Live in the south and planning an outdoor kitchen that has a fireplace charcoal grill and smoker. Looking to store cherry, peach and apple wood next to it I'd like to deter termites as best as possible because they are common around here.
My research has pointed out that wood should not be placed on the ground, atleast 8" off and some of have suggested metal but I was curious if I build a cedar wood rack, torch till blacken and polyurethane all of the cedar will that be enough to store wood?
I doubt it and even if it did, you would have to basically make charcoal out of it to make sure there is nothing "edible" left.
The gold-standard for termite protection is to break ground contact. I'll recommend a concrete or brick "foundation" for your storage rack which could then transition to wood for aesthetics. If you are hyper-sensitive about your wood, use termite guards on top of the masonry before you transition to wood. Termite guards are just steel, usually galvanized, and serve to further make the path from the ground (where the termites live) to the wood (where they eat) more tortuous.
