New member says hi.

[DiscoInferno]

I've been lurking for a while, decided to say hello. My vitals:

Location: DC suburbs (Maryland) most of the year
Upper Peninsula of Michigan summers and a little in the winter

Fireplaces: BIS Ultima (MD), Majestic WMC42 (MI)
(Will be upgrading the Majestic eventually)

Saw: Husky 359

Splitter: Maul and a "super splitter" splitting axe from Home Despot

Wood: (MD) 5-6 cords of oak, cherry, hickory, mulberry, ash, various maples, walnut, honey locust
(MI) 7-8? cords of sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, hemlock

I have the privilege of cutting/splitting firewood in two states. In Maryland I've been scrounging wood for several years now, there's plenty to be had for free. I finally replaced my heatilator-type fireplace there with the Ultima, so my wood consumption should drop from 5+ cords a year. In Michigan I'm finally done processing the trees from when we cleared the land (4.5 acres) for the driveway and house; now I have to start on the trees that are dead/dying from root compaction and from all the bark damage the crooked builders did. (A story unto itself).

For your viewing pleasure, I attached photos of the hearth in MI and some of my many scattered woodpiles there. Most of the wood there is under the eaves along the garage or under a porch; because I spend so little of the heating season in MI right now I want the wood to last a while. No termites in the UP, thankfully.

 

[elkimmeg]

Welcome aboard: Picture #2 I would deal with the 4/4 tilted at a 25 degree angle and with that height,, every post should be cross braced

 

[suematteva]

Welcome!

The UP in winter, what great memories!

 

[Todd]

Welcome aboard,

You will find lots of good advise and friendly voices here. Where in the UP are you?

 

[DiscoInferno]

Welcome aboard: Picture #2 I would deal with the 4/4 tilted at a 25 degree angle and with that height,, every post should be cross braced

It's not really tilted, that's an artifact of the wide lens I used. The posts are actually 4x6 I believe (I'm not there now), not sure if that affects your cross-bracing suggestion though.

 

[DiscoInferno]

Welcome.

Nice trim woodpile. Those rounds atop your plastic are likely to 'wick' moisture if left in that configuration....yes/no???

I'm not sure, but others here may be holding back with their 'warm welcomes', as many harbor a deep-seated fear of 'disco' types.

Those rounds are balsam fir, good for nothing except kindling and outside firepits. They do indeed wick moisture that way, but they roll off the other way! They were the cheapest and most plentiful weights I had.

Here in DC there is a prolific graffiti tagger that goes by "Disco Dan". Since we evidently share a first name, I got stuck with the nickname Disco in a bowling league some years back. I figured adding "Inferno" was apropo here...

 

[DiscoInferno]

Welcome aboard,

You will find lots of good advise and friendly voices here. Where in the UP are you?

I grew up in Marquette, went to school at Michigan Tech (Houghton), and our current place there is in Christmas (just outside Munising).

 

[coldinnj]

Just a warm welcome "Disco"
Nice photos
Benefit of the wood pile. If it gets much larger and higher you won't need the deck anymore

 

[ourhouse]

Welcome there are lot of great people here.