The Purdue Toad Hollow Economical Firewood Rack
Phil Cheeseman
(aai@purdue.edu)
(pachsmn@frontier.com)

There’s not much more to say about this structure other than to mention that it’s easily built for a very reasonable price. The materials amount to 16 landscape timbers and some pole barn nails. The one pictured cost less than $50 and will hold 2 cords of firewood high and dry if under cover.

To build, acquire 16 8 foot landscape timbers and enough 6” pole barn nails to tack things together and allow you to relieve some hostility (minimum 3 dozen). Hammering pole barn nails is good therapy.

Pick a spot for the rack.

Put down post holes 2-3 feet deep at the corners for the rack. The centers should mark a rectangle with dimensions of 16” by 15’4” assuming the landscape timbers are 4” thick maximum. Dimensions for the holes aren’t as important as being square. As you can see from the picture, any gap made by having the holes too far apart on the long dimension really doesn’t matter unless the mistake is huge.

Now put it together.

Drop the vertical endposts in the post holes.

Take four of the 8 foot timbers and saw each into three 32” lengths.

From the 32” timbers create six base supports by nailing two 32” timbers together as seen in the photos. Two nails at about 16” apart can be used to stack the support timbers.

Take two of the support stacks and place them at each end of the rack adjacent to the endposts. Place two more at the midpoints between the end posts.

Now, lay the support rails (the bottom) for the rack. If you’ve put the post holes down on target, the interior separation for the endposts will be 12”. This means that the inside separation for the support rails will be 4”. The exterior rails should be set flush with the ends of the base supports with inside separation of 24” more or less.

Tack everything down with the pole barn nails so it can’t move, then fill the post holes as you make sure the end posts stay plumb. It helps to tie the tops of the end posts together with a scrap to hold them parallel while burying.

Now, you’re at the state where we were when the photos were taken. I’ve actually pinched the frame a bit in anticipation of the firewood’s weight spreading the top of the rack when it’s filled. A previous rack, however, didn’t spread due to the incredible stiffness of the clay we have here in Tippecanoe County.

In any case, this rack and a tarp can store a bunch of fuel for a small amount of cash. The elevation of the wood discourages rats, mice, solicitors, and other aggravations while giving you a means of making sure the woodpile is ventilated. You can also move the rack easily just by putting the postholes elsewhere.