BTUs: Propane fireplace or free standing wood stove?

oh, you are paying for it one way or other. How to price out the value of your work. Doubt most folks get one to do it all for them. Even purchased wood has an added price once you add in your invested time, stacking, moving it to the wood burner etc. some will say it is their workout and a trade off for what it would cost for a gym membership. For others it is just another thing to do in a long line of things to do. Still some say it is a way of life, just as having a garden is etc.

 

Are you payed for driving your child to school or band practice?
What about cleaning your house? Cut your own lawn? Cmon, these are all things people pay for. To me, a cost is anything I have to shell out real dollars for. I am not a man of immense wealth, so such things are important to me.

For what it's worth I enjoy the whole firewood thing. I like splitting and stacking it. I enjoy checking in on it to see if it's drying. I enjoy hauling it in. I enjoy saving the money. And since our house is not some mansion or windy farmhouse I don't need to buck 10cords a year... So this works for me. Your mileage may vary.

 

Does the insurance co. have a preference? Is it treated as a commercial building?

 

Yes, unfortunately they do, and we’re fighting an uphill battle with the bean counters as a result. It would double already outrageous commercial insurance rates, but the priest who founded this organization loves wood stoves and knows I’m pulling for them and is going to try to make it happen regardless of the bean counters.