firewood for wood stove? (Portland, Greenwood: for sale, how much, house)

[portland_posie]

Hi there,

I moved to Portland in early summer and immediately started to hear stories about how there would be a shortage of firewood this year, since the crazy fuel costs are leading people to find different ways to heat their homes. The house I'm in has a wood stove in the family room, and I imagine we'll try to have a fire going at least a few nights a week in the winter. I've been checking Craigslist and have called a couple local firewood suppliers, but it seems like mostly green wood is available, rather than dried wood. My question for you experienced Mainers is this: is it a good idea to get some green wood now and just hang onto it until it's usable, or are there other options for buying seasoned wood elsewhere? If I just plan on using the wood stove to supplement my oil heat, do I even need to worry about getting 1/4 or 1/2 cord of wood, or should I just suck it up and buy the prepackaged wood out in front of Shaw's?

Thanks for any help with this!

[Siobjuan]

GET THE GREEN WOOD NOW!!! Pick up a copy of Uncle Henry's. They have some real bargains in there. Sometimes you can even go get your own for free!!!

[AlisonL]

The first thing you may want to do is have the woodstove and chimney inspected to find out if they are safe to use.

If you've never used a woodstove, find out how to use it. There is a bit more to it than just putting in some wood.

You can get green wood if you like, and then you will have it to use next year.

[genmomto5]

Sign up for freecycle too. I see people offering firewood sometimes.

[portland_posie]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'll check Uncle Henry's and freecycle and see what I can find.

[heartfire]

Greenwood must be kept till drey - usually cut for the year ahead. Check ads in Uncle Henry's. You'd go broke and make oil look cheap if you bought wood from shaws.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by AlisonL

The first thing you may want to do is have the woodstove and chimney inspected to find out if they are safe to use.

If you've never used a woodstove, find out how to use it. There is a bit more to it than just putting in some wood.

You can get green wood if you like, and then you will have it to use next year.

Well said Alison and I gave you some reps for that. I am afraid that we'll see more fires than usual from people who don't take these steps. Some homeowners only do these necessary maintenance items when their house is for sale!

[futurecruiser]

Good luck finding seasoned wood, I ordered firewood in May and just got it delivered today. It's green wood I won't burn this year. But - You must buy seasoned wood if you are going to burn it this year. If you want to build a fire a couple of nights a week, get a cord or two. A 1/2 cord is not going to go as far as you think, by the time you get a fire built and going, and load it up for the night. (You don't say how much space you are heating though). It doesn't pay /make sense to start a fire for just a few hours, you want to get it going when you get home from work and keep it going all night or it's not going to make much difference in your heating bills.

I don't think it makes any financial sense to buy those bundles of wood at shaws. (I don't think they are seasoned wood, for one thing and I think some is pine - they are meant for campfires) You'd have to figure out what your oil consumption is a day, but I don't think it'd pay for itself. A cord is 4x4x8 or $128 cubic feet. I just paid $250 for a green cord, about $2/ cubic foot.

And, like others have said, get your chimney cleaned.

[nessnkel]

hello,
my father sometimes sells wood to people. i'm not sure if he would or not but e-mail me at nessnkel@hotmail.com and i will give you more information. and an udate on his status of selling. i'm currently living in hawaii this is why i'm not sure if he sold any wood or has any plans to this year.