Got wood?

[garandman]

We have a fireplace in our new house in Boston. I doubt it's very efficient but under the "Two is one, one is none" theory, I'd like to get some more firewood. All I've seen around is the prepackaged bundles. I'd want to buy something more like a couple of car trunks full of split logs, preferably seasoned - maybe a 1/4 cord.

Are there "Drive in" woodlots around anywhere on the North Shore or Southern NH? I can grab a cargo van to pick it up.

As an aside, years ago I lived in a building that had been constructed of brick in the early 1800's and been heated with wood. Most rooms had a Rumford fireplace. If you put more than one log in it you had to open a window! Somewhere along the line, it seems we forgot how to design fireplaces! Most of the ones I see are too low and too deep to do anything buy suck heated air out of the room.

 

[fencer]

I used to know a landscaper in Watertown that sold firewood, Not sure if he still does but I think it was Yerardi landscaping.

You might also consider buying a fireback to put in the fireplace. The metal radiates more of the heat into the room, but they are still obviously not as efficient as a wood stove for heat.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Fireplace-Accessories/Firebacks?gclid=CI3tlOmL_rMCFUWo4AodR1cAdw.

 

[Bill Katt]

You can also get a wood stove that fits into the fireplace.

 

[TZCHRIS]

Or you could buy my pellet stove I have in the classifieds.......

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

Black Magic Chimney in Cambridge sells wood like that.

If you plan ahead for next year. Try these guys out:
http://www.beantownfirewood.net/Pricing.html

 

[PaulD]

This stuff seems like it would be good for your purpose.

http://www.unadillawood.com

 

[xtry51]

A 1/4 cord is not enough. I would store 2 cords minimum if you're really going to use it as a backup plan. Not sure how much a cord is up by you, but I just paid $180/cord, which it not a huge investment.

 

[namedpipes]

We have a fireplace in our new house in Boston. I doubt it's very efficient but under the "Two is one, one is none" theory, I'd like to get some more firewood.

If you haven't been authoritatively told the fireplace is safe you may want to have it and the chimney inspected.

I don't know if he still does this, but CRSIII either can do it or send you to someone that can.

Don't take chances with your life...

 

[coastie]

Look at a fireplace insert. A regular fireplace is great for ambiance but most of the heat goes right up the chimney. Definitely get the chimney looked at to be sure it is safe. If you cant find any local let me know. There is a place near me that sells it on the pallet. Next time we go south to visit the MIL I could bring one down for you.

 

[Billy2]

As others have said you will want to put a wood stove insert in. I second having at least two cords of seasoned drywood on hand. Just search craigslist boston and you can get a cord or two delivered.

I use the northern tool wood stackers for storage

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_932_932

 

[Admin]

A 1/4 cord is not enough. I would store 2 cords minimum if you're really going to use it as a backup plan. Not sure how much a cord is up by you, but I just paid $180/cord, which it not a huge investment.

+1

If you were heating the house with a fireplace or trying to, you'll burn 1/4 cord in a few days. Get a wood stove insert for the fireplace if you can swing the cost.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

I have some dried wood (I believe it's mostly Ash and some Birch). I use it in our firepit but you're welcome to take some if you want, I have plenty.

 

[garandman]

+1

If you were heating the house with a fireplace or trying to, you'll burn 1/4 cord in a few days. Get a wood stove insert for the fireplace if you can swing the cost.

That's all it would ever be. In fact it's primarily for amusement value.

 

[RoterTeufel]

Look at a fireplace insert. A regular fireplace is great for ambiance but most of the heat goes right up the chimney. Definitely get the chimney looked at to be sure it is safe. If you cant find any local let me know. There is a place near me that sells it on the pallet. Next time we go south to visit the MIL I could bring one down for you.

I have a pellet stove insert - kicks out tons of heat. BUT when the power goes out, so does the pellet stove. A TON of pellets is about $200-250 (a pallet's worth) & lasts about 1/2 the season. And yes, the regular fireplace will warm up ONLY the room you're in & suck the heat out of the rest the building.

As others have said you will want to put a wood stove insert in. I second having at least two cords of seasoned drywood on hand. Just search craigslist boston and you can get a cord or two delivered.

^This^ Go to Craig's List - Click the "Free Stuff" and people are giving away firewood all the time... a lot of it is unseasoned, or pallets, so you gotta sort through the junk - but its FREE.

A pellet/wood insert or a wood burning stove are your best bets for ACTUAL heating.

-Craig

 

[thinker01810]

Try www.Tinderpro.com for firewood. I have used them twice and they are reliable and the wood is of good quality (prices are fair but not rock bottom). I like them because they take American Express (I like the points) and you can order online.

I have a cast iron fire back I got from Northline Express a few years http://www.northlineexpress.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cast+iron+fireback that works well. It throws decent heat but won't roast you out of the room like some woodstoves and fireplace inserts will. I'd say it's a compromise, something you can use all the time (emergency or not) that will have a secondary use as an emergency heating source.

 

[[cerberus]]

Or you could buy my pellet stove I have in the classifieds.......

They do not work if the power goes out though. I guess if you have a generator you would be ok, but I like a wood stove. No power needed, no need to waste generator fuel except for the essentials.

 

[Rider]

I hate to be that guy who overgeneralizes, but be really, really careful if you have someone deliver. A lot of the local guys are total dirtbags who will sell you a 'face cord' of firewood for the price of a full cord, and you will have limited recourse once they dump the wood and drive away. This isn't to say there aren't lots of good guys too, but I strongly recommend you either go with someone personally recommended or maybe someone from Angie's List or something.

The problem with Angie's List, of course, is half the people there have no idea what a cord of wood is, so they are more critical if it has debris than if it's a quarter cord short.

Good luck.

 

[Bill Katt]

They do not work if the power goes out though. I guess if you have a generator you would be ok, but I like a wood stove. No power needed, no need to waste generator fuel except for the essentials.

This^

 

[nipsip]

We have a fireplace in our new house in Boston. I doubt it's very efficient but under the "Two is one, one is none" theory, I'd like to get some more firewood. All I've seen around is the prepackaged bundles. I'd want to buy something more like a couple of car trunks full of split logs, preferably seasoned - maybe a 1/4 cord.

Are there "Drive in" woodlots around anywhere on the North Shore or Southern NH? I can grab a cargo van to pick it up.

As an aside, years ago I lived in a building that had been constructed of brick in the early 1800's and been heated with wood. Most rooms had a Rumford fireplace. If you put more than one log in it you had to open a window! Somewhere along the line, it seems we forgot how to design fireplaces! Most of the ones I see are too low and too deep to do anything buy suck heated air out of the room.

These guys sell wood. Deliver also.
http://goo.gl/TmQ8l

 

[fencer]

Newer pellet stoves do work when the power goes out, but they only burn pellets and wood is often free.

I have been cutting, splitting and stacking firewood for more than twenty years for my wood stove. I usually burn about 2 cords a year and I can heat the whole house with the stove. I usually buy it log length and chip away at it. It works out to about 5-6 cords for about $300, but I am getting older and thinking about a splitter.

I always have at least 3 cord of seasoned, covered hardwood on hand. Saving the money is nice but the real reason I do it is that I can keep the house real warm and the kiddos walk around barefoot all winter. That, and it is easier to talk the wife into taking her clothes off when the wood stove is cranking

 

[Mass-diver]

Fireplaces, in general, actually cost energy as thy suck the warm air out the room.

I'm running a joule insert. It's not the most efficient (I wanted a blaze king), but my wife liked the looks of the joule. It easily heats my whole house (large colonial). But, I burn close to a cord a month. I split my own wood, but recently splurged on a cord of kiln dried ($475/cord). The stuff is unreal

It's not really that much of money saver (versus running my oil burner and keeping the thermostat way down) but I can keep the house really warm and its nice if the power goes out.

 

[MisterHappy]

As for the "watch out for the delivery" comments.....damn straight. I had to get the Town involved to make sure I got what I paid for. I'm an old-enough and cranky-enough Yankee to know what a Cord really is.

As to the Rumford design....they were the epitome of fireplaces....but still, a stove works a lot more efficiently.

And, it weirds out people having the fire essentially in the room.

Here's an excellent book on the Runford design:

http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Art-Building-Good-Fireplace/dp/0911469176

 

[Hiltonizer]

If you can't get an insert done this season, there's a few things you can do to help make it useful. A back plate will reflect heat out into the room, and a glass door will help radiate it and reduce the amount of warmed air in the room from going up the chimney (also provides safety from pops).

It's not that fireplaces suck completely, they had their place in history... its just that modern ones suck as they're not designed for heating over aesthetics.

 

[s4mt3k]

The house I bought had propane fireplace inserts (Lennox, Elite series). When I called about getting the propane tank filled, I realized I will NEVER fill the damn thing for $800. F That. So, I took the inserts out and been meaning to sell them. One's never used, the other I used a couple times. So, had my buddy check the chimney real quick, made sure it drafted and such, and I've lit a couple fires in it since. I can get wood cheap (buddy's a landscaper) but I'm realizing that fireplace is NOT equal to HEAT... wtf lol. Wife likes it, so whatever, but I've also been thinking about a wood stove insert... any one have a source on these? or info or something?

 

[Another_David]

As others have said you will want to put a wood stove insert in. I second having at least two cords of seasoned drywood on hand. Just search craigslist boston and you can get a cord or two delivered.

I use the northern tool wood stackers for storage

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_932_932

oh for Pete's sake! ain't nobody knows hows to use a hammer, saws and nails no mores? Cut yourself some corner bracing and skip the plastic brackets. My grandfather, a third generation master joiner, would roll over in his grave if I bought that.

while you're at it, put a cover on that to keep the rain out. A tarp just keeps the moisture in.

 

[fencer]

I don't use any racks or anything I just alternate the ends of the stacks like this... II =.... Then I cover with a sheet of plywood. If it is 4' tall and the same dimension as the plywood, it is a cord.

 

[shadyduk1979]

This stuff seems like it would be good for your purpose.

http://www.unadillawood.com

I use something just like this, its really good stuff. I am a renter and was asked not to burn wood in the chimney because it is unlined, but it is cleaned and inspected. Part of the reason we took this place is it has a centrally located rumford. One log every 3 hours or so and we are at 65 degrees in the room furthest away from the fireplace. Having a house designed to be heated by the fireplace makes a HUGE difference.

 

[jmjkd]

BBW...Other then light cords some also sell you partially seasoned wood that just smolders and never really burns. Waist of $$$

 

[Rider]

With respect to energy lost, etc, Plow and Hearth is your friend. They have all sorts of neat ( and in some cases useless, decorative, and/or overpriced) gear for your fireplace.

A couple of years ago I got my wife a reflector, which reflects a huge amount of heat back into the room, and a folding metal cover that you put over the front of the fireplace before bed or whenever you are done with the fire, it stops your fireplace from pulling all the warm air out of the house.

 

[Gibbs]

...I'd want to buy something more like a couple of car trunks full of split logs, preferably seasoned - maybe a 1/4 cord...

Just as another reference, if you've seen these midsize pickup trucks with short 5-foot beds around, THEY hold about 1/4 cord, neatly packed, without piling high over the bed and rear windshield.