Last spring I finally built a proper shelter for our annual cord of firewood. After years of relying on a tarp, I wanted something tidier, sturdier, and easier to access.

Prior to building the shelter, I was making do with loading the firewood onto a couple of old pallets and then covering the firewood with a tarp. I had it set up in the same place and it was convenient to retrieve the wood from there, but tarps are messy. The snow and rain makes winter access to the wood annoying. Also, I wanted to build a small landing by the side door. The existing poured concrete steps there had started to sink over time.

I started by clearing the area. I had about a 1/4 cord of firewood left over from last winter, so I stacked that in a different spot.

I then framed the base using pressure treated lumber.

The 4 x 4 uprights were cemented into the ground. I used lengths of 1 x 1 to hold the top of the posts while the cement hardened.

Then I added the platform and the roof. I used similar asphalt roof tiles to match the color of the tiles on the carriage house. The cross beams under the platform had additional support from some concrete building blocks. A cord of wood can weigh 3,000 to 5,000 pounds depending on the species of wood and moisture content. I wanted the platform to be very sturdy.

Finally I added a step and railing, plus a couple of stepping stones I had found somewhere else on the property.

We had the firewood delivered in mid to late March and it felt very satisfying loading it under the new shelter. Looking back, this little structure has been one of the most useful improvements I’ve made. It keeps the wood dry, looks far better than a tarp, and the small landing has been very helping when I access the carriage house from the side door.

It’s not a big project, but just the kind of DIY that I enjoy doing.