Our latest project has been putting an outdoor wood burning stove out near the small cabin with a cover, so we can cook on it in the spring and fall. Of course, we will use it in the winter as well to warm up or just to enjoy.
The small cabin has a small wood stove in it, but it can get pretty hot in the cabin when you’re cooking on it, and being that we have been spending more time in the small cabin, we had to come up with a better way of cooking our meals. With fire bans on due to the wildfires the last few years in our area, we had to come up with something that would be allowed.
The outdoor wood stove will need a few modifications in order to be able to use next summer, but it won’t take much to do.
Requirements for outdoor wood stoves are that they don’t have an open burning flame, which means we will have to fix the doors as the glass is missing from one door and damaged on the other. Also they are required to have a fire proof back, easy fix. We plan on building a rock wall at the back of the stove. So really not much to do to meet the local requirements to be able to still have a fire outside, but most importantly for us to be able to have something to cook on.
The wood stove we are using for this project came out of the main house. The last occupants had crammed this wood stove into the fireplace and used it that way. So we hauled it out and here it is.
The logs for this project came from trees on the property except for one dead standing that we took from the road coming in.
Nathan peeled all the bark off the trees before getting them ready to put together and put up. Here is a picture of him cutting one of the logs for the roof.
The only purchase that was necessary for this project was the tin for the roof, all the lumber came from the addition we had torn off of the main cabin. The plywood used for the roof also came from the addition that was taken off the main cabin last year.
Before putting any of the logs up we dug 4 holes about 18″ or so deep and poured concrete, then a metal bracket was put in that the logs would sit on. Nathan cut into the bottom of the logs and when they were put up the metal bar slid right into the bottom of the log.
The concrete was left to harden up for awhile. We prepped the logs and had lunch and gathered up the lumber for the roof while the concrete was hardening up.
You can see here that I had started to paint the wood stove. I ran out of paint, will have to take a picture of it after fully painted and update.
We still have a bit of work to do to complete our outdoor cook house but I’m sure glad to have this to use this fall and winter.
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Oh man, this is a topic I have been really getting into recently. I could watch videos on building off-grid shelters all day. I would love to try off-grid living for a while sometime…I think I would be good at because I’m very handy, but I know I would miss my TV shows. LOL. But, I really love building things and using tools. The concept of an outdoor stove is great. It saves having a lot of smoke in the cabin and that’s a must for me. Great stuff here.
We just had our first guests to stay in the cabin (our son and wife) so they were the testers of this outdoor stove and loved it! They have booked to come back same time next year.
That’s a really impressive wood-burning stove you put in there. I wouldn’t have even thought how to start doing something like that. That’s definitely going to make a difference in your cabin and provide a great way to spend time with family and friends around that thing. Nice to have some of the amenities of home without losing that rustic feel. I like it.
Thanks Brandon, we just broke it in this last weekend with family and friends for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful.
You have selected a topic — living off the grid — which I believe is extremely valuable in this day and age. I believe it important that we understand just what such a lifestyle entails. I am fortunate to live in Alaska, where I built a house on a homestead and lived there for 20 years. I’ve now moved off my island, though still living in a remote location. I’m in Gustavus, which is about 35 minutes by air from Juneau. There’s no road out of here, so might as well be on an island. I feel so lucky to have learned some survival skills on my homestead, and now have no problem living in a remote location. I believe the information you put on your site becomes another source that people will be able to use should it be necessary for them to learn some of the skills needed to survive without the conveniences of our modern world.
Thanks Fran, it’s so nice to have you stop by my website and share you story. My husband’s job takes him to all those remote northern communities for work, so he’s pretty good at the off grid thing, living in wall tents for months at a time.
Off grid living is a great way of life, but not for everyone.
Oh wow! This is so cool. I would love to see the finish product of your out door cook house.
Outdoor Wood Burning Stove is something I had no idea people still used. We’ve gotten so modern with everything we forget how usefull and precious some inventions are such as the wood burining stove. In the winter times I’m sure this is a treasure to have. I lookforward to your finished project. Good luck!
hi Jamie, we will probably have to wait til next spring to get it completed, as the weather has turned and hubby is away for awhile. I’ll be posting pictures when we go up this winter though so check back.
Wow this is awesome. I’ve learnt a lot about making an outdoor wood burning stove just by reading your post. I’ve always been fascinated when it comes to camping and exploring the wild life. However, i live in the city so it will be nice to know where i can get the necessary wood to make this amazing piece of art.
Thanks so much for sharing really appreciate it!!.
Hi, we were fortunate enough to have a never ending supply of wood. If you are living in the city you could check out the building supply stores they sometimes can access logs from local mills. Good luck with your search