What is a cord of firewood, and how many cords do I need for a winter?
In Hendersonville, most homeowners burn one to two cords a winter — a cord being 128 cubic feet, stacked four by four by eight feet — because natural gas serves much of town and a lot of our neighbors here want low-maintenance evening fires, not a wood-heating chore. Run wood as your primary heat and you're closer to two to four.
What a Henderson County winter really asks of you
At 2,200 feet the valley evenings turn cool early and the shoulder seasons run long, but this is a retirement-heavy community, and plenty of homeowners here have deliberately chosen quiet, sealed gas fireplaces to skip the hauling and the cold-start smoke. If you love a real wood fire, one to two well-seasoned cords covers weekends and holidays without turning the garage into a woodshed.
Species does more work than people expect. Oak and hickory hold heat far longer than poplar or soft maple, so a modest stack of dense hardwood outlasts a big pile of light wood — buy for weight and density, not for the size of the mound in the driveway.
Old chimneys, clay soil, and buying smart
Hendersonville's clay-heavy soil settles foundations and stresses older Main Street masonry chimneys, and a tired, cracked flue burns dirty and wastes wood. An inspection tells you whether you're heating the house or the chimney; a sealed insert with a fresh liner often pays back in fuel alone.
Buy by the true full cord's stacked dimensions, never a vague 'rick,' and season split hardwood six months to a year. We pull the Henderson County permit and meet the inspector, and our Asheville showroom at 629 Emma Rd is about 25 minutes away. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Hendersonville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Hendersonville and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- What's the difference between a face cord (or rick) and a full cord of firewood?
- How much does a cord of firewood cost in Western North Carolina?
- Should I stock up on firewood before winter, and how early should I order it?
- What should I look for when buying firewood?
- How much wood does a wood stove burn per day?