We've joked that our primary reason for wanting to build a house is so we could have a masonry heater in it. Masonry heaters date way back in history. They are fueled with wood, and their function is to store the heat in a thermal mass which then radiates into the house slowly and evenly. One very hot fire is built and burned at a time. No wood is added during the burn (as with wood stoves). The masonry is never too hot to touch. The size of the burn is determined by how cold it is outside and how much heat is anticipated to be needed within the next 12-24 hours. They come in many forms.
- To see a visual example of how masonry heaters basically work, visit:
http://www.boston.com/interactive/graphics/masonry_heater/ - To learn everything about masonry heaters, visit The Masonry Heater Association of America website:
http://mha-net.org/index.htm
After seeing some of his work, and discovering that he lives locally, we dreamed that if we were to ever build a masonry heater, we would want Stephen Bushway of Deer Hill Masonry in Plainfield to build it. Well. . . . we got lucky! We first met with Stephen last fall, and now he is building ours. It will be the primary source of heat for the house.
- To see some of Stephen Bushway's impressive work visit:
http://www.ultimateridgehook.com/deerhill/recentprojects.html - And here's a news article on him from The Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2009/01/11/extra_touch_of_warmth/?page=1
Beginning a few weeks ago, Stephen and his aptly named son Mason arrived. They're ready to start. Here's Stephen unloading the first load of material:
Remember the large footing we poured in the basement last fall? Here, the cinder block foundation is being assembled upon it. The block foundation will support the heater:
Mason mixes one of many batches of mortar:
The basement level is about done. One of the two flues is for a wood stove in the basement. We decided to install the wood stove for transitional (spring, fall) weather, when only a small amount of heat is needed, and for supplemental winter heat in the basement.
Now it's up to the first floor. Mason and Stephen discuss details:
Insulation and concrete cap the base. This keeps the heat upstairs, and provides a solid base for the heater.
The bricks start to arrive and are stacked around the room. This carrying tool looks like it has seen many a load of bricks.
More equipment also arrives. This is a diamond blade wet saw used for cutting the brick:
In the next post, We'll see the core assembly.
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