Finally a little bit of a bonus from all the local expansion I been dealing with. One of my neighbors that has been here for decades has always owned a log home business. For as long as I remember they have had a farm about a quarter mile down the road plus a good amount of land across the road as well they used to plant something in each year or occasionally they let their fairly sizeable herd out on it too.
Years back they fenced off a few acres and began storing some of their lumber there under or in some pole barns too but that was long before this recent building craziness. Actually it was long before the last building craziness back in 06 and 07 before the last crash truth be told. They had a huge lumber mill and yard about five or six miles away as well but have since downsized their business there but expanded their yard and mill here.
The Bonus?
Guess who now sells pretty reasonably priced massive end cuts of lumber? Close enough I could just take one of my tractors and a trailer over if I wanted to? That is simply huge for me and basically alleviates my lack of trees problem a bit for now anyway. Not just cuts of Lumber grade Pine either but huge beams of Redwoods and such. I remember a few years back one em telling me most of their business went to Europe or Asia/Japan and it was all North American hardwood cuts. They had some pretty high dollar homes they were selling but not around here. The lumber and such was cut to size and stored locally though.
Not saying it would be a sustainable source in a collapse situation but it will be HUGE for me at the moment with my pitiful, small wood lot as other sources dry up from the area.
Now I just have to hope the secret doesn't get out and the ravaging hordes start buying it all up faster than they can cut it. Of course fireplaces and woodstoves seem to be rare in all these new houses I see going up. I went over and got a truck load this afternoon to tide me over until I can get these trees I have down cut and split after this latest Arctic Blast they been reporting hits us this weekend.
Hell at these prices and convenience I can probably managed to kick on my furnace when it gets really cold too. At least until all the new imports give up and abandon these houses anyway :)
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
That's fantastic news! What a blessing. Hopefully, you can stash away quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteLeigh - Ya they had a pretty large amount most of which was either smaller chunks or large pieces that need splitting. I think that will help as anyone after wood would either find it too small or too large and need to split it. On my end I can use BOTH!!! Like I said if deliveries cease won't help me much as they won't get more wood in to cut but until that happens happy days for me!!!
DeleteHave you looked at rocket mass heaters? Pretty impressive and cheap if you're willing to do the dirty work. I'm looking at plans and thing very seriously about "Just DO it" and worry about "Permission" later.
ReplyDeleteRocket mass heaters can be found at Permies.com and plenty others.
ReplyDeleteMain factors are supporting the weight were talking ton+ a basement concrete floor, eh? Access to a chimney if you're trying to stay "Safe" but a homemade one works given after it heats the mass the exhaust gasses, mostly water vapor at around 140 degrees. Nothing like the potential red hot "normal" wood stove stovepipe. Clay mud, some fire bricks, straw or animal dung to mix up with clay for cob and a 55 gallon steel barrel (The reburning chamber where the smoke gets burned super-hot before going into the mass)
Can you cook on an RMH? Some folks do tea pots and such on top of the barrel. Some adjust the mass and exhaust pipes to make an earthen style Bread Oven. That's my plan. Earthen ovens in wood burning age were both the bread makers and Afterwords housewives would put bean pots and stews in there to slow cook.
Back when an axe, a handsaw and hand carts hauled firewood they got all the use they could out of that hard work. Coppice is worth researching friend. Firewood without killing off that tree.
Michael - I have seen em used outdoors not sure I could incorporate one into my basement truth is though with my drainage issues the county has caused me I am hoping before long we can build out final slab home retired place but we thought that almost 3 years ago now and every contractor laughed at us even with cash in hand and told us it would be 2 years at the soonest to get to us. That might change after this Winter though eh?
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