in weight. You can use wicker, thick rope or sewn from wear-resistant fabric. The main disadvantage is their short life, they quickly fail.

Firewood carriers made of metal are heavy but last a long time. To increase the service life, they are coated with an anti-corrosion coating.

Some metal products are made in the form of stands, shelves, baskets, and look like decorative elements.

Selection criteria

When choosing a firewood box, evaluate the appearance, quality of materials, shape, and safety of use with an open fire.

A well-thought-out design will help maintain cleanliness and order in the house and will not disturb the harmony in the design of the rooms.

Technical specifications

The firewood storage structure has a number of technical characteristics that allow you to evaluate the possibility of using it in everyday life. When choosing a firewood storage unit, you should consider:

• 

  dimensions, i.e. height, width, depth;

• weight, which ranges from 1 to 10 kg (in mobile versions);
• material;
• presence of protection against corrosion and decay;
• manufacturing method;
• color;
• equipment (shelves, handles, trays);
• equipment (availability of a poker, scoops, brooms, etc.);
• country of manufacture (products from Germany are of good quality).

Approximate cost

When making firewood holders yourself, the cost of them depends on the price of the materials used.

Those purchased in specialized stores may cost more, because they are made of metal. The price depends on the size and configuration. On average, a metal product may have the following cost:

• for dimensions 250x600x370 mm, weight 3 kg – 1400-1500 rubles, and 440x350x630 mm, weight 6 kg – 2000-2300;
• stand in the form of a curved sheet 415x280x3900 mm weighing 5 kg – 3100-3400 rubles;
• a carrier from China with dimensions of 520x370x370 mm – 3000-3100 rubles, a similar one made in Russia – 4800-5300;
• forged with a set of accessories 640x480x400 mm – 7600-8200 rub.;
• for openwork forging - 16,000-35,000 rubles.

How to make a woodpile for a fireplace with your own hands

You can make a firewood rack yourself from plywood sheets. To do this, you will need:

First, draw an oval of the required size on a sheet of plywood and cut out the figure along the contour. Drill holes for attaching the handles.

To make plywood elastic, place it in a basin of hot water for 50-60 minutes. After soaking, it can be carefully bent and fixed with a dowel.

Then the handles are inserted into the holes. The slats are used to make stands so that the product stands firmly on the floor. They are screwed in with screws or self-tapping screws.

A similar structure can be constructed from a sheet of metal and painted.

Selection of materials

When creating structures for storing firewood, various materials can be used. Their choice depends on the imagination of the home owner, financial resources, and interior style. Some prefer reliable stationary structures, others choose stylish forged carriers, and others try to save money and use improvised means for production (old buckets, willow rods, concrete rings, etc.).

Metal

Metal allows you to give the structure smooth, curved shapes. Iron rods, pipes, steel sheets and metal profiles are used in construction.

Forged firewood sheds with applied ornaments look beautiful. They are made to order or purchased ready-made in stores. Metal surfaces are treated with protective and decorative coatings that protect against corrosion and give the product an elegant look.

Tree

Wooden structures are cheaper than metal ones. This material is easy to work with.

Wooden firewood bins have a simple shape - rectangular or square. Timber, boards, and plywood are used for construction.

Decorative elements include: wood carving, inlays (metal and glass inserts), pyrography, and tinting.

Style solutions

Firewood storage structures should match the interior and design of the fireplace.

Forged portable firewood holders with accessories designed in the same style decorate the room and demonstrate the good taste of the owners.

Indoors you can use:

• vertical mini firewood holders,
• metal, decorated in a minimalist style, or, on the contrary, with a complex openwork pattern;
• non-standard shapes in the form of Christmas trees, stars, polyhedrons;
• trapezoidal or diamond-shaped shelves;
• fireplace benches.

A fashionable trend is to fill vertical niches from floor to ceiling with neatly stacked firewood. They look like an original decoration of the room.

When using the high-tech style in the design of living rooms, fireplaces are made of tempered glass and chromed steel. The interior is characterized by strict lines. A cube made of impact-resistant glass with steel stripes or lighting, filled with logs, will look good in such a room.

For country style, designs in the form of woven rattan baskets and old chests are suitable.

Interesting manufacturing options

When creating a firewood shed, you can use your creativity and imagination. It is possible to use various materials, including things that have served their time.

From the barrel

An old empty barrel can serve its owners as a storage place for logs.

To fix it to the surface, screw 2 iron or wood slats to it. You can weld a piece of steel to the inside of the walls to make a shelf for storing chips, birch bark for kindling.

Made of wood and plywood

These materials are used to make firewood bins for home and street. The types and sizes of structures are selected individually depending on the volume of firewood to be stored.

The most common outdoor options are a frame of 4 posts on a foundation. A roof is made on top to protect from rain, 2-3 walls are loosely covered with boards.

From metal tubes

Iron pipes are used to make firewood carriers or small firewood holders for storing logs at home near fireplaces.

The rods are heated and bent in the right places to form a hemisphere. They are then connected by welding.

From water pipes

Initially, a square stand is made of wood. Four flanges are fixed in it. Side posts are made from pipes, which are fixed to the base. The finished structure is painted in the desired color.

Trolley stand

It is a box or a hemisphere with wheels screwed to the bottom. The structure is easy to move around the apartment or yard. You don't have to carry heavy firewood in your hands, but load it into a stand-trolley and transport it.

The stand is an inverted chair

The design is similar to an inverted wooden stool. On three sides, between the legs at the top, crossbars are made to provide rigidity. The fourth side is left open.

Niche in the wall

Many fireplace models have recesses in the walls for drying firewood. This allows you to safely place the firewood in a warm place to remove excess moisture.

Niches are placed vertically or horizontally.

The only drawback is that the walls can get dirty from the firewood.

Methods of stacking firewood

The main rule when stacking firewood is that the structure must be stable and not fall apart. Randomly thrown logs take up a lot of space. There is a risk that some of them will fall out.

Circular method

Laying out logs in a circle in the form of a tower. With this method of laying, a stake is placed in the supposed center of the structure. A cord of the required length is tied to it and a circle is drawn.

The firewood is tightly stacked along the edge of the circle. Having stacked it to a height of 50 cm, the middle is filled. The total height of such a woodpile is 1.5 m.

Stack

This method of stacking uses supports. This can be the wall of a house, a bathhouse, a grate of a woodpile, etc. The logs are stacked in even rows. Large firewood is at the bottom, and thin, light firewood is at the top.

With stake stops

If there is no woodshed, stakes driven into the ground are used as side supports.

The firewood is laid in even rows and covered with a moisture-proof material on top.

Useful tips and general recommendations

Beautiful examples in the interior

A beautifully decorated fireplace can become a decoration of the room. It should be in harmony with the surrounding space and other objects.

In a country house, baskets filled with pine cones and firewood can be placed next to the fireplace. Wicker chairs and knitted rugs placed nearby will add coziness and charm to the room.

In a cold minimalist interior in white or light gray tones, a dark blue fireplace with a brightly burning fire will look stylish. A vertical niche with firewood will add warm shades, giving the room a lived-in look.