Holz Collapse!

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WarmGuy

Minister of Fire
Jan 30, 2006
519
Far Northern Calif. Coast
I knew it was going to happen, since there were unsightly bulges, and I had made some mistakes in building it.

Holz #1 collapsed yesterday. I was going to completely rebuild it, but that would have taken too long. So I tore it down until it was about waist high, then stacked a new ring of firewood around it. That is, it's now about 9 feet in diameter instead of 7. Too bad the wood got wet, but it will dry out. Pictures show pre-collapse (and pre-bulges), after collapse and after rebuild. Much less tall now.
 

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After mine colapsed this summer, I restacked everything horizontally, and it's still standing. I had been stacking the center splits vertically. I just called and bothered my log supplier for another load. I plan to build a massive towering holtz next year, for no particular reason.
 
Mike Wilson said:
I don't know if that new thing you built qualifies as a holz... looks more like a Viking lodge... which has more appeal than a holz anyways!

Go drink some mead and celebrate your new structure.

-- Mike

The Vikings drank the blood of the meek
 
Mike Wilson said:
babalu87 said:
Mike Wilson said:
Go drink some mead and celebrate your new structure.

-- Mike

The Vikings drank the blood of the meek

Nah, they just used the blood as a mixer...

Everyone needs a little variety to their mead!

--Mike

Sorry, no blood mead here - however I can offer -

Cyser (mead made with apple cider and honey)
Perry (mead made with pear cider and honey)
Pyment (mead made with grapes and honey)
Capsicumel (mead made with hot peppers and honey)
Metheglin (mead made with herbs and honey)
Melomel - several varieties (mead made with fruits, I tend to go for raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries; and honey)
and for those with no sense of adventure - Simple mead (mead made with honey, water, yeast, and nothing else....)
In the past I've also made mead with milk (didn't come out well), cranberries, watermelon, and a few others that I forget offhand....

Gooserider
 
I had the same thing happpen to my stack, and then I went the rectangular shape, on 4 way pallats. I actually posted a few pics in the picture forum. It is a whole lot more stable, and works just the same. Out of the Holz stack I first built this spring, the Mulberry I burned tonight is popping, glowing, making me smile. Square is the new round. My first one I actulally used a rope wrapped around the whole thing,(hillbilly rigging system), and that really didn't look too appealing, untied it, and it collapsed.
 
I'd like to try the holz thing next year. Do you think building it around a center pole (tree) make it any more stable or would the wind moving the tree cause it to loosen it up?
Dan.
 
Not the wind but the shrinkage of the splits that cause the instability...hence building up the edges to lean inwards.
 
I don’t know if that new thing you built qualifies as a holz… looks more like a Viking lodge…

Right. I was wondering at what diameter it goes from being a holz to being a pile of firewood with neatly stacked logs around it.
 
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