A delivered pile of firewood can look substantial, but appearance alone cannot tell you whether it contains a full cord. To check the quantity, you need to stack the wood and measure the space it occupies. To measure a cord of firewood, multiply the neatly stacked pile’s length, height, and depth in feet, then divide … Read more

If you have a fallen mulberry tree or access to inexpensive logs, the wood is usually worth considering for your firewood stack. Mulberry can provide substantial heat, but there is one characteristic you should know before putting it in a fireplace: it can throw plenty of sparks. Yes, mulberry is good firewood when properly seasoned. … Read more

Black walnut is better known for furniture and cabinetry than for heating a home. But if you have branches from a removed tree or logs unsuitable for lumber, you may wonder whether they belong in your firewood stack. Yes, black walnut is good firewood when properly seasoned. It provides useful heat, generally produces few sparks, … Read more

If you have a fallen poplar tree or a chance to collect inexpensive logs, you may wonder whether the wood is worth keeping. Poplar does not have the reputation of oak or hickory, but that does not make it useless firewood. Poplar is usable firewood when properly seasoned. It generally ignites readily and burns relatively … Read more

A full cord of firewood contains 128 cubic feet of neatly stacked wood, including bark and the air spaces between the pieces. A typical stack measures 8 feet long × 4 feet high × 4 feet deep. However, a “face cord,” a pickup load, and a loose pile are not automatically equal to a full … Read more

After the decorations come down, burning your Christmas tree might seem like an easy way to dispose of it. It is wood, after all, and you may already have a fireplace ready to use. No—you should not burn a discarded Christmas tree, its needle-covered branches, or bundles of greenery in a fireplace or wood stove. … Read more