How to Stack Wood in a Fireplace

Clean out the fireplace grate. Remove any large chunks of charred wood from previous fires before stacking wood for a new fire so when you go to stack the new wood, you're beginning with a flat surface.

Put smaller pieces on the bottom of the fireplace grate. Lay the small pieces of wood horizontally on the fireplace grate. Smaller pieces ignite faster and allow the heat to build up in the fireplace before you stack on large pieces that take more time to catch and burn.

Space the wood properly. When stacking wood in a fireplace, you have to make sure there is space between the pieces of wood. The space allows air in the room to feed the fire and keep it lit.

Add larger pieces. You need to stagger the larger pieces of wood so that the fire still gets oxygen and continues to burn. When adding the larger pieces, lay them at a slight angle on top of the smaller pieces so there is space between the smaller pieces on the bottom and the larger pieces on top.