Newbie needs help with first cord wood purchase

[Withoutink]

Hi All,

I will be having a ZC fireplace installed in a couple of weeks, and I want to start preparing for winter.... I know a lot of firewood sellers don't season the wood for a full year, there is one or two guys around here, with a huge barn full, and they say it's seasoned a full year.

Anyway, I am in North Georgia, what woods should I look for? That may be the least offensive this first year? Something that may burn decently.

I know a full cord is 4x4x8 neatly stacked, so I will try and not get the wool pulled over with the pickup full as being a full cord.

Also, how should I stack the wood? Should I get some pallets or PT 1x4s or 2x4s and lay them down first, then stack the wood? This way they are not sitting on a puddle when it rains etc?

I have two large decks, could I store the wood under the deck, and not worry too much about covering the wood when it rains?

I will start looking to see if I can acquire some extra wood for next year now, also I have a pretty wooded area on my property, there may be one or two felled trees in the woods. But the area is way over grown, I need to wait till fall kicks in and everything goes dormant...

Any other helpful hints would be great...

 

[NewHarmanOwner]

It really depends on how much you're paying per cord. In my area, a full cord of hardwood is 200-250, 280 or so for all oak or black locust, but again, it depends on your area.

Definitely stack it above ground and get air flow underneath and around.

 

[Withoutink]

There is a guy that sells for $180 for a full cord delivered, he is a local guy. I do not know as of yet, what it consists of though.

 

[Longstreet]

Is this the guy in Cartersville who also has a bandsaw mill for lumber? If it is, please follow up with your results, I will be interesting in hearing how it goes.

 

[Withoutink]

Is this the guy in Cartersville who also has a bandsaw mill for lumber? If it is, please follow up with your results, I will be interesting in hearing how it goes.

I don't think so, as I am up in NE side, near Clarkesville

 

[jatoxico]

I don't know what's available in your area or if you'll have any luck specifying what type of wood you want but if you can try to get Ash. Other species like silver maple also dry quicker than others. Heavy hardwoods like Oak are slow to season.

You presumably have better drying conditions than we do here in the NE. If the seller did split the wood say last spring and you had a good summer for drying you may be OK. Harbor Freight sells cheap moisture meters that could help you select. Wood sellers just love when you whip them out though.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

IMHO, the most important thing is that the wood is seasoned/dry. Get yourself a moisture meter for $30 and test whatever wood you are going to buy on a fresh split surface. If it's 20% or less, you are good to go. I won't comment on species since my choices are quite different than yours.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

My dad lives in Ellijay, GA. Most of the wood I've seen him get is oak.

 

[Withoutink]

Thanks guys.

Another question. This is the area under my front deck, which never gets wet.

Would storing firewood under there be ok/advisable?

 

[Applesister]

You could, but it will detract from landscaped appearance of your house.
Doesnt look very easy to accomplish either, do you have an idea how you would do it?
4-5' wide tiered steps out of stone to match your retaining wall would look okay.

 

[Jags]

what woods should I look for?

Dry. At this point it really doesn't matter what flavor it is - the more important factor is that it is dry and ready to burn.

 

[Withoutink]

You could, but it will detract from landscaped appearance of your house.
Doesnt look very easy to accomplish either, do you have an idea how you would do it?
4-5' wide tiered steps out of stone to match your retaining wall would look okay.

We also have a long deck in the back we could stack under. I'll take a pic tomorrow. We are probably going to plant a second tier of bushes behind the Japanese boxwood. There was 6 small trees/bushes there, but I ripped them out a few weeks back.

We have a huge berm in the front of the house, so you really can't see the wood from the house, the pic below shows the old tall hedge we tore out.

 

[Wood Duck]

You are mainly interested in firewood that is seasoned. Don't worry about what type of tree the wood came from. In Georgia you might actually prefer lighter woods like Pine because you'll have lots of cool nights but warm days, and it might be nice to have fires that burn out rather than long burns.

Avoid stacking firewood in the ground. The ground is always moist and moisture will get into any wood resting on the ground. Also, make sure you have good air circulation around the wood. I think under the deck looks OK, but it might be hard to get the wood in and out of there.

 

[planner steve]

I would consider the path that would will be hauled through the house. The path that has the least potential for nagging is best.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

I would consider the path that would will be hauled through the house. The path that has the least potential for nagging is best.

This is very true. I'm considering adding another door to the back side of my house to make it easier to haul wood down my stairs into the basement. The wife complains about the bits of bark that inevitably fall when I haul wood through the house.

 

[Withoutink]

Ok, due to the monsoon we had the past few days, the fireplace people have to reschedule. We are about a month out now for install. You guys make some great points. For storage I'll get some pt lumber and make some racks. I think I'll add a small roof, probably a metal number not 100% sure yet. That should be good to keep most of the rain saturating the top. I'll document the process as I go. I'll build a small four foot rack for the deck, very close to the living room and one or two 8' racks in the yard.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

If you have to buy, I would by extra, I would try to get red oak to stack for years to come, you will be thankful one day, don't just buy for this year, plan ahead, especially if you have a big yard......

 

[Oldman47]

As a first year burner with zero seasoned wood I would be looking for something that dries fast like pine.Even then you will likely need to buy some pressed wood product for your first year burns. No way even pine split in October will be ready for this winter.

 

[Withoutink]

What kind of pressed wood products are recommended? Where can I order them from?

 

[mwhitnee]

Envi blocks and Bio bricks are popular, type into a search engine with your location. Stove stores often sell compressed wood fuel.