*WE ARE TEMPORARILY SOLD OUT OF FIREWOOD*
December 21st marks the first official day of winter, but in Wake County, NC, the low temperatures tend to arrive a lot earlier than the calendar might suggest. For many homes, this means cranking up the heat in the home by adjusting a thermostat. For other homes, it marks the time that it finally makes sense to throw a few logs into the fireplace and start warming up the home.
According to a report by CNBC, 2.5 million American families use wood-burning fires as their primary heating method for their homes. More families, still, use firewood to start supplemental fires that heat up the home without having to turn up the thermostat. Regardless of why families opt to use firewood, it is important to understand just how much firewood is needed and how to store it.
How Much Firewood Will I Need for Winter?
Evaluate Your Firewood Needs
Determining how much firewood a family may need for the winter isn’t as straightforward as picking one number. The amount of firewood that will be needed for winter is contingent on a few different factors. These factors include how often the fireplace or firepit is used, how long it is used, the size of the fire, and the type of wood used.
For a home that burns multiple fires at a time on a daily basis, they will have different needs than a home that only builds a fire once a week. A home that uses small fires will need less firewood than a home that makes large fires. The needs vary on the usage.
Will a Cord of Firewood Last the Winter?
In most homes, a single cord of firewood should be more than enough to keep you warm all winter long. A full cord is a neatly arranged stack of logs that’s 8 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 4 feet tall. This is a considerable amount of firewood. For that reason, many homes may opt for a face cord of firewood instead. A face cord is the same height and width of a full cord. The difference is that a face cord has a shallower depth than a full cord. For a face cord, you can expect the depth to be around 18 inches.
A full cord of firewood is a lot of wood. For some homes, it may be enough to last a full winter depending on usage. A well-seasoned cord of high-quality firewood can absolutely weather even Nassau county’s winters. A face cord, while also a considerable amount of wood, can be expected to last not as long. Depending on usage, a face cord could last winter, but it is more reasonable to expect a month to 6 weeks of usage if used daily.
Choosing Your Firewood For the Winter
Firewood can be made from both hardwoods and softwoods. For clarification, hardwood or softwood does not refer to how physically hard the wood is. Hardwood comes from angiosperms, plants that produce seeds with some sort of covering like apples or acorns. Softwoods are coniferous and their seeds are protected.
Hardwood tends to be preferred for firewood for a few reasons. Hardwood burns longer than softwood and produces more heat. This means that hardwood is a more efficient purchase for firewood purposes. It also produces less smoke which is often a preference for fire wood.
Properly Storing Firewood for Winter
Choosing firewood is important, and once you’ve selected your firewood for the winter, half of the battle is done. Next it is time to decide where and how to store your firewood. Fortunately, it is easy to store firewood properly so it is well seasoned and ready to use every winter.
Regardless of when you start stockpiling your woodpile, there are some tenets of prepping and storing your wood that will make your life easier.
- Split Wood Appropriately
- Dry Wood
- Choosing The Right Place For Your Stack
- Keeping Your Stack Neat
Split Wood Appropriately
Before storing and stacking wood, it must be split appropriately. When splitting wood, it is good to remember exactly where the wood will be burning. Split the wood in the correct measurements for where the wood will burn whether that is a fireplace, furnace, or fire pit. A good tip is to use triangular wedges when you split the wood.
Triangular wedges have a few benefits. They tend to be the easiest to stack. Also, they have more surface area. This makes them dry more quickly than the alternative.
Dry Wood
Drying the wood appropriately is equally important as splitting it. Dry wood will last longer and it will burn better. Storing your wood in a windy sunny location will help it to dry more quickly. If rain and snow and other elements are a concern, consider using a proper covering. The drier the wood the better.
Choosing the Right Place For Your Stack
The stack of your firewood should definitely be considered. Many families opt to keep their firewood in their shed or garage due to convenience. This has some disadvantages to consider including insects and smell.
The important thing is keeping the stack close enough to the house that it is accessible when needed, even in poor weather. Also, keeping the wood off of the ground can improve air circulation and prevent bugs from easily crawling into it.
Keep Your Stack Neat
Stacking your wood neatly keeps your wood from tumbling over. A good stack will have the larger pieces on the bottom for support. Then the pieces will be arranged atop the larger logs in a way that won’t topple over. Don’t pack the wood too tightly. Leave room for air to flow through as this aids the wood in the drying process.
If you are in or around Wake County, NC, Long Island, NY. Then you can get seasoned dried firewood near you from Woody’s Tree Xperts. Give us a call or use our contact form to check for wood availability and current prices. We offer pickup and delivery options.