Firewood for own needs

Harvesting firewood for their own needs is a vital necessity for residents whose homes have stove heating. Firewood is also needed for heating the bath. The amount of fuel will depend on the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe premises and the climatic features of the region of residence. You can buy firewood from sellers, but it’s no secret that the price from the producers often bites. Harvesting firewood on your own will cost much less and will not hit the family budget too hard. Experienced people know which trees to harvest and when to harvest. But the preparation of firewood for one’s own needs must meet the requirements of the law. In the article we will try to consider all issues, including legal ones.

When is the best time to go to the forest?

The question of when it is better to harvest firewood for one’s own needs is not so idle, because without it one cannot survive in the village in winter. In fact, at any time of the year. But according to tradition, such work is left for late autumn or winter. The fact is that in the old days the peasant did not have the opportunity to harvest firewood in spring or summer. At this time, he was busy in the fields, and then in the mowing. The reason for the winter harvesting of firewood is not only the seasonal work of the peasants. Our ancestors were observant people and always tried to live according to the laws of nature. Why was wood harvesting carried out in the cold season:

1. Firstly, with the onset of cold weather, the trees go into a dormant stage, the juice stops circulating. It is for this reason that trees harvested in winter contain less moisture.
2. Secondly, at the beginning of winter, when firewood is harvested, there are no leaves left on the trees, and this greatly facilitates the work. And it is much easier to observe safety precautions in a transparent forest.
3. Firewood harvested in winter for their own needs freezes, when splitting, you need to make less effort, the poles turn out to be even.
4. They store firewood in winter for their own needs also because during the spring and summer, by the beginning of the heating season, they dry well. But raw logs not only burn badly, as the people say, “shake”, but they also do not provide heat.

Legal Issues

A good owner knows how many stoves he has to heat in the cold season. He will not forget about the bathhouse, which is heated once or twice a week. It is necessary to harvest firewood with a margin, because winter does not fall on winter, no one can say what temperatures to expect next year.

1. After we figured out the cubic meters, it is necessary to resolve the issue with the forestry, because unauthorized cutting of firewood is prohibited by law. It is better to do everything according to the rules than to pay fines later. You can find out how to calculate how many cubes you need for the winter in our article.
2. In the forestry, an agreement is drawn up on the harvesting of firewood for their own needs, and the amount of wood will correspond to the standards established in each region. Having received a contract in your hands (it must be paid for), you leave with a forester to allocate a plot.
3. Harvesting firewood for own needs involves selective felling. These are dead or wind-blown trees, as well as those damaged by pests. In the latter case, clear-cutting is sometimes carried out in order to replace the forest with new plantations in the spring. Unauthorized harvesting and removal of windbreak without permits is prohibited.
4. The forestry representative at the site will mark the trees to be felled with paint or make chisels with an axe. Private traders are given a certain time to harvest fuel, during which they need to cut, cut and take firewood out of the forest.

Free of charge for your own needs (but permission for logging should be on hand) you can harvest thinner or brushwood, as well as collect leftovers from logging trees on the plots, because they litter the forest, cause diseases, and are also an excellent “help” for forest fires. Unfortunately, in some regions, residents cannot decide for themselves when it is better to procure fuel for their own needs, since forestries begin to issue wood tickets only after receiving an order from Moscow.

Stages of preparing firewood for your own needs

So, you have decided on the question of when to harvest firewood, signed an agreement with the forestry. Now you have a long and difficult job of harvesting firewood in the forest. Lumberjacks divide it into three stages

The first stage – felling trees

Having prepared the necessary tools, and this is a saw, spare parts for it, an ax, you leave for your allotment. Today, few people use a bow (hand) saw. Most often, chainsaws of various brands are taken to the forest for felling trees. The first stage is tree felling. The file is first made on the side where the tree will fall. Then go to the other side of the wood and saw through the tree deep into. It is desirable to work on the cutting area together to control the movement of the wood, using a special puff.

The second stage is the twisting of the tree

After the tree has fallen, it is necessary to cut off the branches. This procedure can be performed with both a saw and an ax, depending on the size of the wood.

The branches are pulled aside and begin to twist the timber: sawing it into chocks, for ease of loading. Since the preparation of firewood is intended for the combustion of standard stoves, the height of the logs is limited to 40 or 50 centimeters. If the chocks are made longer, then after splitting the logs will not enter the oven.

Firewood harvesting in the forest for own needs has been completed, all other work is being done in the yard.

The third stage – splitting and drying

The exported wood fuel must be brought to mind: split and put into woodpile. Chocks are pricked with an ordinary ax, if the chocks are not too thick. For voluminous and knotty logs, it is best to use a cleaver.

It is not recommended to put the logs immediately into the woodpile, it is better to throw them in a heap in bulk. In this case, the firewood will be blown by the breeze and dry out better.

As a rule, the preparation of firewood for own needs takes place in winter, so even the fallen snow will not wet the poles, they will continue to dry.

After a week, you can clean the blanks in the woodpile. Most often it is placed along the fence.

In addition, pests living in firewood can move to buildings and begin to destroy the wood.

In the selected place, mark the length and width of the woodpile. Stakes are driven in on the sides, they will not allow the firewood to crumble. Bars and stones are laid under the first layer so that the logs do not come into contact with the ground and do not become damp.

Wells are laid along the edge of the woodpile, and then logs are laid in even rows. Some owners, in order to decorate their yard, lay out real pictures from logs. After all, wood will have to dry all summer, why not take care of beauty!

Often, the owners make special sheds for drying logs, but most leave the firewood in the open. During the spring and summer months, despite the precipitation, they still dry up. In the video, fuel for their own needs is harvested at the end of August:

Conclusion

Procuring fuel for the winter for your own needs is an important and difficult undertaking. When it is better to do this, the residents themselves must decide. But all actions must be legal. If there is an opportunity to do the work in the summer, please.