MYTOP TEN LOCAL " PIEDMONT TRIAD" BEST FIREWOODS FOR HEATING YOUR HOME

 Areyou ready to snuggle up to a warm fire with a blanket, sweatshirt, and hot cupof coffee? If you are, then you’ll be happy to see the days fly right off ofthe calendar. With each passing day, we get a little closer to winter.

Butif you are planning on snuggling up to a fire, then you better have yourmaterials ready. You’ll need to make sure that your woodstove andfireplace are cleaned all out and also make sure that you have plenty of woodfor burning.

Yet,you may be asking yourself, what is the best firewood? In reality, the answeris going to be different for everyone. Your answer will depend on which areayou live in and the weather you experience. It will also include how warm youactually want to keep your home.

Well,I’ve got all of the info you need to make these decisions and stock your woodsheds. Here are some of the local "Piedmont triad " types your morelikely to find.

 I’m sure we’ve all heard of theterm ‘hardwood.’ We usually use it in reference to floors. But do youreally know the difference?



Well, hardwood is a more densewood and can be more expensive too, if you are purchasing your firewood it willgive you the most bang for your buck.

However,softwood is usually easy to get a fire started. Though, it isn’t the best forheating your home for long periods of time as it burns up pretty quickly incomparison to hardwood. Learning to use a mixture of both hard and softwood andwhen to use one over the o other will cause a easier time starting andmaintaining for fireplace or a woodstove.

 When you are burning firewood,seasoned wood should be your first choice. It is the kind of wood that has beenleft out in the weather after cutting for a long time. It will be gray or dustyin appearance from the outside. It is usually best when the barks starts tofall off without much effort in removing it.

Yet, it will be white and dry onthe inside. This is what you want to burn because there aren’t huge amounts ofresidue that come from the wood and cause chimney blockages. These blockagesare made of class 3 creosote and are the cause of chimney fires and crackedliners.

However, if you choose unseasonedwood, this is the wood that is freshly cut and is often referred to asgreenwood. It may be easier to come by, but you need to just stay on top ofkeeping your chimney clean if using it.But I highly recommend looking a bitharder and find hardwood.

But it could be a great choicefor wood if you are burning wood outside of your home in something like afirepit or water stove. But unseasoned or overly wet firewood increases yourchance of building up class 3 and having a chimney fire.

 1. Apple

If you like to cook outdoors orover an open fire in your fireplace, then you might be interested in this typeof wood. It is a variety that burns slower which means it will require lesswood to keep a fire going.

But it also puts off a nice smellwhich is great when cooking a meal over an open fire. Some of that tastyfragrance will be soaked up by your food. That sounds delicious!

2. Ash

Are you looking for a type offirewood that will help you keep a steady burning fire? If you are someone thatdepends strictly upon wood heat, then you would be interested in this type ofwood.

So this wood will definitely keepa steady rolling fire going in your fireplace or wood stove. However, it needsto be noted that this firewood works best if it is seasoned.

3. Birch

Birchwood is a softwood. Thismeans that it will ignite faster and can be burned pretty easily as greenwood.However, you need tokeep in mind that it can cause a blockage in your chimney, and it will alsoburn up quickly which means you’ll need to attend your fire more regularly andneed more firewood to keep your home heated.

4. Maple

Maple trees are a very familiartree throughout most of the United States. It may be more difficult to locatein different areas of the world, though.

But if you are in an area wheremaple is available, then you’ll be happy to know that it is a hardwood whichmeans it is dense and durable. This equates to burning longer and often hotter.

5. Oak

Oak trees are another very commontree in a lot of areas. Though this tree is readily available in the piedmontyet, it still needs some care when being burned.

So you’ll need to make sure thatit is really well seasoned before burning. Otherwise, it won’t burn as slow andsteady as most prefer.

6. Pine

I love pine wood as a firestarter. I don’t burn it as a fuel source because of being a soft fast burningwood. Pine has long had the reputation of causing chimney fires which is just awives tell it actually has no more chance than any of your softwoods.

7. Sycamore

When I think of the sycamoretree, I think of the old song we sang in Sunday school about Zacchaeus. Ididn’t really think about it as a great firewood.

But Sycamore actually is, if itis seasoned well. It puts off a nice amount of warm heat that works wellfor warming your home over winter.

8. Walnut

Walnut is one of those types ofwood that are great all the way around. Walnut is a hardwood which means it isdense and durable. This equates to the wood burning longer without needing moreadded to the fire.

10.Black Locust

This tree is one that isn’tavailable all over. From my experience it is mainly available in theAppalachian Mountains and here and there in the piedmont.

However, if you are able to findit, Black Locust is great firewooduse it is durable and dense which meansit will burn longer.

CALLTOP HAT CHIMNEY & MASONRY BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO USE YOUR FIREPLACE ORWOODSTOVE AND HAVE IT CLEANED AND/ OR INSPECTED.