By Sam Kard
 |
| sheddiy.com |
There is nothing quite like a fireplace on a cold and wet winter day. I have
to admit that I have not always felt so warmly towards a fireplace. Now I even
think watching the flicker of the flames is as relaxing as watching the waves
come on shore.
Our house came with a fireplace. I was not tuned in to fireplaces at that
time. Had no idea where to find wood to burn it. Consequently, the fireplace
was not used for a few years.
After we were in our house a couple of years, the wife invited the neighbors
for dinner one night. During the conversation at dinner, the neighbor noticed
the fireplace was clean and free of ashes. He asked why we did not use it, and
I confessed that I did not know where to get wood.
The neighbor suggested I build myself a storage shed for wood, and buy the
wood by the truckloads when the price was down. And he told me where to find a
seller of firewood. He even gave a great set of blueprints for a storage shed.
I got the idea my neighbor really liked a fireplace.
When I checked around, I learned that firewood was plentiful and easy to
find. But I did not believe firewood needed its own shed. I just went out and
bought a load of wood and stacked it up out by the garage.
I was real surprised when the rains and snow came and my wet firewood would
not burn, and even more surprised when some of my wood rotted for lack of
protection from the elements.
Losing the firewood to the elements made me reconsider building a storage
shed for my firewood for the next season. I brought out the set of plans my
neighbor had given me several months earlier, and decided I could build the
shed all by myself.
I took the drawings with me when I went to the lumber yard and asked for an
estimate for the building materials. Actually, I went to more than one lumber
yard with my drawings. I wanted to get the best price possible. I reasoned that
competition should result in a fair price.
The storage shed did not look like much, just three walls and a roof. The
floor was made of cement blocks wrapped in plastic sheathing to keep the ground
moisture off my wood. The blueprint was easy to follow, and the shed was
finished in one day.
In my mind, I questioned how much protection three walls and a roof would
be.
Remembering the lost wood from last winter, I knew some protection from the
elements was better than no protection at all. I would reserve judgment on the
value of a firewood storage shed until later.
Now that the shed complete, I bought another load of wood. My thoughts were
that wood would be cheaper in the summer, and it would be dry and ready to burn
when winter arrived.
At my neighbor's suggestion, I placed the wood in the shed rather loosely.
As I stacked the wood, I placed some mouse poisoning way in the back out of
reach of my dog and other animals that might wander into the yard.
If you have a fireplace, do not let it sit unused like I did. Build yourself
a storage shed for your firewood and buy firewood in the off season. There is
no reason that you could not build the storage shed if you have a good set of
plans.
Plans are worth the price you pay for them because they come with a list of
materials you would need and a sheet telling you what size the boards must be.
Good plans will save you time and money.
It always pays to get prices from more than one place. The prices should be
different, but not so far apart as to make you wonder which company made an
error. Or, if you suspect there is an error, do not hesitate to call it to
someone's attention. Better to do that than being surprised at the cash
register.
Firewood
is not cheap, so having a shed to store the firewood protects your investment,
plus keeps the wood dry and ready to burn. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Source : ezinearticles.com
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