Keep Warm With a Soapstone Woodstove

!±8± Keep Warm With a Soapstone Woodstove

Perhaps you are concerned about this winter and facing the possibility of heating oil priced at - a gallon or more.

Unfortunately, there is little to be done about greedy speculators and oil companies or the incompetent, uncaring government bodies that enable them. However, there are alternatives, one being the wood stove. A soapstone woodstove is an especially practical choice; this unique form of rock has been used for heating and cooking for several thousand years throughout the world. A soapstone woodstove is at once traditional and contemporary; whether your home is Early American, Victorian, Craftsman, Mission Style, Art Deco or contemporary, you'll find that a soapstone woodstove is at home with virtually all of them.

Soapstone is a type of metamorphic, or "fire" rock. Geologists call it this because such rock literally "morphs," or changes from one kind of rock to another under pressures and heat deep beneath the Earth's crust. Metamorphic rock includes marble, quartz, diamond and soapstone.

A soapstone woodstove is made from a type of rock that is soft and slick to the touch, similar to dry bar of soap (hence its name). Much like marble, to which it is chemically and geologically related, soapstone has an attractive grained appearance. It is softer than marble, and easily worked into a wide variety of shapes; however it is durable and heat resistant, while at the same time is also an excellent conductor of heat. This is why tribal hunter/gathering societies throughout the world have used soapstone for cookware and heating applications for thousands of years.

The material from which a soapstone woodstove is made is quarried from mineral deposits that date back nearly half a billion years, long before even the dinosaurs appeared on Earth. This remarkable stone has been used by Native Americans living in the eastern woodlands and far north as well as early European setters for a range of purposes, including cooking and carrying water. In fact, many old homes have soapstone surfaces that have been in daily use since the nineteenth century.

A soapstone woodstove, if properly cared for, will serve your comfort needs throughout your lifetime as well as those of your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One of the secrets of a soapstone woodstove's durability is the fact that soapstone itself is completely non-reactive. Should you spill something on a soapstone surface, cleanup is a simple matter.

A soapstone woodstove provides beauty and practicality; while the initial investment may be higher than for a typical metal woodstove, it is an investment that a good quality soapstone woodstove will pay back many times over during its extended life;

Keep Warm With a Soapstone Woodstove

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Alternative Heat From Your Fireplace - Get the Most Heat From Your Fireplace with a Wood Stove Inser

!±8± Alternative Heat From Your Fireplace - Get the Most Heat From Your Fireplace with a Wood Stove Inser

With the high cost of heating fuels more of us are turning to wood as an alternative heat source. Your fireplace can be great for an enjoyable evening fire for the weekend wood burner but it is not an efficient heat source. Most fireplaces tend to pull heat out of your home. The room you are burning in might get warm but the rest of the home gets cold. Heat always seeks cold. Did you ever visit an older home that had a fireplace in every room or one at either end of the house? Using multiple fireplaces in your home at the same time allows the heat to be pulled through your home. This heat transfer does a great job of heating your home. As coal became more popular with central furnaces many homes were built without fireplaces or only one.

More heat can be gained with the use of a blower or fireplace fan. Fireplace grate heaters seem to be the most efficient for putting heated air back into your home. Low CFM fans or blowers are always used in fireplaces. The reason for a low CFM fan is because you want to gently move the heat if you push the heat too much it will cool faster.

The most effective way of getting heat from your fireplace is with an insert. An insert is a wood burning stove that is inserted into the firebox thus it is called an insert. Federal codes require using a positive connect.

Alternative Heat From Your Fireplace - Get the Most Heat From Your Fireplace with a Wood Stove Inser

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Soapstone Countertops

!±8± Soapstone Countertops

Soapstone - a form of metamorphic rock containing magnesium, dolomite and talc - is so-called because touching its surface produces a tactile sensation that is remarkably similar to that of a dry bar of soap. Geologically, it is related to marble, which has long been valued as a surface in homes and buildings dating back to the Hellenistic Period. Unlike marble however, soapstone countertops are easier to care for and cost less than marble surfaces.

The scientific name for soapstone is steatite. Like quartz, marble and even diamond, the material from which soapstone countertops begins its existence deep beneath the planet's surface. There, it is subject to pressures and heat of unimaginable magnitude. Under these pressures, this proto-rock is transformed, or morphed into what we know as soapstone. The material that goes into the design and construction of soapstone is generally dug from quarries, extracted from geologic formations that date back as much as 400 million years. Since the eastern part of North America is far older geologically than the relatively youthful western part, American and Canadian soapstone is found primarily in Quebec, New England and the Maritime provinces.

Soapstone is relatively soft and easy to work with, yet is durable enough to stand up to a fair amount of abuse. Aboriginal peoples throughout the world, including Native Americans, Polynesians and various African peoples have known of the unique properties of soapstone for millennia, using it for cookware and even art. In fact, there are Hindu temples located in a southeastern region of India that contain highly elaborate carvings made from soapstone.

Why should you consider soapstone countertops? If you know a great deal of cooking, you no doubt are aware of the kind of abuse that countertops must endure, especially when it comes to stains. In fact, soapstone - unlike its geologic cousin, marble - is chemically inert, and will not react with acidic nor alkaline substances. What this means is that virtually nothing you spill on it will cause permanent staining - simply wipe it off or remove it from the surface with a bit of fine sandpaper, and it's good as new!

Soapstone countertops also offer great aesthetic value; it is what is known as a schist, meaning it has a grained appearance like wood and marble. There are many different colors, types and treatments for soapstone countertops; you will have few problems finding soapstone that will blend in nicely with any color scheme or décor. Soapstone offers versatility, durability, ease of care and a unique kind of beauty. Soapstone countertops [http://www.doradosoapstone.com/_Countertops/] are one of the best and ultimately, most economical ways to upgrade your kitchen; check out the many options available today!

Soapstone Countertops

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