A reader posted the following: "Does anyone have a recommendation for a wood burning stove that would insert into an existing fireplace? We have been wanting one but never owned or used one before. Thank you!"
I have no knowledge of fireplace inserts. Please pitch in with your expertise and help this reader.
Last week, Older Daughter and I made our semi-annual epic journey to our old wood distributor in Hayden (Idaho) to pick up lumber for the woodcraft business. We pulled along the little 4x8 trailer since we anticipated a large purchase.
Older Daughter has been saving her money for just such a purchase. It's her business now, and she needed wood. She set herself a generous budget.
What a beautiful selection they had! She spent two hours deciding, considering, and otherwise choosing her inventory with utmost professionalism. She weighed price against availability, considered what woods she already had, and gauged the boards for cracks and knots that might impact the final product. (I'm so proud, sniff.)
Naturally, the day we chose for the trip was rainy. In fact, it rained from start to finish. In anticipation of this, we brought two stout tarps and a bunch of rope. Before loading the wood in the trailer, I laid out first some rope, then the tarps, and then finally the wood.
The end result was a big wooden burrito.
The "shorts" were loaded into the back of the car.
It made for a ponderous load on the drive back, but the car was a trouper and chugged along beautifully. I'm guessing all that wood was somewhere in the range of 1,000+ pounds, so it was no light load.
Older Daughter now has enough wood to last her through multiple production runs. With luck we won't have to get more until late next spring or early next summer.
As with every other do-it-yourself-er in the nation, we've been coveting lumber. We have endless building projects we want to accomplish here in our new home, and it all circles back to obtaining the lumber necessary to make it happen.
But as everyone knows, the price of lumber has skyrocketed. Here's a graph charting the rising prices:
So when Don found a stack of 2x6s at a local hardware store – apparently forgotten in a back lot – he jumped at the chance to buy them. Altogether he found 78 boards!
These aren't just any 2x6s, though. These babies are 18 feet long. As a friend put it, "I didn’t even think they made 18-foot lumber any
more!"
Even better, these 2x6x18s were being sold at 2019 prices for No. 2-grade quality. Here it is 2021 and, as Don learned, they're actually No. 1-grade quality. Score!
To bring this lumber home,we pressed our 26-foot box truck (purchased as a "middle finger" to U-Haul) into service. The hardware store guys were able to load the lumber into the truck using forklifts, and we brought the boards home.
The wood was a bit damp,but nothing that wouldn't dry out. We put three pallets on the ground and slid the lumber out of the truck piece by piece.
We used "stickers" (thin slats of wood) between each layer to let air circulate and dry the wood.
Since the wood is stacked in the driveway, Don speculated it would become an item of envy among the local neighborhood men – "construction porn," as he called it.
Let the projects begin.
