New Full Season Burn Planning

[soupy1957]

I know I've got to order wood this summer, and get it in place for next season's burn, and that is always on my mind. Picking the right location for storage, and the right kind of inexpensive sheltering of the wood.

But a new detail, not unanticipated, but nevertheless "new" as of Friday, has entered the planning..........the wife had carpeting installed in the room where the wood stove is, and the wood "ring" sits on it. Bark, shavings, etc., are just part of the equation, and I have to be considerate of the mess factor.I'm thinkin "drop cloth" or some other form of isolation of the area where the wood will live, while waiting for burning.

I saw a video on YouTube, where a couple had built a hatchway on an exterior wall, and the guy drove up in his lawn tractor with a small cart behind, and loaded up a small alcove built into the interior of the house, that this hatchway opened to, from the outside. INSIDE the house, that little alcove that he had built, was along side the wood stove, and had another interior door (small, but adequate), from which his wife could access the wood he had just placed in there. Nice idea, but we didn't know about it until AFTER our home re-construction was almost complete.

So I look for ideas and suggestions today, from you "seasoned" users, about the mess factor. How YOU keep it to a minimum, and/or how YOU work around "carpeting" issues. I have attached a pic of the current conditions, now that the room construction is complete.

-Soupy1957

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I bring in all my wood in a Rubbermaid 18 gallon tote. It's semi soft rubber and can take lots of dings (3 years so far) and keeps all wood bark, dust, spiders, etc in a contained bin that is easy to empty out.

Matt

 

[wendell]

Man, I don't envy you. I can't even imagine the hassle.

The only thing I can think of is to keep the wood in a Rubbermaid tote and bring the tote right to the fire so you can put the wood directly into the stove.

 

[soupy1957]

I don't mind, (in fact I ENJOY) lugging the wood into the house in my arms; but of course THAT will allow more "crap" on the floor as I walk in and set it down. The wife LIKES the "fire ring" and so do I.

The Rubber Maid tote idea is a good one, but that tells me that you don't use a ring, is that right?

-Soupy1957

 

[REF1]

Alot depends on the wood too. I purchased firewood last year, not being able to cut my own, and got species I didn't recognize. Some were especially messy. Just shreds of stuff peeling off. Locust on that one. The cherry was messy too. I never found oak or maple anywhere near as messy. I roll things in on a log cart, but the floor is tiled, so I just sweep up and done. For a carpet, man. That's tough. I suppose the bucket is the best idea. if you move it to your ring (we have a really large one), you'll have to put something underneath it to catch stuff that ultimately falls off when wood is placed, grabbed or moved.

If it were me I'd use my log cart but line it with something so chips stay in it, and then have something under the ring to catch stuff. Of course, then there would be the issue of the cart's wheel tracks in the carpet a few times a week. It seems the tupperware container is the way to go.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have one of the small rings in my house. I have a commercial baker's "sheet cake" pan under it to catch the crud.

 

[kenny chaos]

You coulda also had a dumb waiter bring wood up from the basement if that was feasible.
I've never seen it on here but it seems to me that people should be disuaded from mixing
woodstoves and carpet.
You may need to invest in a good dust buster to keep near by for constant clean-ups.
I've seen some pretty small shop vacs you could hide behind a chair.
Burning wood is messy no matter what you do so be thinking about preserving
the carpet.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I do a round Rubbermaid tote the size of my firebox but seem to bust up at least two a year. I am going to spray foam into the bottom of the next one.

 

[soupy1957]

The Baker's "Sheet Cake" pan is a nice idea......they're pretty good size! The Wet Vac we bought last week because of the floods we had here WILL come in handy for cleaning the crap up, as well.

I don't see me dragging the Tupperware tub across the carpeting in the kitchen and living room, and I'll bet it'll be a bear to carry!

That 24" ring was not the biggest we could have bought, as I'm sure you know...........BUT........it holds a "Days" supply.

-Soupy1957

 

[Dix]

I've had good luck with these

http://www.horse.com/item/fortex-flexible-bucket/SLT901547/

They really contain the mess, and easy to tote around & empty. I filled them ( I have 2, getting more) on the deck, and left them there, then brought them in as needed. Came in handy when the snow was coming this past winter, and way less messy than the milk crate system

I would think your local farm store would have them.

I like the idea of the bakers sheet, or maybe a large under bed plastic storage thingy ?

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I'm with Kenny, wood stove and carpet are a bad mix.
I have yet to see a carpet immediately in front of a wood stove that didn't have burns in it from random sparks flying out while you are stoking the fire. And the wood storage near the stove will always be messy, especially if you have some pitchy wood.
I would install a tile buffer all around the wood stove and in the corner where you store the wood. Actually I would never have installed carpet period, I have never like the stuff. A nice area rug is a more functional alternative to carpet, but that's just me.

 

[Dix]

I'm with Kenny, wood stove and carpet are a bad mix.
I have yet to see a carpet immediately in front of a wood stove that didn't have burns in it from random sparks flying out while you are stoking the fire. And the wood storage near the stove will always be messy, especially if you have some pitchy wood.
I would install a tile buffer all around the wood stove and in the corner where you store the wood. Actually I would never have installed carpet period, I have never like the stuff. A nice area rug is a more functional alternative to carpet, but that's just me.

Naaah, I hate carpet, too. Ripping it out of the master this summer. Then, it's all gone

I second the tile buffer.

I also keep a smaller shop vac tucked away behind a chair, and use it for quick pickups. 'Course when there's no company, it's infront of the chair

 

[BrotherBart]

I actually made it 24 years before I put the first burn in the carpet in front of our stove. Made me sick that it finally happened.

 

[begreen]

We got rid of the carpet in 2006, the year the stove moved into the living room. It makes cleanup sooooo much easier. We have a big box I built that sits on the porch. It takes a big cart load of wood. From that we take day load to sit in the wood holder next to the stove.

 

[soupy1957]

BeGreen: You must be the guy who I saw in the video on YouTube................little room that has a hatch door to the outside, that opens to the room where the wood stove is..........was that you?

Neat setup! If I had it to do all over again (the re-construction project), I'd have done the same thing!

-Soupy1957

 

[kenny chaos]

BeGreen: You must be the guy who I saw in the video on YouTube................little room that has a hatch door to the outside, that opens to the room where the wood stove is..........was that you?

Neat setup! If I had it to do all over again (the re-construction project), I'd have done the same thing!

-Soupy1957

Yes. Yes that's him.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Problem solved. I let my wife bring in most of the wood. She has a hand vacuum which sits by the stove. She will somewhat clean the wood before bringing it in and when done she simply gives it a quick vac and all is well. When I bring it is, it seems to create more of a mess which causes her to hurry up to bring in enough for the next load. All in all, it saves me much work!

 

[kenny chaos]

Problem solved. I let my wife bring in most of the wood. She has a hand vacuum which sits by the stove. She will somewhat clean the wood before bringing it in and when done she simply gives it a quick vac and all is well. When I bring it is, it seems to create more of a mess which causes her to hurry up to bring in enough for the next load. All in all, it saves me much work!

You are my hero of the day.

 

[Mainely Saws]

I'm in the process of putting a shop vac in the basement & running a vacuum hose up in the wall on the first floor which is where my woodstove is . I'm also putting an electrical switch right next to it so all I have to do is plug in a short vacuum hose into the wall , throught the switch & clean up the area .........

 

[soupy1957]

We had ALMOST bought a home (rather than do the upgrade to ours) that had a vacuum system built into the house. Looked pretty efficient, and might have been an added plus for cleaning up wood used in a wood stove..........ah, but twas not to be........

-Soupy1957

 

[Lakelivin]

Great thread . i never thought to ask but i'm in the same boat with the carpet..

I was over to the neighbors the other day chattin and i was observing him bringing in firewood with a king size duffle bag.... he's been burning for years . this must be his work around...i was planning on visiting some garage sales this summer to see if i could land a bag like the one he has..

pete

 

[begreen]

BeGreen: You must be the guy who I saw in the video on YouTube................little room that has a hatch door to the outside, that opens to the room where the wood stove is..........was that you?

Neat setup! If I had it to do all over again (the re-construction project), I'd have done the same thing!

-Soupy1957

Yes. Yes that's him.

LOL No, it's my avatar! :lol:

You'll have to point me to the video so I can see what my alter-ego looks like. :wow:

 

[Mad Tom]

When the wife is away , rip out the rug. Tell her it was so nice that someone stole it. Replace with a wood floor.

 

[DiBar]

We carry our wood by the armful from our back room (where a few days worth are stored on a metal "pan" from the bottom of a large dog crate), across the living room carpet. From there it goes into a rubbermaid tote, kindling in a drywall pail. Those sit on a large "waterhog" rug about 6 inches from the edge of the hearth. I have 2 "flame retardent" half moon rugs from Wal-Mart that butt up to the hearth as much as possible. I have still managed to have flying sparks land on the carpet....but those little rugs sure cover up the scorch marks well!! We have a sliding glass door right next to the stove, but by the time you throw enough wood through it, the room is freezing...so we didn't do that this year. We have also thought about building a box on the outside that can be acessed through a door on the inside. Still in the planning stages.

 

[soupy1957]

Mad Tom:

Considering she chose the carpeting for the living room, and considering the fact that we've been married 32 years and I'd personally like to remain so, for ANOTHER 32 years, I don't think I'll be taking your advice!

Having said that............we just got DONE $80,000.00 in renovations, of which part of it was the carpeting. We HAD "hard wood floors for 16 years, and I don't miss em.

It'll be a bit more of a hassle to keep the chips falling only where they should, but I'll "get-r-done!"

-Soupy1957