FAQ

I just placed an order, what happens next?

Your order is placed in queue.  Depending on the time of year, the wait may just be a few days or it may be a few weeks.  We keep the waiting list updated regularly- It’s posted on our main page as well as on our Facebook page.  You are also more than welcome to contact us for a status update.

When your order is getting close to being ready you will be contacted.

The wood is loaded into trucks with dump beds and dumped into a pile at your location.  The drop-off area needs to be at least 9ft wide and have nothing overhead for about 15ft (no large tree branches, powerlines, etc).  It also needs to be sturdy enough to support the truck (up to 5 tons, depending on order size), and reasonably level, especially side to side.  We are not able to “off road” across muddy yards, unplowed areas, etc.  If you can’t make it in an average car, we won’t be able to either.

If the area you plan to have the wood dumped is in question, PLEASE let us know ahead of time.  If we determine it’s not accessible or safe, you will have to find an alternate location.

When dumped, a cord will take an area roughly 12ft wide by 10ft long.

What is a cord of wood?

A cord is a standard measurement of firewood. It is to firewood as a gallon is for fuel.

A cord equals 128 cubic feet when the wood is neatly stacked. Most commonly referred to as a 4ft wide x 4ft tall x 8ft long stack of wood, but it can be any size provided it equals 128 cubic feet.

Buying wood that is measured with “non-standard” units is almost always a losing proposition. Would you buy fuel for your car by the pail instead of by the gallon?  Buying wood that is loose (not stacked) is a best guess estimate as far as the volume.

Stacking the wood in our trucks allows us not only to ensure the correct volume, but it also allows us to inspect each piece and remove all the loose bark and debris.

I just bought a wood stove. I used xxxx gallons of fuel oil last year, how much wood will I need?

This really depends on the quality of wood and efficiently of your stove, but you can get a fairly close estimate.

If you burned 1000 gallons of fuel, you used about 138,300,000 BTUs to heat your home. That works out to about 6 cords of birch firewood.

Here is a useful calculator: Heating Fuels Calculator

What exactly is seasoned wood? Why do I need this?

Seasoned wood is wood that the majority of water has been allowed to evaporate. A typical split piece of firewood from a tree that was just cut can be as high as 100% moisture. A seasoned, ready to burn, split piece will have 20% or under.

Burning green wood causes many problems.

The first problem is that it is difficult to get a fire started and to continue burning.

The second problem is that it wastes wood. The fire will consume up to 40% of the BTUs available to dry the wood out before outputting usable heat.

The third problem is the steam released mixes with the smoke and sticks to the inside of the stove and chimney in the form of creosote. A buildup of creosote can cause a chimney fire which is very dangerous.

Buy your wood early to allow it to dry.  Typically birch will be dry in 6 months.  Buying wood at least a year ahead is an even better plan.

Is the wood I’m buying seasoned?

Unless it is specifically advertised as being seasoned, the wood will not be.  Typically the logs which we process the wood from have been sitting for several months.  Some vendors call that being seasoned, but it truly is not.

I have a small stove, can I get wood that will fit it?

We can cut wood to most lengths and split smaller.  There is an upcharge due to the additional labor. (per cord prices in addition to regular price)

Small splits – $50

14″ lengths – $50

12″ lengths – $75

10″ lengths – $100

(10″ is the shortest we can process on our equipment.)