The Woodpile

We got a couple of questions after the Staying Warm post about how we handle wood storage. One of the big benefits of fuel oil is it’s energy-dense, so it doesn’t take up as much physical space as several cords of wood. But, hey, we live in Maine and extra space isn’t really a problem. The bigger issue is making sure it stays dry.

The current solution is one we inherited from the prior owners of this house, and it’s admittedly ugly:

Welcome to my collection of ratty tarps and damaged palates

This is where the wood lives most of the time. However, the Maine State constitution requires anyone burning wood must move it at least three times before it hits the stove, so once a month we reload our basement:

When it gets to this level, it’s time to reload.
Peeling back the many, many tarps
Plywood sheeting makes a handy slide to get the wood down into the basement with minimal effort.
About half an hour, with two people. This should last 3 – 4 weeks, depending on how hard we’re running the stove.
The process produces enough kindling to start a couple of fires.

I can’t fathom there are any other questions about this, but let us know.

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