Finally getting ahead of firewood needs, closing in on the 'three year' plan

Finally found a source of good firewood at an acceptable price. But the best news is that the provider is a good guy, actually delivers a fully cord (I measured his truck body) and it is mostly oak but all hardwood.

Up to 4 holz haus's so far, each one being 2 cord. Plan on getting more throughout the summer and into fall too. I might be able to add a bit from a kindly, nearby gentleman who very generously offered to share in some of what he manages to dig up but the house is still taking up too much time. And of course kittens now as well

Two haus's that are 'semi- seasoned' but will be acceptably ready to go this year. One not shown (far left in photos) is 2 years old and ready to burn now. So I will burn that one and one of the 'semi- seasoned' haus's this coming winter and while not as dry as I would like, the newer splits will be OK to burn this coming year. The other two cord will not be touched until the following winter.



Third hauz not quite done stacked yet but both cord are there. Again, this is 'semi- seasoned' wood purchased w/in the last few weeks so I do not plan on burning any of it in the next year.



OFFTOPIC: my neighbor's shed is in the background, this is the breeding ground for the feral cats in the neighborhood :-(

Brian

 

Looking good BDF! I think once I get on the 3 year plan I want to build one of these holz hausen things for chits and giggles

 

We like them and much prefer them to windrow wood stacking. It also makes it very easy to separate lots of wood as to age, type or anything else. They are also easier to stack as well as un-stack (use the wood) in our opinions. The way we build them is really just a stacked outer ring and loose pile wood in the centers, so most of the wood in them is not actually stacked at all.

Tell you a secret: my wife built all of those in the photos. I have been nursing a broken wrist and so she has really risen to and far above the occasion regarding firewood.

Brian

 

I was reading about that in your other thread. I'm glad to hear things are healing up nicely! It's a blessing from The Almighty himself to have a good wife like that!

 

Glad to hear your able to get some good firewood.

And a big kudo's to your wife.

That's teamwork.

 

Looks great! And that's awesome that your wife has done so much to help!

I've never done a holz hausen, but I'm interested in trying. Do you start them directly on the ground or do you try to keep the bottom off of the ground?

 

Looking good Brian! Great to see you got some decent wood for this season.

Hey careful what you say about me... 'I might be able to add a bit from a kindly, nearby gentleman who very generously offered to share in some of what he manages to dig up'. Last thing I want if for word to get out I can be generous. The wood rounds are still there for the taking, just let me know when you are ready for them. May split them in half to make them more manageable to move to your place when you're ready.

Have a few sugar maples dropped at a friends house and hope to get them soon but it's looking like another heat wave next week, so it won't happen then. Keep in touch because once the weather starts to cool we will be grabbing ALL of the rounds down the road. Guessing 8+ cords sitting there waiting for me to move.

Now help the wife stack that wood will ya, I hear you still have one good arm and a pickaroon!!!

 

Thanks and will keep in touch. I expect to be 'freed' next week regarding the wrist, meaning I am free to start (ab)using it fully again.

And I do help Andrea with the Holz Haus's: I look at them and point out any flaws or shortcommings.

Brian

 

We either build them on pallets to keep the bottom off the ground or build them on sloped ground with plastic down underneath them so water cannot stand or puddle. Same rules as any type of wood stacking; if allowed to sit in wet grass or soil, the wood in contact with the grass will rot fairly quickly. If the wood is used in, say, a year, and all of it is used then it is less of a problem but over 2 or more years, the lowest layer of wood will soften, become bug infested and start to rot, making it difficult to even pick up, let alone burn.

Brian

 

Reaching "nirvana" as far as wood hoarding goes is a great accomplishment. It took me almost 5 years of burning , sawing, splitting, and stacking to finally get there!!

Proof is here..................this is all I cleaned from my chimney last burning season. And as you can see, a lot if it is just ash!!!

 

It was great meeting you and Mrs. Backwoods Savage too, and yes, we will go to the Woodstock open house if they have one. The last one (and only one we have been to) was great and had the best BBQ chicken breasts I have ever had- seriously. Just excellent. And hanging around that place is always a good time.

I do not know about any part of windrow stacking being easier. The part you have to remember with our Haus's is that probably 80% + of the entire thing is never stacked at all but just a loose pile. So by far the majority of the wood in never actually stacked. Windrows might be a bit easier to break down but again, in my experience using the very specific way we tear into ours, which is to park an 8' long trailer next to the hauz and fill it directly, it has proven to be quite easy. I did build some early on that were ring stacked on the outside, and all vertically stacked on the inside and I would readily agree that those are both a lot of work and a PIA because the vertical members interlock so they 'build funny'.

One last thing; holz haus are much easier to cover than windrow stacked wood because there is not much surface area for the volume. Each of the ones in my photos is two full cord, and a relatively small plastic sheet will easily cover them for the duration (I usually get about 3 trailers worth of wood per haus) of the taking of the splits. And the trailer does not have to be moved to fill it from a haus, which it would have to be from windrows.

Oh yeah, and one more thing: a holz haus is 'self- supporting' and does not need external supports or cribbed ends or anything else to hold the stack up.

They really do assemble pretty fast; Andrea can put one together, 2 cords, from a pile of wood delivered from a dump truck, in about 3 hours. Then again, Andrea finds building them therapeutic so.....

Brian

 

If my wife wanted to stack 2 cord in 3 hours I'd let her do it any way she wants..

 

I wouldn't even be picky about the 3 hours part.

 

No problem Dennis, that is why ice cream comes in flavors, right?

Brian

 

No, no, I was not being picky at all; I was being impressed and passing it along. Two cord stacked in 3 hours is fantastic I think, bearing in mind this is a 5'3", normal sized female. And not a pup anymore either- we are getting up there in years and unlike some wines, we do not seem to be getting better with age.

Brian

 

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger there. Many of us are feeling the same thing. With age comes more wining

 

Well certainly indulging in epicureanism, gastronomism and maybe even becoming aficionados of a higher caliber of wine.