I love my fireplace and use it often.  The only problem is that I was I was stacking the firewood outside and found that it often got wet and water logged.  When I brought it in to make a fire, I had a heck of a time getting the fire going.  So I decided to build a firewood storage shed.  A friend of mine had already built one and he lent me the plans he used to complete the job.

These plans were great as they included step by step instructions as well as a complete bill of materials so I knew exactly what was required down to the hardware.  It even included a cut lumber list which I took to my local lumber yard to get a price quote.  As it turned out, I visited a couple of different lumber yards and ended up saving 15% over the first estimate.  Nice!!  I found that a good set of plans can save you a tremendous amount of time and money versus building the structure based on a sketch.  I had very little waste and avoided a lot of extra trips to the hardware or lumber store to pick up something I forgot to get and didn't realize I needed.  I recommend you use a good set of plans for any type of structure you build and this project was no exception.

The firewood storage shed I ended up building had three walls and a roof.  I didn't construct a floor but rather laid down thick plastic sheeting and secured it with thin cinder blocks.  When I stacked the firewood over the plastic, it kept the wood nice and dry.

And once the job was complete and I brought my firewood into the shed, I put some mouse poisoning deep into the pile to control those little critters while still preventing larger animals like my dog from accidentally being exposed to it.

I started storing my firewood in the spring so by the time it got cold again, the wood was nicely seasoned and dry.  It was just perfect for those chilly winter evenings.