Building the Fuel Depot

Although it's a beautiful late summer day today, the evidence is all around us that winter is on its way.  The maple leaves are beginning to turn red and fall, the apples are ripening, and berries of all kinds are abundant.

Living where we do on the edge of the highlands, we are pretty much guaranteed a long, snowy winter season.  One of the most important things we have to do is make sure that we have enough fuel reserves in case we get snowed in for a long period of time.  This is the idea behind the pad we had made just behind the house.  It will eventually become a fuel depot so that we always have plenty of backup heating oil as well as a heavy duty generator.

Recently, we had a load of cement delivered, and made a concrete foundation.




Nobody can really complain about our road anymore - not when a fully loaded cement truck made it to our place!

Paul had previously laid down a frame and metal mesh to reinforce the cement.  The cement was then poured down the chute into the frame, and Paul worked furiously to rake it all in.




Cement sets very quickly, and it's essential to work fast to get it into the right place.  I had never worked with cement before, and let me tell you, it's very hard work.  All I did was help with the final leveling off ... and I was left with the definite impression that I needed to pump some iron to get my puny arm muscles into shape!  Good job my husband is strong as an ox!




The finished foundation.  There was a bit of cement left over, just enough to make a second level to step down.




Of course we signed our names!

Once the concrete was cured, the next step was to put up the extra oil tanks.  These will be our backup supply of heating fuel in case we need it during the winter.




Two new tanks, in addition to the one we already have at the back of the house, will give us plenty of heating fuel.  This is the way they come straight from the store; they now need to be painted and to have valves installed.

Eventually we will also have a heavy-duty generator in the fuel shed.  But wait!  There's no shed ... yet.

Last week, Paul cut down some of the "standing dead" - trees that had died but remained upright - and cut them up for firewood.  He also cleared away a large area of dry brush and deadfall that had accumulated over a period of many years at the back of the house behind the new concrete pad.  The last thing you need is to build a brand new shed, and then have a tree fall on it!  Not to mention, it really does look so much better without all that debris.  Now the young saplings can have some light to grow up, and no risk of dead trees falling onto roofs/cars/people.

A dry, sunny day presented the opportunity to get the framing started for the shed.  This will eventually become our fuel and power depot -
far enough away from the house to be safe, but close enough to be convenient.



Paul bracing the framing for the walls.




Framing well under way.



When finished, the shed will have a sloping roof to reduce snow loading, a couple of windows, and barn doors for easy access.

We may be off grid and tucked away on the edge of the wilderness area, but one thing's for sure: we're definitely going to stay nice and warm this winter!