What is a cord of firewood, and how many cords do I need for a winter?
Clyde is full of 1960s-to-'80s ranch homes with dated, inefficient fireplaces, and the single biggest lever on your cord count is upgrading that tired box to a sealed insert. Heat with the old open fireplace and you'll burn three to four cords; a modern insert does the same work on one to two. A cord is 128 cubic feet.
Dated fireplaces waste wood
Those ranch-era open fireboxes were never efficient, and many are ready for an insert upgrade. An open masonry or old prefab fireplace can run a net heat loss, giving back little of the wood it swallows.
At 2,612 feet with a long cold season, that inefficiency adds up to a cord or two of wasted wood every single winter compared with a sealed EPA insert running 70 percent efficient or better. Same fire, half the hauling.
River humidity and dry wood in Haywood County
Clyde shares Canton and Waynesville's cold-air drainage, and river humidity rusts dampers and degrades masonry chimneys — the same damp air that soaks an uncovered woodpile straight through.
Season split hardwood a full year, cover the top, keep it off the ground, and buy by the true full cord rather than a 'rick.' When we set an insert we size the liner, pull the Haywood County permit, and meet the inspector. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Clyde
We install and service fireplaces throughout Clyde and the rest of Haywood County — just 25 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
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