Fireplace advice, Part 2

[charlz]

An option might be to not let the wood sit there too long. I am not sure your bug and snake activity stops completely in the winter months the way it does further north but if you fill the wood bin late in fall and keep it empty in the summer it would go a long ways towards preventing 'things' from playing house in your wood bin Any idea how long a full bin would last you?

 

[EddieWalker]

I was hoping to have the finished pics up by now, but it's just too darn cold to paint outside.

I have the area on the wall where the wood will be stacked covered in 3x5 1/2 inch James Hardie backer board that is used in wet areas to tile. It's plenty strong and I don't think there is any bug that will be able to dig it's way through it. At ever seam, I put a thick bead of 35 year silicone caulking. I was a bit wasteful, but wanted enough that it oozed out from the edges. I used screws to attach it to the house. Then I spread caulking out over the seams and covered up every screw head. Now it's ready for a very thick layer of exterior paint.

On the rest of the wall, I installed James Hardi Lap Siding. This was a very standard installation and went real fast.

I'm going to do a gel stain finish to make it look like real wood. I've done this a few times adn love the results. Unfortunately, it has faded on me. I spoke to a guy at James Hardi about this and was told that they are working on testing different prodects and instructions on how to get this result. They wont give out a recomendation until they can gaurantee it. He told me that the problem is that moisture gets under the gel stain and it fades because of that mosture. He said that they are having good results when they paint it first and then apply the stain over the paint. So this is what I'm going to try. Everyone I've spoken to about this feels it should solve the problem.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

I've spent a few days now sitting inside all day. I'm drinking a huge amount of water. I think that the fire is drying out my air to the point that it's making me dehydrated. Does this even make sense? I've thought about putting water in something on the stove to add moisture to the air. Are their any negatives to doin this? Will this help with my dehydration? or is that just something that's not related to the wood stove?

What are those things called to put the water in? I looked for tea pots on ebay, but all I found was tea pots.

Another part of the problem is getting carried away with the heat. It was 25 degrees outside and I was really comfortable with it at 78 inside my house. As the temps outsde droped, I added more wood and got a little ahead of myself. It was 16 outside and I had it up to 80 inside, which was too warm. I had to crack the window for over an hour to get it down to 76,which is when I felt it was feeling kind of cool in here. Keeping the temperature just right is a little tricky, but not that big of a deal.


Thank you,
Eddie

 

[westcliffe01]

Cold air outside = low humidity to start with. Heat it from 16-80 and the humidity will be so low it can't be read with a gauge.

My recommendation (which I use) is to get a stainless steel soup pot of the largest diameter that can fit on your stove top. I have one about 10" in diameter and about 6" high. It holds about 1.5 gal comfortably. I refill it about 3 times a day. I have not had much luck with cast iron "steamers" or trivets or even camping style kettles made for putting onto coals.

I have the impression you want a large surface of liquid exposed from which the vapor can rise. In a teapot or other kettle, I get the impression that the top part of the vessel is sufficiently cool that a lot of the vapor is re-condensed inside so not much emerges to humidify your home.

The stainless pot is also easy to clean with lime away to look as good as new in the off season. Another reason I think the stainless works well is they have thick bottoms that stay flat to make for good heat transfer from the stove top. Aluminum distorts and tends to just touch in a few places.

 

[Inspector507]

At ever seam, I put a thick bead of 35 year silicone caulking. I was a bit wasteful, but wanted enough that it oozed out from the edges. I used screws to attach it to the house. Then I spread caulking out over the seams and covered up every screw head. Now it's ready for a very thick layer of exterior paint.



Eddie

You're going to paint over silicone?

 

[EddieWalker]

Silcone Caulking is a buck more a tube over regular caulking and the best of both worlds. You can paint it, it's very durable and it has some flexibitlity to it when it dries.

Eddie

 

[IH3444]

Getting an inexpensive humidifier will make you home much more comfortible Eddie. And also place a pot of water, or two on top of the wood stove. It will, both steam, and evaporate slowly. The additional moisture in the air will allow you to be comfotable in temps in the low to mid 70's.

 

[MossRoad]

I've spent a few days now sitting inside all day. I'm drinking a huge amount of water. I think that the fire is drying out my air to the point that it's making me dehydrated. Does this even make sense? I've thought about putting water in something on the stove to add moisture to the air. Are their any negatives to doin this? Will this help with my dehydration? or is that just something that's not related to the wood stove?

What are those things called to put the water in? I looked for tea pots on ebay, but all I found was tea pots.

Another part of the problem is getting carried away with the heat. It was 25 degrees outside and I was really comfortable with it at 78 inside my house. As the temps outsde droped, I added more wood and got a little ahead of myself. It was 16 outside and I had it up to 80 inside, which was too warm. I had to crack the window for over an hour to get it down to 76,which is when I felt it was feeling kind of cool in here. Keeping the temperature just right is a little tricky, but not that big of a deal.


Thank you,
Eddie

One thing new wood burning folks will find...

Most likely you will at some point find yourself sitting around your house in your underwear eating ice cream in the middle of winter! :laughing:

Yes, controlling the humidity inside the house with a wood stove can be a challenge. They just plain dry the air so quick. Some folks put heavy cast iron tea kettles on the stove and get humidity that way. Some folks use a dedicated humidifier in the house. Those work pretty well. Cracking the bathroom door open while taking a shower puts a lot of humidity back in the house.

Another thing you may want to look into is some sort of wood conditioner if you have wooden cabinets and furniture. The low humidity may dry them out. A humidifier will help with this as well.

 

[EddieWalker]

I got a pot out of my drawer and added water to it. I have it at 78 degrees in here and I'm still thirsty all the time. I added it to the stove this morning, so I'm wondering if it will just take a little bit of time to work?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[dmccarty]

There are potpourri pots which are little ceramic, ah, pots. You put dried spices and herbs in the pot fill with water and heat with a candle.

Or just put it on the top of the stove.

The problem is that the pots are small and do not hold a lot of water so they dry out quickly.

We have not felt that the stove had dried out the air in the house. But we have put a cook pot on the stove full of water and thrown in some cinnamon, cloves, etc.

Later,
Dan