Kiln Dried Firewood managed by us "From Forest to Fireplace"

The combination of several ideas developed the concept of this business. Years ago, Paul Fulmore would have firewood stacked in a pickup truck, selling firewood to pay for college. He would be parked at the bottom of Beacon Hill. Exposure was his marketing. When someone wanted wood firewood, it would be delivered directly. Then he would go back, reload the truck, and repeat the process of parking, where he could be seen waiting for the next buyer. Then, over time and the development of a seasonal construction business, there was time for another idea. Reinvent an old idea in a new way.

A bright guy sent Paul an article about a firewood supplier in New York that was doing more for customers than the typical firewood guy. It sparked an idea of how things used to be and how they now can be to supply kiln-dried firewood in a different way. Fill a need for a full-service firewood dealer that sells only kiln-dried firewood. Build a brand around good service and a quality product that burns well. Here is the scene. Normally, a firewood company will set aside enough wood in late spring/early summer for what they think they will sell the next winter season. Time is one constraint. The cost of real estate and storage space is another. Location near the customer base is another.  So, the typical firewood supplier air dries "seasons" the amount of wood needed for the next winter. They hope they have enough, but there is no way to make more later. This takes a good amount of real estate and space. Then, in the fall, they load the wood in a truck and deliver it to a place where they can dump it in a pile for the customer to deal with getting it off the road, ally, or driveway and carry it to where the wood is to be stored. In between could be a long distance, stairs, halls, elevators, and certainly a bunch of labor based on the number of pieces of wood that need to be moved. They then stack it in whatever manner they can, and at this point, they can measure the amount of wood they got if they do it in a way that can be converted to the dimensions of a cord being 8 feet wide, 4 feet deep, 4 feet high. Then, after it has been stacked, do they really know if they got the right quantity?

It was clear that several people did not have the time to go about sourcing good kiln-dried firewood, getting it, hauling it, and stacking it. Have the equipment to handle bulk firewood. So the idea was born to provide a full-service firewood business that takes care of all the issues a customer may have in having a  nice warm, great burning fire to relax by. The only labor involved is picking up the phone and calling nine digits 718-254-2773 for a warm family fire or a romantic evening with a great bottle of wine on a snowy night. There is an additional charge for stacking if needed. The plan is to Supply the best possible high-quality firewood and just take all the effort out of getting kiln-dried firewood. But also go a little further and ensure every delivery is the right quantity plus a little more. The second additional step is to supply a fire starter kit as a token of appreciation. It is tumbleweed fire starters, long-reach matches, and a box of kindling. You get the wood, and we make it easier to start the fire.

Search for the Right Sources

We have traveled all over New England to find high-quality kiln-dried firewood that is dependable and does not cost too much in trucking costs to sell here in Boston Metro West and the Boston metropolitan area. With the additional processing and stacking of the wood for the customer, this is not priced the same as seasoned firewood. The stacking is optional and is an additional charge.

Problems in buying firewood

It is not easy to know what you are getting when buying firewood. Several volume terms designate how much wood is being bought. Things like buying a truckload of wood take the specific measure concept to a new vague level. Also, looking at a pile of wood dumped in a space really cannot be sized up to know how much is there.

“Seasoned” wood means most moisture is out of the wood and will burn ok. The number of variables that affect this outcome is huge. How it was cut, how soon it was split. Was the tree cut down and keep the leaves on? This is so the leaves help pull the water out of the wood. Then, there are things like how it is stacked to season it and protect it from the rain. Does it get enough airflow? Is it up off the ground so moisture and mud do not keep the wood wet? We know of some firewood suppliers that buy wood that has been recently cut in the last month or two and sell it as seasoned wood; clearly, this is not the intent of the term.

Availability of Dry Wood

Each year, the wood supply is a big variable for many dealers; often, during the winter, firewood supplies run out of well “seasoned” wood. Due to the long lead time it takes to season wood, the seasoned wood dealers have to have the wood, the space to store it, and the foresight of knowing how much they will sell. Layer on top of this the weather and vagaries of what customers do it is hard to have the right amount of wood. The next issue is if seasoned firewood is stored too long, it will start to go bad and take up too much space. This can be even harder to deal with is there is no paved area to keep the wood on. Otherwise, it gets muddy and wet on the bottom, and moisture soaks some lower wood in the pile. This problem with having the right amount of firewood for sale leads to the term “Semi-Seasoned” firewood. This can be a euphemism for wood that could have been cut less than a month ago. We know for a fact this happens in some situations. Our point is there are several gray areas because it is a product that is hard to know exactly what you are getting.

We are focused on building a business with the highest quality products and good services. Kiln-dried wood has a much shorter production cycle time, and we warehouse a lot of processed wood to meet our demand.

The species of wood selected by the supplier is another variable.

Getting a cord of all one species of wood, like all birch or all-maple, is difficult since the source does not grow that way. The New England area has sections with a high population of one type of tree, but mixed in are almost always other varieties of trees. Selecting a kiln-dried supplier includes dealing with a company that cuts enough wood to cull out undesirable species for kiln drying. At the landing area, the person sorting and delimbing becomes important in how well he sorts logs destined for kiln drying. So, when these are cut and handled together, the result is an average blend of hardwoods. So, the degree of selecting the wood and sorting the wood source is a variable. Different woods have different moisture content and densities, so they dry slower or faster in the kiln drying process and when air-dried. So, the result of a load of firewood is an average moisture content.

Firewood is not a manufactured product

What we mean by this is the variability. It is a natural product harvested in large amounts and selected for quality. Each piece of wood is a little different. The colors and grains are different when you look at a hardwood floor. The same is true for the firewood since the source is also the same in this area. Our kiln-dried product is much more consistent since it is monitored, and moisture content is measured 24/7 for the entire drying process. This is set up to produce the optimum moisture content of your entire load of wood.

There is no set grade for the product.

In other industries, standards or uniformity measures are set up for the consumer to get a consistent product and compare similar products apples to apples. In this situation, the grading is fairly subjective and open to interpretation.

The volume you are purchasing is hard to measure

Only until the wood is stacked in a cubicle dimension that can be compared to the dimension bought does the consumer know if they got the amount they paid for. We are not saying that all firewood dealers take advantage of this, but some do on the actual amount sold as well as how well-seasoned the wood is.

The price of wood is also a variable

Some dealers want a low price. Everyone who is a firewood supplier in the Boston area has the same basic costs and economics. The margins are not high. So, companies that focus on low prices must work along the edges on quality and volume to stay in business as low-price firewood suppliers. Consumers do not get a great burning fire in the fireplace but get what they paid for. Everyone wants a good deal; some deals have a great price, and some have great quality, but you seldom get a low price and high quality and stay in business. We are dedicated to a different model. We charge a higher price, but along with this are several factors. The logging company selects the wood for tree species that have uniform drying characteristics and are high-quality hardwoods to burn.  This is a key concept because some hardwoods just takes a longer time to dry and can cause an imbalance in the rest of the load being dried in the kiln.  The result is some are too much, and the others are not enough. Almost all wood pieces are cut to approximately 16” long, so you get the volume of wood you ordered. Being kiln-dried, the wood has a consistent moisture content for a warm fire. As a consumer, read suppliers' reviews, look at the supplier's yards, try different suppliers' wood, and see for yourself. 

Delivery is also different

beacon hill firewood delivery smallFull-service delivery is what we do. The labor involved in firewood is just plain a large factor. It is bulky and fairly heavy. Based on species and moisture content, green hardwood can be 4,500 pounds per cord and, when dried, 3,300 lbs. The variations can be largely based on the source you look at. Either way, the number of pieces and the weights are variable, but the concept remains the same. It takes work to move a cord of firewood kiln dried or green.

We take care of all the variables

We know many people do not want to deal with all these variables and issues. Then there is the time and work on handling and then stacking firewood. So we do it for you if you want at an additional charge.  As with anything else, if you specialize in something and do it a lot, we tool for it and have the people who do the work well and efficiently. From the forest selection of the wood through cutting processing and the wood to kiln-dried firewood. We keep the wood dry and out of the weather the whole way. When the wood is delivered, we stack it at your specified fireplace or storage area.  For our stacking service, we will quote a price at the time of order based on the detail you give us or from a picture of the conditions. 

Easily measured quantify at delivery

The fact that we measured the amount of wood ordered when the wood was loaded on the truck is only part of the story. When delivered, it is stacked in a neat pile, often in a customer’s wood rack. When the wood is stacked, it is then easy to measure and confirm the amount of wood delivered with the dimensions of a cord or partial cord ordered to ensure it is correct.

High-Quality Kiln Dried Firewood

Drying firewood in a kiln uniformly means selecting hardwoods that are similar in the rate at which they dry. The density of the wood affects the drying rate in each species of wood. Since the source of wood is mixed hardwoods here in New England, the logs put aside for kiln-dried firewood have to be done by compatible species that dry at the same speed. It is like cooking hamburgers. If one is really thin and has a lot of fat, it will cook fast. If some other hamburgers are exceptionally fat and less than 20 percent fat, they will take longer to cook.

"Forest To Fireplace"

We take care of all the details so that when you call us because you want a nice fire in the fireplace, we are the concierge for you that gets you high-quality wood, places it where you want it stored so you have a no-labor fire, and can relax because it burns well not smoldering and smoking.

Click on the links below for more information on the following firewood sizes we sell and deliver:

Smaller quantities of wood are available to pick up at our yard in Dorchester; please call first

We charge a fair price for great wood and take the labor out of getting wood. It is a good deal for you and a good deal for us, so we can continue to be of service. Call Paul for delivery at 781-254-2773 or click here for a free online quote.