getting wood into house (without making a mess)

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newguy09

Member
Jan 5, 2009
37
Central IN
The title pretty much says it. How do I get my wood to the stove without making a mess all over my living room carpet? Also what do you store your wood in in the house that looks nice? Thanks for the help.
 
From one newbie to another, I get my wood into the house using a large bag that I got from the stove shop where I bought the stove. I have also seen these bags at Lowe's. It can hold 6 or 7 good sized spilts. Right now, it sits on the carpet near the stove, but I plan on building a wood box in the near future. I haven't really seen any boxes for sale that look good or that will fit my size needs.
 
The hearth extension runs the length of the wall and I just stack it on there. I've been bringing it in one armload at a time this year.
I usually turn each piece upside down and give it a good bang on the pile to release the loose stuff. I lay it all on the hearth in a pile at once, to keep from getting it on the carpet. I try to hold it over the hearth as I'm putting it in the stove too. Works pretty well for me.
For quality assurance, I always have the wood inspector present to check each log.
8zo36q.jpg
 
try using a plastic bin, i have been using one and it has really cut down on the mess- cheap to
 
We built a 2-sided wood box for ours. The back side opens into the garage where we can fit about 1/4 cord. The front side opens right next to our stove. So no lugging wood in for us...just open the wood box door and fire away. This was one of the best little projects we built...no bark in the carpet, no wood pile, no mess.

The box we built is about 16" wide by 36" tall, and holds about 20 splits.
 
Woodford said:
For quality assurance, I always have the wood inspector present to check each log.
Lets hope fore your sake the wood inspector doesn't decide to mark his territory due to a previous inspector inspecting it when it was out side. :gulp: :lol: N of 60
 
Islander08 said:
We built a 2-sided wood box for ours. The back side opens into the garage where we can fit about 1/4 cord. The front side opens right next to our stove. So no lugging wood in for us...just open the wood box door and fire away. This was one of the best little projects we built...no bark in the carpet, no wood pile, no mess.

The box we built is about 16" wide by 36" tall, and holds about 20 splits.
Does it have a fire rated door and airtight to keep garage fumes out?
 
A long time ago we tried a variety of ways to minimize the wood shedding problem. imo it's a losing battle. Now I'm back to one arming the loads and just bang the splits on the wood pile to shake the looser dirt off them. As low tech as it sounds it seems the best accommodation I've made to minimize dirt that I can live with.
 
Right into the box through the window from the deck.
 

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Definitely get a bunch of cheapo plastic bins. Mine each hold 4-6 splits so I don't overload my back carrying them over ice/snow. From there right into the wood box. Next trip, you dump all the sheddings that fell in the bins back outside.

Now why do I have white carpeting in my stove room again?
 
We use a canvas log carrier that I made to bring the wood inside. We always bump the end of the splits on the pile to shake off any loose debris before putting it on the carrier. We store the wood in an old copper washing kettle that sits a safe distance from the stove.

The key to keeping the inevitable debris under control is to keep it picked up! I always pick up any "big stuff" and sweep up dust around the stove whenever we feed it. It's just part of the routine. And, I'm better about that end of it than the old man is. ;)
 
Woodford said:
The hearth extension runs the length of the wall and I just stack it on there. I've been bringing it in one armload at a time this year.
I usually turn each piece upside down and give it a good bang on the pile to release the loose stuff. I lay it all on the hearth in a pile at once, to keep from getting it on the carpet. I try to hold it over the hearth as I'm putting it in the stove too. Works pretty well for me.
For quality assurance, I always have the wood inspector present to check each log.
8zo36q.jpg

We do pretty much the same except the wood is stacked right next to the stove so that when we open the firebox door we can reach the wood because it is right there so close. Makes very little mess, but we also keep a small hand vacuum right there to clean up if it needs to be. But we don't have an inspector so the quality may not be as good.
 
A HD dolly with some sheet metal added to the bottom and back sides : )
 

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I built a firewood rack that has a cover that rolls up for loading and unloading of wood, this is on the deck just outside the back door. I built a woodbox 4' long and 22" high and 24" deep with a hinged lid that is just inside the back door. From the wood box to the stove is about 4 steps so with a little caution and maybe a quick sweep it stays reasonably clean. If I fill the woodbox and the firewood rack I have enough wood to last 1 week. Dust from cleaning out the stove is another problem that is ongoing, burning wood is just a labor intensive way of heating your home.
 
I made a plywood box in my basement garage that holds an 8 ft rick that I can stack about 6' tall. I just have to sweep after I fill it and occassionally in between filling. I built a shallow wood crate to haul wood to the stove. It slides right under the front plate on my PE and I can load wood into the stove without getting any bark or dust on the hearth.
 
I season my firewood in single stacks of 16'long x 6' high. In the fall around october I staple 6ml. plastic over the top and 2ft. down each side. During the winter as I am using the wood I bring about 1 cord into the two car garage at a time and stack it. I use a leather log carrier to bring several splits into the house at a time. I have a small wooden box that holds about 6 splits and also keep about 6 splits stacked by the stove. If a split is a little damp it goes into the wooden box first to dry out a day or two. I have to vacuum every couple days at least and I use a little plastic brush and dustpan to sweep little crumbs from around the stove. This way of duing things have evolved over about 15 years and I think works pretty well. The only thing is I probably keep to many combustibles too close to the insert while burning. Tony
 
My woodshed is right off my driveway about 50 ft from the garage. On the weekend, I load up my home made rack in the garage that holds more than enough for the week. As needed, I bring wood inside - I do have a huge hearth adjacent the stove that holds a few days worth of wood. I lug it in up 5 stairs or so in a big crate that has handles. Find something that has handles or that you can carry easily. I guess if you are worried about some mess, you want it to have a bottom and not be a crate. I wish I could use a hand truck but the stairs make it not so fun. I used to do arm loads but it does not help my back.

AS for the mess - running a vac for a few seconds pales in comparison to moving wood.
 
I use an old copper boiler pan, but an 18/21 gal Rubbermaid tote would work the same. I can get 12-15 splits into the copper boiler (and I imagine about the same into a tote since the are the same size approx). Holds enough for an entire day or more - depending on when the insert gets lit - we use it as supplemental heat.

The boiler has a spot next to the fireplace (Quad 3100 insert) on the wall about 6' from the unit. I just leave it there and take the wood out as I need it. A Rubbermaid tote probably wouldn't look quite so good, but it would work well to carry wood in. Hope that helps!
 
I need to look into that cart. I could get a couple day's worth of wood at a time and just leave it in the garage next to the door into the house. Up till now, I just run out to the woodpile when I need to reload. I was moving wood to the porch every weekend, but that turned out to feel a little too much like work.

-SF
 
Ok here is what I do. Starting around middle Sept. I start bringing wood down my hill and stacking about 1 1/2 cords or so against the house by my family room window area. This is area where I have my stove. When I need wood I place about 2-3 days worth of wood in front of the window. Inside the house I have a wood box about 3'x 2 1/2'x 1. When I need wood, I open the window, place a towel on the window frame and grab my wood and place it into the box. About Nov or so I fill the void in wood stack outside my window. By doing it this way, the only mess i have is next to the stove area from wood dusr ete. I even placed my left over carpet remiants under the wood box. Wife is REAL HAPPY WITH NO MESS throught the house. It's kinda of a redneck way but it works like a charm. I would post some pictures, but im a little slow on the computer stuff with resizing. I will ask my oldest girl, maybe she can do the picture thing. Thanks fespo
 
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