Is a standing dead or storm-downed tree already seasoned and ready to burn?
No — out on Mills River's large rural lots, where propane runs the gas appliances and a woodpile does real work, a standing-dead or storm-downed tree still isn't ready to burn. A dead tree isn't a dry one. It's seasoned only after it's cut, split, and stacked off the ground for months — not the day it comes down.
Propane country runs on real wood too
Much of Mills River sits beyond the natural-gas mains, so homes here lean on propane for their gas hearths and a lot of folks keep a wood fire going besides. On these farm-and-forest lots there's usually a tree or two down, and it's tempting to call that the winter's heat sorted. It isn't yet. A tree that died standing holds thirty to forty percent moisture behind its bark, and the dense heartwood you want to burn dries slowest of all. A trunk lying in the open valley looks weathered but the inside stays wet — until you buck it to length, split it so the faces open, and give it a full airy summer, it's green wood in disguise.
Season it right, and check the flue before you lean on it
The open Mills River valley actually helps — sun and wind are what dry a woodpile — so stack off the ground on pallets, keep the rows single so air moves through, and cover only the top. Prove it before it goes in the firebox: a fresh split face on seasoned wood is light, gray-brown, and end-cracked, and a cheap moisture meter should read about 20 percent or under. Burn it wetter and you get low heat and a flue caking with creosote. If you heat with a wood stove or insert, have the chimney inspected before the season and we'll pull the Henderson County permit on any install. Mills River is about twenty-five minutes south of our Asheville showroom, so a pre-season visit is easy to schedule. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mills River
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mills River and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 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?