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Where to Buy Firewood

 

We are a kiln-dried firewood supplier located in Boston, Massachusett. If you are nearby and looking for quality dried firewood, call us at 1-781-254-2773. We have dried wood in stock year-round, ready to burn now, and we do not run out.

In New England, where trees are abundant, people buy firewood for ambiance and for heating. In any place where people commonly burn firewood, there will be firewood dealers. The trick is to find firewood dealers with the amount and type of wood needed; you need to know where to look and what qualities to look for. Not all firewood is handled the same, and how well it burns can vary greatly.

Where to buy firewood nearby

Firewood Marketing is all part of customers finding firewood

Kiln Fired Wood Ad 6x8 528 smallBoston Firewood Kiln Dried FirewoodSmall business seasonal firewood marketing differs from many other products and services we buy that are well advertised. Firewood often comes from small, one-person, part-time businesses that do not have a budget for advertising or the technology to do it. Some Firewood dealers do advertise, but certainly not on TV commercials or radio, and not like the old days, the Yellow Pages or the phone book is a thing of the past.

Looking to find firewood nearby is part of trying to find a local dealer to keep the cost of firewood as well as the cost of transportation low. Being local implies faster delivery and lower total cost. We face the same problem being a firewood dealer. Establishing our consistent firewood supplies has the same challenge: large geography and little information. Then, the total distance is a factor in trucking bulk materials long distances. For most people, this means that if it is not on the internet, it does not exist. Days working to find good high-quality wood proves this. But when you find the right source, you keep it and work with it.

Match the supplier to what you need.

Finding the right firewood supplier depends on what you are looking for. What we mean by this is there are differences in the use of wood and certainly different variations in the quality of firewood. The key is to match the use of the wood with the quality of what you are buying to what you are using it for. For whole house heating during the entire winter, to save on home heating costs, you should buy firewood a year to 18 months ahead, so that will guarantee good burning wood when you are ready to burn the wood for heat. The issue is you need space and pre-planning. The tradeoff is time and less cost. This can work for heating purposes out in the suburbs because more space is available. In a tight urban area, it is just not as feasible.

The opposite end of the spectrum is a home on Beacon Hill where space is premium and fires in the fireplace are for ambiance, relaxation, socializing, or romance.  Time is of the essence when a customer gets the wood. They want it to burn right and burn right now.

So, based on what you need, controls where you buy your firewood. The point is to know the types of firewood suppliers in the Boston area and select the ones that cater to your needs in terms of the quality of the wood and quantity of the wood. By quality, we mean how dry, what size, the quantity of wood, the correct measure of wood, etc.

Craigslist

Small firewood operations that split and cut wood as a home business can usually be found by checking Craigslist to find who has firewood for sale near you. It is a low-cost way to get the word out to people looking for wood and is not a fixed cost year-round. Yard signs can find similar small firewood types of operations and see who is selling bundles of wood and cords of wood.

Landscapers and Tree Services

tree service firewood split smallA tree service supply yard with split firewoodThere is a group of companies that provide firewood as a way to supplement the rest of their seasonal business. Landscapers and tree companies must dispose of the wood they cut, and some turn to process it into firewood. The limiting factor for everyone in the Boston area is a space constraint. The cost and uses of real estate are so expensive that it is hard to store a lot of firewood before the wood-burning season. So, one-year-old seasoned firewood does not happen. Almost everyone sells out early in the season and then starts cutting and splitting in the summer. Call early in the season. By that, we mean in September or so before they run out of seasoned or green wood; you have time to season yourself. The green firewood will be the least expensive, but supplies are variable. Look for tree service companies and what is stored in the yard. Do this with purpose and timing. Check-in late spring, and if the yard is empty, then in 2 -4 months, they have “Seasoned Firewood,” then you know they are stretching the term.

For part-time dealers that have a limited supply of wood, be aware that these companies, as they get short of supply, tend to charge more during the colder months due to the higher demand and reduced supply. Plan and buy in the late spring and summer months. The wood can be an excellent product, or it may be very freshly cut and not burn well.

There are many firewood suppliers that bring big oversized tree truck logs into their storage yards and let the firewood logs age so they will dry out. Till cut and split, drying is just not going to be to the core. They hold them for a while and then cut them up and split them into firewood at the start of the winter. The number of pictures like these to the right is a sample of suppliers that collect big logs and sit on them till they can find the time to make firewood. The problem is whole logs don’t dry out well, especially in a rainy, wet year. Large unsplit logs can hold moisture in the center two-thirds of the log for a long time.

large logs not split smallLarge logs not split in a landscaper's yardAll Wood is composed of bundles of microscopic cells that form tubes to transport water from the roots of the tree to the leaves. Without this system, the leaves will wilt, and the tree will die. Some of the water in the wood fibers is loose, and some of it is chemically bonded to the fibers, so it is hard to remove. The water in these tubes will stay full of water for years even after a tree is dead unless the conditions are distinctly dryer outside of the wood.

For quality wood, it is must be cut up and split into firewood sizes so the moisture in the wood will not get out. A sure sign of not being dry is when the last logs of the night will not burn down all the way.

Where to buy firewood near me

If you have not seen a yard selling firewood or know a firewood dealer, the next step is to find a nearby firewood supplier or dealer. The best source of information is a neighbor or friend who burns wood and is happy with the source of wood they have found and are happy with the wood they sell. Naturally, ask what kind of experience they had with the supplier and whether they would recommend that company.

Check with tree service companies and landscapers. Ask at the nearest fireplace stores or places that sell firewood accessories. They may know who customers have had good luck with.

After that, with no other option of knowing a supplier, the next place to turn is the option of a Google search. When you are talking with a vendor, be clear on the terms being used and what to expect on quantities, moisture content, and what mix of wood it is. Check the vendor's reviews and listen to how they present the product. Ask questions such as whether the wood is ready to burn, if not, when, whether they guarantee the firewood and things like that.

By their very nature, companies with a website are committed to the business and do firewood as a business. Companies on Craigslist may well be good but small.

How to buy firewood

Know the result you want. Heating or ambiance fires. If you have time, look for seasoned wood or green wood. If the time frame is short or the quantity is small, look for very well-seasoned wood or kiln-dried firewood.

The second step is to know the firewood terms and what the implications are, or you may very well not be happy with the result. Do not get Burned.

On this site, we have explanations and videos to help show and explain firewood concepts.

Click on the links below for more information on the following firewood sizes:

Smaller quantities of wood are available picked up at our yard in our yard, please call first.

Don’t Get Burned Buying Firewood

dont get burned buying firewood smallDo not get burned buying firewood

As with any product sold in quantity, there are gray areas, and some dealers take advantage of what is going on and know all the tricks to have the transaction work out to their advantage. As in all business, it should be a good deal for both the customer and the seller. This way, the relationship can continue. Sometimes, there is miscommunication, so just be clear. Sometimes, dealers take advantage of the gray areas to work the deal to their advantage. It is up to the firewood dealer to do what they say they will do. If you buy a large pile of wood and have it dumped in the driveway, there is a problem that gets to be a lot of work to fix. To prevent getting burned, ask to buy a small sample of their wood and see how it burns in your fireplace. 

Here are some tips.

Do not buy from dealers who crisscross stacks of firewood. If a firewood supplier is staking the wood, that way, you are not getting a fair measure of firewood. The state of Massachusetts specified that the wood needs to be stacked tightly stowed. The dealer may be making up for a low price by delivering less wood than was agreed on, but it looks like more. The overall dimension may be right, but the stack's voids mean fewer pieces of wood than should be in the wood pile.

Never buy wood that is sold by the piece. Piece sizes vary; the smaller the wood pieces, the less you receive. Nor is it a standard unit of measure of commerce.

firewood debris unscreened firewood smallFirewood Debris Left After Firewood was Delivered and DumpedAsk if the wood is clean of debris. Some suppliers handle the wood in a woodlot that is not paved and does not screen out debris, mud, and rocks before they deliver it. Sometimes, after purchasing firewood that is dumped and not stacked often, you can see all sorts of junk that came with each delivery. It’s not suitable for burning and cuts down on what you get. Part of handling quantities of firewood pieces split and break off, which is not good for burning other than as small kindling. That’s not what customers are buying. They want a medium-sized piece of wood that is clean and clear of debris.

Every delivery is measured carefully, and we make sure you get a fair measure of wood plus some. We do not sell you wood and then try to figure out any way possible to increase the profit by shorting the amount of wood sold or the quality of the wood the customer has agreed to buy. We are looking for long-term customer retention, not short-term profit, by slighting a customer regarding the amount or quality.

Benefits of buying superior quality firewood

A sample of how our firewood burns Quality, well-dried firewood will help your fireplace burn cleanly and efficiently and be easy to light and burn brightly. That’s good wood. On the other side of the spectrum, green or wet wood will create smoking problems, backdraft into the house, odor problems, rapid creosote buildup, and possibly even dangerous chimney fires.

Ordering firewood

After selecting a source and ordering firewood, be clear at the point of order before he arrives that you will be happy to pay the agreed amount as long as the wood measures up to the agreed-upon amount ordered.

Make sure the type of wood you get is from the right tree varieties. Wood that is called white wood. These are native hardwoods good for burning.

Whitewood, when split, is typically a white color and is a select hardwood that will dry evenly in the kiln, so there is not a large variation in moisture content of the final dried wood product. Selecting the type of wood by species makes for a uniformly dry firewood that will burn well. A denser wood is selected out of the mix. Species we sell are white wood such as Ash, Beech, Hickory, and Sugar Maple.

Storing Firewood

Even dried firewood can be ruined by bad storage conditions. If the wood is exposed to a lot of rain or covered in wet snow, it will take the water back in, and it can be large amounts of water, making it unfit to burn and causing it to rot before it can be used. It may not be a lot, but we want to avoid it. We do not like to deliver firewood in the rain, so why go backward in keeping the wood dry?

We Sell Kiln Dried Firewood in The Greater Boston Area

If you are in this area, we are near you and will deliver high-quality kiln-dried firewood in the greater Boston area. To put it in context, seasoned firewood that burns well generally has a 20-25% moisture content. Longer seasoning will get the moisture level down further. Well-seasoned firewood is easier to start produces more heat and burns cleaner. But the issue is, has the wood been well seasoned to this moisture content? From what we hear from customers, it is not.

We sell kiln-dried firewood because it burns better. The moisture content is set to be consistently in the range of 15 to 20%. This means it will produce a better fire in the fireplace that does not smoke and smolder. This gives you longer and even burning firewood as it burns.

Advantages of Kiln-Dried Wood:

Easier to light

The fire Produces a hotter fire with enhanced flickering flames as it burns.

With the reduced water, the wood will burn completely. Customers report that it burns up to hotter up to 40% hotter.

Insect and pest-free for safe storage

One of the downsides of hardwood is the bugs that may be in it. With our kiln-drying method, the temperature used to drive out the water also raises the inside temperature of the wood, so it kills any invasive species in the wood. You get a higher heat source and don’t have to worry about hitchhiking bugs warming up and making an entrance into the house to cause problems later on. Our wood can be stored indoors safely without the fear of creating problems.

Reduction of creosote buildup in your chimney or flu

Kiln-drying the wood reduces the moisture in the wood. Less water being driven off produces fewer creosote chemicals to be deposited on the sides of the chimney. Two of the benefits of low-moisture wood are as follows. One, there are fewer flammable chemicals on your chimney walls. Secondly, the smoke produced is not smoldering damp smoke as you get from wet wood or a fireplace dampened way down. From our kiln-dried firewood, the smoke is much less, and it is environmentally friendly.

Firewood is a renewable resource.

Our wood is trucked in from Northern New England after it has been dried. Almost all of New England was stripped bare of trees at one point. Now, with professionally managed forestry, woodlots produce a consistent flow of wood from thinning and managing the property so the stand of trees can thrive and be healthy.

Really, firewood is captured solar energy. As a tree grows, it holds the soil in place and captures carbon dioxide. Combined with photosynthesis, it creates wood fiber and continues to gain in mass. Water and nutrients in the soil allow it to grow and be healthy. Forestry management keeps the stock of woodlot forest growth balanced, healthy, and disease-free.

The wood that is being cut is selected from the total crop, which may be furniture, flooring, framing lumber, and other wood products. Some are selected to produce paper. Wood waste from the logging goes to large plants that generate electricity and then feed onto the electrical grid back down to Boston or throughout New England. Look around your home. What would you have if all the wood was taken out?

Burning the wood releases the stored solar energy to produce a warm glowing fire that has a certain primal attraction to stare at the flickering flames on a cold, snowy evening. What could be better than that? It is all part of the cycle of life.

To buy our firewood or get a free quote on the amount of wood you want, please call.

Call us for kiln-dried firewood delivered and stacked for you at 1-781-254-2773 or for an immediate free quote. We have our firewood request page.