# How much is too much wood for suburban neighborhood?



## jscs.moore (Nov 25, 2017)

This is my 3rd season burning and I still struggle with the idea of stacking what my wife and neighbors would say is too much wood. I get the impression that most who post about being 5, 6 years ahead, etc. tend to live in rural areas where nobody blinks an eye at 10 or 15 cords of wood stacked on a property. But we live in a subdivision where most everyone has about a 1/3 of an acre or a little less. I have about 3.5 cords running down my fence line in the back yard, but I think my neighbors would probably complain if I stacked anymore. About 2 years ago, when I finally bought more wood racks and stacked up to 3.5 cords in the backyard...my wife said, "are you kidding, do you think you're a homesteaders now?"

I always wonder how much wood is too much when you live in a subdivision with relatively small lots?


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## Stubblefire (Nov 25, 2017)

Unless your neighbours pay your heat bill, stack on


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## Jay106n (Nov 26, 2017)

Might be time to sell the house and move into the woods where there are plenty of btu's and no neighbors.

Seriously, unless you have housing association or blight laws stack away until ruled otherwise by a court.


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## D8Chumley (Nov 26, 2017)

Maybe ask the neighbors? As long as it’s neatly stacked in rows, like not an eyesore, I say stack away also


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## peakbagger (Nov 26, 2017)

If a neighbor objects ask them to pay the heating bill, tax bill and mortgage payments.


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## jscs.moore (Nov 26, 2017)

peakbagger said:


> If a neighbor objects ask them to pay the heating bill, tax bill and mortgage payments.


Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm with all of you, I thinking of getting more wood racks and increasing my wood supply early next year to about 5 cords. I'll just have to deal with some of the neighbors and their sarcasm...one of them said to me a few years back, "Sure you got enough wood in your yard?" Oh well


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## peakbagger (Nov 26, 2017)

Be glad you dont live where there is a homeowners association.


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## jscs.moore (Nov 26, 2017)

peakbagger said:


> Be glad you dont live where there is a homeowners association.


We actually have an HOA...and they haven't said anything yet so that's why I'm concerned about stacking too much more.


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 26, 2017)

I have just under an acre but live in the center of a small town, I also have a severe wood addiction and my comfort zone is to be 3 years ahead at all times, or have about 12 or so cords of wood on hand. This past summer I built a wood shed in my driveway, my neighbor refers to it as the "train station" I built (4) 10ft sections that are 5ft wide in a L shape with a continuous roof. I am able to hold 8 cords no problem and it looks very neat and compliments the property very well. All my neighbors have commented on it and they all love it, even the oil man that was delivering next door came over to look and give the thumbs up. 
What I'm trying to say is that if you invest in building a shed that looks good and can hold a lot you wont have any problems with bringing in a ton of wood.


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 26, 2017)




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## Bad LP (Nov 26, 2017)

I've always thought a good looking wood shed filled and kept neat is an improvement not an eye sore.


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## Woody5506 (Nov 26, 2017)

I live in a suburb with close to an acre lot, that backs up to a yuppier neighborhood, who I could care less about. I get a few comments from my immediate neighbors but nobody actually cares. The biggest eye sore would probably be my tarps covering the stacks.

As far as I know, there's no town laws/ordinances against storing firewood. So stack away!


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## dafattkidd (Nov 26, 2017)

I also have 1/3 acre. My house is a corner lot and the house sits oddly on the lot, so i have to stack all of my wood in the front of my house. I store about 5 cords of wood. My stacks are pretty neat (not as super neat as some on this forum, but pretty neat). My neighbors always have something to say about it, but it doesn't bother me at all. Most of their comments are complementary in nature. I've saved over $12,000 heating with wood over the years -not to mention the absolute enjoyment i get from processing wood. I don't mind the occaisional comment. Do your own thing. Don't worry about the neighbors. As long as you are respectful to your wife's wishes (it's her yard too), and do ypur best to keep everything pretty neat, I think you're good to go.


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## Ashful (Nov 26, 2017)

Make it neat, something similar to Kenny’s rig shown above.  The last thing you want is to become the subject of an HOA meeting.  Also, insurance companies (not just yours, but your neighbor’s) may take issue with storing large amounts of “fuel” onsite.  It is a fire hazard, having dozens of cords of fuel stacked between houses, no matter how you slice it.

Make it look tasteful, and you’re less likely to get dragged into all of that by a disgruntled neighbor.


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## peakbagger (Nov 26, 2017)

Pretty simple, read the HOA contract and possibly local zoning. HOA contracts can cover anything including the number and types of structures. Build a wood shed and you may end up violating the rules. Armed with the rules, you can respond far more intelligently if anyone has any issues. My approach would be assume I will have a difficult neighbor at some point and plan so that I dont run afoul of the actual rules instead of what folks think are the rules. 

My area has high property taxes, the town is very aggressive on taxing structures. I can stack all the wood I want but I currently get tagged with about $40 bucks a year taxes on my current woodshed plus if I wanted to expand it I would need a special exception to zoning as I would have exceeded the number of structures on my lot. The odd part is as long as I dont support a roof off the ground I can build a roof on my woodpiles. I do that on some of my stacks, I screw uprights directly to the log ends in the piles and then run some cross braces above the stacks and then lay on whatever roofing I have around. I have a doghouse over my bulkhead that easily holds close to cord so I just make sure that each pile is less than a cord. When I run my bulkhead down I just break a stack apart and put the contents in the bulkhead. The original wood shed is for deep winter where I dont want to dig out 3 or 4 feet of snow around a woodpile. Luckily with running a minisplit off excess solar and wood boiler with storage, despite being in far northern NH, I only use 3 to 3.5 cords so I really only need 7 cords max.


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## jscs.moore (Nov 26, 2017)

Woody5506 said:


> I live in a suburb with close to an acre lot, that backs up to a yuppier neighborhood, who I could care less about. I get a few comments from my immediate neighbors but nobody actually cares. The biggest eye sore would probably be my tarps covering the stacks.
> 
> As far as I know, there's no town laws/ordinances against storing firewood. So stack away!


Thanks for all the feedback. Yes, I think the bottom line is wood stacks have to be really neat and not be considered and eye soar or I would attract the attention of the HOA. Fortunately, the HOA in our development is not militant and I have some neighbors on the same block with at least a few cords or more in their yards. I believe I have enough room running down my fence line to stack another 1.5 to 2 cords. This would bring me to about 5 cords in the backyard...don't think I want to push it further


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## WayneN (Nov 26, 2017)

Keep it neat and it won't matter. I live in a town house and most of my neighbors love the smell of my stove going. 

Right now I can only stack about 3 cords but I plan to double it once I finish leveling things out a bit. 









Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## jscs.moore (Nov 26, 2017)

wayne.nestor said:


> Keep it neat and it won't matter. I live in a town house and most of my neighbors love the smell of my stove going.
> 
> Right now I can only stack about 3 cords but I plan to double it once I finish leveling things out a bit.
> 
> ...


Ahh...definitely don't feel so bad now! Thanks, your my hero brother! If you have the balls to stack 3 cords in a townhouse lot I can certainly stack 5 on a 1/3 of an acre. Thanks for the pics, I'm inspired


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## Firewood Bandit (Nov 26, 2017)

I live in the Township, across the road is houses inside the City limits.  One guy who hadn't even moved in yet asked me, "how often do you run a chainsaw" seeing my stacks of wood.  I told him, "Well I don't see that is any of your business as I live in the township".  He has since calmed down but he is considered a real *$$hole by the rest of the neighbors.  He has calmed down since I very seldom run a saw in the yard and my yard and orchard look quite a bit better than all the neighbors yards. 

Funny what having a lawn care business and what 1200#s of golf course grade fertilizer and weed abatement program can do for turf.


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## WayneN (Nov 26, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> I live in the Township, across the road is houses inside the City limits.  One guy who hadn't even moved in yet asked me, "how often do you run a chainsaw" seeing my stacks of wood.  I told him, "Well I don't see that is any of your business as I live in the township".  He has since calmed down but he is considered a real *$$hole by the rest of the neighbors.  He has calmed down since I very seldom run a saw in the yard and my yard and orchard look quite a bit better than all the neighbors yards.
> 
> Funny what having a lawn care business and what 1200#s of golf course grade fertilizer and weed abatement program can do for turf.
> 
> ...


Now THATS a lot of wood lol

I don't have an HOA. Just county codes. Main stipulation is no rat harborage. This means all wood has to be neatly stacked and 6 inches off the ground. I use plastic pallets and everything looks nice and clean. 

As far as the yard goes, I'm an end of group unit with 3x the yard ( plenty big for lots of wood ). I have great neighbors who are also home owners. Why not? Lol

I actually have a few neighbors who want to copy my idea but unless you're an end group townhome, it's impossible to meet code, unless you go out the back wall....... And that makes you lose the kitchen. Being end of group I went right in the middle of my outside wall ( where I stack my wood too outside ) and the heat keeps the entire home toasty. 

That said, I've also put up a 6ft privacy fence most of the way around. The wood pile isn't as noticable that way lol













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## kennyp2339 (Nov 26, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> I live in the Township, across the road is houses inside the City limits.  One guy who hadn't even moved in yet asked me, "how often do you run a chainsaw" seeing my stacks of wood.  I told him, "Well I don't see that is any of your business as I live in the township".  He has since calmed down but he is considered a real *$$hole by the rest of the neighbors.  He has calmed down since I very seldom run a saw in the yard and my yard and orchard look quite a bit better than all the neighbors yards.
> 
> Funny what having a lawn care business and what 1200#s of golf course grade fertilizer and weed abatement program can do for turf.
> I didn't know it would be that tough to live next to @ashful


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## xman23 (Nov 26, 2017)

kennyp2339 said:


> View attachment 216544



Kenny, what is your wood shed, roof material?


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## hickoryhoarder (Nov 26, 2017)

I have a 1/4 acre in the city, surrounded mainly by 1/4 acre lots.  My wife seems to worry about the firewood in the big driveway (gets the most sun and wind there), but most in town seem to like it.  (We have about a cord, which to people around here is a lot of firewood.) To me, the key issue in cities is air pollution.  We have a new stove, burn only well seasoned hardwood, and rely to a large extent on the central heat.  Whatever the neighbors think or feel, it's their air I care about.  You cannot smell our stove outside when it's going, even standing on our porch. No smoke to see -- none.  In contrast, some of the fireplaces on our block put out a fair amount of smoke and particulate.

I look at the wood as a nice conversation piece.  I had a neighbor stop by to ask for help in learning to use a maul.  I started her out on cherry -- you just bop it in the center and it splits.  She was very impressed with the ease, and went home to do her own.


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 27, 2017)

xman23 said:


> Kenny, what is your wood shed, roof material?


Ondura roofing from lowes


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## EJP1234 (Nov 27, 2017)

6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away... 

Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...


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## firefighterjake (Nov 27, 2017)

EJP1234 said:


> 6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...
> 
> Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...



Well I cannot mow my lawn buck naked since I do have a few neighbors within sight distance . . . but I can (and do) routinely pee outside and get the mail at the mailbox while wearing boxer shorts (both of which seem to tick off my wife to no end.)


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 27, 2017)

EJP1234 said:


> 6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...
> 
> Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...


I believe this made it to my top ten best read posts of the year.


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## Woody5506 (Nov 27, 2017)

EJP1234 said:


> 6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...
> 
> Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...




I feel your pain, sometime a month or so ago I had half the fire dept show up at my house for a bonfire out back that was possibly the smallest one I have had all year - about a foot and a half tall flame by the time they got there. Fire chief laughed when he saw it, told me my pit was perfectly fine but made me put it out due to it being a nuisance call. Then the whole crew himmed and hawed over pain in the ass neighbors and so on.

I continue to have fires out back, and am considering a big firewood stack to block those neighbors out.


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## LondonNeil (Nov 27, 2017)

As my name suggests I'm in London, UK, deep in the suburbs about 8 miles from the centre of town, about half way to the countryside.  House is a semidetached, with garden I guess the plot measures a tenth of  an acre (rough guess).  I stack where I can, some against the front, south facing wall of the house, but most along my fence at the back.  I've 6 cord CSS and approaching another 2 cord yet to process.  I've had neighbours knock and ask if they can buy wood, others stop to chat when I'm splitting out front...most are curious about wood stoves (they have become the must have fashion item for the middle classes here in the UK).  I think 8 cord  CSS would be by limit, I'd run out of space.


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## mountain man 2 (Nov 27, 2017)

firefighterjake said:


> Well I cannot mow my lawn buck naked since I do have a few neighbors within sight distance . . . but I can (and do) routinely pee outside and get the mail at the mailbox while wearing boxer shorts (both of which seem to tick off my wife to no end.)


My thoughts exactly....my wife feels the same way..


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## coutufr (Nov 27, 2017)

LondonNeil said:


> As my name suggests I'm in London, UK, deep in the suburbs about 8 miles from the centre of town, about half way to the countryside.  House is a semidetached, with garden I guess the plot measures a tenth of  an acre (rough guess).  I stack where I can, some against the front, south facing wall of the house, but most along my fence at the back.  I've 6 cord CSS and approaching another 2 cord yet to process.  I've had neighbours knock and ask if they can buy wood, others stop to chat when I'm splitting out front...most are curious about wood stoves (they have become the must have fashion item for the middle classes here in the UK).  I think 8 cord  CSS would be by limit, I'd run out of space.



Is there specific laws against wood stoves in London? Here in Montreal next year we will need to have low emission wood stoves.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 27, 2017)

jscs.moore said:


> This is my 3rd season burning and I still struggle with the idea of stacking what my wife and neighbors would say is too much wood. I get the impression that most who post about being 5, 6 years ahead, etc. tend to live in rural areas where nobody blinks an eye at 10 or 15 cords of wood stacked on a property. But we live in a subdivision where most everyone has about a 1/3 of an acre or a little less. I have about 3.5 cords running down my fence line in the back yard, but I think my neighbors would probably complain if I stacked anymore. About 2 years ago, when I finally bought more wood racks and stacked up to 3.5 cords in the backyard...my wife said, "are you kidding, do you think you're a homesteaders now?"
> 
> I always wonder how much wood is too much when you live in a subdivision with relatively small lots?



I think you need to be mindful of your zoning laws and HOA rules, they can be a real pain in the keister if people complain, and they will. I don't care how neat your stacks are, they are an area for rat harborage. If you want to keep stacking, stay on good terns with your neighbors, keep it neat, and know the rules. Even knowing the rules doesn't always help, its how the zoning board interprets them. That is why I fled the city years ago.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 27, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> I live in the Township, across the road is houses inside the City limits.  One guy who hadn't even moved in yet asked me, "how often do you run a chainsaw" seeing my stacks of wood.  I told him, "Well I don't see that is any of your business as I live in the township".  He has since calmed down but he is considered a real *$$hole by the rest of the neighbors.  He has calmed down since I very seldom run a saw in the yard and my yard and orchard look quite a bit better than all the neighbors yards.
> 
> Funny what having a lawn care business and what 1200#s of golf course grade fertilizer and weed abatement program can do for turf.
> 
> ...



That's a nice looking place you have there Bandit.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 28, 2017)

mountain man 2 said:


> My thoughts exactly....my wife feels the same way..



I tell her the neighbors will think I am wearing shorts . . . she says they would know it's just me in my underwear.


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## LondonNeil (Nov 28, 2017)

coutufr said:


> Is there specific laws against wood stoves in London? Here in Montreal next year we will need to have low emission wood stoves.



Same here, the clean air act created 'smokeless zones' in several major cities, where burning wood or coal is illegal.  To overcome this you need to have a cleaner stove that is 'exempt' by the government.


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## coutufr (Nov 28, 2017)

LondonNeil said:


> Same here, the clean air act created 'smokeless zones' in several major cities, where burning wood or coal is illegal.  To overcome this you need to have a cleaner stove that is 'exempt' by the government.



This is why I bought the Ashford 30 last year. I needed a permit by the city. Being a stove releasing less that 1 g/h made it easy to get the permit. It is carbon neutral so very good to the environment too. I already have close to 2 face cords burned so far this autumn [emoji262]


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## LondonNeil (Nov 28, 2017)

coutufr said:


> This is why I bought the Ashford 30 last year. I needed a permit by the city. Being a stove releasing less that 1 g/h made it easy to get the permit. It is carbon neutral so very good to the environment too. I already have close to 2 face cords burned so far this autumn [emoji262]



_I'm not sure what my 'exempt' stove emits, although i think its more than that.  I understand that a newer, cleaner standard is coming in a few years, 2020 I think.  Some stoves already meet it but not loads yet._


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## Firewood Bandit (Nov 28, 2017)

Sodbuster said:


> That's a nice looking place you have there Bandit.




Thanks, it's different from most folks, I have a lot of "hobbies".  If I didn't have to play 18 holes of golf everyday in the warmer months, I could get more done.

Here is the back yard.


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## KindredSpiritzz (Nov 28, 2017)

My neighbors like my stacks, they even went as far as to ask me if i'd always keep them full of wood so they didnt have to put up a fence. Id think as long as it looks neat and somewhat organized most people wouldnt have an issue and there is something pleasing to the eye about a nice row of wood


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## Sodbuster (Nov 28, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> Thanks, it's different from most folks, I have a lot of "hobbies".  If I didn't have to play 18 holes of golf everyday in the warmer months, I could get more done.
> 
> Here is the back yard.
> 
> ...




Wow, not showing this to my wife, that's for sure.


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## Firewood Bandit (Nov 28, 2017)

Sodbuster said:


> Wow, not showing this to my wife, that's for sure.




Well I just picked up 18 twelve foot posts today to build  trellis for next years 140 apple trees.  I think I am going to call it quits on apple trees after that.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 28, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> Well I just picked up 18 twelve foot posts today to build  trellis for next years 140 apple trees.  I think I am going to call it quits on apple trees after that.




How do you harvest that many apples, and what do you do with them? I have some old apple trees that are buried in our woods by scrub brush. They are going to get liberated this winter and pruned to see if they can be brought back to being productive.


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## Firewood Bandit (Nov 28, 2017)

Sodbuster said:


> How do you harvest that many apples, and what do you do with them? I have some old apple trees that are buried in our woods by scrub brush. They are going to get liberated this winter and pruned to see if they can be brought back to being productive.




It's easy, an apple picking bag, bunch o laundry baskets  and a trailer.  I've had people buy apples for years but I plan on selling directly to apple stands around here.

Pruning isn't hard but is very time consuming on large overgrown trees.  They WILL produce an incredible amount of water sprouts.  Good apples don't happen by accident, they are a product of an IPM.  (Integrated Pest Management system) i.e. Lots O spray.


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## RandyBoBandy (Nov 28, 2017)

jscs.moore said:


> Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm with all of you, I thinking of getting more wood racks and increasing my wood supply early next year to about 5 cords. I'll just have to deal with some of the neighbors and their sarcasm...one of them said to me a few years back, "Sure you got enough wood in your yard?" Oh well


My friends and family and yes even my wife joke around about me hoarding firewood, and I live on 6.5 acres!  Lack of knowledge I think plays a big role when people see multiple cords of fire wood. People don't understand that a safe and effective burn requires actually seasoned wood, which, takes time and large amounts of stacks.


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## black smoke signals (Nov 28, 2017)

jscs.moore said:


> We actually have an HOA...and they haven't said anything yet so that's why I'm concerned about stacking too much more.


HOA! Set there own rules like eyesore or hazardous materials read the fine print! Then carry an 1mil umbrella from your insurance company it’s cheap.


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## saewoody (Nov 28, 2017)

I’m on a corner lot in a Suburban neighborhood. It is .46 an acre and every bit of it is visible from both streets. I currently have somewhere in the range of 12-13 cords. It is stacked neatly. The majority of my wood is stacked in four rows, one behind the other. Most people don’t realize there are multiple rows. My goal in the spring is to finally get a wood shed built that can hold at least 5 cords.  That will be one winter’s worth of wood, and would give me some more room so that I can reach the 3 year plan. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## saewoody (Dec 2, 2017)

No new responses?  I’ll give it a bump?  Anyone had to start stacking wood under their kid’s treehouses?  I recently put about 2 cords under ours!  I wasn’t looking for more wood, but it was just too easy to pass up! 
	

		
			
		

		
	













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## adrpga498 (Dec 5, 2017)

Try your hand at building a Holz hausen or two. Most neighbors have said that mine look cool. They take up less foot print space too.


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## Bspring (Dec 5, 2017)

EJP1234 said:


> 6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...
> 
> Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...



Yep, that would have done it for me also.


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## JohnDolz (Dec 5, 2017)

saewoody said:


> No new responses?  I’ll give it a bump?  Anyone had to start stacking wood under their kid’s treehouses?  I recently put about 2 cords under ours!  I wasn’t looking for more wood, but it was just too easy to pass up!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was going to do that but then ran short of dry wood late last winter....had to burn the playscape.


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## Paulywalnut (Dec 7, 2017)

You're preaching to the choir here on the forum. Most of us look at stacks of wood as works of art. It probably makes a nice fence for you.


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## FaithfulWoodsman (Dec 7, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> If I didn't have to play 18 holes of golf everyday in the warmer months


You run a lawn care biz, play that much golf and keep a huge property in exceptional state? You are either lying, being hyperbolic or have geniusly figured out how to run a landscape company and have plenty of free time other than in January. 

In regards to the OP........ hats off to you guys who live and burn with HOA's. Couldn't do it. It's my property and I like things neat and organized, but I do what I want with it. Sounds like you could take it to 5 cords if kept neat and under radar.


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## Firewood Bandit (Dec 7, 2017)

FaithfulWoodsman said:


> You run a lawn care biz, play that much golf and keep a huge property in exceptional state? You are either lying, being hyperbolic or have geniusly figured out how to run a landscape company and have plenty of free time other than in January.
> 
> In regards to the OP........ hats off to you guys who live and burn with HOA's. Couldn't do it. It's my property and I like things neat and organized, but I do what I want with it. Sounds like you could take it to 5 cords if kept neat and under radar.



I don't exaggerate about anything, there is no reason to.  My lawn care business is very SMALL.  I work generally 9 days a year, but I work pretty hard on those days.  I specialize in spaying and fertilizing large parcels larger than 1 acre.  I can spread 3600#s fertilizer in a couple days.  It goes fast with PTO spreader on a SCUT.

Funny since I quit drinking beer I get a lot more done.  So far have about 20 cord cut, split for 2.5 hours today.

I am pretty busy in Jan. too. hopefully we get some snow for snowmobiling.  I just put it back together after having reinforcing gussets welded into the front clip.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 7, 2017)

Ditto . . . Winter for me is all about snowmobiling . . . and enjoying the fruit of my labors when I come home to a nice, warm house and roaring fire.


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## Sodbuster (Dec 7, 2017)

firefighterjake said:


> Ditto . . . Winter for me is all about snowmobiling . . . and enjoying the fruit of my labors when I come home to a nice, warm house and roaring fire.



It's interesting, Michigan used to be a huge snowmobiling state, still is pretty popular, but a lot of my friends got out of it because they had to trailer 6-8 hours north to get good snow. By the time you added up fuel, lodging, meals, etc. it turned into a pretty expensive weekend.


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## FaithfulWoodsman (Dec 7, 2017)

Gotcha.  I wondered as i run a landscape/lawn biz part time and it keeps me hopping. Mowing is the most significant aspect for me, but i do it all. Your yard and orchard shows your knowledge.


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## coutufr (Dec 8, 2017)




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## Firewood Bandit (Dec 8, 2017)

FaithfulWoodsman said:


> Gotcha.  I wondered as i run a landscape/lawn biz part time and it keeps me hopping. Mowing is the most significant aspect for me, but i do it all. Your yard and orchard shows your knowledge.




Thanks for the kind words.  I just looked at the orchard pics and saw there is some clover.  My wife has said the following:  "you run a lawn care business spraying weeds, isn't clover considered a weed"?  "Why yes Hon it is, thanks for noticing".

In my defense I don't like to run spray booms that close to the apple trees, the chem lawn gun is the answer but at the time it didn't bother me too much.

Guess I have derailed enough back to wood pics:  From past years.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 9, 2017)

Sodbuster said:


> It's interesting, Michigan used to be a huge snowmobiling state, still is pretty popular, but a lot of my friends got out of it because they had to trailer 6-8 hours north to get good snow. By the time you added up fuel, lodging, meals, etc. it turned into a pretty expensive weekend.



I'm fortunate . . . other than the last two years which had a dearth of good snow in my area, most years I can snowmobile right from my backyard and hit the ITS (Interconnected Trail System) in 10 minutes or so.

That said . . . in my honest opinion . . . the best sledding is in The Crown of Maine . . . but as mentioned . . . it gets expensive with fuel, meals, lodging, etc. . . . heck, it's pretty expensive even riding from home with the cost of fuel, meals, two stroke oil (probably not a problem for you with your four stroker  ).


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## bob95065 (Dec 9, 2017)

Jay106n said:


> Might be time to sell the house and move into the woods where there are plenty of btu's and no neighbors.
> 
> Seriously, unless you have housing association or blight laws stack away until ruled otherwise by a court.



+1

I lived in a trac house in a suburban neighborhood with a tiny lot.  I stacked between 3 and 4 cords in my sideyard every year that we burned in the winter.  I had equipment squirreled away at friend's houses all over the county.   I finally got sick of the rising crime and hearing my neighbor's phone ring so I convinced my wife to move.

We sold our house and moved up into the mountains above town in 2013.  We have a modest two acres but it is plenty of space for me to do the things I want to do.  The first thing I did was install a wood stove in the living room and build a woodshed that holds 9 cords of firewood.  All my equipment is now in one place.  I can't hear my neighbor's phone ring, no trafic noise, no cars driving by with people looking into my open garage.  We live on a dead end road so the people that come up here live here or are visiting people that live here.  The only thing I hear is the steam whistle at the tourist steam train about a mile away.  The noise level here probably went up when I moved in and started cutting up firewood with my modern and vintage chainsaws and no one complains.

I remodeled everything in our old house and I had it set up nice.  I missed it at first but it didn't take long for me to forget about that place and enjoy living in the mountains among the redwoods.

It's a choice you and your family have to make for yourselves.  I'm conveying what worked really well for us.

Bob

PS:  To answer your question, there is never too much firewood.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> I don't exaggerate about anything, there is no reason to.  My lawn care business is very SMALL.  I work generally 9 days a year, but I work pretty hard on those days.  I specialize in spaying and fertilizing large parcels larger than 1 acre.  I can spread 3600#s fertilizer in a couple days.  It goes fast with PTO spreader on a SCUT.
> 
> Funny since I quit drinking beer I get a lot more done.  So far have about 20 cord cut, split for 2.5 hours today.
> 
> ...


You are retired, Bandit.  And, have retired brilliantly. Lots of retirees have a hard time with it. You clearly were born for it. I hope to follow in your footsteps around 07/2018. I just need to stop counting the beans and be inspired by folks like you.

All that said, as much as I admire you, spreading all those chemicals to kill everything except the grass is not cool. Being proud of it is even less cool.  A little clover in the lawn is a good thing.


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## Firewood Bandit (Dec 9, 2017)

ED 3000 said:


> You are retired, Bandit.  And, have retired brilliantly. Lots of retirees have a hard time with it. You clearly were born for it. I hope to follow in your footsteps around 07/2018. I just need to stop counting the beans and be inspired by folks like you.
> 
> All that said, as much as I admire you, spreading all those chemicals to kill everything except the grass is not cool. Being proud of it is even less cool.  A little clover in the lawn is a good thing.




Thanks for the kind words.

Regarding retirement, it's not for everybody and I mean that in all seriousness.  I have found there are two types of people, those who live to work and those who work to live.  I was definitely the latter.  Work allowed me to do the other things I wanted to do in life.  People of the former mindset do not do well in retirement.  You have to have purpose.  People I have known who say they want to "relax" when they retire are either unhappy or they don't last long.  This sounds dumb but IMHO, in order to keep going when you get older, "You have to keep going".

We will not agree on the use of chemicals.  Lawn care chemicals are fairly benign and I strive to maximize appearance with the fewest amount of applications.  I do my own yard just like my customers and this is achieved with on a normal year 2 rounds of a 33-0-5, 100% controlled release nitrogen fertilizer and a single spraying for broadleaf and pre-emergent combined.

Treating apples is MUCH more involved and is done every 14 days.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 9, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> Thanks for the kind words.
> 
> Regarding retirement, it's not for everybody and I mean that in all seriousness.  I have found there are two types of people, those who live to work and those who work to live.  I was definitely the latter.  Work allowed me to do the other things I wanted to do in life.  People of the former mindset do not do well in retirement.  You have to have purpose.  People I have known who say they want to "relax" when they retire are either unhappy or they don't last long.  This sounds dumb but IMHO, in order to keep going when you get older, "You have to keep going".
> 
> ...



Well said, on all counts. 

It is clear as day that you are living large in retirement. 

 I'm not sure about the live to work or work to live thing, just because I suppose it depends on what work we are doing.  When I work hard doing what I want, I'm happy, when I work hard at the bill-paying job, I just get tired and irritated. But, both are work.  Perhaps I just don't like having a boss and rules.

I aspire to be just like you, working hard at what I love in retirement, and have been struggling greatly to get there, for about 5 years now (or perhaps from my first job). So, when I see your posts and pictures, I'm inspired.

I have a much smaller orchard than you, but enough to know how right you are about the fruit trees- every animal, fungus, insect, bacteria love the tree as much as we like the fruit, and all resistance seems to have been bred out of them. Those chemicals are horrible, but, if you want live trees and fruit, there is no other option...

Finally, regarding the lawn, friends can disagree from time to time. And, it sounds like you are responsible with it.  Nobody's perfect, least of all me!


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## Firewood Bandit (Dec 9, 2017)

ED 3000 said:


> Well said, on all counts.
> 
> It is clear as day that you are living large in retirement.
> 
> ...




Obviously apples are big hobby for me.  I have grown apples since 1991.  There are a varieties of apples that have been bred to be "scab resistant" and will grow pretty decent apples without much interference.  PM me is interested.


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## Remsenburg Blazer (Dec 10, 2017)

Woody5506 said:


> I live in a suburb with close to an acre lot, that backs up to a yuppier neighborhood, who I could care less about. I get a few comments from my immediate neighbors but nobody actually cares. The biggest eye sore would probably be my tarps covering the stacks.
> 
> As far as I know, there's no town laws/ordinances against storing firewood. So stack away!


Your woods fine and your taste inasfar as beer goes is impeccable!


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## Bmore (Dec 14, 2017)

I live in the suburbs on a1/3 acre street. I’m the youngest home owner on the street and all the neighbors think I’m nuts, ha!  I have 7 cords single stacked around my fence line. I replenish each season as I burn. Keeps me 3 years ahead. In my neighborhood I’m referred to as that Firewood Guy. It just makes me laugh when the neighbors comment on another haul of wood coming home. Pics aren’t this season but you get the idea.


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Dec 15, 2017)

Bmore said:


> I live in the suburbs on a1/3 acre street. I’m the youngest home owner on the street and all the neighbors think I’m nuts, ha!  I have 7 cords single stacked around my fence line. I replenish each season as I burn. Keeps me 3 years ahead. In my neighborhood I’m referred to as that Firewood Guy. It just makes me laugh when the neighbors comment on another haul of wood coming home. Pics aren’t this season but you get the idea.


Nice stacks.


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## coutufr (Dec 15, 2017)

Bmore said:


> I live in the suburbs on a1/3 acre street. I’m the youngest home owner on the street and all the neighbors think I’m nuts, ha!  I have 7 cords single stacked around my fence line. I replenish each season as I burn. Keeps me 3 years ahead. In my neighborhood I’m referred to as that Firewood Guy. It just makes me laugh when the neighbors comment on another haul of wood coming home. Pics aren’t this season but you get the idea.



Looks very good!


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## jman66 (Dec 15, 2017)

coutufr said:


> Looks very good!


Thanks for the fertilizer tips Bandit...Hey Bmore, What do you cove your stacks with???  Thx in advance


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## kennyp2339 (Dec 15, 2017)

Firewood Bandit said:


> Thanks for the kind words.  I just looked at the orchard pics and saw there is some clover.  My wife has said the following:  "you run a lawn care business spraying weeds, isn't clover considered a weed"?  "Why yes Hon it is, thanks for noticing".
> 
> In my defense I don't like to run spray booms that close to the apple trees, the chem lawn gun is the answer but at the time it didn't bother me too much.
> 
> ...


So we just met the Chuck Norris of firewood and apple growing


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## saewoody (Dec 15, 2017)

Bmore said:


> I live in the suburbs on a1/3 acre street. I’m the youngest home owner on the street and all the neighbors think I’m nuts, ha!  I have 7 cords single stacked around my fence line. I replenish each season as I burn. Keeps me 3 years ahead. In my neighborhood I’m referred to as that Firewood Guy. It just makes me laugh when the neighbors comment on another haul of wood coming home. Pics aren’t this season but you get the idea.



Curious what you are covering your stacks with. I’ve thought about felt roofing paper, but yours looks thicker than that. Thanks. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Bmore (Dec 15, 2017)

saewoody said:


> Curious what you are covering your stacks with. I’ve thought about felt roofing paper, but yours looks thicker than that. Thanks.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I am using roofing Ice and weather shield. Made as underlayment below shingles in valley and eve locations.  It is much thicker than roofing paper and can be used over again for several seasons. Not as good as rubber roofing but does the job. It has an adhesive side, but I still weigh it down with splits. I manage new home construction, so I save the leftovers for my stacks. Not too expensive for a 50’x3’ roll but free is best.


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## Firewood Bandit (Dec 15, 2017)

kennyp2339 said:


> So we just met the Chuck Norris of firewood and apple growing




I don't know what is my strongest passion is, I am pretty tough on the golf course and playing 9 ball too, I like to wager.

I worked on and off 10 years on the golf course, (learned about turf care and gambled with the pro) and while in College I worked in the bowling alley/pool hall on Campus and could play pool while I worked.  Eventually I bought one of the Professional model Brunswick 4.5 x 9' tables when they sold them off and have it in my basement.


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## jscs.moore (Dec 17, 2017)

Bmore said:


> I live in the suburbs on a1/3 acre street. I’m the youngest home owner on the street and all the neighbors think I’m nuts, ha!  I have 7 cords single stacked around my fence line. I replenish each season as I burn. Keeps me 3 years ahead. In my neighborhood I’m referred to as that Firewood Guy. It just makes me laugh when the neighbors comment on another haul of wood coming home. Pics aren’t this season but you get the idea.


Thanks for the pics...you have a very similar situation to mine. I will push it to about 5 cords running down my fence line next year, but that's about my limit. I don't want to push it too far given I have an HOA. But it's nice to know I'm not alone in my suburban homesteading Burn on brother!


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## Jan Pijpelink (Dec 18, 2017)

Too much wood is when the Mrs. is asking you to help her packing her suitcase.


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## Ashful (Dec 18, 2017)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> Too much wood is when the Mrs. is asking you to help her packing her suitcase.



No, too much is when you throw some wood in the suitcase, in case she gets cold in her travels.


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## jscs.moore (Jan 9, 2018)

Thanks for all the posts on this thread...it's truly inspired me to stack a full 5 cords in my backyard starting this spring when I get my wood delivered. My wife's already asking me why we need that much wood in the yard But I'm doing it anyway...burn on brothers


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## Ashful (Jan 9, 2018)

jscs.moore said:


> Thanks for all the posts on this thread...it's truly inspired me to stack a full 5 cords in my backyard starting this spring when I get my wood delivered. My wife's already asking me why we need that much wood in the yard[emoji20] But I'm doing it anyway...burn on brothers



I track my heating costs on a spreadsheet, and can plot it in terms of dollars per day, dollars per heating degree day, and even dollars/day vs. HDD/day (wrap your head around that!).  This enables me to show yearly trends, as the result of changes I’ve made to my setup, all normalized to our typical 5000 HDD year.

Your wife might develop some appreciation for this affliction, if you’re able to show it in these terms... what you’re saving each year.  Mine didn’t, in the least, but yours might.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jan 9, 2018)

Ashful said:


> I track my heating costs on a spreadsheet, and can plot it in terms of dollars per day, dollars per heating degree day, and even dollars/day vs. HDD/day (wrap your head around that!).  This enables me to show yearly trends, as the result of changes I’ve made to my setup, all normalized to our typical 5000 HDD year.
> 
> Your wife might develop some appreciation for this affliction, if you’re able to show it in these terms... what you’re saving each year.  Mine didn’t, in the least, but yours might.



In another post you mentioned you drink a lot of beer. How do you combine these 2 activities?


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## Ashful (Jan 9, 2018)

Excel and beer don’t mix.  If one tracked their beer preferences via spreadsheet, there would be less need for frequent re-sampling, and we don’t want that.

BTW, I actually don’t drink a lot of beer, by quantity.  What I meant is I drink a lot of “beers”, by variety.  I sample a different 10 oz. pour almost every day, but just one.

... and we have officially de-railed.


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## Dobish (Jan 9, 2018)

jscs.moore said:


> Thanks for all the posts on this thread...it's truly inspired me to stack a full 5 cords in my backyard starting this spring when I get my wood delivered. My wife's already asking me why we need that much wood in the yard But I'm doing it anyway...burn on brothers


my wife told me we had enough wood... then I asked her if she would like to continue to have the house at 54º 

of course the wood area is the only spot that is flat, so maybe she wanted the kids to play there or something


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## Ashful (Jan 9, 2018)

Dobish said:


> my wife told me we had enough wood... then I asked her if she would like to continue to have the house at 54º
> 
> of course the wood area is the only spot that is flat, so maybe she wanted the kids to play there or something



Tell her that playing kickball on a hill builds character.


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## Dobish (Jan 9, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Tell her that playing kickball on a hill builds character.


we prefer extreme bocce golf over the firewood/log teeter totter surrounded by rusted out car parts and wild rose prickers... in flip flops of course


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## WayneN (Jan 10, 2018)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> In another post you mentioned you drink a lot of beer. How do you combine these 2 activities?


Excel and beer might not match but splitting wood and beer do. Lol. I do my best work in the yard when I've had a few 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Ashful (Jan 10, 2018)

wayne.nestor said:


> Excel and beer might not match but splitting wood and beer do. Lol. I do my best work in the yard when I've had a few



... and your wife calls you “stumpy”?

Full disclosure, I’ve split wood on Mad Elf, on a few occasions.  A man has to do something to keep warm, when it’s 10F.


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## mountain man 2 (Jan 10, 2018)

Ashful said:


> ... and your wife calls you “stumpy”?
> 
> Full disclosure, I’ve split wood on Mad Elf, on a few occasions.  A man has to do something to keep warm, when it’s 10F.


That stuff will kill ya....lol


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