DIY A Budget-Friendly Firewood Rack From Wood Pallets

Anyone who uses firewood to heat their homes during the autumn and winter understands that good storage is the key to keeping wood neat and dry during the burning season. While a full-blown wood shed would be ideal, for most wood-burning households a budget and DIY-friendly firewood rack is the more practical option. And if there is one product that's perfect for making firewood racks, it's wood pallets.

Wood pallets are portable structural platforms made from either hardwood or softwood which are used by businesses all around the world for transporting goods. They provide a sturdy base for stacking items and are abundantly available. As a matter of fact, knowing where to find free wood pallets for this DIY project is the key factor in making it budget-friendly. A quick scan on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist or calling local businesses will often yield up free pallets. If you find yourself paying for pallets, you're doing something wrong. 

Pallets are the perfect bases for a firewood rack because they elevate the firewood off of the ground, keeping moisture from accumulating and encouraging airflow through the pile. The more airflow there is, the faster the firewood is going to dry. Pallets are also exceptionally durable, so you can expect to get several years of use out of a storage rack that cost you very little. In terms of investment, that's a great ROI. 

Making a DIY pallet rack doesn't need to be complicated. It can be done in a number of different ways and often requires very little input in terms of time and tools. In fact, the most time you'll spend on this project will be stacking the actual wood! 

Chris from the In The Woodyard YouTube channel starts his pallet racks by building a braced end piece. Two pallets — one on the ground, one standing — are attached to one another via a scrap wood brace secured on either side of the pallets at a 45 degree angle. You repeat this process on the other end of your rack to create two end caps. These provide rigidity to the rack and help keep the firewood in place. Traditional row stacking is the ideal method for this kind of firewood rack.

You can add a covering to your DIY rack by using a tarp, some sheet metal, or corrugated plastic. If you use a tarp, make sure it only covers the top row of wood. Leave a few inches of overhang to wick rain without disrupting airflow. In terms of location, try and build your rack in an area that is relatively free of windbreaks and gets plenty of sun, such as an open field or driveway. This will allow the wood to dry much faster than if it were placed in a shady area with little airflow.

The standard size of a pallet is 40 inches wide by 48 inches long. If you create a row of three pallets set next to each other lengthwise, you get a rack base that is 10 feet wide. The standard length firewood is cut to is 16 inches long, meaning a single pallet can go three log lengths deep. This depth plus the length gives you enough space to stack a full cord of wood, which are 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet long.

You can adjust the size of your firewood racks to meet your specific firewood burning needs. You can make the individual cord baskets previously mentioned or you can extend your rack if you have the space for it. If you plan on doing this, it would be wise to add a dividing pallet at every cord length. This will help keep the firewood neat and tidy as well as give you a clear marker of where one cord ends and another begins.

Overall, using wood pallets is an effective and budget friendly method for stacking firewood. It might not look as pretty as a proper shed, but free pallets, some scrap wood, and a few screws are a heck of a lot cheaper and do the job just as well.