Storing Firewood in Basement

[buckeyefarmer]

I have a combination wood and coal stove. I have 3 tons of coal stockpiled in the basement (in bags) already. I was thinking about storing 2 or 3 cords of firewood in the basement too. Would bugs be a problem if I do that, I am thinking it could be there 3 or 4 years. I suppose the reason is that I am 67 and in the event of a health problem I could heat for a while without doing much work. Does anybody do this?

My dad would keep over a cord in his basement. Was never a big issue.

 

[shooterdon]

Getting old makes us realize planning is more important. Heating with wood is vey cost effective but labor intensive.

Look at the whole process

Handling logs/rounds
The splitting operation
Storage
Retrieval operation to get wood to the stove/insert

Mechanize what you can
Avoid bending and picking things up.
Maintain a minimum two year supply
Have a back up way to heat.

 

[Oldpath05]

I make sure all hollow wood gets split, if any ants in the wood it stays out. I put mine in , in Oct it's just about all gone come June. Firewood should last in the basement just fine for a very long time if in the summer months a dehumidifier is being used, after all there is already wood in everyone's basement anyways.

 

[kco]

You have a picture and/or more details about that hand truck? I can't find any that are less than $2k US...

Here's a link to the Princess Auto data:

88 lb 24V Electric Flat Cart | Princess Auto

The manuals are available online. Let me know if you want more information.

 

[dnw64]

Heating with wood is vey cost effective but labor intensive.

Which means that it's REALLY only cost effective if you count the value of your labor as really low.

Now, if you ENJOY doing it, it's cheap entertainment, but if not, can't you find something that pays a bit more? Second job, small home business, etc? If there's something I don't enjoy doing I count my time as worth $200/hr. If it's "OK", can take it or leave it, $100/hr. If I enjoy it, or just don't like dealing with the alternative*, I'll just do it.

*for instance, from a time standpoint I'd rather pay someone to clear my driveway. It takes me about an hour all-in, and I would classify it as "OK", so that means if I could pay less than $100 I should. The local guy charges about $40 IIRC. BUT:

• Are they going to do it WHEN I want it done?
• Are they going to plow up sod/plants/irrigation that I need to fix in spring?
• Are they going to clean it up as well as I would, or will I have to go out there and do a bunch of handwork anyways?

So I do it myself.

 

[Mike68]

Which means that it's REALLY only cost effective if you count the value of your labor as really low.

Now, if you ENJOY doing it, it's cheap entertainment, but if not, can't you find something that pays a bit more? Second job, small home business, etc? If there's something I don't enjoy doing I count my time as worth $200/hr. If it's "OK", can take it or leave it, $100/hr. If I enjoy it, or just don't like dealing with the alternative*, I'll just do it.

*for instance, from a time standpoint I'd rather pay someone to clear my driveway. It takes me about an hour all-in, and I would classify it as "OK", so that means if I could pay less than $100 I should. The local guy charges about $40 IIRC. BUT:

• Are they going to do it WHEN I want it done?
• Are they going to plow up sod/plants/irrigation that I need to fix in spring?
• Are they going to clean it up as well as I would, or will I have to go out there and do a bunch of handwork anyways?

So I do it myself.

I am always interested in comments like this. Basically my time is more valuable argument. So are you stating that instead of doing Task A you can pay someone X dollars an hour to do it and then use that time to go out and earn X+ dollars per hour to pay for it?

That may work for certain trades like an electrician who can get side work for 2X/hour. But for someone on Salary where more work hours does not equal more money in the paycheck.

I have a friend who is a carpenter and uses that argument all the time. He bought a small 1 garage from one of these shed companies. He argued that when factoring in materials and his time it was cheaper to pay for it. The only problem with that argument is that at the time he was out of work (lack of work) and would sit on *** all day watching TV and then ***** he had no money.

So when I look at it my time is only worth...

1. What someone is willing to pay me above and beyond my normal salary. I haven’t found a part time job yet where I can earn $200 or even $100 dollars an hour.

2. What I am willing to pay to not do it based on how long it would take me versus if I believe I am getting a fair price. For example my plow guy can do my driveway in 15 minutes for $50 or I can spend 2.5 hours with the snow blower or an hour with the bucket on my CUT. But that doesn’t mean if my time is worth $100 per hour that I would be willing to pay the plow guy $250 for the job and it’s a break even.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I just paid $250 for an oil change on my 6.6. That and change front Def Fluid. Even had a 25.00 X-MAS coupon and still that much. Stood there wonering if I SHOULD be doing it myself. Not something I want to do, but $250.00??? They were even nice enough to top up my washer fluid and charge me an extra couple of bucks.

 

[Oldpath05]

I enjoy cutting my own firewood at this time of year so I pay myself $10.00/hr. However come Oct I dont enjoy cutting it up then stacking the cut-up wood in my cellar so I'll hire someone for $12.00/hr to help, Christmas bonus will also be factored in.....

 

[Industrial Toys]

You can't find anyone to work like that here anymore. And if you do, better hope they don't hurt themselves.

 

[Oldpath05]

The only cheap labor I can afford are my two sons....... New Stihl 261MS - YouTube

 

[TnAndy]

You can't find anyone to work like that here anymore. And if you do, better hope they don't hurt themselves.

Amen to that. Too easy to get money from govt sources to bother working much.

 

[TnAndy]

I just paid $250 for an oil change on my 6.6. That and change front Def Fluid. Even had a 25.00 X-MAS coupon and still that much. Stood there wonering if I SHOULD be doing it myself. Not something I want to do, but $250.00??? They were even nice enough to top up my washer fluid and charge me an extra couple of bucks.

Why I put a 'grease pit' in my shop floor 25 years ago when building it. I can change mine in 15 minutes for the cost of oil/filters/etc. My guess is I've saved enough in simple maintenance over the years to about pay for the whole shop building.

 

[dnw64]

I am always interested in comments like this. Basically my time is more valuable argument. So are you stating that instead of doing Task A you can pay someone X dollars an hour to do it and then use that time to go out and earn X+ dollars per hour to pay for it?

Nope.

I earn enough money already. It's entirely a philosophical question for me.

OTOH, I do own a business, and every dollar of profit earned by it gets imputed to me (whether I take it or not), and therefore I pay taxes on it (whether I see it or not). So if I spend an extra 10 hours on a marketing plan that nets an extra half mil, I would definitely consider that time well spent compared to sweating under the brutal sun brush hogging the back 20, when I could have paid someone $2500 to do the same.