Home Improvement > Advice & Features > Home Maintenance Features > Wood That Makes The Hearth Glow
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Wood That Makes the Hearth Glow
Shopping
for, buying and storing firewood.
By David Starr
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Firewood
can be romantically decorative when neatly stored. Photo by
Charles Gold from the book "A
Place For Everything" by Peri Wolfman.
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There's a lot
more to preparing for cold temperatures than rudimentary and rather unglamorous
tasks like cleaning the furnace and insulating the attic. "One of
my fondest memories of autumn was going out to the country to buy
firewood," recalls Melissa Sanchez, now a fireplace dealer in New
York City. "My parents told me a cord of wood was the amount that
exactly fit in our station wagon. Of course, I know better now."
A crackling
fire on a chilly evening does much to warm the heart and provide
a natural gathering place for friends and family. And for those
of you used to buying supermarket bundles and presto-type logs,
there's much to learn.
Types
of Firewood
Generally
the most popular burning wood is oak. There are enumerable varieties
widely available throughout the U.S. Oak is long burning (1 to 1½
hours per log), smells nice and splits easily, but tends to be a
bit more ashy and more high priced than other good
alternatives. Depending on the region of the country, ash, beech,
cherry, dogwood, elm, hickory, maple, pinion pine, pine, eucalyptus,
mesquite and juniper are also popular.
Sources
of Firewood
It
pays to be more concerned with the source than what or how
much to get.
Chuck Lyman
of Lyman's Firewood Sales in Encinitas, California, dries his wood
for 15 months before selling it. "Supermarket brands are usually
dried for three months, sold wet and that's why you get the popping
and the spitting." Some dealers kiln-dry their wood, while others
fumigate it to rid the wood of termites.
"Know the dealer and make sure
they have a license and sell only properly dried wood," says Bob Eaves,
investigator of firewood sales for the State of Maryland. "In fact,
in many states, firewood can only be sold by the cord or increments
of a cord, no truckloads," he states emphatically. At the very least
get references before you buy. Call your local NCSG (National Chimney
Sweep Guild) for a quality reference. When you're all set for a romantic
evening by the fire, there is nothing worse than discovering your
supply of wood is wet and non-burnable.
What
Is a Cord?
A
cord is a measurement of neatly stacked and rowed wood that equals
128 cubic feet. The stack measures four-feet tall by four-feet wide
by eight-feet long. You can purchase wood in increments from an
eighth of a cord and up.
Be careful
about buying wood off some guy's truck. "Don't be fooled by terminology,"
says Eaves. "There is no such thing as a face-cord."
Before you order, there are other considerations: How long do you
want the logs cut (how deep is your fireplace) and do you want whole
or split logs? Whole logs burn slower but split logs start up easier.
Many vendors will mix the cord with split and whole or you can split
the logs yourself. It's not as hard as it sounds. There are many
easy-to-use log-splitters on the market.
Make
Your Own Firewood?
If
you think you can save a buck by pruning your tree out front and
burning it, think again. Tree prunings are too green and wet to
burn. What about that old painted chair that's sitting out back?
The paint on that old chair is liable to catch like wild fire and
flame out the front of your fireplace causing serious damage and
smoke.
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A storage rack like this one from Don Alexander keeps wood neat, off the ground and, with an accompanying cover, dry.
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Storing
Your Purchase
Once
you have your wood delivered, what are you going to do with it?
Hearth equipment dealer, Don Alexander of Parsons, Kansas, ships
a firewood rack with a cover. "Store your wood outside with a rack,"
he says, "and keep it off the ground to keep it from rotting." There
is usually no problem with wood stored up to a year.
Firewood can
make a handsome display. Peri Wolfman, a vp for Williams Sonoma
and author of many home decorating books, keeps her wood dry, ready
for burning and beautiful to behold in a tidy woodshed. From there,
she carries the wood indoors and places it in a decorative basket
on the hearth.
Firewood
as an Alternative Source of Heat
"I
heat my own home with firewood, although most of what I sell is
used for ambience," says Chuck Lyman. He's not alone in this thought;
even with the increase in oil prices many people balk at the prospect
of lighting a fire first thing in the morning before rushing off
to work.
And Don Alexander
has a fireplace with all the bells and whistles — double wall liners,
fans, vents and automatic pellet dispenser — admits, "Using the
fireplace to heat an entire modern home is just too much work. As
supplemental heating or to heat one room or a small cabin it's fine."
ON THE WEB
Lyman's Firewood: California firewood retailer with an informative Web site. Check here for prices.
Alexander Manufacturing
Co.: Specialists in firewood racks. Order online.
Hearth Products Association: A trade group representing manufacturers and sellers of hearth equipment.
Eco-Fire: A super, high-tech
fireplace grate.
Firewood Guy: A New Hampshire retailer of seasoned, hard firewood. They ship!
Regency Fireplace Products: A British Columbia manufacturer of gas fireplaces, wood buring stoves and hearth products.
National Chimney Sweep Guild:
Professional organization with member's list and information.
Firewood.com: Complete directory
of firewood distributors and hearth equipment dealers.
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