Getting firewood INTO the house.

[almaryholm]

Mid-sized wheeled garbage bin...like the ones rolled to curb on pick-up day. Been using one from HD for years and will hold a day's supply for my Woodstock Fireview. Keeps the bugs/ debris at bay too (with lid closed)

 

[bunyip]

We thought about storage outside with a door next to the fire but apart from bugs the snakes think it's a great place to spend winter too, happened to a friend of ours and they had a few feet of character building critter in the lounge, amazing how quickly they wake up and equally amazing at how small a gap they need to get in.
We have ours stacked in the driveway and bring a wheelbarrow to the back door to bring in a couple of logs at a time as required, we burn redgum which is very dense a two logs will last all night but we don't get as cold as you either, 5°C we consider a cold night and complain bitterly.

 

[tcreeley]

I'm thinking one of these or similar. We use the tractor bucket to get it onto the porch- then it gets carried in 2 pieces at a time and stacked inside. This would cut handling time- load it just inside the door and then roll it to the stove. (Could make one also.)

 

[TheMan419]

Get a large dog.

Use a fake ceramic log with natural gas or propane for fuel.

Get a large TV and show fireplace movies.

Leave a door-wall open and use a large catapult to toss the sticks into the fireplace.

Hire a teenager to bring in the wood. Reward with the latest drug craze (Tide Pods ?)

Use a wood delivery service and have them load it.

Have a helicopter service drop the wood down the chimney and then burn it in place.

Tell your spouse it's HER turn.

Switch to pellets and bring in a pocket full at a time.

Go for a solar or windmill powered fireplace.

Grow the trees indoors and chop them up as needed (log cabin sounds ideal).

Buy Essential Oils Burned Cork Parfume' and spread it around.

Just use those diesel impregnated sawdust logs and enjoy the moment when your new house burns down.

Move South.

Make sure Chimney is exactly 10 Ft off the ground. Run a winter basketball camp and use wood as the "ball"

 

[RalphVa]

My wife made a carrier similar to the one that EddieWalker showed in his link. A regular 2 wheel dolly would work to carry some wood, and that alternative one with the curved work in front would be even better.

I guess you know that a stove or fireplace insert will use A WHOLE LOT LESS WOOD than a fireplace. A FP is just a good way to suck hot air out of a house and to fry anything within about 10 ft of it and freeze the rest beyond that.

We had a Franklin stove in Vermont, which is one step better than a fireplace but heated the whole (little) house there. Fact is, I'd go naked a good bit of the time in that house.

In NJ, we had a very efficient stove in the basement that circulated air between and inner and outer shell. However, we really did not use the air circulation because use of it would load the double insulation steel chimney up with twice the amount of creosote. Plus, even without the blower, the basement was always 80 F. It would be 90 F with the blower on.

In 20 years of living in NJ, our oil heat bill for the YEAR never went above $400 except the last 2 years. Most of that was for heating hot water.

Ralph

 

[/pine]

I am building a new house, and I'd like to have at least one if not more wood burning fireplaces in the house. And, if possible... I'd like to design something which not only gives me a good location for storing wood but also the easiest/cleanest way in which to get the wood into the house.

Hey, you only live once...why not an underground/under slab tunnel with a conveyor system from wood storage facility to indoor (maybe hidden) "wood closet" at each fireplace location...where the conveyor lifts each split to nominal height (no bending over)...to be moved directly to the fire...

 

[hawkeye08]

While we love the heat put out by a wood stove, it was not long after kids that we decided that was not going to work long term. We put in a pellet stove and enjoyed that. Moved the pellet stove with us to new house we built, used it for 5 years or so, but I traveled for work and my wife just grew weary of doing it all (kids, house, etc) so we replaced pellet stove with propane stove that looks like a free standing wood stove.. put a thermostat in and a 1000 gallon propane tank. Put 6 burner propane cooking stove in also.

Propane stove is about 20 years old now, it needs a couple of new parts (working fine now, will install new parts if off season).

Back to your question... likely some sort of rolling cart is going to meet your needs if new house if all one floor.

 

[TnAndy]

Nice setup!

No mess in the house.

More mess now with the insert. Was a fireplace for many years with an ash pit that dumped to a holding point in the base of the chimney in the basement. Now ashes have to go out in a bucket, but there are less of them as the stove burns a lot less wood.

But the point is, if you're gonna burn wood, figure a way with the least mess to get it to the stove. Traipsing across the living room floor with an arm load at a time doesn't cut it for me.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I would put a pallet sized door on the outside of your house close to the fireplace. Inside the house I would have a small room with doors that open to enable you to get at the wood. I would load up a pallet load of wood at same time as you are splitting the wood. When you need wood in the house you pick up the pallet with your tractor and place it in the pallet sized room in the house. I would take the time to make sure the doors and the room are rodent proof.

My wife would not have a choice in the matter unless she was willing to help with carrying the wood.

After reading this in the morning I realized it sounded a bit harsh. I'm talking about using a pallet to carry the wood around.

 

[Dadnatron]

My current setup is a version of what Eddie posted, just a leather version. It actually has a rack that the handles slip onto, which is convenient so I can just load the sling, bring it in, and drop it onto the rack. However, it still requires me traipsing across the living room tracking in all sorts of 'crap' as I go. Since I have the opportunity to design EVERYTHING about this house, I've been trying to figure out a way which will make things work as well as possible. Now is my opportunity to minimize my sorrow later.

I would like the fireplace on an outside wall, because I would build a firebox with outside access and fill it in that manner. However, a large fireplace would kill the beautiful view we have, and I am unwilling to sacrifice it for firewood ease. The fire will be almost exclusively for enjoyment. I absolutely LOVE a fire, and am willing to take the hit in heating costs etc as necessary in order to have one as often as possible. But, I'd like to do as much work NOW in order to prevent hassle later.

I really like the basement storage with dumbwaiter access. That is extremely cool, but I don't want to stack wood in my basement. It is a great idea, just not for me.

As I have been thinking about this today, I'm leaning more and more to designing a space/closet/nook into which I can roll a wood rack. I can load the wood rack outside, and roll it into the house. I'd make it large enough for a few days of burning. This might be the optimal way to address it. I will certainly have to insure I have a spot for the woodpile which is easily accessible to a rolling cart. A 'thoughtful' design without access isn't going to do me any good.

But keep these ideas coming. They have given me a lot to mull over.