Anything we make to keep the wood covered would end up using more wood, would isn't the idea...

[it also seems silly to him to set all of that up when they know they're leaving at some point soon; better to store it inside a ready-made and let it dry that way.]

If you give a little to everyone then the huts can handle it. They're not huge, but I know I don't use up all of the space we've got. I'll bet other people are the same.