geof

My wife and I moved into a house this past Summer. It is a 1930's house with a detached 2-car (barely) garage accessible via an alley behind the house. Well, my friendly neighbor and I split a half cord of firewood and now I have to put it somewhere. The logical place is in the garage- stacked up in front of our beloved zoom-car. Does anybody see a problem with this (provided the wood is stacked up securely)? Most important, will the firewood invite in all manners of fauna that I wouldn't want near our cars? The sedan gets driven daily; the zoom-car maybe once a week when the weather is nice.

Leader

Firewood will attract rats (depending on where you live) and termites.
The termites generally won't bother anything else (since a half-cord of wood is like an "open bar" for them).
The rats do occasionally get into car engine compartments, usually looking for warmth.
I've had firewood stored in my garage before here in Los Angeles with no ill effects on the P-cars.
Just keep an eye on things if you go that route...watch for critters camping out where they shouldn't be. It actually might help a little to NOT store the firewood on the garage floor...raise it up off the deck a few inches if you can with a rack or something.

rfedele

I wouldn't worry about the car, but I would worry about termites getting into your house.

Phil G.

Remember to bring the firewood into the house before you use it!!

geof

We're in Washington DC- plenty of rats and termites. Perhaps a few traps are called for if I choose to keep the wood there. Thanks for the rack tip.

cello

Phil, you beat me to it .

We have a free standing garage. We took in a stray cat (cat house, heated insert, litter box, food + water). My wife's car is a Benz and mice are notorious for 'having a palate' for their wire coatings/electronics (as well as finding them swell places to live). I do not know about P cars. Cheap insurance in my mind (Fortunately the cat cannot jump at all, and is not interested in doing so, but the car is covered in any event).

RonCT

Pick up a cheap "fire wood rack" with a cover - I see them in the LLBean catalogs. Tubular steel, quick assembly - put it outside against the garage - just keep an eye on it.

jplanaux

Firewood belongs outside. Insects, termites and the likes belong outside. "Google" storage firewood. I think that you don't want it too close to the house outside either. Check around enough, and maybe even ask a exterminator for his/her recommendation.

Edgy01

If you use the firewood quickly it's okay to keep it in the garage. I wound up building a shelter away from my house that houses a cord of wood so that it wouldn't attract pests to the house. Sure enough, I had rats hanging out around the pile. (My painter discovered them). A few rat trappings later (and poisons) and that was over. If in the garage keep in mind that rats and mice like to chew on wiring. Recently a good friend of mine bought a new VW Touareg V10 and discovered that there was an engine problem. Red lights were flashing, it told you to shut it off immediately and flatbed the vehicle for service. Found out (through a lot of tear down labor) that a wire into the engine had been chewed off by a rat! You may consider keeping little piles of rat poison at each wheel, just to be certain.

YA911Fan

Does the garage have an outside?

geof

Here's a picture of my humble back yard and garage taken just now. The garage shares a wall with the neighbor's garage, even though the garages are detached from the houses and our two houses are also detached. (I guess that's how they did it back then). Yes- both a 997 and an Audi A4 can fit in there! As I read all the replies to this thread, though, I think it is safer to just get a rack and tarp and stack them on the wall outside, perhaps underneath the garage's window. The structure is solid brick so it will be fine.

In case you were wondering- yes we do plan to replace that rusty fence and landscape this coming Spring!

YA911Fan

Looks like you might even have space for 3/8 of a cord next time!

Why bother with a rack? All you need is a tarp to keep out the snow...

cello

You may have the mouse problem in the winter irregardless (they can get thru incredibly small cracks and take shelter inside/underground in winter months) and you may still want to take pre-active steps in that regard. Good luck!

MUSSBERGER

I always keep a small amount on the front porch "Trex like porch deck" in a holder but the rest is kept away from the house.

mdrobc1213

I'd keep it outside the house for sure...better be safe than sorry and have either car up at the dealer for mysterious ailments! LOL