How to Build a Stacked Firewood Privacy Fence: An Inexpensive DIY Fencing Alternative

worstontheblockJune 23, 2021

Interested in a more beautiful way to store your firewood? In need of a temporary fencing solution that won’t break the bank? This firewood fence is the perfect solution for your functional and aesthetic garden needs.

In wintertime, the best place for a woodpile is where you’ll have access to it from your house without having to trek through a bunch of snow to get it.

However, when summertime comes around, that spot that was perfect in the winter may be the worst place after the snow melts. Especially if you have a small yard.

This was the case for us.

Our firewood was stacked on our DIY Trex walkway adjacent to the garage. This worked out very nicely in the cold weather but is not so good now in June as it is blocking the pathway and is a bit of an eyesore (to say the least).

We have also needed a fence desperately.

Our yard butts up to our neighbor’s side yard, which (like most side yards) is filled with large yard tools and storage items. Between this and the lack of privacy from the street, our yard can be a rather distracting area, to put it kindly.

It’s hard to relax when there is so much going on.

BUT as we all know, fences are expensive, which is why we have been putting it off the last five years. And now with the rising cost of lumber, it’s definitely not happening this year.

Maybe next year 🤣

So in brainstorming where to move our firewood, Brad came up with the best idea.

“Let’s make a privacy wall with the firewood?!”

Brilliant!

This is why I keep him around. 😉

I love this idea for four reasons:

It’s a practical and budget friendly fence alternative
It’s a functional storage solution to keep the wood out of the way
It brings natural beauty and coziness to the yard
It allows the firewood to dry out a lot better than when it was stacked up on a pallet

And while it did require some of that sweat equity hauling wood, it was easy to put together.

I’ll show you just how easy.

What you’ll need:

Gloves!!!
Wheelbarrow
Firewood
Tarp (somewhat optional)

First, find the right spot for your firewood.

If you plan on utilizing this as a wall/fence, it will most likely be on the perimeter of your property away from the house, which is ideal.

You really don’t want to store firewood close to your house because it can be a fire hazard and attracts rodents and termites which will make their way into your home and decide that it’s now their house.

Try to aim for about 25 feet away from your home to store your wood.

From a design standpoint, this could also be used as a beautiful and natural perimeter for any “garden room”, creating some separation from one part of the garden to another.

Garden rooms are a wonderful way to make you garden feel cozier. I talk more about this here.

Just make sure it’s not too close to the house!

Once you found the perfect spot, you can get to work building.

How to build your firewood fence:

1. Protect the firewood with a base layer

Firewood should not be stored directly on the ground as this will cause the moisture from the ground to soak into the log and it will rot.

Some good options to put down as a first layer include spare wood, bricks, pavers, pallets or even PVC pipe. You could also create a frame for your fence about 6 inches off the ground to optimize airflow.

We used a mix of some leftover Trex decking and paver stones.

2. Lay your first row of logs perpendicularly

For the first level of firewood, lay your firewood perpendicularly to whatever you put down for your bottom layer, leaving about a foot between each piece (or a few inches less than the length of your firewood).

This will create a sturdy foundation for the rest of your wall.

3. Lay your second row in the opposite direction

You’re going to work in a crisscross pattern with the firewood, creating a U shape design with the two layers by laying your logs long-ways on top of the vertical/perpendicular log.

Alternate logs to the front and back of the first layer. One log will lay horizontally across the first and second perpendicular logs, joining them.

Then your next log will go towards the back of the second and third perpendicular logs. The next will be in the front on the third and fourth log, and so on until the end of the row.

To stack your logs for a fence, be sure to leave ample space with your U shapes so that the logs have plenty of room for oxygen to get in there. They will become weathered and dry out well this way.

4. Continue stacking logs

When you get to the end of your second layer, you’ll start your third layer of logs, again laying perpendicular logs at every joint, all the way down your wall.

5. Stack the fourth layer

For the next horizontal layer, you’re going to put your logs in the opposite place as the last horizontal level.

For example, if your prior level has a horizontal log in the front, your current level’s horizontal log will go in the back. This will create a stable stack with ample support while allowing the logs the room to dry out properly.

6. Continue stacking to your desired height

Repeat the same pattern (one perpendicular row, one horizontal row in a U shape) until you get to your desired height.

If your wood is like mine, some of the logs are a little wonky with different shapes, lengths and thickness.

The longest pieces are great for the horizontal rows, to stretch the amount of space between each perpendicular log.

As you go along, you may have to skip or add a log here or there depending on how large or small the individual logs are. This is fine if the logs are placed sturdily and are supported.

For safety and stability of your firewood fence, keep the height to no more than about 4 feet. Any higher and it will easily tumble over.

Continue to assess as you go to ensure stability and safety. You may have to add extra logs here and there to ensure it is stable.

If you have a log with bark on one side, forming a U shape, do what you can to lay the log with the bark facing up.

This will prevent moisture from settling in the bottom of that U and being trapped, which would rot the wood. Putting the bark face up will allow the log to drain out any excess moisture.

And continue along in this pattern until you either run out of wood or bring your fence to about the 4-ft mark for stability.

7. Cover your fence

To finish off the fence and aid in the weathering process, it is a great idea to also cover the top of the stack. The best way to do this is with tarps.

The tarps should be placed so that just the top and maybe a few inches down the sides of your stack is covered.

Never cover your wood all the way to the ground! This will trap all the air and moisture inside the stack and will surely cause mold and mildew, and your logs will rot and be really gross.

Trust me on this one. 🥴

You want to allow for airflow in the stack by keeping the sides uncovered. The tarp will keep the majority of the rainfall from penetrating the wood, so it dries out faster.

You can do that simply by folding it long-ways as many times as you need so that it just covers the area you want it to.

If you really want to stretch your buck, you can also cut one tarp into several long pieces, depending on how long your wall is. Just keep in mind that you will not be able to use the tarp for many other projects as it will be long and narrow.

If you can find a brown tarp, that’s the way to go. The they blend right in with the wood, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.

One year we weren’t thinking and purchased blue tarps to cover our wood stack. It was quite the eye sore for us to stare at all winter.

Don’t do that. Get brown tarps!

You can either tie the tarps down using the holes on the sides, or just place something on top to weigh them down, like bricks, rocks, or even other logs.

And this is the finished product!

Recap.

This easy DIY totally changed the look of our yard. Before, we stared at the neighbor’s side yard (the place where all your storage items are kept!) and now we get to look at this beautiful and natural DIY privacy fence.

You guys, it looks a million times better than what was here previously. We no longer have those stacks by the garage AND we also don’t have to look at our neighbor’s storage! It is the perfect temporary and budget friendly solution.

Remember the simple steps:

Find the right spot
Lay down a protective layer
Stack your wood in U-shapes until it’s about 4-ft high
Cover with a tarp

It’s that easy!

And now we get to decide what to do in the “lot” next. What would you guys do to create a low maintenance garden?

I’m thinking (another) DIY patio. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Questions? We’re here!

Let us know if you’ve created any DIY fence solutions and how it worked out for you.

We love to see your pictures, too!