Went through a lot of wood this winter ... still cold ... still burning

[spike60]

I got plenty left, but I'm easily a cord ahead of a typical winter. Been staying in the game by helping a few friends who will be chasing it for the rest of the season. Last week I dropped off a load at a buddy's house cause he was sick and unable to cut. 5 of us will be hitting it tomorrow morning. Going to meet at a breakfast joint and then cut for a couple hours. One guy sells some wood and has 2 deliveries to make. The others need wood for themselves. Been a tough winter around here; all over really. Running out of wood has become a common refrain and there's a long way to go yet.

 

[GreaseMnky85]

I have a pretty big pile of wood left but have helped out a few people. 4 truck loads of wood sure would look good sitting in my pile. Oh well Just gonna have to go ape **** crazy again cutting wood.

 

[spike60]

He's feeling better BA and rarin' to go. He had a rough couple weeks. Plus he has a new job and no sick days so he's a little on the broke side at the moment. To the point he wanted to skip breakfast and meet us at the landing. Told him I had him covered. People gotta look after one another.

 

[zogger]

I am still way ahead on wood. Let..hmm...4 truckloads go out to people who ran out this winter. One load, young guys the boss hires now and then for oddjobs, brothers, burned me and never came back with the scratch, and it was *cheap* too. Couldn't see people freezing, but live and learn. Another load will be going out maybe tomorrow, old oddball mixed stuff. this is the first time this year I let some go when people asked for a load and I only did it because it was so freaking cold, and the propane around here fell flat, no one could get any, and apparently all the dryu wood ran out! It's like for three weeks there, nada. My boss is one of the larger buyers around here for propane and even he couldn't get a gallon for weeks. Finally some trucks came back from up north and some expensive propane is being delivered now. Supposedly the prices will drop soon to back to normal levels. Firewood, everything I see people getting delivered the past few weeks looked green to me, up and down the street. I think I have the only large dry stash around here .

And I'm a fixin to make moah.

For us, I am burning pine splits and uglies and chunks of I have no idea what it is wood right now, bark long gone, from years ago. I have around 1/2 cord left in what was this years stack, so supplementing with uglies and pine, came out about just right. I had planned on that anyway.

Anyway, my big 500 foot project, if I get one cord per ten feet of trees, that's 50 cord coming. so far way over one cord per ten feet of trees, just stacking rounds now and splitting some but not much. Trying to fit in preliminary gardening cleanup and now that it has warmed up some, equipment repair, mostly back to working on junk project trucks and my alleged daily driver.... I just wussed, can't work on nothing mechanical in the winter anymore, fingers won't work. Got all sorts of projects I am behind on.

You guys with shops and garages...way cool! What a concept!

Or should I say..way warm, out of the wind and dry!

Ya, long cold winter. I know not like most of what ya'all are experiencing, not even close, but cold enough for me, and it is all relative. I do a ton of wood in the beastly heat every year to make up for winter too cold and too muddy to get in and out easily.

 

[chuckwood]

Don't know why I didn't take a picture of all five stacks but there was a fifth in addition to the four below. Today is March 1st and I have about one half of one stack left. I won't run out but I was hoping a full stack would be left going into next winter. I was doing good with next years splits until the deep snow hit. Will pick it up again in a couple of weeks when the snow melts and I can get the tractor into the woods.

My wood stacks aren't nearly as neat as yours, but I'm laying in a huge supply for next year, and I'll have extra to sell. My split wood gets stacked tightly in the front end loader bucket, and then I just dump it all onto an area of pallets I have laid out on the ground. Piled up loosely like that, I figure there will be good air circulation in there for drying. I love snow and believe it or not, I wish some of what you got would come down our way. As for getting the tractor out, I used mine today for plowing the garden - gonna plant a big one this year - they say food prices are going up.

 

[Whitespider]

I think about how much firewood I've used this winter and just shake my head. This is just nutz‼ Stocked the basement last fall with what I figured to get me into late March... I was already haulin' more to the house in late January. Tossed another load of "next year" firewood in yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it ain't gonna' be the last. I'm amazed by the firewood consumption difference in +5° and -5°. As soon as temps drop below 0° my usage goes into overload mode... and we've been below zero a lot more than above all friggin' winter.

I mean, c'mon... this is the second of March damnit‼ Got 6 more inches dumped on us yesterday, it's -12° out there this morning, lookin' for a high today of -2°, and likely -20° by tomorrow morning. This is just nutz‼ It just ain't right‼ We should be pushin' 40° this time of year... we're gonna' be something like 40° below "normal" today With the amount of snow cover we've got I don't see it warming up very damn fast either. I usually start cuttin' in March, do the splittin', haulin' and stackin' in April/May... I'm not positive I'll be even able to get in the woodlot by May‼ If we have another long, cold spring like last year... oh man, I shudder to think about it.

This sucks... this just sucks... this sucks a sour owl crap covered big high hard one... and yeah, I'm pissy.
*

 

[flashhole]

Dear pissy,

If it makes you feel better we all feel your pain, it does suck.

My target is always getting the wood done by end of March, ain't gonna happen this year. The 10-day forecast is no better than what we have right now. Less than an inch of snow for us last night. I think we are just above the snow belt for this next storm. About time we caught a break. Maybe all the ice and stuff that is supposed to hit D.C. will cause the roof to cave in while Congress is in session and we can start fresh ... one can only hope.

 

[Bushmans]

I really hope next winter is better than this one. This was my first year with this stove and I have to judge usage for next season on this one. So I need a forest and a half to get through next year. LOL

I'm amazed by the firewood consumption difference in +5° and -5°. As soon as temps drop below 0° my usage goes into overload mode.

Yeah Spidey it is a huge difference for me to except my temp swings are a bit different.
Not as cold here but relatively speaking when it gets below 20 (most of season) I was burning quite a bit. Now that we have been consistently seeing 20s and above (except that day of minus 16) I don't burn half the wood. I can make one good fire and it heats the house for almost 24 hours. Especially if the sun is shining!
Right now I back my pick up to the wood pile and stack two rows across the back/tailgate only bed rail high and it lasts all week. I only have a couple weeks left of this years stock and then I will be digging into next years.
It is going to be so close! I did wave at the LP truck that was delivering to the neighbors yesterday.....well a one fingered wave anyways!

 

[haveawoody]

I usually burn just a tad over 2 full cords a winter and I've just finished loading up the last of the 3rd cord pile and expect to go over 3 full cords this winter.
Bet when we get to the end of this winter I will be 3 1/2 so getting pretty close to 2x normal wood use.
I have a very well insulated smallish house so even though it's been a nasty winter wood usage isn't crazy just more reflective of raw temperatures than anything else.

I would hate to have to heat a poorly insulated place this winter, wood totals must have been just crazy.
Great year for sales though everything I had for sale was gone by mid Feb, even sold a bunch of silver maple from the great silver maple pyramid so now I can actually get in that barn.LOL

 

[zogger]

Be patient guys, spring will get to ya..looky here..

 

[stihly dan]

Yeah I will be putting more insulation in this spring. Even going to figure out a way to do the basement concrete walls. We get a little water in the basement in the spring. So I need to make it be 6 inches off the floor and put some kind of moisture wicking barrier between the concrete wall and the insulation.

 

[mikey517]

He's feeling better BA and rarin' to go. He had a rough couple weeks. Plus he has a new job and no sick days so he's a little on the broke side at the moment. To the point he wanted to skip breakfast and meet us at the landing. Told him I had him covered. People gotta look after one another.

Good on you!! Our society as a whole should start thinking that way.

 

[haveawoody]

stihly dan,

Best thing for the basement walls is call in a company to spray foam the walls.
So little difference in price to doing it yourself vs spray foam company spraying it super tight.
Nice thing is finishing the walls can happen later or much later or never with spray foamed walls.

Basement floor damp problem.
I had the same problem and what I did was rent a concrete cutter.
Cut lines in the concrete floor only 1/2" deep in a grid and have a few cuts go right across the sump hole.
Clean up the concrete dust from all the area then the plastic material they use before setting down tiles (deetra) glued to the concrete floor and 1" ridged insulation glued to it.

Then you have a really well insulated floor that if a bit of water gets under will make it's way to the sump and you keep all of the ceiling height less 2".

If you are going to insulate a concrete basement it's best to hunt out all the locations of water infiltration and try to patch them, hydraulic cement goes a long way to stopping water getting in, if you do spray foam over the patches the patch doesn't have to look pretty.