Firewood

[Guest]

Oh...I have been burning Pine and Eucalyptus foyears and years.......Have checked Chimney for any residue and it is just normal and Dry.....have I missed something..........????

[cowboy]

Oh...I have been burning Pine and Eucalyptus foyears and years.......Have checked Chimney for any residue and it is just normal and Dry.....have I missed something..........????

Not sure.......how long did the pine dry before you used it?

You checked the chimmey from top to bottom?

Do you clean the chimmey regulary?

How often do you use the fireplace?

[elle]

Agree with you Ellie - golden leylandii if trimmed regularly can be beautiful and a home for the birds....but they shouldnt be allowed in the suburbs or on housing estates. These trees cause lots of problems with drains and foundations of houses because a lot of people cant be bothered to trim them...not to mention blocking out light for neighbours who have to suffer these things.
I'm afraid I would love to get a chainsaw to them and would relish a bonfire.

I hate having to cut down a tree..in fact I don't believe Ive ever have done that.
A year or so ago one of my Golden Hornet CRabs looked quite sick/dying..H pulled it up and threw it in corner ready for incinerator..but..
When he went out..I took it..cleaned up the roots dug a hole near the bottom hedge..re-planted crab adding some multi purpose comp. watered it......tydied the branches..and
nearly 2 years on...voila !..I have a beautiful crab apple tree!
sorry fellas....encroaching on your 'firewood' topic!..apologies,got carried away

[Guest]

Pine ..has been dead for about a year........(I would never cut down a growing Tree Elle)...........After the fires here we all have thousands of half burnt dead Pine (Offered by many land owners FOC ...why pay..) .....is it OK to burn in our foire places...what about Eucalyptus....And finally what sort of wood is it I'm buying at the roadside here in the Algarve......

[cowboy]

Pine ..has been dead for about a year........(I would never cut down a growing Tree Elle)...........After the fires here we all have thousands of half burnt dead Pine (Offered by many land owners FOC ...why pay..) .....is it OK to burn in our foire places



Seems Ok, if the flue remains clean and dry......the pine has dried for a year, and/or has been dried by fire...the sap has dried out either way it seems.




..what about Eucalyptus...


Not sure about Eucalyptus, but I would think you'ed treat it the same as Pine, only more so.



And finally what sort of wood is it I'm buying at the roadside here in the Algarve......

Good question....is it "dried" wood, or "cut' wood? ("cut" wood is fresh and has more sap...and sap is the problem in a foire place)

[cowboy]

There is another way to tell.....pick a heavy piece of wood off the pile, and drop it from waist hight onto a hard surface...if it lands with a solid "thud"...it's wet wood. Dry wood has a "lighter" sound.

(You can try this for yourself, but mind your toes)

[Guest]

There is another way to tell.....pick a heavy piece of wood off the pile, and drop it from waist hight onto a hard surface...if it lands with a solid "thud"...it's wet wood. Dry wood has a "lighter" sound.

(You can try this for yourself, but mind your toes)

OUCH

Damm...I didn't read the last sentence

[cowboy]

They never do.

[norbri]

Well folks, what a response I have had after adding my comments to the firewood thread. Let me reply as best I can.
Cowboy;
Lint is good, so is the cotton wool in the first aid pack. Just don't try using those cotton balls ladies take make up off with, a lot of them seem to be treated with fire retardant for safety in the home.

Ellie
I said I "processed" the remains of the tree thru the Chimenea, I did not say I chopped it down, mother nature did that with gale force winds applied against an unstable tree. If I may add a little further info, the tree was actually in my neighbours garden , tight against the fence, and it fell to my garden, showing no regard for the fence. When the weather cleared ,myself and neighbours set to with garden clearance and repair followed by barbie and beer,,,,,,,,,oh and a Chimenea burn of course.
My neighbour has the problem that their garden was planted sometime in the mid sixties, by a previous owner, with no less than 43 of these fast growing evergreens placed around a perimeter of 56 metres with the closest trees being only 3 metres from the rear elevations of the properties. As I said, they are tight on the boundary and in sections invade my garden by over 3 metres linear measure ? In Autumn the garden is cast into shadow from 11am onward. They unfortunately were never maintained by the planter or subsequent tenants and it is only by joint efforts that they have been brought under some control. Even ones that were "topped" to a height of 4 metres around eight years ago are again at around 9 metres height.
The tallest, toward the end of the garden prevails at 12 metres again regardless of pruning topping out 6 years ago. It has been necessary to completely remove 6 trees due to drains interference and storm damage.
A selection of large shrubs are now becoming a haven for birds along with a small section of hedgerow that has been created by planting and constantly trimming/shaping what was 2 spindly little Cypresses saplings
that are now some 3 metre length,1.6metre high and around 750mm deep. Last year no less than three nests were seen to be active in there.
The gardens are, as always, a work in progress and gradually we hope to create a thriving hedge in place of the ill conceived plantings of earlier
owners of the houses.
As for scaring away the wild life ,well, recent census,,,,,,,,,2 regular wood
pigeons feed and preen in the garden, 4 collared doves were reduced recently to three by the actions of a hungry Kestrel, Blue Tits, Green Finches,Blackbirds, Songthrush, Starlings, numerous Sparrows, a Wren, a Chaffinch and a large green Parrot, [lost I guess] are all seen.
Ground and water creature include, 2 squirrels, hedgehogs, a Fox on occasions, frogs Toads and last summer even 2 newts found curled up under a large flat stone...................................................There, that paints a different picture for those who saw our beloved garden as a devestated, lifeless expanse of slash and burn.

Guest;
How right you are, built up areas/residential estates are not the place for this troublesome tree. Many folk who planted them sadly had little or no idea of the problems that would follow.

eco/spider
No I do not work in any form of financial institution, I am exposed to some very unpleasant individuals during my working day and have been abused both physically and verbally, usually with rather more colourful terms than your hidden inference. No I ain't "old bill" I just have to work with challenging people, so does my wife, and that is why we treasure the garden. Yes, I do enjoy cremating the remains of deceased trees. If you recall that is where this thread commenced, or had you not realised that that is where fire wood comes from ?

Last to Cowboy
I think you did say earlier that folks do not read the last sentence.

In conclusion, I have said my piece, I have not set out to blackguard or condemn any one, if I have then sorry but you have to live with it.
Any persons wishing to discuss the above in a friendly manner over a glass or two may find me loitering at a table of Colombo's {weather permitting} sometime between 25 Feb and 3 Mar.
We are easy to recognise, we usually have a sack of fresh cut branches laying by the table.

ps. sorry about all the [size] things I was trying to put name headings in larger print and made a hash of it.

[Guest]

Can we call you Woody? Norbri Everything you said is right-the leylandii cause serious problems with cracked drains etc. - people won't be happy when their houses are subsiding
My parents neighbours had a fun weekend doing the same cutting down of leylandii-never heard so much swearing from one woman who had to hold the rope attached to tree while husband up ladder chainsawed about twenty foot off tree which previous owners had never trimmed properly. They were blocking out sunshine to gardens and stopping good trees from growing properly-now silver birch and copper beeches are thriving, shrubs are growing really well and the white collared doves are all nesting 3 times a year on the satellite dish brackets on 3 neighbouring houses-just got to get rid of the pesky cats when the baby doves and blue tits fly the nests
pammie

[norbri]

Hello Pammie,
until very recently we also had a very elderly cat who would sleep on the
garden chair while the blackbirds sneaked in behind him to pinch the grub he had not finished. Not all cats are bird chasers, apart from only having 3 teeth I think he also lacked the "hunting" gene.

[cowboy]

Norbri Wrote:

Cowboy;
Lint is good, so is the cotton wool in the first aid pack. Just don't try using those cotton balls ladies take make up off with, a lot of them seem to be treated with fire retardant for safety in the home.

Thanks for the tip Norbri, but I would never ask a lady for her balls.

Last to Cowboy
I think you did say earlier that folks do not read the last sentence.

That I did, that I did.

ps. sorry about all the [size] things I was trying to put name headings in larger print and made a hash of it.

No worries, mate.

[cowboy]

Eco/spider... in Texas we would NEVER cremate wood. We give each and every tree a decent Christian burial.
(especially mesquite)

[Gambrinus]

Regarding the firm in Vale do Milho, it is called João Carlos Gernadeiro, and I agree that it is a lot better than most of the others.

[Guest]

Just to let you know , I think the old guys on the right as you leave CVO are great , maybe I am being spoilt or maybe its because I attempt to speak their own language to them. But they overfilled my carboot the other week for 20 euros. They tease and talk to my son , and speak to him in portugueese , so that he gets practise , and are basically really nice to my family. Even if your wood is cheaper , I still prefer to support the local portugueese , if we all go to these big buisness , then the locals would lose. I am sure I am not the only one who prefers the good old fashioned personal buisness as opposed to the supermarkets , this is where it starts.
M