Randy Butler

Peter - Congratulations - the brain still says 50 years old (I suspect the body says 50 with some extra experience).

I suspected I didn't need any further anchors than gravity and friction.
But nowadays, you never know what Mother Nature will throw at us next!
And Maine does have earthquakes - four in both 2024 and 2025, all less than 2.8.
I guess if we get enough shaking to disturb the heater base, I've got bigger things to worry about!

And yes Glenn, the floor is smooth, but it's concrete and far from polished (although there are likely to be splotches of oil or grease here and there)

Thanks for all the feedback, now to the mud mixing!

As I get older, I look for ways to make life (and chores) easier. So the bottom of the firebox in the new RMH will be up at 20 inches off the floor.
I had considered waist level - but that differs so much even for members of immediate family.
And at some time, the kids may be tasked with manning the heater.

I'm pretty sure - with the supplies I already have - the easiest/simplest method is a double stack of concrete blocks.
I am, by no means, a finish mason. But I can mix and slop mortar as well as keep the wythes (layers) fairly level and square.
My skills should certainly be good enough for a 40x48 base (I did build the 30 foot double flue brick chimney).

So now my question ... if all the blocks are mortared together, is there any reason to anchor this block to the cellar floor?
If I don't need to, I'd rather not drill holes and pin into the existing concrete.
Thoughts?

Thanks!

If the wall is the original dirt/hill/yard retainer and it was designed as such with a stone face for nicer looks, then the strength of that "mortar" may be one of several different versions.

From mr. Google -

There are several types of mortar, including Type M, S, N, and O, each with different strengths and applications.

When I rebuilt my 2-flue chimney, I opted for Type M, knowing I was going up 30 plus feet and thought I wanted it as strong as possible.

That choice has yet to be tested - maybe one of my grandkids will be cursing my name on the next rebuild!

I have also seen where folks build a stone wall with wooden casing surround, carefully placing stones in the form and them pouring regular concrete around the rocks, moving them just enough to embed them fully.

A hard bristle scrub brush is then used on day 2 to make the face of it pretty.

My point is - your old wall could be constructed in so many ways - you'll either need to do some real digging to ascertain it's original style, or just make it solid to repel any further intruders!

Good Luck, and if possible, give us a follow up on the completed project!

There was a comment about needing to keep your knives sharp.  
I build a DIY sharpener similar to:Sharpener

I changed a couple things - first I made the long square block from hardwood, then notched out a place to embed a piece of old plate glass on each face.
A couple simple flat metal tabs hold the sandpaper in place instead of gluing on.
It's easy to change grits - depends on how rough the edge is to start.
Right now I run 200, 400, 800, 1200.
It also works on chisel and plane blades if you set up the clamp properly.

One critical piece I learned long ago was that a glass surface is so flat that any (decent) steel can be honed to a really fine edge.

IF your surface is flat and your angle is consistant. The modified jig does both.

Sorry, no pic of mine - it's been loaned out and haven't seen it for months

A couple thoughts -
Matt designed an excellent product, and if it can fit into the house properly, I will use his design as planned.
But his efforts led to a wonderful, compact design with limited height requirements.
As I said, this is junk wood and the less cutting I have to do, the better.
Many of the floaters originated as pulpwood somewhere up in a river area far away.
So a lot of what I deal with is already 4 foot long.
If I could adapt the riserless design to a large firebox and use a horizontal port interface to reduce the vertical element, that would seem to work well.

On the salt issue, we have rosa Rugosa all along the shoreline and they thrive being saturated during the winter with sea spray.
Also, every few years, we collect seaweed and mulch the rhubarb several inches in the fall. They grow like crazy. So some stuff loves it!

This feedback is wonderful - thank you all so much.

Hi Thomas.

All good replies. But you missed one point - I have no intention of putting a chainsaw to this stuff.
I just want to push one end in and then nudge it further as it burns down.
Functionally, I kinda want to build an J-tube with a 4 foot square feed tube  

Probably half of my detritus is stuff that floats in.
Often, when it hits the shore, I can barely move it.
I haul it out and let it dry anywhere from a few weeks to a couple years (when I'm attending to all the other stuff that begs attention - normal Permies issue, huh?).
Some of the materials are old wharf structures, some trees, maybe even boat pieces.
No matter the source, it is all salt water saturated at one time or another.
Do you think salted biochar would be of any use?

Yesterday in the firepit, I burned off a bunch of paper junk (mail), old dry branches and logs that floated in on the tide.
Nothing worth trying to use for house heat, but didn't want sitting around just being junk. Possible hugel content, but way too much for the property.
Not everything was dry and it smoked heavily for a while.
I got wondering if I could take my plans from Walker Stoves and make the burn chamber larger - maybe scale up 100%.
It would keep the whole unit manageable in size, but I wouldn't have to cut all the various fuels down to fit in - particularly the new brush from fallen trees.
And I wouldn't have to build my riser ten feet tall!

Reasonable? Folly? Just plain crazy?

Thanks

If I tried to make a straight line shot I'd be a foot deep on either end and 10 to 20 foot deep for much of the rest of it.
Tank is down at the nearly the lowest point of the property, then there's a ledge incline varying from 30 to 60 degree slope.
Not unlike the ground contour shown in the link in Anne's video clip.

Hadn't thought about talking to utility crew. They might have contacts.
But power company doesn't bury anything here except intown or private underground installation.

Yes, many areas of Maine are very open for homeowners.
You can do all your own construction, plumbing, wiring, etc.
But they don't let you do your own blasting without a license  !
And the permitting varies from town to town and some are very restrictive when you get close to the water (like I am).
As far as digging dirt - IF i search for a while, I can find pockets of dirt maybe 36" deep. Two feet away I can get 2 inches before ledge.
There is no path from pump to field where I won't hit a ton of rock.
One contractor that did come to look (for the septic itself) said they install a 3 inch "conduit" for the pump line.
And their "conduit" is heavy wall black poly pipe.