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Just about the time they want to do everything they really want to do...they are moving so slow that they head to those beautiful retirement communities and let some developer take over the homestead. Sad
Yup. I was in on the development of some of those retirement communities. It was that experience that sharpened my insistence to go, GO, do it NOW, before I ended up like 'those people', unhappy, dissolute, driving a golf cart around some artificial lake on my way to an artificially-crafted swimming hole or a multimilliondollar entertainment and exercise center. NO ONE is going to tell me how big my garden, or noisy my tractor or roosters can be. My Dad had two more years to go til his retirement, and had planned it all out, when he had his stroke and ended up being taken care of for the last 12 years of his life. NOT ME. As long as I have life and limbs that operate on a fairly regular basis, I'll make 'em do the work they were made for. Which doesn't include group aerobics or Synchronized Swimming for the Over Sixty!
I know a bit about kilns FBK...I do a lot of woodworking (as a hobby) so I built a solar wood kiln to help dry my wood. We have a sawmill so drying lumber is a requirement and not a luxury. It works pretty well.
I am not sure what a kiln would do for firewood. When you leave the bark on and try to dry lumber that is in the round and unsplit, it takes a fair amount of time to dry. I even question some of the claims of seasoned firewood that is tree length. I have sawn 2 year old SOFTWOOD logs into lumber before and they were pretty green from sitting in log lengths in a pile. I personally feel to get wood dry, you have to cut the wood upto lessthan 2 foot length and crack the heart openand allow the wind and sun to dry it.
My Dad wants to build two hoop barns and fill each one with 20 cords of firewood. That way the sun will help warm the wood and let us cut it up without being hiney-deep in snow. By cutting one barn every year, we should always have relatively dry wood. That was the issue with his last outdoor wood stove, he went through a lot of wood, but he cut junk wood (softwood, popil, etc) instead of using seasoned hardwood. I think that was a mistake.
Sure, but your hoop barn can also do double duty as a sheep barn, veggie garden, or snowmobile barn. You just either have to make it bigger or not fill it with as much wood!
Sure, but your hoop barn can also do double duty as a sheep barn, veggie garden, or snowmobile barn. You just either have to make it bigger or not fill it with as much wood!
We already decided to use them for chicken coops, goat pens, and hog pens, next winter.
Are you using black plastic pipe for the hoop? If so what diameter size pipe?
I have an endless supply of pallets, so I experimented making a pen from pallets and then adding the hoop greenhouse top. It wintered fine. And we are now thinking to make them for all of our critters.
We already decided to use them for chicken coops, goat pens, and hog pens, next winter.
Are you using black plastic pipe for the hoop? If so what diameter size pipe?
I have an endless supply of pallets, so I experimented making a pen from pallets and then adding the hoop greenhouse top. It wintered fine. And we are now thinking to make them for all of our critters.
No, I'll be using framing lumber. Not trying to be snide here, its just that we got plenty of trees, a sawmill and equipment to make standing trees into beautiful lumber. I think it would be more rugged which would withstand the wind we get on this @#$%%&* hill!
If I was you, I might think about wheels though. Rather then have two hoop barns, maybe you could use one. This is what I want to do but my Dad thinks 2 would be required. I think he is wrong as I think it would be easier to make a pile of firewood then PUT the portable barn over the pile, rather then his idea of moving wood INTO the structure. You really don't need a hoop barn over a pile of wood until you are working it up. I do admit though that 2years of hoop barn life would dry out the firewood better.
PS: I am a big believer in hoop barns. We got one for the dairy farm that is 80 feet by 150 feet and I'm pretty sure you can see it from space. So far...no problems.
I deeply fear hoop houses. My first greenhouse was ripped to shreds after two years; that was in a moderate climate and with no high winds.
Here, we have sustained 'breezes' of 15-25 mph most of the time. "High" sustained winds of 50+ mph. Between that and the vast differentiations in temperature (-40 to 100 deg) I tremble to think where my hoop house might end up. We wouldn't even buy the 'new' inflatable Christmas yard decorations, because we could just imagine the trauma of some poor child waking up on Christmas morning, 20 miles downwind of us, with a huge grinning Santa face plastered to his bedroom window!
Anchoring things here in wind takes a lot of thought and effort. One riiiiip in a sunbleached or temperature-change-affected sheet, and it's over. What do you guys recommend for longevity and resistance?
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