It is great to have a good wife. Scripture says the two shall become one so she ought to be good! No covering is bad, especially in your area. I'd at least get the wood top covered. This is how we have done it for years. We always stayed with this plan until we built a barn a few years ago. Now in October we bring 2 1/2-3 cord into the barn so we don't have to dig through snow to get to it. Top covering is best done with something solid like the old galvanized roofing we use but some even use plywood with tarp or plastic over that. Sean put up one of the steel carports (we had considered that too) and loves it. It works like a charm.
Wow! I can't believe how straight your splits are! Do you mill your logs before bucking them or something???
I really want the one HD has but is $300 but a whole lot heavier. If I could find an 80 gallon air compressor tank the make great grills/smokers.
So, I'm starting our search for wood stove. I've got 1-2 yrs, if I need it. since fuel oil is at record lows so far this winter. FWIW, she and I are looking into the smooth heat of soapstone/Hearthsone, maybe cast iron, so far. We've got plenty of time to explore. On the other hand, I found out that my local dealer carries "Traeger" cooking systems. These seem to be a great use of burnable wood.
Mike, you might also want to check the soapstone (and some cast with the soapstone) stoves at Woodstock. In addition, their last new stove, their first all steel stove, the Ideal Steel is proving to be a big time winner. You won't find those in any dealers though as they sell direct, cutting out the middle man. www.woodstove.com
