There are few things more enjoyable in life than crackling fire in early spring or during a rainy autumn day paired with a nice glass of Cabernet and a book. So what are you waiting for, pour that glass of wine and get started building the fire.
Preparation
Plenty of wood can be found in the wood shed on the far side of the wood deck, matches/lighters in the drawers below the oak glass cabinet and lightning cubes in the copper bucket next to the fireplace. Before you start the fire you need to split the bigger wood pieces into smaller wood splinter, this is very important and serves as the foundation for a successful log fire.
Splitting the wood
For this purpose, there is a wood splinter on the outside of the wood shed. Take your time and split couple of logs before heading back in. Splitting the wood is easy, you simply position the wood log at the bottom and then press the splitter down (please follow the grain is in the wood, as it makes the splitting easier). As you create the first crack in the wood, move the log to the middle and press the splitter further down and finally move the log to the top and finish the job off.
Before you start, make sure the fireplace has been cleaned out and there are no ashes lying around the bottom, this is to ensure that you have proper airflow in the fireplace. Then open up both airflow by adjusting the top and bottom dials on the fireplace.
Building the fire
Start the fire fairly simply with smaller pieces of wood and a fire cube to get it going. Leave the door open for the first few minutes and add few small pieces of wood. When you start to see a coal bed form it’s time to add a medium sized log to the fire. This is a critical stage as once the log catches fire, then you’re pretty much done as long as you keep the fire alive. Add wood piece by piece and only when needed. At this stage you can control the fire at will. Only use the top airflow dial to control the oxygen flow of the fireplace. This is to control the fire and quickly it burns.
Please note that the fireplace is very effective and will heat up the house quickly. As the temperature will rise, the rooms on the top floor will be warm and cozy.
The fireplace should always be cleaned out the next day, when the ashes are cold and to prepare it for the next use.
