Our Company Blog

How to Find the Best Firewood

When it’s time to light the fire for the fall and winter, it can be easy to get ahead of yourself. Chimney companies get calls every fall about smoky fireplaces which can be blamed on the wrong type of firewood. We get calls throughout winter about creosote buildup. We see unsafe chimneys too often due to unseasoned firewood. Like many other chimney problems, these can be prevented and avoided. Burn only properly seasoned firewood to ensure your fireplace and chimney system works safely and efficiently all season long.

Seasoned Firewood

Your wood-burning fireplace, insert, or stove should only burn properly seasoned firewood. Green or freshly cut wood has too much water content in it to burn well. In fact, when trees are cut, they might be made up of up to 90 percent water! Green firewood burns incompletely takes more wood to reach the desired temperature and creates more creosote, soot, and ash than dry wood. In order to ensure your wood is properly seasoned and dry enough to burn, it’s important to follow a few simple steps.

Preparing Your Firewood

Either you purchase firewood from a local source, or you cut and store it from your own property. If you purchase firewood locally, it’s important to check it for dryness and to make sure you’re getting what you pay for. Never purchase firewood that you haven’t personally seen. Purchasing firewood that isn’t seasoned and ready to burn is a waste of money.

If you cut and store your own firewood, it’s important to do so early enough for the wood to sit and dry for at least 3 to 6 months. Harder wood species can take up to 6 months to a year to dry enough for optimal burning. You can help the wood dry best by cutting and storing it properly.

• Begin by cutting the wood to length and splitting it.
• Stack the wood loosely in piles off the ground.
• Store wood in an area where air can circulate.
• Arrange stacks on a bed of gravel for water runoff.
• Cover the top of your woodpile with a loose tarp OR arrange wood bark-side up so that water runs off.

Signs of Seasoned Firewood

Your firewood is ready to burn when it has less than 25 percent water content. You can usually tell when it is dry by the look of it. The wood will dull in color and will begin to crack along the edges. The bark will loosen and may fall away, and the wood pieces will feel light in weight. Finally, if you hit two pieces of the firewood together, it will make a hollow sound instead of a dull thud.

Once your firewood is ready to burn you can light your fire! Before you build a fire, though, make sure your chimney is clean and safe as well.

If you’re not sure that your chimney is ready for a fire, call Chief Chimney Services to schedule a chimney sweep today.

Why Hire CSIA Certified Sweeps?

Now is the time to prepare your chimney system for winter. A properly maintained chimney will work safely and efficiently for you, last longer, and cost you less in repairs and heated air loss. When you schedule important appointments like your chimney sweep and inspection, you should be sure to hire a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS).

CSIA Certification and Training

It’s important to us that chimney and fire systems in our communities of Suffolk County, Long Island are maintained properly so that the frequency of accidental fires is less each year. We believe that one fire is too many, and we do our part by educating the public about chimney safety and offering important services that keep the fireplaces and chimneys in our area as safe as possible. Our professional training and CSIA certification help us to be the best and offer our customers the best chimney sweeps have to offer.

Our CSIA certification means that we spent hours in classroom and field training, completed and passed a 3-hour examination, and we are knowledgeable and experienced in diagnostics and fire safety standards nationwide. As CSIA certified sweeps we are part of a network of industry professionals that help each other and the public bring down the number of fires affecting our communities. We also adhere to a strict Code of Ethics designed to keep homeowners safe from potential scams. Any CSIA member found in violation of this code can have their credentials revoked. In addition to initial certification, we also re-certify as CSIA certified chimney sweeps every three years either by re-examination or continuing education credits. This means our education never stops because this industry never stops changing. Technologies and advancements in diagnostics, repairs, and products mean that we have to continuously learn our trade.

Choosing the Right Professional

When you’re searching for the right chimney professional to get your chimney in shape for fall, look no further than the experts at Chief Chimney Services. We service a wide swath of Long Island zip codes and if you’re not in our service area we will try our best to find someone to service your system. Our priority is safety and comfort this season, and maintenance now means safety later. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFP), the safest and most efficient chimney systems are those that are cleaned regularly and inspected annually. If your system hasn’t been serviced yet and you’re looking to use it this fall, call Chief Chimney Services today. We offer routine preventative services, inspections, repairs, installations, and general diagnostics.

If you own or rent in the Suffolk County area, you can reach a chimney and fire expert at 631-863-2460 or make an appointment online.