Firewood Stacked Against Your Wall Is a Roof Day Question

A woodpile stacked against the side of a Chesterfield house is one of the few things on the property that a roofer can disturb before any shingle comes off. Firewood sits low, often within reach of the crew's ladder, and it usually leans against a wall that the drop zone or the staging area will cross. Most roof bids say nothing about it. That silence matters, because the question of where the wood goes is also a question about where the crew walks, where the ladder lands, and who moves the stack when the first load of old shingles hits the ground.

Why the woodpile is part of the roof job

A tear-off throws debris outward from the eave, and the debris does not stop at the edge of the lawn. Old shingles, nail heads, torn felt and granule-heavy strips can land in a stack of split oak and stay there until someone pulls the wood apart by hand. Those nails then end up in the pile you will burn next winter. The crew also needs a clear line from the dumpster or trailer to the house, and a stack of wood across that line will either get moved in the middle of the day or get walked around in a way that puts a roofer's foot on a loose log.

The stack also matters for the house itself. Wood piled tight against siding holds moisture against the wall, and it gives carpenter ants and other wood-boring insects a dry path into the sill plate. During a roof job, the crew will be working right at the eave where that wall meets the roof, so any insects or damp boards near the foot of the wall will be disturbed at the same time. A homeowner who notices a pile of sawdust under the wood after the tear-off should know that the pile was there before the roofers arrived.

Roofer comparison: what each bid should say

Read each written scope for three things: where the crew will stage materials, where the ladder will land, and whether the scope mentions the area next to the house at all. A bid that says the crew will protect landscaping without naming the woodpile has not thought about the question. A bid that says the homeowner should move the wood before the start date has put the chore on you without saying so in the price. The better answer names the wall, names the stack, and says who moves it and when.

Ask each roofer to describe the sequence in plain steps. A careful answer sounds like this: the crew will set the ladder at the corner away from the stack, the first dumpster load goes into the trailer on the driveway side, and the stack gets moved to a tarp on the lawn before the first shingle comes off if the homeowner agrees. A weak answer sounds like this: we will take care of it. Ask what care means. Ask whether the crew will move the wood, cover it, or leave it where it is and work around it.

Also compare how each roofer handles a wood stack that is in the way and cannot be moved. Some crews will set a staging spot on the far side of the house and carry materials around. Others will want to stack shingle bundles on top of the firewood, which can crush the top layer and bend the ends of the logs. Neither approach is wrong on its own, but the choice should be in the scope, not decided on the morning of the job.

What it costs, and who pays for the move

Moving firewood is usually not a separate line on a roof bid, and it is easy to assume it is free because the roofer is already on site. Ask directly whether the price includes moving, restacking or covering the wood. If it does not, ask what the roofer would charge to move it, or whether the homeowner is expected to do it before the crew arrives. A roofer who charges a small set fee for a restack is giving you a number you can compare. A roofer who says the homeowner should handle it has moved the cost to your Saturday, which is still a cost.

There is also the cost of damage. If a stack is knocked over by a crew member, or if a log cracks a window well cover or a light fixture, the question of who pays is answered by the written scope and by the contract, not by a handshake. Ask whether the bid states that the roofer is responsible for damage caused by its crew in the yard. Many bids are silent here. Silence is a reason to ask one more question before you sign, not a reason to assume the roofer will cover it.

Keep the cost comparison honest. One bid may be lower because it leaves the woodpile out, and the homeowner then pays a hauler, a neighbor's teenager or a few evenings of stacking. Put that value next to each total before you decide which bid is cheaper. The lowest number on the page is not the lowest number in your driveway.

What to ask before you choose

Start with the question that cannot be answered by reading a bid. Ask each roofer where the crew will set the ladder, how far the stack is from that spot, and whether anyone will climb over or around the wood with materials in hand. A roofer who has worked in Chesterfield long enough will have a plan for the wall, the gutter run and the wood at the same time, because those three things share the same corner of the house in most subdivisions.

Next, ask who moves the wood and when. The answer should be a day or a time, not a phrase like before we start. If the roofer wants you to move it, ask for the date by which it must be clear. Put that date in writing next to the start date, because a roofing start date that depends on a woodpile is not secure until the pile is gone.

Then ask about the ground under the stack. In St. Louis, freeze and thaw cycles push wet soil against the foot of a wall over the winter, and a woodpile that has sat in one place for months can leave a dark, damp patch and a soft edge on the mulch or the clay. Ask whether the roofer will note the condition of the ground and the wall before work starts, and whether the photos will be kept with the job file. Those photos are useful if a question comes up about the siding or the foundation later.

Finally, ask what happens to the wood after the work. Some homeowners want the stack restored to the same spot. Others want it moved to a new location away from the house, which is a better choice for insects and moisture. If you decide to relocate the stack, do it before the crew is on site, and say so in the scope so nobody has to guess.

If you want a plain answer from Keys Roofing about how we would handle the woodpile on your property, call the office at (314) 220-2333 and describe where the stack sits relative to the wall, the ladder spot and the drop zone. We will put what we agree on in the written scope with photos and measurements, so you have the plan in hand before the first shingle comes off.