Is a standing dead or storm-downed tree already seasoned and ready to burn?
No — in Fletcher, where natural-gas mains run the corridor and most homes burn gas, folks who want to try a wood fire from a downed tree are often surprised it isn't ready. A standing-dead or storm-downed tree still holds water. It's seasoned only after months split and stacked off the ground.
Gas-main country, where wood is a choice
Fletcher sits on the natural-gas mains along the I-26 corridor, and a lot of the 1990s subdivisions and newer builds run tidy gas fireplaces that light at the flip of a switch. Airport-area and commercial builds around here lean gas for the same reason — no hauling wood, no cold-start smoke. So when a suburban homeowner decides to burn wood, often after a storm drops a tree in the yard, the instinct is to grab that wood and go. It doesn't work that way. A tree that died standing is a sealed system holding thirty to forty percent moisture behind its bark, and a fresh trunk on the ground barely dries at all. Real firewood is cut to length, split so the wet faces open, and stacked to breathe for months — none of which a downed tree has done.
Small suburban lots, same drying rules
On a typical Fletcher lot the challenge is space — you still need the woodpile off the ground on pallets, in single rows where sun and wind can move through, covered on top only so the sides breathe. Then check it before it burns: a fresh split face on seasoned wood is light, gray-brown, and end-cracked, and a moisture meter should read about 20 percent or less. Burn it wetter and you get a smoky, low-heat fire that cakes creosote into the flue. If you'd rather keep the convenience of gas, that's our lane too — permitted with Henderson County and inspected, twenty minutes south of our Asheville showroom. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Fletcher
We install and service fireplaces throughout Fletcher and the rest of Henderson County — just 20 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Does seasoned firewood go bad or rot if it's stored for several years?
- Should firewood be split before it's stacked to season, or can whole rounds dry out?
- Is it cheaper to buy green firewood in spring and season it myself?
- Is it safe to burn rhododendron or mountain laurel cleared from my property?
- Will a wood-burning insert cut down on how much firewood I go through compared to my open fireplace?