# FINISHED my first holz hausen



## pulldownclaw (Sep 2, 2008)

I'm not sure if I should include a second course of horizontal wood behind the first before I start going vertical towards the center.  I will be including some sort of center post.  What would you expert HH builders recommend?


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## Adios Pantalones (Sep 2, 2008)

I stack it so that any fat ends on the wood are sticking out, creating a natural downward slope towards the center.  I save thinner regular splits as the horizontal leveling pieces- use as needed- don't try and put them every so many rows- just put them as you need them.  Once you get up 20" or so- start loading the center with upright pieces or you won't be able to reach the middle.

Also- watch for the stack getting wider as you go up.  Mine does and is fine, but some have reported collapses with that.


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## BJ64 (Sep 8, 2008)

That is cool!

I'm gonna try doing that too.


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## Valhalla (Sep 10, 2008)

OK HH men. So why the round advantage? Are all HH round (rund)? My last trip to Germany showed many designs, depending on how much bier the Bavarian farmer had for lunch. 

Is this rund concept for:

Ventilation for faster drying?

Stability?

Space efficency? I see some lost space in the middle.

Ease of stacking?

Just asking, as I always have thought "inside" the box when building my stack. Yes, I know that hay bales went round years ago. 

Danke


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## CraigM77 (Sep 10, 2008)

Wow. That looks really cool!


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## myzamboni (Sep 10, 2008)

Valhalla said:
			
		

> OK HH men. So why the round advantage? Are all HH round (rund)? My last trip to Germany showed many designs, depending on how much bier the Bavarian farmer had for lunch.
> 
> Is this rund concept for:
> 
> ...



See my responses above in bold.


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## Valhalla (Sep 10, 2008)

myzamboni said:
			
		

> Valhalla said:
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Hi Zamboni guy,

Thanks for your quick reply, however there is some science behind most art, so drying, stability, methodology and space utilization are important besides the rund concept. I'll stay "in the box" with my ricks for now, as it also helps to quickly measure my holz usage and maximize my storage space. I also like to cover my ricks with rectangular tarps and use pallets; round are somewhat hard to find.

Meanwhile, I'll contact my bier drinking Bayern buddies in Germany to see if their Holz Haus Werke designs were with approved ISO and TUV methods. 

Danke again!


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## Adios Pantalones (Sep 10, 2008)

The shape and vertical pieces inside are hypothesized to create a chimney effect which aids in drying, but we've not seen proof.  It doesn't appear to severely slow drying as compared to single-stack, from anecdotal reports.  Mine are 8'ish wide, so an 8' tarp covers them nicely with overhanging corners that I can tie down to the pallet base.  They sort of go with th look of my house.


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## colebrookman (Sep 10, 2008)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> The shape and vertical pieces inside are hypothesized to create a chimney effect which aids in drying, but we've not seen proof.  It doesn't appear to severely slow drying as compared to single-stack, from anecdotal reports.  Mine are 8'ish wide, so an 8' tarp covers them nicely with overhanging corners that I can tie down to the pallet base.  They sort of go with th look of my house.



Those Yurts are style setters. :lol: 
Ed


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## Apprentice_GM (Sep 11, 2008)

Valhalla said:
			
		

> OK HH men. So why the round advantage? Are all HH round (rund)? My last trip to Germany showed many designs, depending on how much bier the Bavarian farmer had for lunch.
> 
> Is this rund concept for:
> 
> ...



The reply post by myzamboni is great, but the truth is, no-one really knows if an HH is better or worse than a standard row or rick for seasoning. I intend finding out with a somewhat comprehensive Holz Hausen experiment.


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## myzamboni (Sep 11, 2008)

Valhalla said:
			
		

> myzamboni said:
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## Valhalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Holy cow, wood burners have such great passion!

For at least:

burning wood
finding wood
cutting wood
storing wood, yes the HH concept in this thread
building with wood 
identifying wood
collecting all possible wood related tools and machinery
chatting about all wood subjects, including some of those not about wood

All to keep warm. Some questions. What if, we did not have to keep warm? Would this passion be channeled in some other energy outlet form? There may certainly be a few more trees on the planet.


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## Adios Pantalones (Sep 11, 2008)

I heard that in the Farmer's Almanac way back in the mid 1800's there was a suggestion on keeping warm all winter with just one log.

Take it up to the second floor, throw it out the windo, go down and get it, then repeat


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## pulldownclaw (Oct 2, 2008)

Well, here's an update.  Craig's post from the German guy who said there's no reason for HH's other than aesthetics and space saving broke my heart, but it's been fun building it.  It is a great way to store alot of wood in a small space, and it seems like it will be way more sturdy than single file rows that I always end up stacking too high and the wife is terrified they'll fall on the kids.  So, maybe a combo of stacks and HH's in my future, depending on my spacing needs.  Don't give up the dream Holz Hausen Homeboys


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## Catskill (Oct 2, 2008)

Valhalla said:
			
		

> Meanwhile, I'll contact my bier drinking Bayern buddies in Germany to see if their Holz Haus Werke designs were with approved ISO and TUV methods.
> 
> Danke again!



Those Schwabian farmers are really the salt of the earth. Very resourceful and very traditional especially under the influence of Apfelmost.


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## Catskill (Oct 2, 2008)

pulldownclaw said:
			
		

> Well, here's an update. Craig's post from the German guy who said there's no reason for HH other than aesthetics and space saving broke my heart, but it's been fun building it.



Looks good! Don't worry about the rest. Germans are a very efficient people. IMO the HH is the typical embodiment of "how Germans do things". Sure you could just stack the wood in a pile for two years, but that would be ugly and wasteful. There's a different mentality over there especially with the people in southern Germany that's very special. Your HH is a tribute to that.


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## xjnuttier (Oct 3, 2008)

Valhalla said:
			
		

> Holy cow, wood burners have such great passion!
> 
> For at least:
> 
> ...



You know I read this and it is kinda funny, I am very new to the wood stove and this forum, but I can tell you I feel the passion, I am an avid outdoorsmen, and love being outside, and working outside. I believe if any of these others guys are like me, they are very passionate about their hobbies and interests. The funny thing is all my hobbies are outdoor related, quads, jeepin, hunting and so on.. good point... and love the look of the HH, if anything, and even if there is not advantage other than style, it is worthwhile wo build to have that jewel on your property.... thanks for the pics and great forum...


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## pulldownclaw (Oct 3, 2008)

> Looks good! Don’t worry about the rest. Germans are a very efficient people. IMO the HH is the typical embodiment of “how Germans do things”. Sure you could just stack the wood in a pile for two years, but that would be ugly and wasteful. There’s a different mentality over there especially with the people in southern Germany that’s very special. Your HH is a tribute to that.



Must be that Scottish/German ancestry of mine!   ;-P


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## Valhalla (Oct 4, 2008)

Building up multiple HH and many long stacks and ricks, all for then tearing them down, piece by piece during the cold days of next winter and into 2010! Then making them different and better each and every build up time. Drying each stack and split, better and better. Continuous improvement at its finest! Complete with Plan - Do - Check - Act. 

Dr. W. Edwards Deming would be proud. Please see http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/deming.asp

Don't we just love this wood burners labor of love! It is creativity at its outdoor finest. How about even looking for HH and stacks on Google earth? Sort of like crop circles. Hey now, slow down, I guess that I enjoyed too much of this wood stack fun on this beautiful fall day. It is now time, to once again fill the stove for the night.


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## pulldownclaw (Oct 21, 2008)

Well, she's all done, took me about a month and a half of a few hours here and there, mostly chopping a few wheelbarrows worth every other night after the kids were in bed.  It's 7ft in diameter, and about 83" tall, I don't recall what the calculation was for how much a cylinder is, but maybe I got 2 cords in it?  I also tapered it quite a bit towards the top.  I started to put a pine bark roof on it, but I think I may just leave it open for airflow until next Fall, then cover it with a tarp.  I have to say, it's solid as a rock.  We'll see what it does as it settles and seasons, but right now I can lean on it hard and it doesn't budge a bit.  It was fun building it and I think I'll have a mix of these and stacks, depending on the space.  It's mostly red oak, so we'll see how this seasons and burns next year.  Now I've got to figure out where to put my next one!   :cheese:


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## savageactor7 (Oct 21, 2008)

Boy they sure do look good...I'm no math wizz but it looks like a cord and a half.


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## pulldownclaw (Oct 22, 2008)

I just did the cylinder calculation (with some help from the internetsgooglewebs) and even with my tapered sides I've got almost 2 cords exactly in that bad boy.  It will be easy to find out how much I burn next year!  I'm a little worried we're gonna blow thru that HH quickly with the way the wife is goin' thru our pine already this year.... :roll:


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## Valhalla (Oct 22, 2008)

Beautiful!

But a question, when it is fully seasoned, what splits do you pull out first: the top, bottom or middle? As my wife is not as tall as I am. Honey, please go out and get some from the top of the HH!   ;>)  Just joking. 

Real nice work! Build some more and we might be able to see them on Google earth...


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## raybonz (Oct 22, 2008)

pulldownclaw said:
			
		

> Well, she's all done, took me about a month and a half of a few hours here and there, mostly chopping a few wheelbarrows worth every other night after the kids were in bed.  It's 7ft in diameter, and about 83" tall, I don't recall what the calculation was for how much a cylinder is, but maybe I got 2 cords in it?  I also tapered it quite a bit towards the top.  I started to put a pine bark roof on it, but I think I may just leave it open for airflow until next Fall, then cover it with a tarp.  I have to say, it's solid as a rock.  We'll see what it does as it settles and seasons, but right now I can lean on it hard and it doesn't budge a bit.  It was fun building it and I think I'll have a mix of these and stacks, depending on the space.  It's mostly red oak, so we'll see how this seasons and burns next year.  Now I've got to figure out where to put my next one!   :cheese:



Cool lookin' firewood arrangement.. Looks too much like work to me though.. If space is an issue it would be the way to go.. 

Ray


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