# 900sq ft w/wood stove = how much wood?



## toonces (Jan 28, 2012)

just curious to see apprx. how much wood people are burning with a 900sq ft living space. also what type of wood, outside temps, and how well the house is insulated. trying to get an idea of how much wood i will need next year in case i can't scrounge enough by myself. thanks!


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## HotCoals (Jan 28, 2012)

Figure on 3 cord for your area and size house...maybe more or less.
Better yet 6 cord cause you need to get at least a year ahead.


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## jeff_t (Jan 28, 2012)

Figure on burning extra the first winter, until you figure out how to use the stove.

Just keep cutting. It never ends.


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## nate379 (Jan 28, 2012)

If decent insulation I would say around 2-2.5 cords.  I heat ~1400 sq ft on about 3 cords.  Far amount colder here too.

Though if would be smart to be 2-3 years ahead so when it gets time to burn the wood will be well seasoned plus it's money in the bank.  Never know if it will be a really cold winter or maybe you get hurt and can't cut wood for a year..


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## Jimbob (Jan 28, 2012)

Like others are saying, it depends on where the house is.

Phoenix, 0.25 cords
Anchorage, 3 cords
Winnipeg, ~ 5.5 cords.....:lol:


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## RNLA (Jan 28, 2012)

I would go twice as much as you think you need. This way you know you have really seasoned wood for the next year.


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## corey21 (Jan 28, 2012)

Get ahead.

If you don't you may end up like me out of wood in the middle of a mild winter. I mean out of seasoned wood.


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## NH_Wood (Jan 28, 2012)

As others suggested, get as much as you can reasonable afford to buy or have the time to cut - this will get you (hopefully) 2-3 years ahead and get you ahead of the drying curve. I'd guess 2.5 cord, assuming a well insulated house - I burn 5 cord to heat 3000sqft in NH - no other heat used. Good luck! Cheers!


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## logger (Jan 28, 2012)

Jimbob said:
			
		

> Like others are saying, it depends on where the house is.
> 
> Phoenix, 0.25 cords
> Anchorage, 3 cords
> Winnipeg, ~ 5.5 cords.....:lol:



And the house size.  I dont live any where near Anchorage, Alaska, but I burn well over 3 cords... more like 5, give or take, and thats mostly oak and locust.  Its also going to matter if you use the furnace or not.  I solely heat with wood and keep the furnace off all winter.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 28, 2012)

It surely is nice seeing so many people recommending people get their wood well ahead of when they are going to burn it. If folks did that, most problems would disappear.


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## Woody Stover (Jan 28, 2012)

In the past I've burned about two cords but this year I've got a different stove and the temps have been mild, so probably less than a cord so far. I have been keeping it at about 70* most of the time, warmer than in the past. 980 sq.ft. but only logs and thick wallboard...no real insulation except in the ceiling. With this kind of a house I think you would need a stove with a _minimum_ rating of 1000 sq.ft. heating capacity.


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## Wood Duck (Jan 28, 2012)

The size of your stove puts a maximum limit on the amount of wood you can burn - there is only so much wood you can put thru a stove even at maximum burn all the time. I presume your stove won't be bigger than mine and I don't think I could burn much more than about four cords in a winter. Maybe if I start early, end late, and really let 'er rip all the time I could burn five, but realistically I think four is a likely maximum amount of wood I'll ever burn. If you put up four cords per year you should be fine.


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## Hass (Jan 28, 2012)

I have a 792sq/ft house... R13 walls, Only 6" of cellulose in the attic (so like R-20-25 or so... well below the recommended!), no basement/crawlspace... just sitting on a foundation of a single stack of cinder blocks. Insulated that with R10 foam the blocks and sealed what crawlspace was there when I gutted it this year.
I'm just under a cord  of softwood so far for the year.... Been burning Catalpa/Willow/Cottonwood mix. Burning 24/7 with a Chinook. House is usually 72-74, might go a bit higher on reloads but generally right around there. Outside temps haven't been bad this year... 20-30s for the most part of this winter. Pretty mild winter for Buffalo.


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## glassmanjpf (Jan 28, 2012)

Scroungers never have enough!


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## RNLA (Jan 28, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> It surely is nice seeing so many people recommending people get their wood well ahead of when they are going to burn it. If folks did that, most problems would disappear.


 BWS, If everyone would get ahead what would we talk about here? How else would we look like experts?  :smirk:


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## ihookem (Jan 28, 2012)

I burn 3-4 cord for 2200 sq. ft with 9' walls.  It's a ranch and insulated as good as a house could ever be. You will burn 1-2 cords if it's insulated really well.


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## argus66 (Jan 28, 2012)

i have a 900 sq   ft house i burn 3 chords a season i start end of oct early nov and go all the way to april maybe may if cold mornings my house is insulated excellent no drafts or leaks i have a jotul f3 cb i burn black locust, swamp maple, and oak. if its really cold winter like last yr i do 3.5 cords. i burn 24/7 and is how i heat my house.  my house is easy 80 to 60 degrees.  but 72 is the norm.


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## burleymike (Jan 29, 2012)

I have 1600 sqft and burned about 4 cord last year.  This year in November I blew more insulation into the attic, went from R-25 to R-50.  I insulated the basement and half the crawlspace to R-10.  So far I have burned 1.5 cords.  My wood usage went way down after the attic insulation and after insulating/air sealing the rim joist and basement my wood usage went down even further.  Now when we get a strong south wind I don't feel a breeze in the basement.  

Of course this has been a mild year and we get a lot of sun during the day.  On cloud free or partly cloudy days I light a fire about 8:00 PM when the temp drops to 72 and before bed I load up the stove.  In the morning I build a small fire to get the temp back up to 74.

On cloudy days I have to build a small fire every 3-5 hours to maintain a comfortable temp.


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## ihookem (Jan 30, 2012)

Burleymike, it's nice to hear ya insulate the crap out of your house. Now think if everyone would do what you did. We would reduce our heat load 30% in our country. I just  bid another attic 2 weeks ago. a 1200 sq ft. attic to put in another r30 for 1,100 bucks. They said thanks but I'll pass.  A house with r19 in the attic for 40 years. Just think the wasted heat in that house all these years. Insulation is really cheap in the long run.


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## burleymike (Jan 30, 2012)

To be honest I never really believed that insulation made that big of a difference in comfort or fuel usage.  As I have gutted each room over the years I put new R13 and 6 mil air barrier sealed with mastic.  I did not notice a large improvement from the old 1950s fiberglass/kraft paper other than the wind would no longer blow out of the electrical outlets and switches.    

I have been presently surprised at how much of a difference insulating/air sealing the attic, rim joist, basement and crawlspace walls made.  When the wind would blow hard I could smell fresh outside air and feel the temperature in the house start to drop.  Air sealing and insulating is one improvement that will certainly pay for itself even for a guy like me who gets his wood for the price of a permit and fuel.  

I agree 100% with you, we certainly could lower our energy usage a lot in this country if we insulated new and existing homes better.  Most people just don't realize how much it will pay off and how cheap it is to do.  A good friend of mine had to refinish his basement a couple years ago due to a water heater flood.  He did not see any point in air sealing anything, even the old coal chute door that you can see day light around the sides.  He put fiberglass batts in the walls.   He does not believe in air sealing, no EPS or XPS on the walls he did not even bother with the rim joist.  His basement is just as cold on windy days as it was before with no insulation.  He spent more money running wiring for his theater than on proper insulation.  At least he should not have any mold problems since he has so much air moving thought the fiberglass.


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## Lynch (Jan 30, 2012)

i have burned close to 1.5 cords probally less.
750sqft in northern maine with above average insulation.
in a mild winter.  so i would think get atleast 4 cords and maybe you'll burn 2-3 and have a really good seasoned cord for the next year
i bought 4 cords  and had one cord that i did my self amd only brought in 2.5 under cover.  and i think i should be ok. might have to brush some snow off some more if i need it late winter

just wing it man thats what i do. dont over think it.
if you get to much you will have it for the next year


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## ihookem (Jan 30, 2012)

True insulating walls doesn't make a huge difference with fiberglass bats. The reason is cause batt insulation  doesn't stop air flow. A wall needs to be sealed from air leaks before it gets to the insulation. What happens when air gets in to the wall cavity  is cold air moves down, then warms up and moves up. This creates cold drywall and insulation value is a fraction of R13. If you spray foam @ R13 a big difference is noticed. It stops air flow 100% and then the insulation can do it's work.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 30, 2012)

Everyone here sells FACE cords.  We bought 6 face cords and are a bit more than half way through them, plus about 40 packs of ecobricks.  Our wood is ehhh...not that great, but not the worst I've seen either.  Next year will be better, since that's been CSS'd since the summer.  It's been atypical this year weather wise (way warmer than norm), but I imagine we're going to use about the same amount next year if we can't get the insulation done, if the weather is more average (colder).  If it does get done, I imagine a pallet of ecobricks for filler and about 1-1.5 (full) cords of woods.  We've got more than that CSS'd and another huge pile already started for the spring.

The Cottage=700 Sq Ft former summer cottage.  Walls probably have insulation, ceiling...well...not really.  It's hit or miss, some spots is probably R0 and some up to R30, depending on where they felt like putting down some batts.  We'll deal with that next year.  We also have 2 sliding glass doors, and mostly old/original (leaky) windows (some will be replaced, at least two will not be because I like them and they have storms).  No basement-original cottage is on a slab, living room addition is a crawl space with cinder block foundation on the outside, dirt floor with some insulation inside.  We live between open fields and a lake, so we are open to the elements.

We heat with wood, and use a vent free as backup,  but that was just installed earlier this month.  We have no furnace/boiler.


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## madison (Jan 30, 2012)

Jimbob said:
			
		

> Like others are saying, it depends on where the house is.
> 
> Phoenix, 0.25 cords
> Anchorage, 3 cords
> Winnipeg, ~ 5.5 cords.....:lol:



Yak/tent in Winnipeg -- move the decimal to the right -> 55 cords  :lol:


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## WayneN (Nov 3, 2016)

Sorry for reviving an old thread. I'm looking at buying a wood stove to supplement / replace my gas furnace. I live in an end unit 1024 foot 2 story brick townhouse ( unfinished basement ) and am looking at the England 2000 wood stove ( 50-SHSSW01 ). Theres zero insulation on the exterior walls as they are plaster on brick. This wood stove is rated at 50,000 btu and up to 2,000 Sq foot heating. Being that the house I'm heating is half that in size, I'm trying to figure out if 1) Is this model overkill? And 2) roughly how many cords of wood will I need. I will leave my trane xr80 35,000 btu furnace installed just in case but want to try setting it to 50 so it doesn't kick on all winter hopefully. I will likely have to remove the thermostat and place it elsewhere since it's on the wall where the wood stove is going lol. 

Looking at all the parts for the wood stove and wall chimney piping, I figure I should come out around $1500 with self installation ( looks easy enough ). At 250 / cord in MD at a minimum of 2 cords, that's another $500. Heating kills me every year and I'm thinking this will pay itself off in 1-2 yrs. Should I make this investment? 



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## Dobish (Nov 3, 2016)

you should make the investment for sure!  my thermostat kicked on this morning (it was set to 65) and it drove me nuts! maybe i should have not left the windows open from when the stove was cranking last night!  while you can adjust your stove to burn at a lower temp, you can't adjust a smaller stove to go bigger!  That is also assuming you are burning optimally every time.... i think you will be ok with a bigger stove.


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## WayneN (Nov 3, 2016)

Thanks Dobish. From what I'm researching, it's the Englander Madison and has gotten awesome reviews. I think I'm set on this model. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't burn through too much wood. Looks like the secondary burn helps make the wood last. I'm in Maryland. Do you think 2 cords will be enough? It's only 1024 feet so I'm hoping I won't need to load it to the gills with wood since it's half what the stove is rated for. 

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## Woody Stover (Nov 3, 2016)

I wouldn't worry about roasting yourself out; Those brick/plaster walls are going to suck heat out like there's no tomorrow.


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## Handsonautotech (Nov 4, 2016)

I


wayne.nestor said:


> Sorry for reviving an old thread. I'm looking at buying a wood stove to supplement / replace my gas furnace. I live in an end unit 1024 foot 2 story brick townhouse ( unfinished basement ) and am looking at the England 2000 wood stove ( 50-SHSSW01 ). Theres zero insulation on the exterior walls as they are plaster on brick. This wood stove is rated at 50,000 btu and up to 2,000 Sq foot heating. Being that the house I'm heating is half that in size, I'm trying to figure out if 1) Is this model overkill? And 2) roughly how many cords of wood will I need. I will leave my trane xr80 35,000 btu furnace installed just in case but want to try setting it to 50 so it doesn't kick on all winter hopefully. I will likely have to remove the thermostat and place it elsewhere since it's on the wall where the wood stove is going lol.
> 
> Looking at all the parts for the wood stove and wall chimney piping, I figure I should come out around $1500 with self installation ( looks easy enough ). At 250 / cord in MD at a minimum of 2 cords, that's another $500. Heating kills me every year and I'm thinking this will pay itself off in 1-2 yrs. Should I make this investment?
> 
> ...



If you are going to start cutting your own wood yes. If not then no spend it on insulation and fuel. Fuel is cheaper then wood right now.


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## begreen (Nov 4, 2016)

Handsonautotech said:


> I
> If you are going to start cutting your own wood yes. If not then no spend it on insulation and fuel. Fuel is cheaper then wood right now.


That can depend on the locality. If the alternative is propane, that price can vary a lot. Locally it is still over $3/gal. while 75 miles north it's about $1.30.


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## WayneN (Nov 4, 2016)

I will be cutting my own wood but for the first winter I'll likely have to buy it. I have a friend with 6-7 cords who will likely sell me a chunk of his for 100 ish. He said he gets wood offered from his tree cutting friend faster than he can store it. Next winter I'll have a full supply as he will let me pick up the wood with him to split. He will also let me stack the fresh wood and swap out with his seasoned piles at his house because he always has 2-3 years worth of wood saved  once his reserve is full I'll start saving up a couple years worth at my place too. 

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## WayneN (Nov 6, 2016)

Well I just got my Madison. Boy does it look pretty. I can't wait to get the chimney in through the brick wall and fire her up.

Does the clearance on the sides look enough? I'm about 2 feet from the love seat. I'm good according to the manual.


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## edyit (Nov 6, 2016)

that is going to be an awfully warm spot to sit in


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## WayneN (Nov 6, 2016)

edyit said:


> that is going to be an awfully warm spot to sit in


It's actually a free floating chase sitting next to the sectional. I'll likely put it in another room if it gets way too hot. Do the sides get very hot or is it just from the high btu output? This is my first wood stove. Only ever had a fireplace in my childhood so there's going to be a lot of learning going on lol. 

How close would you put something like an artificial tree to it? Is 1ft far enough away? 2 feet? Gotta get this all worked out before Christmas

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## WayneN (Nov 6, 2016)

I'm also trying to figure out clearances on the walls. This house is an end unit townhouse and the wood stove is going through the exterior brick wall in the center of the house. I think it's 2 course brick and a 1 inch plaster on the brick. Zero insulation which is why I've been spending an enormous amount of money on heating previously. With the new Madison in place I think I won't have heat issues anymore since the house is only 1024 Sq foot ( 500 ish on each level ) not counting the basement ....and the Madison is rated for up to 2000sq ft. 

I'm going to take a guess and say the outside wall is considered non combustible and I can get as close as 7.5 inches to the back wall. The side wall in the photo has wood so I'll keep the recommended 21.5 inches from it. Does that sound right? Thanks again ! 

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## edyit (Nov 6, 2016)

yes if the interior walls are combustible (most are) you'll need to meet or exceed the  recommended 21.5 inch distance, that would include distance to fake trees as well, if it were me i'd keep the fake / real tree far away from it. i could be wrong but i think if the exterior wall is completely noncombusible then you can get closer than the 7.5 inch distance since that is clearance to combustibles.


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 6, 2016)

I didn't see anybody answer your question on how much wood you'll likely burn.  I'd purchase 4 cords.  I think you'll burn 3, but the learning curve will have you burning more, and as mentioned earlier, those bricks are going to suck heat.  Anything left... Wood ready for next year!


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## WayneN (Nov 6, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> I didn't see anybody answer your question on how much wood you'll likely burn.  I'd purchase 4 cords.  I think you'll burn 3, but the learning curve will have you burning more, and as mentioned earlier, those bricks are going to suck heat.  Anything left... Wood ready for next year!


Thank you.  My coworker thinks I'll be closer to 2-3 cords and has been burning wood for 30 plus years. I'm going to see how much I can fit in my yard on your suggestion ( 4 cords ) without it looking bad. Keeping in mind I'm in a 2 level townhouse and the stove is literally centered. I may also add floor vents to pass through the heat upstairs.  My home furnace is only rated at 35k btu and this is rated at 50. I don't think I'll need to burn full blast to keep it warm lol. Probably half loads are  more than enough.

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## WayneN (Nov 6, 2016)

edyit said:


> yes if the interior walls are combustible (most are) you'll need to meet or exceed the  recommended 21.5 inch distance, that would include distance to fake trees as well, if it were me i'd keep the fake / real tree far away from it. i could be wrong but i think if the exterior wall is completely noncombusible then you can get closer than the 7.5 inch distance since that is clearance to combustibles.


Plaster is non combustible. No wood at all. It's a 2 course brick wall with 1 inch of plaster on top.  No drywall. From what I'm reading my whole wall is rated 1.3 r rating....lol. In my region r11 is the standard for insulation. I'm killing myself trying to heat this place in the winter lol. 

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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 6, 2016)

The stove doesn't put out a level 50.  Think of a wave, this is what heat output looks like.  It starts out low, spikes, and then drops off again.  The bricks will level out temperature swings.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 7, 2016)

wayne.nestor said:


> It's actually a free floating chase sitting next to the sectional. I'll likely put it in another room if it gets way too hot. Do the sides get very hot or is it just from the high btu output? This is my first wood stove. Only ever had a fireplace in my childhood so there's going to be a lot of learning going on lol.
> 
> How close would you put something like an artificial tree to it? Is 1ft far enough away? 2 feet? Gotta get this all worked out before Christmas
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk



I suspect that anyone sitting in that spot would be roasting ... or feel as though they are slowly baking.

I personally would not be comfortable with a Christmas tree ... artificial even ... being so close to the stove. My concern would be if anything occur to tip the tree over on to the hot stove.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 7, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> The stove doesn't put out a level 50.


Output, according to EPA:


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## WayneN (Nov 7, 2016)

Woody Stover said:


> Output, according to EPA:
> View attachment 187412


Interesting. They advertise as 50k btu. Everyone with this model I've read about loves theirs ( once learning the Aas damper that is ). I will probably put the tree elsewhere. I do have a cat that likes to climb trees.....last thing I need is him knocking the tree over. Didn't think about that thanks. If the chase isn't a fire hazard I may just leave it there. If it gets too hot to sit there someone can move lol. 

I measured 22 inch from the side wall and 21 inches to the couch on the other side. It should be safe. 







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## Squisher (Nov 7, 2016)

So just to be clear. You mention 21.5"s as the required sidewall clearance(although you mentioned it as recommended, if it is the certified clearance off the label it is not recommended it is required). So if your chase is only 21"s that's not going to cut it. The certified clearances are the minimum required. Myself I would not be comfortable with upholstery right at or a 1/2 inside min. Clearances. The minimumums are just that, the very minimum. A little extra clearance never hurt anything.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 7, 2016)

wayne.nestor said:


> Interesting. They advertise as 50k btu. Everyone with this model I've read about loves theirs


Manufacturer claims should be taken with a grain of salt, with max sq.ft. heating numbers applying to homes with good insulation or in mild climates. But so should EPA numbers since their tests are run under very specific parameters. On the stoves I've run, the EPA numbers seem to correspond to what I see, as far as relative heat output between the different stoves. That said, I don't think you have to worry about being "over-stoved" with the Madison. It should do a good job at your place, and I bet you will love it too.


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## mvn138 (Nov 8, 2016)

We moved into a 120 yr old 1100 sq ft house with no insulation and electric heat last year and did well with a Jotul F400. We ran through about 3 cord and a ton of bio-brick to assist burning through the less "seasoned' wood in Central Mass. I have the same issue of trying to build a three year storage plan or having a happy wife, so with the success of burning bio-bricks last year we purchased three tons with the hope of allowing the wood on site to get at least two years of drying time. Was wondering if you had a garage or storage area where you could hide a ton to supplement your wood storage.


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## WayneN (Nov 8, 2016)

Unfortunately not.  My plan was to line the 40 foot long exterior wall with 4x8 wood racks. They hold between 1/2 and 3/4 cord each from what I've read.  I'm thinking 3-4 racks should be enough for a year.  Then I'll work on neatly lining them down the fence line. I think sorbet 5-6 would fit there. 

First thing is to finish hooking it up lol






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## velvetfoot (Nov 9, 2016)

Nobody's mentioned the thermostat location yet.


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## begreen (Nov 9, 2016)

Yes, I caught that. Was thinking it might be a good idea to move it to the other side of the wall in the adjacent room unless the plan is to not use the central heat at all.


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## Dobish (Nov 9, 2016)

wayne.nestor said:


> Unfortunately not.  My plan was to line the 40 foot long exterior wall with 4x8 wood racks. They hold between 1/2 and 3/4 cord each from what I've read.  I'm thinking 3-4 racks should be enough for a year.  Then I'll work on neatly lining them down the fence line. I think sorbet 5-6 would fit there.
> 
> First thing is to finish hooking it up lol
> 
> ...


you should probably fix your gutter too.... last thing you want is the gutter leaking right into your chimney.


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## WayneN (Nov 9, 2016)

Dobish said:


> you should probably fix your gutter too.... last thing you want is the gutter leaking right into your chimney.


Yep..... I have the parts to fix it. Doing it all at once. Just got the inside situated tonight though. Looks great! The outside just has 1 stack and a vent cap until I climb up onto the roof. 








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## CheapBassTurd (Nov 10, 2016)

It's a bit different in the country.  No one cares what the yard looks like.
We have 9C with about 1/3 ready to burn.  1100 sq ft and major insultation.  lol
Windy days still produce a cold draft at the exterior wall electric outlets.


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