Eeerie, how similar circumstances can be. Yes, we have done all that out of necessity except tires and particle board, not going there.I feel your pain.
I too only had a free standing wood stove for heat back in the 1990's.
After all bills were paid we usually had 8 bucks left at the end of the month..Back then i thought that was doing pretty good.
Wood had to be free.
I actually bid tree jobs way way low to get the wood to burn.
Pallets were an easy find as many people had rotting ones,, I would burn old recliners and sofa's that i took the wood off of.
particle board and paneling got tossed in to keep the house warm also.. I drew the line at railroad ties and car tires.
My grandmother burned tires though..She said keep all the windows and doors sealed up tight or that black soot will be on everything.
I scanned the FREE section of the Tulsa craigslist and wood doors and pallets along with trees are available right now.. I am sure you see this daily..
Cedar burns very well and leaves almost No ashes.. same with pine and fir.. Uncles in Oregon all burn pine and Fir to heat their homes.
People here think that is a no no.
The worst my chimney ever looked was a year i burned blackjack.. it was over 2 years old and that is some nasty stuff.
But cleaned right out with a couple days of dry pine and cedar burning.
I had metalbestos stainless stove pipe on that stove... When i sold the house i removed the pipe and stove and the stainless was shiny in spots inside the pipe.
Good hot fire keeps things clean as you probably know.. and you need flame to make heat.. smoldering coals do not make enough heat.
I would hit the farm stores there and see if there is a sawmill near you.. You can usually get scrap slabs for free or really cheap.
I was paying 20 bucks for a trailer load.. Did not matter how large the trailer was either. I could stack it 9 feet high on my trailer.. worth the money like that.
If you have to pay.
I did some welding on the fork truck at the saw mill and got all i wanted for free.
Good luck in your quest.
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