The Ultimate Guide to Firewood & What You Can & Can’t Burn in Your Fireplace

Note: If the ‘seasoned wood’ you bought turned out to be green and you elected to try to burn it anyway, be sure to have your chimney checked more often than usual. Creosote will most likely build up faster than it would if you were burning seasoned wood.

How Firewood Is Sold

If you’re buying firewood for the first time or you’re new to wood burning, you may not know what to look for or how much you need. We’re here to help. Here are the basics of buying firewood…

Firewood is generally sold by volume, with the most common measure being the cord. Other terms often used are face cord, rick, or truckload.

• A standard cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet of wood, generally measured as a pile 8-feet long by 4-feet tall by 4-feet deep.
• A face cord is also 8-feet long by 4-feet tall, but it is only as deep as the wood is cut. So, a face cord of 16” wood is only 1/3 of a cord. A face cord of 24” wood yields ½ a cord.
• A rick is simply a pile of wood.
• A truckload of firewood can vary tremendously for obvious reasons. (Who’s truck are we talkin’ about?)

It’s important to get all the details from the wood seller before agreeing on a price, because there’s plenty of room for misunderstanding.

Here’s a pro tip: Have your wood storage area set up in standard 4 x 8-foot increments, pay the wood seller the few extra dollars typically charged to stack the wood, and warn your seller up front that you will cheerfully pay only when the wood actually measures up to an agreed upon amount.

And remember, although firewood is usually sold by volume, heat production is dependent on weight. Pound for pound, all wood has approximately the same BTU content, but a cord of seasoned hardwood weighs about twice as much as the same volume of softwood. Consequently, the hardwood contains almost twice as much potential heat. So, if the wood you are buying is not all hardwood, consider offering a little less money when you purchase.

Hardwoods VS. Softwoods: What You Need to Know

There’s a rumor floating around out there that you shouldn’t burn softwoods in your fireplace, but that’s not true. It’s absolutely OK to burn softwood in your fireplace – but you should know what the difference is between softwood and hardwood, and when one is better than another.

But first, what are some common softwoods and hardwoods?

• Softwoods: Pine, cedar, redwood, spruce, douglas fir
• Hardwoods: Walnut, maple, mahogany, oak, teak, beech, hickory, cherry, ash

In general, softwoods are lighter, which means they’ll be easier to light and get going, but you’ll get less heat per volume than you would with hardwood. Hardwoods are heavier and denser, so it’ll be harder to get the fire going – but once you do, you’ll have a hot, roaring fire.

While you can use both types of wood in your fireplace, use softwoods and hardwoods wisely. For example, if you have access to a variety of species, save the denser fuel (like your hardwoods) for the colder months of the year when you need a lot of heat, and use lighter fuel (like your softwoods) as kindling or to build a fire in the spring and fall when you don’t need as much heat.

And remember, if you’re burning less dense woods like elm, while they make fine firewood – you’ll have to make a few extra trips to the woodpile.

Can Wood Be Too Old to Burn?

Firewood that’s properly stored should be good for use for about 3-4 years. After that, you’ll want to invest in some new wood, as old wood will not burn well for you.

How Do You Season Firewood?

If you chop wood yourself or buy firewood before it’s been properly seasoned, you’ll have to do the seasoning yourself. What’s the secret to seasoning firewood?

• Cut your firewood to shorter lengths.
• Cut firewood 6 months before you plan to use it. (This gives water time to evaporate.)
• Split the wood to expose more surface area to the sun and wind.
• Properly store your firewood while it seasons (6 months to a year).

A good way to make sure you always have dry, seasoned firewood is to buy or chop your firewood in the spring and store it properly until you’re ready to use it that fall or winter.  With proper storage, even the greenest of firewood can be good to go within 6-12 months. And that wood can last 3-4 years.

Another trick is to mark and weigh your firewood when you stack it. Periodically, re-weigh your firewood. Once it’s lost about 2/3 of its weight, you can be relatively confident it’s seasoned and ready for use.

What Kind of Wood Should NOT Be Burned in Your Fireplace?

We also need to touch on one other important fact: Not every type of wood makes good firewood. What kind of wood SHOULD NOT be burned in the fireplace?

• Don’t burn driftwood in your fireplace. Driftwood is loaded with salt, and the chlorine in salt mixes with wood compounds during burning to release a toxic chemical, one that’s been linked to cancer.
• Don’t burn treated, painted, or sealed wood in your fireplace. Treated/painted/sealed wood will release chemicals during burning, many of which are cancer-causing chemicals.
• Don’t burn green/wet wood in your fireplace. As we talked about earlier, green wood contains a lot of moisture, which will lead to cooler fires, cooler flues, more smoke, and more creosote. Burning this type of wood is a waste, but if you do it anyway, be sure to have your chimney inspected and cleaned more than just once a year.

Your Other Questions, Answered

Are Creosote Logs Safe to Use in Your Fireplace?

Creosote logs or chimney sweeping logs won’t do any harm to your fireplace, but they won’t remove creosote from your system either. While creosote may flake off or become easier to brush off when you burn these logs, you’ll still need to schedule a sweeping to get the creosote out of the chimney and fireplace. Learn more about chimney sweeping logs right here.