Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Wood Pavers

What to do with all the wood from the downed trees? To date I've given three truckloads away, but I still have lots. I truly mean, lots, and lots, and lots. The smaller branches, less than 5" diameter, I'm saving for friend who can use them for firewood. But I've got lots of tree trunks, over 20 large trees and dozens of smaller ones. With the glut of down trees due to the storm, there is no market for the wood. Not even "free" is working. 

I came up with an idea. I can cut them into "wheels" and use them as pavers to make a patio. 
(The ones in front measure 23" across.) 

We've been talking about making a deck or patio behind the house, some place to have a couple of lounge chairs or a hammock. So perhaps wooden "wheel" pavers set in sand or gravel would be attractive and functional. I've decided to give it a trial go. 

Step one....chainsaw the tree trunks into wheels. We're making the wheels rather thick to prevent them from warping, twisting, or cracking in half. Step two....remove the bark. Step three, set them in the shade with good air circulation and protected from the sun until its time to set them into place. 

I've never tried this before nor do I know of anyone who has. All suggestions are welcome! 

3 comments:

  1. http://www.homedit.com/7-creative-ways-of-turning-wood-logs-and-tree-stumps-into-unique-accessories/

    Aloha from Oahu,
    Thank you for your informational blog.....look forward to reading more as I too am starting a tiny homestead here before I move to Big Island.
    Aloha, Angie

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  2. Making furniture is a great idea! I'm actually already using some of the log chunks as tables. I bet some of the slabs could make beautiful table tops.

    As for biochar, the logs are green and wet. Plus they are in big pieces, far too big to put into any kind of standard burner. Open burning a not allowed here since wildfires are a serious hazard. And not having the means to chip them, I have no way to make biochar out of the logs. So the logs won't work, but I can use small stuff for biochar. In fact I use shredded up tree branches for char production. I'm already making a small amount of biochar every week and use it in certain gardens.

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