Log Holders: Choosing the Right One and Storing Your Wood Well

The cold is back, the stove is lit again, and with it comes a very practical question: where do you put the wood? The log pile from the garden has no place in the living room, and neither does a basket spilling over onto the wooden floor. A log holder settles the matter between the two: it keeps enough for a few fires within easy reach, tidily, while the season's stock stays outside. You still need to choose the right size, because a few centimetres either way are enough to make it unusable.

🪵 LOG HOLDER, LOG RACK, WOODSHED: EACH HAS ITS JOB

Log holder and log rack mean the same thing: a stand, usually made of steel, that holds enough wood for a few fires next to the stove, the fireplace or the brazier. The woodshed, on the other hand, holds the season's supply, the one measured in cubic metres that lives outdoors under a shelter.

One does not replace the other. The stock is kept outside, aired and covered, and the log holder only takes what you will burn over the next few days. Our log holders range brings together steel models for indoor and outdoor use, from the small living-room stand to the terrace unit with shelves.

📏 MEASURE YOUR LOGS FIRST

This is the point that decides everything. A log holder is designed for a given log length. If your logs are much longer than its depth, they stick out a long way, the load becomes unstable and the whole point of storing them neatly is lost.

Yet firewood is sold in several lengths: 33 cm and 50 cm logs are common in the shops, along with shorter sizes for small stoves and braziers. Before choosing, take a tape measure and check three or four logs from your pile: what counts is their actual length, not the one on the label.

The RONDO, FLOX, ZENO and LOFT, designed for 20 cm logs, also take 30 cm logs, which then stick out a little on each side.

For 33 or 50 cm logs, the choice narrows: in our range, only the SPIRAL log holder, 80 cm in diameter and 82 cm tall, takes logs up to 60 cm. The other models are designed for the short logs used in compact stoves, flat fireplaces and garden braziers.

🏠 BY THE STOVE OR NEXT TO THE BRAZIER

The same log holder does not live the same way in a living room and on a terrace. Start by deciding where it will stand: that is what steers the choice of model.

Outdoors, even coated steel is better off sheltered: a spot out of the rain extends its life and, above all, keeps the wood dry. The VENTO, in natural steel, develops a patina over time that is part of its look. Indoors and out, keep to the safety distance given by the manufacturer of your stove or brazier: the log holder goes within easy reach, never in contact with the fire.

📐 LONG, TALL OR ROUND

Once you know your log length, look at the space you have. Long models such as the ATOS, the CORNEL or the LUIS stretch over 120 cm, or 150 cm for the large versions: they slide along a wall and form a low bench of wood. The FLOX, only 40 cm high and 80 cm wide, fits under a window, a console table or a mantelpiece.

If floor space is short, go up. The BERRY and the CHERRY rise to 90 cm. The ZENO, a 60 cm square, fits into a corner or between the stove and the wall. The LOFT column reaches 120 cm on a footprint of 40 by 25 cm, with a drawer and hooks for your fire tools.

Finally, a round shape turns the log holder into a decorative piece. The DAISY and the DIEGO come in two sizes, 80 or 100 cm, the SPIRAL traces a spiral 80 cm across, and the RONDO, an 80 cm wheel divided into four compartments, takes up only 25 cm of depth against a wall. In every case, keep some space around it: you should be able to load the log holder without walking round a piece of furniture, a log in each hand.

🔩 WHAT MAKES A GOOD LOG HOLDER

Beyond size and style, a few details make the difference between a stand that lasts for years and one that bends out of shape after a single winter.

Maintenance is minimal: a dry cloth or a little soapy water on the powder coating, and a quick sweep for the bark and sawdust that fall at the foot of the log holder.

🌧️ WHERE TO STORE THE REST OF YOUR WOOD

The log holder only keeps a few days' worth of wood. The season's stock lives outside, and that is where its quality is decided. A fact sheet on wood heating from the Loire prefecture sums up the rules in three words:

The same sheet advises against the garage and the cellar, which are not ventilated enough to get rid of moisture, and recommends ordering your wood in advance: dry wood is hard to find in the depths of winter.

Then bring one or two days' supply in to the log holder. Rodez Agglomération, for example, advises bringing logs indoors 48 hours before burning them, to finish drying them. Well-seasoned wood, below 20 % moisture, burns better and clogs the flue and the glass less: that is the whole subject of our article on the chimney sweeping log and flue maintenance.