Preparing for winter II

twiglet98

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I also used a combination of wood, coal and paper bricks - if you've access to pallets that's a great start.

Coal prices vary in different areas but certainly if you're wanting to be warm from getting in on a Fri night to leaving on a Mon, the fire would be ideal as once it's lit you should be able to keep it going all weekend (bank it down at night and it will go all night keeping the chill off and be easy to come back to life 1st thing in the morning) - this will be cheaper than using oil for your heating all weekend.

Also have a look out for brick maker, something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Selections-Paper-Log-Maker/dp/B000MLS09K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316891810&sr=8-2 if you don't use a lot of papers yourself, you may be able to get them from work (ours always ended up in the recycling bin so they were happy for us to take them.

I love our open fire (but would love to get a stove with doors).

I get pallets and offcuts of building wood from work, have seasoned wood from trees I have had pollarded or felled, collect dry wood when dog-walking and rarely buy logs. However, the sweep says there is a great deal of tar in the chimney from burning so much softwood and he recommends using a powdered flue cleaner regularly. I have only just ordered some so don't know how much good it will do.

He also says paper briquette makers are only worth trying if there are days and days of hot, dry weather, and there is no point trying to get enough dry, quickly enough, this time of year. RFTA, do you make them all year round? I'm intrigued, I can get plenty of old papers!

NualaBuala

(((((ChirpyChick))))) I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. Sending love and good thoughts to you and your family and praying he recovers well. x

bajangal

tugrin wrote: »

Still terribly worried about the shed roof because try as I might I just havent had the guts to get up there and fix the felt on and now DD isnt around I feel even more worried if someting goes wrong. I think Ill get a tarp and throw it ovr from one side to the other then try to tie it down.
Its about 10 ft high at the apex - its not the hieght so much as ther is nothing to hold on to...!

Tugrin, where in East Anglia are you. If anywhere near me, then I could help you with your shed.

bluebag

chirpychick,

So sorry to hear about your dad, so young to have to cope with such major surgery. Wishing you all well.

angelaloveschocolate

Chirpychick, sorry to hear about your Dad. You all have a long and trying road ahead and I wish him well for a speedy recovery. Hugs. xx

rising_from_the_ashes

Chirpychick, what horrible news, thoughts and prayers with you and your family.:grouphug:

esmf73

Chirpy chick - love to you and your family xxx

rising_from_the_ashes

dawnie1972 wrote: »

Thanks thats really helpful - the paper log maker looks interesting and i can get papers from work (i work on a construction site so there are normally newspapers around). Have posted on freecycle for the ash pan etc but if i have to buy them then so be it. Have looked at the coal prices and locally its £11.50 delivered for a 25kg bag - not sure how long that would last. The good thing is i can stockpile as have two empty out buildings.

The outbuildings will be a great help and keep everything nice and dry.:)

If you're out and about and see some logs you can bring these home for some extra fuel.

As around locally re logs too, there was a guy near us who had loads of woodland and used to sell logs from trees he'd had to fell as part of its' maintenance - I used to get a full (and heaped) 6 x 4 foot trailer of logs for £25 which helped keep the coal costs down too.

twiglet98 wrote: »

He also says paper briquette makers are only worth trying if there are days and days of hot, dry weather, and there is no point trying to get enough dry, quickly enough, this time of year. RFTA, do you make them all year round? I'm intrigued, I can get plenty of old papers!

I used to do a batch of them when I had a load of papers (but like batch cooking:D). In the summer they would dry outside and I'd then store them in one of the outhouses (boiler was in one of them so it was always damp free in there).

In winter, it is a bit more difficult to get them to dry but I used to put them on the hearth once I'd gone to bed at night (when the fire was banked down and the guard was up) and the heat from the tiles dried them out fairly quickly. HTH

toottifrootti

bluebag wrote: »

toottifrootti,
it is awful when it gets that cold, I try to be frugal with the heat most of the time so I can have a little extra when it gets seriously cold.

I find a soft cuddly fleece blanket with a hot water bottle underneath it helps. I also light some nice warm coloured candles. I buy the wintery spicey ones whenever they come on special offer.

Being sensible is very boring I agree, but I'm still an adventurous lunatic in my head![/QUOTE]Love it :rotfl:
bluebag thanks and yes i have the snuggly throws and the hot water bottle - i think its the image/thought of a fire or woodburner that makes you think it will be warmer if that makes sense.

chirpychick I so very sorry to hear about your Dad - thats very young to be dealing with such a major trauma but his youth will aid his recovery as he should be stronger IYSWIM - I am sure his determination to get on with his life will help him back on the road to recovery. i do hope the waiting time comes down as it will be a source of worry until it happens.

we live penny to penny now and im using this to get in real control and "grow up" and get real and im a bit sad we didnt finish all our winter prep as im sure we could have made many more savings on our gas and electricity but visiting dad and having some comforts this past couple of weeks has been more important in terms of the here and now.

Its amazing what something like this does to your way of thinking and way of life - i can fully understand what you mean about 'growing up and get real' - have been there - I am a lot older than you when you got my wake up call but you are right to be spending time now and thinking how you will manage when he is recovering - my thoughts are with you and your family.

toots x

tryingtobethrifty

Chipps wrote: »

Hi, I have just asked my DH about this, as he is a window engineer. He suggested the problem might be to do with one of the hinges, as it is quite unusual for a window to bow.
He did ask where you live, but I think it would be a bit of a trek!:D

Thanks, dh is working til 9pm tonight but I'll get him to have a look at it when he comes home. Do you think the hinges might just need tightened/adjusted? I checked google maps, it would take 7 and half hours to get here from Essex - don't think he'd appreciate that drive to tighten a screw :rotfl:This is such a nice and helpful forum, wouldn't it be nice if we all lived close by.

Chirpychick - sorry to hear about your dad. Hoping that the next 9 months you all get to have great family time together, then your dads operation and recovery goes well. Sounds like he has a great daughter!