One project which we had wanted to do was replace the wood stove. This is quite a big job and has to be coordinated just right as it is not only our only form of cooking but also heats the house and produces the hot water!! Therefore we were not going to do it in the midst of winter!!
A few years a go we were given an old stove from friends in Bella Coola. It has been kept in a barn for the last 30 years or so, so the tops were not too rusted and considering it's age the enamel was in good condition. First job was to strip it down. The 'shiny' bits were all taken off and we had them re nickel plated. The fire box was re built and the tops ground down. The enamel had been painted over the years so after some gentle scrubbing and scraping we got down to the original finish.
The Old stove waiting to be removed.
The old stove was taken out and was VERY heavy even though the fire bricks had been removed!! good job we had some help handy!!
This new stove is Circa 1920!! So not really new, but new to us. After all the modifications it looks pretty sharp. People often ask if we keep it going all through the summer too and the answer is yes! You get quite good at knowing when to put wood in to gain what temperature you need and although we sometimes have some very hot weather in the summer we certainly don't get over heated!
Wood heat is quite different and we love it! Cooking can be a challenge when the wood doesn't want to burn as it should but my philosophy is it will cook eventually.....so what if dinner is a little late!!
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