Getting firewood INTO the house.

[dstig1]

Lots of ways to get firewood into the house:





I have started using IBC totes with the poly tank removed. I fork these into the garage downstairs and then bring up wood 2x 5-gal buckets at a time. They aren't the best format for hauling wood, but they work so far. Maybe I will make something better down the road that has some flexibility built into it. We have a masonry heater and it is hard to go through more than 3 buckets in an evening (no one here during the day, so no fire then). The thing about our masonry heater is that is is European, and they did not tell us the one key detail - they need 12" firewood. Grrrrr. Can't find that unless you custom order it ahead of time, so I have started doing my own and that is the main reason for the IBC totes - 12" wood doesn't stack worth a darn so i toss it into the bin. I'm really only getting going on this, so I need a bit better system to get enough wood in place, but I am aiming to have 4 bins in the garage which should cover a winter with our usage. Will probably put them on wheels/dollies of some sort. Yes I have to haul it upstairs, but it is not that bad. My best friend has a house designed with a door right behind his wood stove, so he brings wood up on the deck and puts it right inside there. My big advantage is that the wood should be totally dry and then only get better sitting in the garage as the winter goes on.

 

[jk96]

See thru double sided fireplace for all that are on an exterior wall. Load and clean from the outside. Enjoy from both sides. Gas fireplace for the one that is not on an exterior wall. I would not install a wood fireplace that wasnt double sided after having ours for a few years now.

 

[areid]

Good question with no real easy solutions, I have always said "he who cuts own wood warms self twice or more".

 

[mustangwally]

I won when I bought my house. The old coal chute in the basement was converted to a wood chute. I added rollers. I piled up my firewood in the basement and the previous owner had installed an elevator system to raise a load of firewood to the main floor beside the fireplace . Hidden under a seat in front of a window. He was an engineer(Not kidding). Great design and working perfectly since 1974)

 

[EddieWalker]

How set are you on having a fire place? I've always loved the look of them, especially with rock all the way up to the ceiling and a big log mantle. Nothing looks nicer in a home to me, but then I got to thinking about everything else involved in owning a fireplace and now I don't want one. First, if I built it, where would I put my TV. I like watching movies and certain shows, it's a big part of how I relax in the evening. The best place for the TV is also the best place for the fireplace. Putting the TV over the fireplace isn't a look I like, and it makes the TV up higher then I want it. Putting the TV off to the side means either the furniture is wrong for watching TV, or it's not centered on the fireplace.

Then there is the elephant in the room. A fireplace is a horrible way to heat a home. Even with an insert, the heat isn't all that great and you go through a lot of wood. I've had too many houses with fireplaces, and never found a great insert that I wanted to get a second time for the next house.

I have several clients with wood stoves. When i go into their homes, that heat is amazing!!! So I bought one for my current house and learned several lessons. The heat is amazing!!! It doesn't take very much wood to overheat the house. I can't even count how many times I let it get away from me and then have to open the door to the garage to cool off. One load of wood in the canvas carrier is more then enough to heat the house all night. We load it up when we go to bed, close the dampener, and it's all gone in the morning, and the house is comfortable.

When we redo the house, we are not putting in a fireplace. We are going to get a bigger wood stove and set it in the middle of the great room, against the wall where I can have a fire box and load the wood from the outside. This location will provide the best distribution of heat for the entire house. For me, it's all about function first. What works the best instead of something cosmetic that you don't even care about when it's freezing cold outside.

 

[Dadnatron]

I grew up with a wood stove. That was the only heat we had most of my life, and it worked just fine.

This isn't about heat so much as about my life enjoyment. I agree that it can cause havoc with a TV position, but for me, I find the best TB placement for my taste is about 45deg off the fireplace. That way I can enjoy both without any issue with furniture placement. I agree about placing it over a TV. It is too high but even more is the fact that with the fire going, any TV is difficult to watch, in my experience, unless the room is lit up brightly otherwise. I typically enjoy watching a movie in the dark, with only the fire going. And for me, I don't watch much TV in general, although it is a factor which has to be addressed in planning. I wish it did work more to my liking, placed above the fireplace. That would make things much easier to address.

So, with all the strikes against a wood burning fireplace, and there are many. They do not scratch the shine on the positive of my enjoyment of it. I'll pay higher heat, buy firewood, and figure out how to stack and haul it... all with a smile on my face if I know I'll get to enjoy a fire for the rest of my life.

 

[tcreeley]

In cold climates I'd suggest insulated chimneys if you are placing it on an exterior wall - to prevent problems with condensation and creosote. The moisture from the condensation soaks past the tile liner and into the mortar of the blocks. With the freeze cylcle it eventually loosens everything - so that only gravity is holding the chimney upright.

Best to use an interior wall for the chimney run up in cold climates. - There is a reason why chimneys need repointing every few years!

 

[AchingBack]

The only fireplace I'd consider building is the Russian fireplace. http://neo.ne.gov/reports/russian_fireplace.pdf Masonry Stoves, Masonry Heaters and Masonry Fireplaces: Build Your Own.

This fireplace is so efficient, and drastically reduces firewood consumption.

When it comes to hauling firewood: I bought a special tote with large wheels I use to roll my wood up the ramp to the deck where wood is stored in 2-3 day's needs, right outside my front door.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

when I saw Eddie's first post to this thread I honestly thought he was suggesting you get a big hog trained to carry the wood to the stove.

 

[4570Man]

I grew up with a wood stove. That was the only heat we had most of my life, and it worked just fine.

This isn't about heat so much as about my life enjoyment. I agree that it can cause havoc with a TV position, but for me, I find the best TB placement for my taste is about 45deg off the fireplace. That way I can enjoy both without any issue with furniture placement. I agree about placing it over a TV. It is too high but even more is the fact that with the fire going, any TV is difficult to watch, in my experience, unless the room is lit up brightly otherwise. I typically enjoy watching a movie in the dark, with only the fire going. And for me, I don't watch much TV in general, although it is a factor which has to be addressed in planning. I wish it did work more to my liking, placed above the fireplace. That would make things much easier to address.

So, with all the strikes against a wood burning fireplace, and there are many. They do not scratch the shine on the positive of my enjoyment of it. I'll pay higher heat, buy firewood, and figure out how to stack and haul it... all with a smile on my face if I know I'll get to enjoy a fire for the rest of my life.

It’s too hot above my wood stove for a tv. It’s between 160-180 on the ceiling with a hot fire. And it’s too hot to sit in front of the stove for prolonged periods. My stove is the primary heat source so it burns pretty hot on cold days. And I’ve got a high efficiency glass door insert so I get all the benefits of a fireplace without wasting wood. The high efficiency stoves aren’t cheap, but I’m saving the equivalent value of $600 in wood every year over a low efficiency wood stove.