Too Much of a Good Thing
Nov. 15th, 2018 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeThe new porch-deck wood box holds more wood than the old box does. Too much, in fact. After filling it up with what I worked out to be something close to a week's supply of wood depending on how cold it is, I noticed a few days later than the porch beams were sagging relative to their neighbors. I stopped refilling the box, ran down the supply, and when the box was light enough to do so, moved it slightly so as to spread the load over more boards. Furthermore, we'll not put so many pieces in the box until Lisa has an opportunity to go down underneath and reinforce the area under the wood box with more vertical beams.
One of the reasons this is happening is that those energy logs are very dense and stack very tightly. Consequently, they weigh a lot more than the equivalent cube of cord-wood would weigh. They also burn more efficiently, leaving very little ash, so it all evens out. We really only need to keep about one day's supply near the front door. I can always go get more wood from the main box (or the reserve supply in the garage) during daylight hours.
One of the biggest reasons for keeping a supply close to the door is to make it easier to get wood for the fire late at night. A few nights ago, I woke at about 1:30 AM and stepped out onto the porch to grab a couple of logs to put on the fire. Just before doing so, I almost reset the front door lock, but even in my sleep-addled brain I realized that having the door slam shut and locked behind me with the temperature at about -8°C and me in pajamas, robe, and slippers would have been a really bad idea. Lisa would have rescued me, but it still wouldn't have been much fun.
One of the reasons this is happening is that those energy logs are very dense and stack very tightly. Consequently, they weigh a lot more than the equivalent cube of cord-wood would weigh. They also burn more efficiently, leaving very little ash, so it all evens out. We really only need to keep about one day's supply near the front door. I can always go get more wood from the main box (or the reserve supply in the garage) during daylight hours.
One of the biggest reasons for keeping a supply close to the door is to make it easier to get wood for the fire late at night. A few nights ago, I woke at about 1:30 AM and stepped out onto the porch to grab a couple of logs to put on the fire. Just before doing so, I almost reset the front door lock, but even in my sleep-addled brain I realized that having the door slam shut and locked behind me with the temperature at about -8°C and me in pajamas, robe, and slippers would have been a really bad idea. Lisa would have rescued me, but it still wouldn't have been much fun.
