3 minute read
WOODSTOVE LIFE
Woodstove Life
People are turning towards the traditional comfort of wood stoves to heat their homes and hearts.
BY NICOLA RYAN
Last year changed everything.
Unprecedented weather events and a global pandemic forced us to slow down and stick close to home. Many of us are now feeling the urge to make our homes as comforting as possible. And what’s more comforting than the cosy, quiet crackle of a woodstove?
Often found in cabins and outport kitchens, now even city dwellers are having woodstoves installed. Almost any home can have a woodstove, and installation is fairly straightforward. A professional contractor could likely do the job in less than a day, and there are a wide range of styles, sizes and price points to choose from.
Duncan and Katie Major and their young family own a home in the city. They had been dreaming of one day owning a cabin and had been saving their money carefully. “But then came Snowmaggedon,” Katie says, noting that their home has no secondary sources of power or heat if bad weather caused power outages.
Then came the pandemic. The prospect of an extended period of staying at home encouraged the couple to re-evaluate their plans.
So Duncan and Katie got rid of the house’s inoperative propane fireplace and replaced it with a wood-burning stove and a custom-built tile surround.
A professional contractor should always do the installation, and a woodstove needs a proper chimney and a safely designed indoor area.
Usually the stove should be on some hard surface like tile. Interior design and renovation services can offer advice on the design of the hearth to complement your home’s style and aesthetic. In the pandemic’s middle days this summer, the Residential Construction Rebate offered by the provincial government kept contractors and designers flat-out busy with projects for months.
Along with a timeless look that can be customized to suit any style, woodstoves create lovely, reassuring heat. An oil furnace or propane fireplace may warm the body, but a wood fire warms the spirit. Wind warnings and freezing rain forecasts will seem less intimidating next to the cosy crackle of the kindling. You’ll also experience the warmth radiating from the metal, the glass and the firebricks inside. Using a stove that is in compliance with Canadian Standards will ensure your stove burns wood efficiently and safely. And you’ll also have the security of knowing you’ll have a way to boil the kettle when the next record-breaking snowstorm knocks the power out. With Newfoundland and Labrador’s harsh winters and history of unreliable electricity, having an alternative source of heat is a great idea.
These unusual times have unsettled our routines. Periods of stress can distort our perception of time, and the emotions we feel contribute to how fast or slow time seems to pass.
Having a routine to guide you through your days will bring mental and physical benefits. There’s something reassuring about the ritual of tending to the woodstove. The tasks of chopping wood and filling the woodbox are enjoyable ways to relax and move around. “We love chopping the wood and stacking the wood outdoors,” Katie says. The fresh scents of spruce and birch are reminders of our connection with the natural world.
Wood has to be properly dried out, or seasoned, to remove as much moisture content as possible before being burned in a wood stove. Store wood in a dry, sunny place with plenty of air circulation. Spring is usually the time to start thinking about seasoned firewood, as it takes about six months to reach ideal dryness to burn efficiently.
You can season the wood yourself, or purchase it chopped up in manageable pieces. And any leftover ash is a valuable source of nutrients for the garden and can be mixed in with the compost. With electricity rates predicted to double once Muskrat Falls comes on line, more than likely the cost of wood would be much lower than your monthly power bills.
Wood burning stoves are an investment – financially, yes, but also in the atmosphere and feeling evoked in your home. A woodstove can quickly become the heart of a home, a comforting presence in uncertain times.
“You have to make your home your castle,” Katie says. And with a reassuring woodstove, if you’re stuck in the house, at least you’ll want to be there.
