The Book of Building Fires: How to Master the Art of the Perfect Fire

by Sally Coulthard, Claire McCracken (Illustrator)

Learn to construct the best fire, whether it’s in a fireplace, a woodstove, or a campsite in the great outdoors.Straightforward instruction and helpful how-to illustrations provide the wisdom and tools for building a roaring fire with confidence, skill, and efficiency—a fire that people will gather around in admiration. Filled with more than sixty entries on every aspect of fire craft, including sourcing proper wood, chopping and storing, crafting homemade fire starters, building and lighting the perfect stack, and cooking over an open flame, this book also contains a handy chart with information on more than twenty-five species of trees and their wood-burning properties. A must-have for anyone who enjoys the simple satisfaction of gathering around a warm, crackling fire, here is an invitation to celebrate the gifts of slow living and one of life’s most enduring pleasures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2018

About the author

After studying Archaeology & Anthropology at Oxford University, best-selling author and designer Sally Coulthard has spent the last twenty years designing, making and writing about homes, craft and outdoor spaces. She sees no boundary between the rules that govern good interior design and those which are needed to craft a spectacular studio or glorious garden.

Keen to make good design accessible, she’s written over twenty books about restoring houses, designing interiors and outdoor living. From garden styles to craftsmanship, creating workspaces to building sheds, Sally’s books inspire, encourage and equip readers to take on projects of their own.

Sally is a passionate advocate of rural living and regularly writes about nature and her experiences of smallholding deep in North Yorkshire countryside, including her ‘Good Life in Country’ column for Country Living magazine.

Reviews

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

põmtselt on tegu raamatuga sellest, kuidas ahju kütta. suht suure rõhuga sellel, miks - noh, et tuletegemine ja tule vaatamine ja enda tule paistel soojendamine on mõnus tegevus, millest tänapäeva linnainimene on end puha ilma jätnud, ja et seda viga tasub parandada.

iseenesest kõik õige, aga ahiküttega üleskasvanud inimesena ei õppinud ma siit esiteks muidugi midagi uut ja teiseks ikka hullult segab, et inglased ei tea mitte midagi soemüüridest ja kogu ahjukütmisraamatu saab valmis kirjutada ilma kordagi siibrit mainimata :) variandid on ikka kas lahtine kamin või siis, noh, buržuika meie mõistes.

lisaks tuleb autoril siin laveerida selle probleemi ümber, et suuremas osas Inglismaa asulates on ahiküte üldse keelatud, et ei oleks kõik kohad suitsu täis.

õige veidi on juttu ka lõkketegemisest ja see vist ongi kõige huvitavam osa siin.

tuletegemise soovi tekitas see raamat küll, nii et ses mõtes ta vist täidab oma eesmärgi - eks ta peabki pigem olema inspireeriv kui praktiline.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me want to build more fires (even more than usual).

[lagz.gz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book is only good if you’ve never built a fire from scratch before, I actually learned some stuff, and will keep it in mind the next time I attempt to build a fire.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly short read. Sections include hearths, woodstoves, outside fires, smoking food, other fragrant smoke, types of wood, how to start a fire, safety info, etc. Overall it's a quick read, nothing particularly in depth. Was looking for things I didnt already know and notes about each particular kind of firewood (spruce vs pine vs fir for example). The book does cover these subjects though not with much depth (and fir is conspicuously absent of any mention). I wouldnt particularly recommend it but it does work well as a primer for those with less knowledge.

[Keegan Webster · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have never in your life started a fire, this is a good book to read. If you have in fact started a fire before, you do not need to read this book.

Instead of "the book of building fires" this book should be called "the book of thinking about installing a fireplace in my cottage in the north of England". I picked this up thinking it might give me some interesting tips on building fires in difficult conditions (wet wood, inclement weather, no ax available etc.) Unfortunately this is not the case, as the target audience appears to be someone who has never seen a fire before, let alone started one, and they have decided they want to buy a wood stove to play lumberjack with. Not for me, and I feel that most people who pick it up might be in the same boat. At least it was short!

[Gustave Blåbær · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to read the book, and now that I'm finished I'm like: lol what did I just read.
It's very practical and woukd mainly be useful if you want an introduction on how to equip your home with heat source relying on fire.
A lot of obvious info for people that have at least made a fire once in their life.
I found the timber table useful.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book for decor. Interesting and informative re: fires. I would have liked a bit more visual instruction on the actual part about building your fire perhaps. It seemed to go into good detail in many of the other sections, but these pages just had a short paragraph of explanation.

I did love the ideas about creating your own fire starters and different types of kindling.

[Matevž · Rating 3 out of 5]

On one hand a handy collection of tips for having a cozy fire.
On the other nothing I did not know. Perhaps more suitable for someone who is considering getting a fireplace and not so much for someone who has been scraping the fire-pit glass clean for the last two years.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful little book that covers everything you need to know about campfires, fireplaces and wood stoves. I knew most of it already, but it was good to get a refresher after twelve years living in a city.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compact, readable overview and subsequent resource. More focused on fires at home than the details of camping or outdoor fires, but not worse for it.

[Yvonne Aburrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful, well written and very thorough guide to building fires, both indoor and outdoor. Includes fire safety.

[Loung Hi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are minimal but nice and bump up a star. Easy short read, some new techniques for woodstoves, but if you've built a fire before it's old hat.

[Destynnie Berard · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good but short book. The first two chapters seem like fluff and there is some repeated information throughout it, but it is overall a good, quick read and I did learn about fireplaces vs. woodstoves. I do wish that it went into more detail about building campfires, however.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at a local LL Bean store and picked it up believing it may have some pointers on building fires. The exterior of the book appeared well built and would look well on a bookshelf. It later came time when I needed to bring some books camping and this book seemed a perfect fit. The book made the journey along with me, and I started the book reading about the author's experience with fire. After thirty or so pages I thought we'd get to learn some fire building techniques. That would come eventually, and would only encompass a small number of pages. The author instead takes the time to describe something far more important: wood-burning stoves. This book in detail describes the energy efficiencies of wood stoves, fire safety around wood stoves, finding and vetting a chimney sweep and the safe installation of wood stoves. Don't get me wrong, this book does include some very basic information on fire, such as: dry wood burns more efficiently than wet wood and fire needs an ignition source to burn. However, by the time the page count reached the nineties and the author spends two whole pages on how to strike a match I found myself researching LL Bean's return policy. The page count for this book is in the upper one hundreds however that includes filler pages of unnecessary graphics and extremely basic information such as how carrying logs in a bag can prevent getting your clothes dirty (who would have known this trick). Sitting in my campsite, I came to the realization. I am not a middle aged woman in the British countryside looking to install a wood burning stove in their farmhouse and rekindle their perceived connection to nature. The only way this book would benefit me in building a fire would be to use it as kindling in my campsite fire.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick quirky read for anybody who appreciates a good bonfire, feu de joie or fireplace. Runs through how to source, season and select firewood for the perfect fire.

It is a small, short, concise volume. You can burn through it in no time... Leaves a warming glow. A sparky little gift.

[fervently · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ☆

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great information and ideas. I love that she has included separate resources for Canada and US.

[charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. So informative, but equally accessible to someone not very knowledgeable, and super engaging. 5 stars, would give more if I could!