How to make firewood yourself

There are many arguments in favour of making firewood from one’s own logs. Cutting logs and chopping firewood are a hobby that can provide meaningful things to do, free exercise and forest management benefits, all at the same time.

Newly cut wood needs to be adequately dried

The water content of unseasoned, newly cut wood is about half. This means that the wood must be dried before it can be burned. In good conditions, it can take just one spring and summer of air drying for wood to become dry enough for burning. If the summer has not been warm and dry enough, air drying for two summers is usually required, in which case it is referred to as last year’s wood.
In terms of drying, the storage conditions of firewood are key. The absolute best place to store firewood is a ventilated woodshed. It protects the wood from rain and keeps it dry. In a good woodshed, the air circulates through gaps in the floor, walls and ceiling. If the firewood is covered very tightly, moisture can condense and the wood can become mouldy.

Instructions on how to make firewood yourself

1. For making firewood, it is best to cut down the logs in winter or early spring, well before trees come into leaf. The trunks will then have the least amount of moisture due to the absence of fluid flow. The water content of newly cut wood is about half. The logs should be chopped soon after felling. Chopping reveals a lot of barkless surface for moisture to evaporate. Frozen unseasoned wood is also the easiest to chop.
   
   
2. Stack the firewood airily on an underlay or pallets, for example. Make the pile in a windy and sunny place so that air is able to circulate from all sides. Air humidity is on average at its lowest in the spring. Cover the top of the pile.
   
   
3. Store the firewood in a dry and airy place. Air should properly ventilate the wood through the walls, base and roof. The wood should be brought into the woodshed at the latest around Midsummer, when the average air humidity starts to increase. Due to the risk of fire, drying or storing wood under the eaves of a building is not allowed under any circumstances (Rescue Act, Section 9).
   
   
4. Bring the wood inside 1–2 days before use so that the outside of the wood has time to warm up. When firewood is brought in from the cold, moisture from the indoor air condenses on its surface. As the temperature stabilises, the condensed moisture also evens out. Firewood must be placed so that there is no risk of ignition.