How much does firewood cost per cord, and how many cords do you burn in a winter?
Waynesville burns more wood than most towns we serve. At nearly 2,650 feet the heating season runs about three weeks longer than Asheville's, so an occasional-fire home here still stacks two cords, and one heating mainly with wood can go through five or six. Cost, as always, comes down to pricing seasoned hardwood by the full cord from a couple of local suppliers.
The Hazelwood problem
A lot of older Hazelwood housing stock leans on drafty open fireplaces, and at this elevation an open firebox is the least efficient way there is to turn a cord into warmth, since most of the heat rides straight up the chimney. Homes here rely heavily on their hearths, which makes the waste expensive over a long winter. Swap to a sealed EPA insert or a freestanding wood stove and the same house heats on a fraction of the wood while actually warming the rooms it's in.
Colder and longer means a bigger pile
Waynesville averages 10 to 15 degrees below the lower WNC towns, and that gap compounds night after night across a season that starts earlier and ends later. Budget for more cords than a friend in Asheville would, and buy early rather than scrambling for dry wood once the cold sets in. Rough sizing runs around 20 Btu per square foot in a moderate climate, and our mountains push that number up.
Installs in Haywood County
If you're stepping up to a real wood heater, we pull the Haywood County permit, meet the inspector, and handle the appliance, venting, and any gas line as one licensed job. We're 35 minutes west of our Emma Road showroom, so stock your wood ahead of the season. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Is heating with wood actually cheaper than gas?
- How much does it cost to heat a home with a wood stove for a whole winter?
- What does a wood-burning fireplace cost per year in upkeep?
- How long does it take a wood stove to pay for itself?
- Does using an open wood-burning fireplace actually increase my heating bill?