Choosing the Proper Firewood For Your Fireplace

Selecting the right wood to burn in your home is important to your overall chimney health. Subtle changes like the woods moisture, how it was stored and more can impact your chimney and also your indoor air quality. To keep these both in check, we recommend using seasoned, dry, locally sourced wood. Check out our tips below to make sure your chimney stays healthy and in safe working order by choosing the proper firewood for your home.

What is Seasoned wood?

Seasoned wood is wood that has been drying throughout the year and is ready to burn. Moisture content will be 15-25%.

What is green wood?

Green wood is freshly cut wood that should not be burned until the season after so it can have time to properly dry. Moisture content will be over 25%.

What type of wood should I buy?

If you are buying wood for the upcoming season, you should be purchasing seasoned wood. If you are planning ahead for the year, you can by green wood and allow it to dry for the year. It’s worth choosing the proper firewood to keep your chimney healthy.

How much moisture should there be in the wood?

Moisture content should be between 15-25%. Moisture content higher than this will not burn well and will produce sticky black creosote. Creosote buildup will deteriorate your flue and may cause a chimney fire and will require more regular sweeping.

How do I know the moisture content of my wood?

To determine the moisture content of your wood you can purchase a moisture meter online or from a local hardware store. You will take the biggest piece of wood from the pile, split it down the middle and use the moisture meter on the inside of the split wood. If it is not between 15-25% it should not be burned or paid for as seasoned wood.

Where should I store my wood?

Ideally you should store your wood inside to keep it dry and ready to burn. If it cannot be kept inside you should cover it with a water proof covering. If it is outside and covered; towards the end of the pile, you may notice it is really damp from all the moisture on the ground and may be harder to burn.

Where should I stack my wood?

You should stack your wood in a place that is easily accessible and won’t pose a risk for a fire. Stacking your wood close to the exterior of the chimney may be a fire hazard as hot embers could come down from the top of the chimney, if they chimney is not properly cleaned or is being misused.

John Ranta

17:01 22 Mar 24

They arrived on time, worked quickly and showed me the results. Prfessional throughout. jr

william green

23:21 14 Mar 24

Really helped me out can't say enough good things highly recommend!!!! The young man that came to my home was very knowledgeable and friendly great attitude all around answered all my questions and left me stress free best of all left no mess.🤙🏻🤙🏻

Michael Dell'Orto

18:39 14 Mar 24

Jaime Conley

17:13 14 Mar 24

Sarah Gilliatt

01:46 13 Mar 24

A very thorough and careful job done! Thank you.

Larry Cook

15:11 07 Mar 24

I wanted to give 5 stars but they are very busy which meant I had a good wait for both the inspection/cleaning, then for a quote on repairs and then for the repairs. Their prices seemed a little high to me but I have nothing to compare with as they were highly recommended by someone I trust and other companies had plenty of negatives reviews which kept me from getting additional quotes. I am happy with the work and they promptly returned to fix a mistake that had been made. Chris the inspector, Jennifer in the office, and Alex and his repair crew were all pleasant and took the time to answer all of my questions. Alex and his crew even took their shoes off (it was winter) before entering my house without even being asked! So if you are not in a rush and want to ensure you chimney is as safe as possible then I think you'll be happy with Black Moose.

Rebecca DeFusco

22:35 21 Feb 24

After a recent sweep of our chimney, it was discovered that our flue tiles were cracked. Black Moose techs were hard working, detail oriented and professional! Nice jobs guys! See you next year for my cleaning!

Karen C

14:52 14 Feb 24

Excellent I highly recommend Black Moose Chimney and Stove; Kelly and Liam are awesome, they did a great job. Extremely professional, arrived early, went through everything with a fine tooth comb ensuring pellet stove was thoroughly cleaned. They also were respectful of my home, conscientious and cleaned up after themselves. Made sure stove worked prior to leaving and told me to call promptly if anything came up afterward. Will definitely use them again.

Denise Clark

16:32 31 Jan 24

We've had Black Moose clean our chimney for a number of years.But recently, we had an emergency situation at our home involving our chimney & oil furnace flue, which was caked full of soot from a malfunctioning furnace. They came & cleaned out both flues in no time, even going up on the roof with snow on it! They cleaned up after their work in the interior rooms where the oil furnace and the woodstove are located. Great work. Reasonable prices. Very nice people. You can't go wrong with Black Moose.

Joe G

18:30 24 Jan 24

Goods: The technicians know their business, very efficient in cleaning/inspection along with cleaning up after the 'dirty work'.Others: Communications could be more effective. Despite early coordination about scope of work (multiple flues within same chimney) the estimate provided did not reflect this and the final invoice was significantly more than the estimate provided.Quote for follow-on chimney relining was significantly more than that offered by other companies in the area (and far more than neighbors experienced for similar work accomplished by other companies)