The best firewood rack for most homes is the Woodhaven 8-Foot Raised Rack with Cover, which holds a listed half cord off the ground under a cover built for the rack instead of draped over it. For a porch, the Woodhaven 4-Foot holds a listed quarter cord, and the Sunnydaze 8 ft is the value pick with a cover included.
A firewood rack has three jobs. It holds the stack off the ground so air moves underneath and soil moisture stays out of the bottom row, it stays upright when you pull logs from one end, and it carries a cover that sheds rain while leaving the sides open. A 4 foot rack holds roughly a quarter cord and an 8 foot rack roughly a half cord when the wood is stacked 4 feet high and about two feet deep. This page is one stop on our fall yard cleanup tools checklist, which puts every fall job in order.
Firewood dries from the cut ends and the split faces, not through the bark, and it wants moving air more than sun. Fresh hardwood runs 40 to 50 percent moisture and has to reach about 20 percent to burn clean, six to twelve months for ash and up to two years for red oak. A pile on bare dirt under a strapped tarp does not season, it composts. In the North, what you split this fall is next winter's wood.
One thing before the list: we make digging tools, not firewood racks, so nothing here is ours. Each pick is judged on listed capacity, whether a cover comes with it, and whether the design keeps the stack off the ground.
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Best firewood racks at a glance
| Rack | Listed capacity | Cover | Best for | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Woodhaven 8-Foot Raised Rack with Cover (best overall) |
Half cord | Included, fitted | A season of wood for a stove | amazon |
 Woodhaven 4-Foot Raised Rack with Cover |
Quarter cord | Included, fitted | A porch or a deck corner | amazon |
 Sunnydaze Heavy-Duty Steel Outdoor 8 ft Firewood Rack with Cover |
Not listed (8 ft long) | Included | Best value once you count the cover | amazon |
 Amagabeli 8 ft Firewood Log Rack |
Not listed (8 ft long) | None | Cheapest 8 ft frame, cover bought separately | amazon |
 MOFEEZ Firewood Rack Bracket Kit |
Whatever you build | None | Building to an odd space | amazon |
 ShelterLogic Universal Full-Length Rack Cover |
Fits most 8 ft racks | It is the cover | A rack that shipped bare | amazon |
INNO STAGE waxed canvas log carrier (carrier) |
Not listed, a 40 x 19 in sling | Not applicable | Getting splits from the rack to the stove | amazon |
How much wood is a face cord?
A full cord is 128 cubic feet, a pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long. A face cord, or rick, is 4 feet high and 8 feet long but only one piece deep. With the common 16 inch split that is about 43 cubic feet, roughly one third of a cord. A rack's length gives you the footprint, not the volume, which is what makes rack shopping confusing.
| Stack | Cubic feet | Share of a full cord |
|---|---|---|
| Full cord, 4 ft high by 4 ft deep by 8 ft long | 128 | 1 |
| 8 ft rack, one row of 16 inch splits, 4 ft high | About 43 | One third, one face cord |
| 8 ft rack, two rows of 16 inch splits, 4 ft high | About 85 | About two thirds |
| 4 ft rack, one row of 16 inch splits, 4 ft high | About 21 | About one sixth |
Woodhaven's half cord rating therefore assumes about two feet of depth, either 24 inch pieces or a double row. One row of short splits gives you a face cord, plenty for a fireplace used on weekends. A stove run as real heat can burn three to five cords a winter, which no single rack covers. That much wood leaves a lot of ash behind, and our guide to the best ash vacuum covers clearing it from a stove or fireplace. If the wood is for the patio rather than the stove, our best propane fire pits guide covers the no-wood alternative and what it costs to run per hour. Stacking in January is glove work, and our best heated gloves guide covers the pairs that grip a log.
How to season and stack firewood on a rack
Seasoning is controlled drying, and the stacking does most of the work. Split the rounds first, since bark works like a raincoat and the split faces are where water leaves. Before the rack fills, the wood has to be cut and split, which is what our best chainsaws and best log splitters guides cover.
- Get it off the ground. Four to six inches of clearance is the minimum. Ground contact wicks moisture into the bottom row, rots it, and gives carpenter ants and termites a bridge into the pile.
- Stack one row deep when you can. A single row dries faster than a deep block because every piece has a face in moving air. If you need the capacity, run two rows with a hand's width of gap between them.
- Point the long side into the wind. Sun helps and wind helps more. The best spot is open and breezy, not tucked behind a fence that kills the airflow.
- Cover the top only. Twelve to eighteen inches over the top course is right, and the sides and ends stay open. A tarp strapped over the whole pile traps the moisture the wood is shedding, and a stack under a full wrap can leave spring wetter than it entered fall.
- Bark side up on the last row. The top course sheds a surprising amount of rain on its own when the bark faces the sky.
Then give it time. Ash, birch, and soft maple are usually ready in six to twelve months, red oak and hickory in twelve to twenty four. To know rather than guess, split a piece from the middle of the stack and press a firewood moisture meter to the fresh face. Under 20 percent burns clean. Over 25 percent smokes, hisses, and glazes the flue with creosote. Our firewood moisture meter guide compares six meters and shows how to take the reading.
Do you need a firewood rack cover?
Yes in any climate with rain or snow, and it is the part buyers skip. Uncovered wood takes water back through the top course every rain, and a stack that was ready in September can be over 25 percent again by December.
What you want is a cover fixed at the top and loose at the sides, which is how the fitted Woodhaven covers are cut. Buying a firewood rack with cover included saves you guessing at the fit, and a universal cover like the ShelterLogic works if you leave the ends open while the wood seasons. A hardware store tarp flaps, ponds water, and tears out its grommets by the second season.
Where to put an outdoor firewood rack
Off the house. Wood stacked against siding holds moisture against your wall and gives insects a covered path indoors. Leave a few feet of clearance, and keep only a day or two of wood inside, since a warm room wakes up whatever overwintered in the bark. If mice or rats are the worry, the CDC goes further: woodpiles 100 feet or more from the house, with the wood at least a foot off the ground. If rats are already in the pile, our guide to the best rat traps covers which traps hold up outdoors. Our mouse and rat repellent guide has the rest of its list.
On a hard, level base. A loaded 8 foot rack can weigh well over half a ton, and legs on soft turf sink unevenly until the stack leans. Gravel, pavers, or pressure treated lumber under the feet all work. Cutting a pad into lawn? Skimming the sod and leveling first is a short job with a sharp spade like our D-handle garden spade, and the method is in our sod removal guide.
Near where you split. Site the rack by the splitting block rather than the stove, because then you carry once. Clearing a downed tree first? Start with our guides to pole saws, splitting axes, and stump removal.
The best firewood racks, by job
1. Woodhaven 8-Foot Raised Rack with Cover: best firewood rack overall
The Woodhaven 8-Foot Raised Rack is the one to buy if you are buying once. It is a heavy steel frame that carries the stack up on legs rather than resting it on the ground, listed at a half cord, and the cover is designed for this rack instead of being a tarp you fight with. That cover sits over the top and leaves the ends open, which is exactly the geometry seasoning wood needs. Woodhaven's listing states the rack is built in the United States. Where it loses: it is the most expensive way here to store a half cord, and the 8 foot footprint is fixed, so measure the spot before you order.
2. Woodhaven 4-Foot Raised Rack with Cover: best small rack for a porch
The 4-Foot Woodhaven is the same build and the same fitted cover in a listed quarter cord size, which is the right shape for a porch, a deck corner, or the strip beside a back door. Half the length fits places an 8 foot frame cannot, and a quarter cord is a realistic amount to keep within arm's reach of the fireplace while the bulk pile lives out back. Where it loses: it costs most of the 8 foot price for half the wood, so this is a purchase you make for the location, not the value. If your spot takes 8 feet, take the 8 feet and stack it one row deep.
3. Sunnydaze Heavy-Duty Steel 8 ft with Cover: best value with a cover included
The Sunnydaze 8 ft rack is the pick for most budgets: a black steel 8 foot frame with a cover in the box, the cheapest way here to get full length storage and rain protection in one order. Buy the Amagabeli below and add the ShelterLogic cover and you pay more for the same two pieces. Where it loses: the difference between a budget rack and a premium one lives in what a listing will not show you, namely steel gauge and cover fabric weight, and thin tube stock flexes when you load one end and empty the other. Set it on a hard level base and it holds a season of wood.
4. Amagabeli 8 ft Firewood Log Rack: best budget 8 ft frame
The Amagabeli 8 ft log rack is the cheapest full length frame worth owning, a heavy duty 8 foot rack the listing describes as adjustable and suitable for indoor or outdoor use. If you already own a cover, or the rack is going under a porch roof or an overhang, this is the rational buy and the Sunnydaze premium buys you nothing. Where it loses: there is no cover in the box, and an uncovered rack in the open is a wet stack by January, so budget for a cover unless it is going somewhere sheltered. That costs more than the Sunnydaze with its cover in the box, so this is the buy only when the cover is already handled.
5. MOFEEZ Firewood Rack Bracket Kit: best for building to your own space
The MOFEEZ bracket kit is two steel end brackets you fill with your own two by four lumber, listed as adjustable to any length. It is the cheapest option per foot by a wide margin, and it solves the problem no fixed rack solves, which is a run that has to be 11 feet, or 6 feet, or has to tuck under a specific eave. Where it loses: the lumber is not included, so the real price is the kit plus four rails, and those rails sit outdoors, which means pressure treated stock or keeping them clear of wet ground. A span past about 8 feet wants a middle support unless you enjoy watching a stack sag. No cover either.
6. ShelterLogic Universal Full-Length Rack Cover: best cover to add to a bare rack
The ShelterLogic universal cover fixes the most common firewood mistake, which is a good rack with nothing over it. It is listed to fit most 8 foot firewood racks, it is full length, and it costs less than the wood it saves in one wet fall. Where it loses: full length coverage is more than a seasoning stack wants, so while the wood is drying, leave the ends open and let the sides hang loose rather than strapping them down. Once the wood is under 20 percent and winter is coming, close it up. Universal fit also means approximate fit, so expect to work out your own tie points.
Getting the wood from the rack to the stove
A rack only earns its place if the wood makes it indoors, and splits carried in bare arms shed bark and chips all the way to the stove. One carrier covers the trip. To get it lit, our fire starter guide sorts starters by stove, fireplace and fire pit. Once the fire is burning, our guide to the best wood stove fan covers moving the stove's heat into the room.
INNO STAGE Waxed Canvas Log Carrier: best for the trip to the stove
The INNO STAGE waxed canvas log carrier is a sling of 16 oz heavy duty waxed canvas that the listing calls wear resistant and water resistant, 40 in long and 19 in wide with 10 in handles, so it goes over a shoulder when loaded. Both ends are open, which lets splits of any length ride through, and the listing gives it leather reinforced 1.5 in handles plus two cotton straps that run around the bag to carry the load. Where it loses: it is a sling, not a box, so it holds what you can lift in one trip, and it is not a hearth bin for keeping wood indoors.
How to choose a firewood rack
- Size to what you burn in a season. A weekend fireplace wants a face cord, which is one 8 foot rack. A stove burning as primary heat needs bulk storage plus one rack by the door.
- Count the cover in the price. A rack without a cover is half a rack. Buy one with a fitted cover, or add one separately and treat the two as one purchase.
- Buy raised, or make it raised. Legs that lift the wood four to six inches are the whole point. If a rack sits low, set it on pavers or gravel.
- Measure the spot first. Fixed 8 foot racks fail on placement more often than on build quality. If the space is awkward, buy the bracket kit.
- Expect gauge and fabric weight to track price. They are what a listing photograph cannot tell you, and where a premium rack differs from a budget one.
- Skip the rack for bulk storage. Pallets and cinder blocks hold the pile out back for almost nothing. Buy the rack for the wood you reach for.
Frequently asked questions
How much wood does an 8 foot firewood rack hold?
About one third of a cord if you stack a single row of 16 inch splits 4 feet high, which is one face cord. Manufacturers who rate an 8 foot rack at a half cord are assuming roughly two feet of depth, meaning longer pieces or a double row.
Should you cover firewood with a tarp?
Only over the top, never over the whole pile. Cover the top twelve to eighteen inches and leave the sides and ends open so air keeps moving through the stack. A tarp strapped down all the way around traps the moisture the wood is trying to shed, and seasoning wood under a full wrap can end up wetter in spring than it was in fall. If the tools and the mower need a roof of their own, our best storage sheds guide prices sheds per square foot and checks which ones a riding mower fits through.
How far off the ground should firewood be stacked?
Four to six inches at a minimum, and more is better. Wood in contact with soil wicks moisture into the bottom row, which rots it and gives carpenter ants and termites an easy path into the pile. A low rack can be lifted onto pavers or gravel.
Do steel firewood racks rust?
Most do eventually. Powder coated tubular steel lasts years, but rust starts where the coating breaks, at welds, cut tube ends, and scrapes from the wood. Keep the feet out of standing water on gravel or pavers, and use a cover that sheds off the frame instead of holding a puddle on it.
How long does firewood take to season?
Six to twelve months for ash, birch, and soft maple, and twelve to twenty four months for red oak and hickory, assuming it is split, stacked off the ground, and covered on top only. The target is under 20 percent moisture, measured on the fresh face of a piece split from the middle of the stack.
Can you stack firewood against the house?
It is best not to. Wood against siding holds moisture against the wall and gives insects a sheltered path toward the house, so leave a few feet of clearance and site the rack where sun and wind reach it. Bring inside only the wood you will burn in a day or two.
The bottom line
Buy the Woodhaven 8-Foot if you want one rack that outlasts the argument, the Sunnydaze 8 ft if you want most of that for a third of the money, and the MOFEEZ bracket kit if your space refuses to be 8 feet long. Whichever you pick, get the wood off the ground, stack it one row deep in the wind, and cover the top and only the top. Our guides to winterizing the garden and cleaning and storing your tools cover the rest of the fall list.
