We started making Nordic Round Log Stacks in an attempt to stop Albi and Rufus (our two French Pointer dogs) from destroying the long log piles when they were hunting out the mice and lizards that live in them - here they are running away from the scene of the crime!
We then discovered that they are quick to build, super stable, take up a small space for a lot of wood and also look great. You can site them directly onto the ground, but if your terrain is quite wet then that means that the first layer of logs will get quite damp. For our first stack, we put it onto pallets to level the ground, but then found that this wasn't necessary, as even on quite a slope you can level the stack as you go. We built our rounds with a 280cm diameter, so we started with a stick placed in the centre of the area tied with a piece of string 140cm in length and marked out a circle with small logs. Not only does this mark out where you are placing your first logs but also means that by resting them on them they will angle in towards the centre.
Then place your first layer of logs around the circle with the outside edge level to give a neat stable stack
Continue working your way up the circle and throw any odd-sized pieces of wood into the middle to create stability.
Once you get to the height you want (we are going up to around chest height) start placing logs in a dome shape on the top.
Add a tarpaulin to the top.
Finally place long logs, tiles or bark on the top of the tarpaulin, tucking it in as you go. We have used long hazel sticks on one of ours and some old roof tiles on the other.
This is definitely the way to go for us with our log piles and will be building them all around the homestead from now on!
