Lessons learned for next season

funny thing, a little bit of snow lets you learn the weak spots of your set-ups!!

Luckily, here in the mid atlantic region, it doesn't stay on the ground very long. So, when expecting a measureable snowfall, i just bring in a little extra in with the cart. Then wait for it to melt and go get more. I'm able to store bunches downstairs. Last year, i was having hand surgery and stored over 1.5 cord before i had it. Lasted through the recovery period. I normally just keep about 3/4 of a cord ahead downstairs just in case. I've got a walk in double door basement that allows me to bring the garden trailer right in and unload and stack it on the pile real easy. Sure beats the wheelbarrel now that the kids are gone. Stocking the wood supply used to be their chore. Boy i miss those kids. Can't wait for the grandkids to grow older.

Note to self: Check with foster care or nearest adoption agencey for big kids......

cass

We are at 9.5 ft so far this year. 8 cord goes under a roof right outside my door every fall.

SolarAndWood said:

We are at 9.5 ft so far this year. 8 cord goes under a roof right outside my door every fall.

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Nine and a half feet....thats hard to wrap my head around and I used to live on the n.y./mass/vermont border area in ski country. Gotta love that lake effect. I suspect you also have a good supply of replacement shovels. You'll probably have snow on the ground till mid May. Can you say cabin fever?

hago

cass

I use the snowblower to make a path to my wood....right now the path is over 2 feet deep, but at least I can get the wood to the house.

tcassavaugh said:

Gotta love that lade effect. I suspect you also have a good supply of replacement shovels.

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I have a good stock and variety but in reality shovel very little other than around the doors. 10 horse snowblower, when the banks get too high to blow over I push them back with the loader on the tractor.

SolarAndWood said:

tcassavaugh said:

Gotta love that lade effect. I suspect you also have a good supply of replacement shovels.

Click to expand...

I have a good stock and variety but in reality shovel very little other than around the doors. 10 horse snowblower, when the banks get too high to blow over I push them back with the loader on the tractor.

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Last year did it for me. We got two back to back snow storms of about 20 inches and 18 inches. While not much for you guys in the northern tiers, it was a little bit much for us as our drive is about 50 yards long. I have a little craftsman tractor with a blade that takes care of stuff most of the time but couldn't keep up last year. Sometimes i would not worry about it and just put the 2500 dodge or the Jeep in 4 x 4 and drive through it but the wife wasn't too keen on that one as it just packed it down and neighbors and kids had problems on the snow pack. I'm too old to shovel much more than the porch and front steps anymore. Last year i bought a blower and used it to "tidy up" after the storms. Now that i have it, i think thats why we only got a couple of inches these past few go-rounds. Just like the firewood supply better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

cass

We have had over 55 inches this winter, 36 last Feb. My take on is you want the wood shed close to the house but not to close because you might get bugs off the wood pile. This is my set up. Its not that bad, I just have steps that I pull the wood 2 wheeler into the living room.

Similar lesson here. I got very tired of dealing with snow covered tarps, even though the wood was close to the front of the house. The stacks took up quite a bit of space and getting to the wood proved to be a challenge in the dead of winter.
Plan "A". Get rid of the posts in the ground in the spring, then build a shed. Leave enough room between shed and house to pull 5x10 trailer through, and to be able to plow. Fill shed, and keep snow cleared to shed to facilitate easy transport of splits to house.
So far, plan A is working. We haven't gotten quite 2 feet of snow the whole season, yet, but if we do get more, I'll make sure to plow in front of the shed first and foremost.
Love it when a plan comes together. Mother nature ha been kind, so far.

Lanning said:

We have had over 55 inches this winter, 36 last Feb. My take on is you want the wood shed close to the house but not to close because you might get bugs off the wood pile. This is my set up. Its not that bad, I just have steps that I pull the wood 2 wheeler into the living room.

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nice set up. real convenient. my shed is about 50 yards from the back door....bring it in and stack it downstairs. not too much trouble with bugs. I try and keep a close eye out for them. Once in awhile a few ants or beetles under the bark but they burn easily.....and you can't hear them scream.

cass

We learned a long time ago to have some wood very close. For many years we have just stacked wood on the porch (inside a carport) so we don't have to bring wood from the piles to the porch very often. We just wait for the right weather.

If you don't have a porch with overhead roof, then I'd suggest building a small storage for maybe a face cord or less and make sure you put a roof on it. Keep it near full and make sure it is full before any predicted snowfall. It won't cost much to make such an arrangement but it will be worth every penny.

One other thing is that I hate to have wood in the house unless it is in the stove. Therefore we keep the wood out on the porch and it is a very short walk with a few pieces of wood when the stove needs it. We do, however, keep some wood on the heart at night so in the morning we don't have to step out in the cold to get wood but that is all we keep in the house. We do not need any concerns about insects and moths, etc. I've never liked storing wood inside a house; even in a basement. I've seen too many folks have problems sooner or later when doing that.

my piles are also about 150 ft from the house. I like them out of site. It also keeps piles of wood being dropped off out of site and away from the house during the off season. It gives me a spot to have a wood working area without disturbing the yard or being an eyesore around the house. I dont mind snowblowing a path to the pile, if i had to shovel that would be a different story. What i do to combat this is i have a storage rack in the garage which holds about 1.5-2 weeks worth. That way its not a constant 150ft treck for some warmth.

My woodshed is perhaps 25-feet from the house . . . but I still put up a week's worth of wood on the covered porch since it is still a lot easier to bring in wood from the lit back porch in a snowstorm than it is to go out in the dark and cold with blowy snow.

Good learned lesson. I learned same one.
I now have a wood shed & access fie wood door directly into the basement by the stove.
I remember to plow the trail from the shed to the access door.
(well not plowed this year, now real snow here yet, keep hoping, but you guys took it all, ( so far

Just thinking about changing some things this morning, as I tried to clear the snow off the tarp (then shovel the snow away so I could get to the wood and keep my sneakers dry). I'd love to have Lanning's setup, especially the sloped roof. Trouble with that w/b that I stack on the outside of the dog fence so the snow might slide off into the yard and potentially onto the back of an unlucky dog, might even bury the wee little guy whe just took in.

As it is, when snow is forecast, I fill the woodbox inside and then (over)load the two garden carts, which will get me through 4-5 very cold days. Worse case, once the drive is blown open, I could forego the tarped wood and go through the barn to access the oak I've seasoned under the forebay. A longer walk but a down hill run for the return trip.

Carolyn