We tried a new color on the wall during a recent committee meeting, but I don't think we're really sold on the red, either. It was a very happy red, though, so maybe it will come back into favor before we choose. Karen is trying to pout, but I don't think she totally pulled it off.
We tried the same red in Chris and Karen's bathroom, but quickly ruled it out. As you can see, we are trying on some blues and greens there now. Blue just seems like such a natural bathroom color. The natural wood in the bathroom will be whitewashed/pickled soon, so the final color will be paired with a white, not the tan of the pine. If you look closely, you can see the exhaust fan in the opposite wall. It doesn't blend in yet, but it will when we're done. With so much wood in a bathroom, Chris wanted a beefy fan. This one pulls 150 cfm, and does a good job of exhausting moisture.
Chris and Karen's bedroom with more color choices on the wall. Karen is thinking a brownish-reddish-brickish-spicy color would look pleasant here. On the high wall here, she wants to hang a quilt. That will absorb some sound, and should look really good - of course, it will also eliminate the option of Christopher's lofty bivouac.
What to do when it's 15 degrees below zero? Go camping! Chris and some scouts went camping during the record cold we had a week or two ago. Eli fit nicely in the stock pot, but he didn't want to sleep outside with his crazy uncle.
Why won't the chimney pull the smoke out of the stove? Oooohhh, it's plugged. Hmmm... this was the first time we cleaned it on Saturday. Yes, the first time. We have 22' of chimney pipe, and apparently our fires are burning too cool and allowing creosote to form, which drops to the bottom of the pipe and onto a shelf above the firebox. The cool fires are caused a few ways - burning too slowly by limiting the air, burning green wood, or burning wet wood. We thought that the sap in softwoods caused creosote, but apparently that isn't the case. Green hardwood will cause more creosote than seasoned softwood. We originally burned a mix of both soft and hard woods, but have lately switched to straight hardwood since it burns so much hotter. And that is why pine gets such a bad rep. Pine doesn't make more creosote, it just burns at a temperature that allows it to form. Lesson learned.
The second time we cleaned the stove. A pretty nasty pile of creosote dropped out of the pipe after we smacked the pipe a few times. Andy climbed up on the roof and dropped a cherry log down the chimney to dislodge anything the vibrations missed, but by then we had the pipe about 95% cleaned out. Use a brush on your chimney pipes if you like, but we like smackin' 'em. Yes, we will buy a real chimney sweep brush to do this properly in the future. We also picked up a magnetic chimney thermometer from Lehman's. That will allow us to monitor pipe temps so we can keep the fire burning above the temp at which creosote forms.
Cleaned out and cranking on Saturday evening. It's great to have heat like this, though we recognize that it isn't free. There is a lot of time spent in cutting, splitting, stacking, moving, burning wood, and maintaining the stove takes its time also. Worth it? We think so, but it's not a panacea.
Eli is kind of photogenic, and it's hard not to take pictures of him all the time. He and Benson were out sledding with Uncle Chris one afternoon when this was taken.
We tried the same red in Chris and Karen's bathroom, but quickly ruled it out. As you can see, we are trying on some blues and greens there now. Blue just seems like such a natural bathroom color. The natural wood in the bathroom will be whitewashed/pickled soon, so the final color will be paired with a white, not the tan of the pine. If you look closely, you can see the exhaust fan in the opposite wall. It doesn't blend in yet, but it will when we're done. With so much wood in a bathroom, Chris wanted a beefy fan. This one pulls 150 cfm, and does a good job of exhausting moisture.
Chris and Karen's bedroom with more color choices on the wall. Karen is thinking a brownish-reddish-brickish-spicy color would look pleasant here. On the high wall here, she wants to hang a quilt. That will absorb some sound, and should look really good - of course, it will also eliminate the option of Christopher's lofty bivouac.
What to do when it's 15 degrees below zero? Go camping! Chris and some scouts went camping during the record cold we had a week or two ago. Eli fit nicely in the stock pot, but he didn't want to sleep outside with his crazy uncle.
Why won't the chimney pull the smoke out of the stove? Oooohhh, it's plugged. Hmmm... this was the first time we cleaned it on Saturday. Yes, the first time. We have 22' of chimney pipe, and apparently our fires are burning too cool and allowing creosote to form, which drops to the bottom of the pipe and onto a shelf above the firebox. The cool fires are caused a few ways - burning too slowly by limiting the air, burning green wood, or burning wet wood. We thought that the sap in softwoods caused creosote, but apparently that isn't the case. Green hardwood will cause more creosote than seasoned softwood. We originally burned a mix of both soft and hard woods, but have lately switched to straight hardwood since it burns so much hotter. And that is why pine gets such a bad rep. Pine doesn't make more creosote, it just burns at a temperature that allows it to form. Lesson learned.
The second time we cleaned the stove. A pretty nasty pile of creosote dropped out of the pipe after we smacked the pipe a few times. Andy climbed up on the roof and dropped a cherry log down the chimney to dislodge anything the vibrations missed, but by then we had the pipe about 95% cleaned out. Use a brush on your chimney pipes if you like, but we like smackin' 'em. Yes, we will buy a real chimney sweep brush to do this properly in the future. We also picked up a magnetic chimney thermometer from Lehman's. That will allow us to monitor pipe temps so we can keep the fire burning above the temp at which creosote forms.
Cleaned out and cranking on Saturday evening. It's great to have heat like this, though we recognize that it isn't free. There is a lot of time spent in cutting, splitting, stacking, moving, burning wood, and maintaining the stove takes its time also. Worth it? We think so, but it's not a panacea.
4 comments:
Have you considered a nice soft yellow? I love that color in kitchen/ dining areas. Red in a bathroom! you guys are nuts! I would think that you'd be really stressed out with that color! stick with the blue or green, those choices are better! Eli is too cute in that pot, and very smart, he does have a crazy uncle, either that or Chris is half Eskimo!
good luck finding a color you all can agree on!
A soft yellow would be great, though we worry about how it would match up with the tan/yellow of the pine. We agree, red in a bathroom is kooky - it was quickly sanded and smeared over.
Red is a high energy color and is stimulating. I would pick out colors that match some of the furniture or rugs that you already have, it would tie it all together. Also, we had a wood stove in Ky. We would occasionally burn a creosote log to get rid of any that was in the stove pipe. We only had to clean the pipe one time. We also burned good seasoned hard wood and burned it hot!
amber
I think everyone should choose their favorite color and then get to chose their favorite wall and then paint that wall in their favorite color :)
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