I may catch a lot of guff from you fellas and fillies about this but honestly I don't see how I have much choice. So here ya go.... So long story short we are expecting rain for the next few days. How much? No clue. I won't be checking in on that. This place needs it like a SOB. Dry. Yes sir I have MM checked this wood. Death Valley is just a hair drier than WA has been all Summer. This counts for something as these loaves of bread have been baking in this here yard from about May to Mid-September. That's pretty dang good in my book. However I learned my lesson the hard way last year same time. Rain and weather soaked wood that was just destined for my pit. A year later a wood stove was just a slight thought then has grown to a necessity. The wood supply has indeed exploded. I blame all of ya..... thank you. I'm ready to burn, ready to join the crowd.
Hey there is nothing wrong with that; only a fool works harder than they have to. If you got enough to get by, that is enough. I live in Maine so things are a bit tougher, but I am always behind. I cut 300 cord of wood this year, but all of it went to the paper mill. I am a bit behind on my own firewood, but my stove can also burn coal, so I can always burn that too. And of course I have propane as a back up.
Looks like you are ready for the weather! Will you keep the tarps on after the storm? I recently acquired some used rubber roofing to cover my stacks as the wifey doesn't like the look of the tarps. I'm more of a function I've looks type guy but as they say "happy wife=happy life" I gotta ask how is the stove install going? Did you end up taking the existing chimney down? Hope everything is going smoothly. Tho I know in the real world things hardly ever do.
I had to do this in light of what Ive got. Luckily I checked what I could and if push comes to shove, I know what woods I could burn if I need to and they'd be just ready enough but barely. I have paper birch that was cut in april and split within a month later. January possibly but I don't even want to touch it until next fall.
Likely just keep the tarps on until I am ready for the wood to be burned. I don't have a wife but a girlfriend who has responded positively to my Affliction. When I showed her all of this work done, she didn't realize a passion could be had for something like this. I just told her I really learned the hard way when I split wood and had to buy some. Honestly that was an embarrassing move by me. Apparently we are supposed to have a cold dry winter but they didnt speak much of fall being the same. Accurate representation? Not sure. What I do know is I couldnt risk my efforts getting all this up, stacked and then wet all over again. I picked poor stacking locations and then my tarp skills lacked. Also the epdm rubber roofing is a two way street. In my area the rain hardly blows downward so its always coming at an angle making the rain hard to fight. Plus its really hard to find. Either the roll is so large I couldnt really handle it myself or its gone so quickly. For your stove question, yes it is coming along, I have put in the beginnings of the hearth and likely to finish perhaps tonight after winding down. Go ahead and check out my thread bud! The chimney will stay but I will likely pressure wash when it gets to be warm again. I have a chance next week to do that. Seal it up and then if I absolutely have to, will take it down. Its not a task where I can do this and nobody to watch my daughter. Too many variables and not enough hands to help. Need some help.
My stacks used to look that that with tarps and all. Watching the weather reports etc, battling wind and rain...on, off, on again, off again...got tired of all that so for me the solution was plain and simple: build a woodshed. Now all those issues are a thing of the past. Never have regretted it.
FatBoy85.... After the rains quit, at least consider rolling up the sides in some fashion. The rain soaked ground will give the moisture up and I feel that a goodly portion of that moisture will perk back up and find its way humidifing your tarpon over stacks, molding your splits. As Backwoods Savage says, wood is not a sponge, and even sideways rain soaked (surface, at best) wood will dry in open, breezy air.
If you leave them totally covered like that you're going to trap moisture in there. I never cover anything up completely, rain, sleet, snow, top cover and done, until it gets burned, pulled right out from under the top cover tarps. I do hang a tarp on the front and back of my little wood shed in the winter to keep the blowing snow out, but it still gets air flow from the open sides
I like it. I like it, a lot. Do'n what you got'a do, with what you got. Been there, done that. I like it. I just had to race out and throw a tarp on my latest pile.... just before we got a real nice thunder storm. Got about a 15min down pour. We are very dry, too. It was nice.
Trust me I wood( , had plans to but we'll see how long I live where I am at. I sense winds of change.
Planned on that too. More good weather coming by the end of next week. But the majority of this has been in really good weather. The first picture shows my stacks im planning to burn this year so id just rather not resoak anything.
Sometimes Sideways rain can soak the ends of splits pretty good , one time with that, my tarp blew half off , not good when you need that wood for heat that day.
From about now to January that's wishful thinking here. I only hope it rains enough to moisturize the ground and settle the dust and then good and cold from there. Will likely plan on something for the tarps to keep them from molding but Ive had wood here in open air, full wind and mold still grew on some of wood so Ive had to move a lot for more optimal flow.... *insert shrugging smiley here* starting my second fall here in the area. Still learning. I appreciate the advice though!
I just checked out your thread, looks good. We both work full time and have a 3 year old. Mother is 6months pregnant. Projects never happen in the time that I picture it in my head. A little at a time gets it done. As I'm sure you know those wood stacks didn't all show up at once. Keep at it it will all be worth it in the end when it's cold and blowing out you and the little one will be warm and toasty.
