Poor Planning.... I'm outta wood.

if you can look for downed trees. its no ideal but if you can get the tops of them, the stuff that is smaller diameter could very well be good to use. think of sizes that only need split once as the biggest.

I hope that helps, or you have great neighbors. try and stay warm. burn what you have to.

Most of us on this site have been there.

Pallets will work. Make sure they have NO CHEMICALS in them. In my experience most are kiln dried, some are green. Try hardware stores, warehouses, etc.

They are a bit of work to take apart, but you can get a system down. I used a sawsall in the basement. Stood on top of the pallets, ripped down then flipped them.

Might be too cold where you are, but construction scraps (framing a house) work too. NO plywood or pressure treated stuff. The smell is AWEFUL.

Good luck.

Been there, Pallets will get you through, lots of work but they do burn hot. I've been burning threw my wood a lot faster this year also.

Im pretty much 100 percent pallets. My best find was behind a flooring store. All that carpet and tile come in on pallets and they were piled high out back. They were happy to see me. Just do a drive by and if u find something then go in and ask. The winter storms usually bring down the standing dead trees, but good luck on that.

Your best bet is the idea you already have. But dont leave a note. Put on your Steelers gear and go knock on the door. Its Feb and we're in the SB and everyone is in a good mood.

ckduece, where in western pa are you

Im about 30 mins from you. Although i dont have wood to spare, there are a couple amish in new wilmington that have slab wood that, although may not be completely seasoned, might be dry enough to burn. At about $15 a truck load. Gets me about a half a cord.

Montgomery Truss may have wood scraps, might want to give them a call.

You could also grab a Bargain Bulletin or Area Shopper and check for firewood. I know there are usually plent of firewood ads for sale within 20-30 miles of grove city.

I know what you mean. I have oil as well as my stove. (Sad thing is i work for the oil company) This is our first year burning. Doing good so far. We dont burn all day, we burn in the evenings and all weekend. Ive really cut down on my oil consumption. Im thinking its going to be a savings of over $800 this winter. We have a small house and our stove works awesome!

All i burn is slab wood because of the way we burn, it has worked out great for us. And if you get a amish guy that doesnt care if you pick through his pile, you can get a truck load of good slab wood that has as much wood on it as a split log. Im actually only about halfway through my stash for this year, so im doing good since i had no idea how much i would go through.

You can always go to one of the local stores and buy a bunch of their little bundles of wood that have like 6-8 small peices in them for $6-8. Thats a joke, i cant beleive anyone would even buy them.

I burn about half old dimensional lumber. 2x4s up to 2x12s discarded for rehab jobs. old oak flooring too, works like a charm. People actually pay to get rid of the stuff. its usually 50 -100 years old. If its nice enough i recycle it into furniture and beams. Look for a home being torn down they will be glad to let you save them money on their tonnage at the landfill.

Sometimes standing dead wood can be OK. A tree with bark completely off is best bet.

ckdeuce said:

Yeah, I thought about slabs. I have gas, but I HATE paying the gas bill.... I have gone through wood like it was newspaper this year.

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Natural Gas may be cheaper compare with buying a cord wood now....I remember seeing a comparison chart somewhere.