From the Jake Holloway channelBefore the First Frost — the winter book. Firewood, stove, chimney, drafts, carbon monoxide and power outages, numbered and written plain.
The first hard frost comes sooner than you think. By then the wood is still wet, the chimney hasn't been looked at, and the draft under the back door is already on your bill. This is the list you work through in the weeks before, so the house is ready when the cold arrives.
Numbered like a supply catalogue, so you find things fast. A source under every trick and a checklist at the end of every part.
Each one short, specific, and backed by a named source.
Fresh-cut northern red oak runs 60 to 80% moisture. A cord of green red oak carries about 184 gallons more water than a cord of dry oak, and every gallon gets boiled off with your heat.
On single-wall stovepipe, a magnetic thermometer goes at eye level, at least 12 inches above the stove. Keep the needle between 230 and 475°F while the load burns. They cost about $15 to $25.
Everybody in the house sick at once, whoever is home most is worst, pets ill too, you feel better away from home, and no fever. Get everyone outside and call the fire department from there.
One Saturday before the cold. Morning outside, afternoon at the stove, evening in the house. Every line points to the trick in the book.
Every week on the channel I take one piece of getting a house through winter: splitting, stacking, cleaning the stove glass, finding where the heat leaks out. This book puts all of it in one place, in order, to keep by the door.
— Jake
Read it, try a few tricks, and tell me what worked and what didn't. The best notes go into the next edition, and that edition is free to you.
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A standard PDF. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it on plain paper and keep it in a binder by the stove. The three bonuses are laid out for printing.
Yes. The parts on drafts, power outages and carbon monoxide apply to every house. The wood, stove and chimney parts are for those who burn.
Every trick is chosen to be safe done the way it's written. Gas lines, electrical work and wiring a generator to the house are deliberately left out: for those the book tells you to call a licensed professional.
One payment and it's yours, including every future edition.
Reply to your download email, or write to me here, within 30 days and you get your money back.
One weekend with this book and the season can come.
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