How to choose an indoor log store for beside the fire

The right indoor log store fits the space beside your stove, holds a few evenings of dry logs, and stands clear of the fire itself. Measure the gap first, then choose the shape: a low holder for a small space or an occasional fire, a tall slim store for a narrow alcove, or a wider store with a separate kindling bay if you light the fire often.

This guide covers sizing, safe placement, kindling, steel versus baskets and finishes, with the real measurements of our four steel log stores.

What is an indoor log store for?

An indoor log store keeps the logs you are about to burn within reach, so you are not going out to the shed every time the fire needs feeding. It is a holding place, not a drying place.

Government guidance on wood fuel is clear that logs should already be dry before they come in: most modern stoves are designed to burn wood with a moisture content of 20% or less, and wood should be stored under cover and in the dry before you burn it. Season or buy dry logs outside, in a covered store with air around them, and bring in what you will use over the next few days. Even dry, "Ready to Burn" wood can take moisture back if it is kept badly, so an indoor store with open sides, where air moves round the stack, suits that job well.

How big should an indoor log store be?

Three measurements decide it.

1. The width of the gap. Measure the space you actually have beside the stove or in the alcove, after leaving the clearance your stove needs (see the next section).
2. The height against the stove. A store that rises above the stove top reads as a piece of furniture; one that sits lower keeps the stove as the focal point.
3. The depth against your logs. All four of our stores are 250mm deep. Measure a few of your logs before you order.

Then think about how often you light the fire and how often you want to refill. The table below shows what each store holds when filled.

The four Acumen log stores compared

Black frames are £30 more on every design. Every store is welded to order from steel box section, with every weld ground flush.

Which shape suits your fireplace?

A narrow gap or alcove: a tall log store. If the space beside the chimney breast is slim, build upwards. The Rydal tall, narrow log store is 320mm wide and 800mm tall, and stacks around 30 logs in a single bay, so the floor stays clear. Its 45mm timber top gives you a surface for a lamp or the matches.

Logs and kindling together. The Langdale log and kindling store has a steel divider that splits the frame into a wide bay for around 30 logs and a narrow bay for kindling, with the same 45mm timber top. At 500mm wide and 250mm deep, it stands beside a stove without taking over the room.

A small space or an occasional fire: a low log holder. The Hartsop V-shape log holder is 480mm wide and 500mm tall. Two angled sides form an open V, so the logs settle into place as you take from the top, and the frame stands on its own feet with the logs held on steel rails.

A wide wall: a log store as a feature. The Kirkstone diamond log store is two steel squares turned on their point and set on a flat base, 800mm wide. The logs stack into the lower V and the frame stays on show above them, so it looks right half empty as well as full.

How far should a log store be from the stove?

There is no single safe distance that applies to every fireplace, so check two things for your own.

• Your stove's installation manual. Every stove maker sets its own clearances to combustible materials, and a stack of logs is combustible. Keep the log store outside that distance. If you cannot find the manual, ask the installer who fitted the stove.
• The hearth. Building regulations guidance for England (Approved Document J) asks for the hearth to be marked to warn people they are near a hot appliance. HETAS, the official body for solid fuel installation, says that zone should discourage combustible items, and names stored logs among them. Keep the log store off the marked hearth.

Local authority advice says the same in plain words: store dry wood away from the stove or fire, because storing it too close may cause it to catch fire. A steel frame does not burn, but the logs in it do, so place the store for the logs, not the frame.

Should kindling be stored separately?

Yes, if you can. Kindling is small and light, and it slips through the gaps in a log stack or ends up loose on the floor. Keeping it in its own bay keeps it together and to hand when you lay the fire.

Softwoods light more easily than hardwoods and make good kindling, while denser hardwoods such as oak, ash and birch burn for longer, according to government guidance on wood fuel. That is a good reason to keep the two apart: hardwood logs in the main bay, softwood kindling beside them. The Langdale's narrow bay is there for exactly this; with any other store, a small box or basket next to it does the same job.

Steel log store or log basket for the fireplace?

A log basket and a steel log store do different jobs, and many homes use both.

If you fetch logs from an outside store, a basket is the carrier. The steel store is where they live by the fire.

How are our log stores made?

Every Acumen log store is welded to order. The frames are cut from steel box section, 25 x 25mm on the Hartsop, Rydal and Langdale and a heavier 30 x 30mm on the larger Kirkstone, and every weld is ground back flush, so there are no raised beads at the corners.

Because each store is made for you rather than taken from a warehouse shelf, the current lead time is 4 to 6 weeks from order to delivery. Delivery is free to the UK mainland, with a surcharge for some hard-to-reach postcodes listed on our delivery information page. Every log store is covered by our 25-year guarantee against manufacturing defects, with two years on the timber tops of the Rydal and Langdale.

Raw steel or black: which finish?

Both finishes come on all four designs.

Raw steel, clear lacquered. The natural dark grey of the steel, sealed under a clear lacquer. Because every weld is ground back flush, the joints show as brighter patches against the grey, so no two stores look quite the same. To care for it, wipe it with a soft cloth to remove dust and bark, then with mildly soapy water if it needs more; the clear lacquer should prevent rusting. Bring logs in dry so that water does not sit on the frame. Our care guide has more on looking after raw steel and timber.

Black. An even black across the whole frame, to sit alongside a black stove and flue. It costs £30 more than raw steel.

On the Rydal and Langdale, the 45mm timber top comes in seven wax finishes: Rugger Brown, Clear Wax, Lime Wax, Grey Wash, Forest Brown, Antique Oak and Jacobean. Our product images show Rugger Brown. Clean the top with a warm, damp cloth and no chemical or abrasive products.

Choosing yours

Measure the gap beside your stove, check the clearance in its manual, and count how often you light the fire. Then compare all four designs side by side, in both finishes, in our steel log stores collection.

Questions

Can a log store go on the hearth? No. The marked hearth is a warning zone around a hot appliance, and HETAS names stored logs among the things the marked hearth should discourage. Stand the store beside the hearth, outside the clearance in your stove's manual.

Can I dry logs in an indoor log store? No. An indoor store is for logs that are already dry. Government guidance says most modern stoves are designed for wood at 20% moisture or less, and wood that is not yet dry should be seasoned under cover, with good air circulation.

How close to the stove can a log store go? Keep it outside the clearance to combustible materials given in your stove's installation manual, and off the marked hearth. If in doubt, ask your stove installer.

What is the best log store for a narrow space? A tall, slim store that stacks logs upwards. The Rydal is 320mm wide and 800mm tall and holds around 30 logs.

Which finish goes with a black stove? Black, which is even across the whole frame. Raw steel keeps the dark grey of the metal under a clear lacquer, with brighter patches at each ground weld.

Is delivery free? Yes, to the UK mainland, with a surcharge for some hard-to-reach postcodes listed on our delivery information page. Every log store is covered by our 25-year guarantee against manufacturing defects, with two years on the timber tops.