Thoughts On getting To The Tarp Covered Stacks That Are Covered In 5 - 8" Of Ice?

[Dix]

Yeah, I know, a lovely thought

You walk on the ice covered snow, and you don't even make a dent in it.

I've got my main stacks about 10 feet off of the back door with no way to bust through the ice. Stacks are tarp covered... the dually wheel barrow is out there as well. I busted that out this morning. It's intact, praise be to Allah

I learned a lesson last year, and have about 3/4 of a cord on the back deck, tarp top covered, but that's covered in ice as well. Probably my best bet to move.

This weekend I have to reload the house, I'm more than good until then. Temps never getting over 30 here for atleast 5 days.

To quote Mr. Spock, I had hoped to be spared this

 

[gzecc]

I know the feeling.

 

[Dix]

I just walked the Murph, and pushed at some of the ice on top of the deck stack, it moved, and I saw plastic *happy dance*.

I think that's how I'm gonna roll on this one.

 

[Hogwildz]

I used to use a plastic sled to load on and drag over to the house before I started stacking on the back porch. Now I open the door, walk onto the porch and there is my wood.
It has a deck over it that I put a good canvas tarp over where the wood rests below. Now to wire a light for right outside the door.

 

[BrotherBart]

Build a wood shed just outside the door. It will be like the first time you had sex. You will want to kill yourself for what you had been missing.

 

[weatherguy]

This won't help you now but I bring as much wood as I can into the house and garage when I know a storm's coming, that way I don't have to dig through a foot of snow and ice to get some frozen sticks of wood. Some day I'll have one of these wood sheds that people speak of.

 

[Dix]

This pic is from last year, looking at the back door. Firewood is stacked & covered to the right (wayyyy more than in this pic)



Yes, that's a deck to the right

 

[blazincajun]

Maybe you could cut the rail just to the right as you walk out the door - builld a small covered structure the same level as the top of the steps with an open back to stack the wood on when the weather is better for moving firewood.

 

[Dix]

I'm going to tackle the ice with a hammer this morning, see how it does during the day when the sun hits it.

 

[JustWood]

Build a wood shed just outside the door. It will be like the first time you had sex. You will want to kill yourself for what you had been missing.

Agreed. I have a shed built onto my furnace room. Access is from inside. Load the wood into shed from outside stacking over door. Holds 3+ cords.
Also have stacks outside top covered. I utilize this wood until I have to start shoveling. Then switch to the shed wood so I don't have to deal with outside elements.

 

[Butcher]

Why not just make a home for more wood inside the hooch? I know I do. There are those time when its a good idea. Just sayin.

 

[PapaDave]

I was going to suggest a hammer Dixie.
Sounds like you got a bit lucky.
I don't miss pushing snow and ice off the tarps only to find them stuck to the wood.
Do a shed........I like the first time sex analogy, but the first time sex was better.
Just my .02

 

[Jags]

but the first time sex was better.

"I was scared....and alone."

 

[DanCorcoran]

Easy squeezy. Just use the natural BTUs in the wood. Light the stack on fire and it'll melt the ice...

 

[BrotherBart]

This is what caused me to build a shed as soon as things melted. That is nine cord of oak in the back center of the picture. Covered to the ground with heavy rubber roofing. Had to dig out to there three or four times in 2010. And then get the snow off of the roofing before I could jackass it up top to get wood. Never again.

The foreground is the deck rail.

 

[Dix]

Allrighty.

We had some melting yesterday.

This is what I had this morning.

Main stack from out the back door.





Wood on deck. I had cleaned off the area in front before it froze, then salted, etc.



If I had a hammer ... well you get the drift. I went to work. Me, my hammer, a push broom, and a snow shovel. I freed the milk crate full of kindling, and started hammering away



More hammering, shoveling, sweeping off the ice. Took about 1/2 an hour.



I'll finish it off tomorrow in the daylight. I have about 1 week ( for 0F ) left in the house for both stoves, more with the warmer temps. No garage, so this is it for now. I figure I can practice sliding the wood from the main stack across the ice if necessary. I'll work on freeing up the main stack of ice, as well. I have a spot by the basement door that has a 4 foot over hang. The basement door (lower level entrance, the 13 is on the level) is covered by the over hang as well. Next year, that area is getting stacked as high as I can go, as many rows deep as I can go. To quote the raven, never more

 

[PapaDave]

"I was scared....and alone."

We feel for ya' Jags.

 

[Dix]

We feel for ya' Jags.

The mental pics are blinding me

 

[PapaDave]

Good on ya', Dixie.
Nice work.
Doesn't Murph help?

 

[Dix]

Good on ya', Dixie.
Nice work.
Doesn't Murph help?

Murph would be off like a shot, unattended. Damned terriers !

 

[WiscWoody]

A Person who learns to live and thrive in northern winters with little help is a hardy soul with wisdom and knowledge that would surprise many in better climates. Take Atlanta's decision makers for example.

 

[WiscWoody]

I took this picture on May 3rd 2013. I had to dig for fire wood until June.

 

[Flatbedford]

Nice work Dix. This has been a tough winter. Keeping up with the snow and moving wood takes up most of my not at work time lately
I went at my stacks with a shovel and Fiskars yesterday. I had no plastic to deal with. I use the Quads method. The top row of wood is the cover. I keep about 1/3 cord on my covered front porch. I can go just under two weeks between reloads, but try to do it once a week to keep up. I have also started to leave my tractor cart loaded with wood in the shed when foul weather is forecast. Its nice to have a full load of dry wood standing by.

 

[Jags]

The mental pics are blinding me

That is exactly what my eye doctor said would happen

 

[xman23]

With all the snow this year a lot of the new to burning guys will be coming up with a new system for next year. I had this happen 13 years ago. Three ft. of snow on the ground to the main pile. It's 50 ft from the house. My system now. At ground level next to the house in the late fall I move the years wood to there. It has a the house side deck above it. There is a roof over that deck. From the ground level pile we carry the wood up a set of outside stairs and store a weeks worth of wood on the side deck. Nothing has snow on it. My only issue is the stairs get icey. This year I hope to design and build a wood lift.