Work Done in 2019

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Resized_20190830_172904_5705.jpeg Resized_20190830_172911_6121.jpeg Working on 2022/2023's wood
 
I didn't get a before picture but we had three smaller pines that I cleared out of this area so we can push snow off the driveway into this area.

Some of the tall thin trees will come down along with the topped off Cherry which will give me more room for snow storage. I also limbed up some of the older pines (branches were dead) and I removed the stumps later today. I still have three or four days worth of work in there to clean up the dead stuff and the rest of the wood coming down.
 

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I dropped two trees yesterday and cut them into rounds and stacked before we had a little cookout. I'll get some pics but we were strapped for time so I didn't get and yesterday.
 
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Since we had a chit load of rain overnight and through 12 today, I burned up a bunch of junk pine splits we've had too many years. I had moved this over to the fireplace and covered before the rain, I had enough dry pine that it went better then I thought it would.

I didn't take the camera with me today because the forecast was for more heavy rain which we received, these three pics are from tonight.
 

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Cleaned the liner last night. Replaced all of the fire brick in the insert today and checked all of the gaskets, door glass, latch etc. I am all set. Next will be to move wood from the racks to the storage rack in the garage will holds a cord and a half. I will wait until later in September or maybe even the 1st of October to do this.

FYI I replaced all of the fire brick in the insert with pumice bricks. I found a great deal at Menards. 6 brick packs for $14.99. Needed 3 packs. So upgraded from clay bricks to pumice for under $50. Plus there is an 11% rebate I get to mail in.
 
I still have a bit of demo and two walls to side before winter ;lol_g
 
Cleaned the liner last night. Replaced all of the fire brick in the insert today and checked all of the gaskets, door glass, latch etc. I am all set. Next will be to move wood from the racks to the storage rack in the garage will holds a cord and a half. I will wait until later in September or maybe even the 1st of October to do this.

FYI I replaced all of the fire brick in the insert with pumice bricks. I found a great deal at Menards. 6 brick packs for $14.99. Needed 3 packs. So upgraded from clay bricks to pumice for under $50. Plus there is an 11% rebate I get to mail in.

I've heard that pumice is better than "regular" firebricks. What's the difference? My new cook stove is advertised as having Skamol, but I don't know what that really means
 
I've heard that pumice is better than "regular" firebricks. What's the difference? My new cook stove is advertised as having Skamol, but I don't know what that really means


Pumice is more fragile than the “regular” (clay) firebricks but has a better insulation factor. I’ve learned to be kind to my insert, baffles and fire bricks through experience so I went ahead and made the switch. Didn’t expect such a good deal though.

My insert came with pumice but I trashed them with aggressive loading, poking etc. as a rookie. Replaced with clay until today.

Not sure what Skamol is...maybe a brand of fire brick? Quick google search appears that it is a type of ceramic insulation board.
 
After working on more clearing in a newer plow zone for snow, I loaded up the utility trailer with a bunch of branches that will go to the town wood dump.

After the above was done, I brought five bucket loads of wood with the 4540 over to the fireplace to burn after the next rain.

Picture 9556 is the new plow zone I've been clearing, picture 9557 has a tall thin popple that will come down, 9559 is another load of branches for the wood dump, 9560 is the Cherry that was topped off and 9561 was a rotten pine that came down.
 

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Spending some time this week cutting away dead branches off of an old cherry tree. Just like all things, the more you cut the more you realize is dead. Think the whole tree needs to come down.

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Done for the year. Should be somewhere between 4 and 5 cords. This is for next winter. I used to have covered stacks in the woods, but they fall over and barely get any sun. Once I start collecting wood for next year, I will do 2 more holz's for that winter's supply.
 

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Are you stacking those directly on the ground? I considered this, but I have precious little flat ground.
 
half gravel half dirt, yea. If a few splits on the bottom are not usable, oh well. I will add more gravel next time I get a chance. The ground isn't level. I have approximately zero flat ground, and the holz's seems to be totally fine. I've walked on top of them, totally bulletproof. Wood that is known to be shoulder-season goes in between the holz's. These are my first holz's, really really pleased with the stacking process and aesthetics.
 
half gravel half dirt, yea. If a few splits on the bottom are not usable, oh well. I will add more gravel next time I get a chance. The ground isn't level. I have approximately zero flat ground, and the holz's seems to be totally fine. I've walked on top of them, totally bulletproof. Wood that is known to be shoulder-season goes in between the holz's. These are my first holz's, really really pleased with the stacking process and aesthetics.

I might give it a try before the snow flies. I worry about the bark roof flying off in the wind.
 
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I might give it a try before the snow flies. I worry about the bark roof flying off in the wind.
We had a huge windstorm and somehow not a single piece of bark flew off. Might be pure luck that there are some trees blocking the wind. I am thinking about using some left over vinyl flooring to cover them, with maybe a few grommets with splits tied to the grommets with rope. For now I may leave it until I have problems with the bark flying off.
 
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We installed another window and worked on some other small tasks today. Tomorrow is the dumpster changeout and probably not much else if it rains.
 

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I'm bustin' and haulin' Ash (White) at my neighbor's but it's not a perfect score by any means:
~Yard tree...lotta crotches, harder to split, and I ended up bucking some of them short to make it a little easier.
~Had a chain go dull in an instant, must have hit a nail remnant.
~It's on a bit of a slope, so moving the rounds is a little harder.
On the plus side, although the tree was dead with no leaves left, all the wood is in great shape other than a couple of punky small limbs. :cool: The trunk is about 27" at the base, so she should yield at least a cord. I'll get pics and a cordage estimate when it's all stacked. Although the wood is for my SIL, and I usually let her split and stack it, we decided to go ahead and split it to give it max drying time, hoping it will be dry by the '20/'21 season. I don't know though, I'm spliitting 'em pretty big for her "air-burner stove" (non-cat T5.) But all in all I have to say I'm thrilled with this score! :)
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I've got maples on my property that have a ton of crotches that I keep looking at not wanting to take down because I know how much of a bear it's going to be.
The only thing saving me is that with Ash, even the crotches split easier than other species.
 
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Unfortunately the work I have been doing in 2019 isn't much related to firewood. Although I did get a good amount of firewood CSS in just a couple days these jobs have been keeping me inside. Started the summer with installing and finishing our hemlock flooring, love the fact that we did a black tea and vinegar steel wool solution to give it 0 V.O.C. I got our kitchen installed which now has make shift counters and a copper sink to contrast the white cabinets.
 

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installing and finishing our hemlock flooring, love the fact that we did a black tea and vinegar steel wool solution to give it 0 V.O.C. I got our kitchen installed which now has make shift counters and a copper sink to contrast the white cabinets.
Is your son wielding a vacuum cleaner or a light saber? ;lol
 
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Unfortunately the work I have been doing in 2019 isn't much related to firewood. Although I did get a good amount of firewood CSS in just a couple days these jobs have been keeping me inside. Started the summer with installing and finishing our hemlock flooring, love the fact that we did a black tea and vinegar steel wool solution to give it 0 V.O.C. I got our kitchen installed which now has make shift counters and a copper sink to contrast the white cabinets.

Post pics of your sink! I really want to do a farmhouse sink in fireclay or copper, but the price makes my current sink look amazing.
 
Post pics of your sink! I really want to do a farmhouse sink in fireclay or copper, but the price makes my current sink look amazing.
I'll grab one tonight, the copper has a little more upkeep but it looks really nice with the white cabinets. Ours is the sinkology undermount. We will have black granite counter tops.