Prep for Winter Series: Stay Warm this Winter
With the sudden drop in temperature, Maine winter is officially on its way. Despite the recent unseasonably warm weather, it’s time to prepare your home for the coming months of snow and ice. In our first installment of our “Prep for Winter Series,” agents share their personal household tips and advice to homeowners and clients on ordering and storing firewood and servicing home heating systems.
Ordering Firewood
While you may hear it’s too late in the season to order firewood, you might still have some luck perusing local forums. However, with the increase in oil costs this season, many have shifted to wood fuel in preparation, which has led to an increase in firewood demand and costs.
“I usually place my order in the spring for a late summer delivery,” says agent Michele Perejda, who is based in our Portland office and orders her wood from Reed’s Firewood in Durham. “This gives me plenty of time to complete stacking before the snow flies. I stack some in the barn and a couple of other convenient access points for my wood stove, fireplace, and outdoor fire pit. I use four cords of wood every year.”
“I live in an old farmhouse built in 1897,” says agent Carrie Martin, who is also based in the Portland office. “We heat with both a wood stove and an oil-fired hot air furnace, and we typically burn between 3 to 4 cords of wood a season. Since oil is so expensive this year, we will try to use as little oil as possible.”
Understanding Firewood Lingo
- Seasoned Firewood: Wood that has been air-dried for at least six months and is ready to burn.
- Kiln-dried Firewood: Wood that has been heated in a kiln, has the lowest moisture content and is ensured to be insect and mold-free. Kiln-dried wood is the most expensive kind of firewood you can order and produces less ash, smoke, and creosote.
- Green Firewood: Freshly cut wood that still needs to dry out before burning. Green firewood is less expensive than seasoned and kiln-dried wood, so people that have room to store excess wood may opt to order green firewood to dry out and use next year. Do not burn freshly cut wood in your home: there is too much moisture in the wood, which creates more smoke, less heat, and generates dangerous creosote that can cause chimney fires.
- Hardwood: Hardwood trees are deciduous and known for their flowers and nuts. These denser woods like hickory, oak, and maple burn hot for long periods of time and are ideal for firewood. Hardwood also takes longer to “season” and catch fire.
- Softwood: Also known as evergreens, softwood trees are known for their cones, mature quickly, and are commonly used for lumber. Species like pine, fir, and spruce are softwood trees and are known to burn quickly and produce more smoke.
- Cord: A cord is a unit used to measure a fixed amount of wood. When stored, a cord of firewood occupies approximately 128 cubic feet or a tight stack that is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long. Most firewood suppliers fulfill orders in cords, and rarely in half a cord. Homesellers with woodstoves as primary heat sources estimate how many cords of wood they use each winter on the property disclosure.
Tips for Firewood Storage
If you have space in your garage, barn, or unfinished basement for dry storage, these are ideal places to keep firewood. Most people store their wood outside.
If you don’t have a wood shed, use pallets or evenly-spaced bricks as the foundation for the woodpile to allow airflow underneath, which reduces the risk of trapped moisture and rotting logs. Avoid stacking your wood directly on the ground and directly against your house, as it can damage the siding and invites critters to burrow and make nests to stay warm. “I found five baby raccoons in my wood pile one year,” says Michele Perejda.
“I live in a condo now and we have a rule about stacking firewood at least 10 feet from the building, which seems to be a good idea for anywhere,” adds Pat Thatcher, an agent based in the Portland office. “There are lots of bugs and critters that love a good stack of firewood.”
Stephanie Branch, an agent based in our Damariscotta office, says she plans to try stacking her firewood this year in the “Holz Hausen“ style. Also known as a beehive stack or a round stack, Holz Hausen means “wood house” in German because the finished product ends up looking like a round wooden cottage.
However you choose to stack your firewood, be sure to cover the top with a tarp but avoid covering the entire woodpile to allow for proper airflow. Though snow drifts may accumulate around and on the pile, having air circulation is better than an air-tight cover. Just be sure to shovel snow away from the pile as it accumulates to make it easy to access. Before a big storm, plan ahead and bring a sufficient amount of firewood inside to stay warm and cozy.
Service Home Heating Systems
“Schedule annual service early for the home heating system and have the fuel tank filled ahead of the cold weather,” says Brunswick-based agent Kristie Jorgensen. “Depending on the area, especially rural homes, the snowy or icy road conditions can delay a fuel delivery because the fuel service companies cannot make the trek out or need to install heavy chains on the tires to deliver oil or propane.”
General tips for your heating systems each fall:
- Service and clean chimney
- Service and clean furnace
- Fill oil and propane tanks
- Cover and protect the outdoor HVAC air conditioner or heat pump
- Test fire alarms and CO2 detectors
It’s Never to Early for Holiday Decor
“I’ve learned to hang my holiday string lights right after Halloween,” says agent Elise Kiely from the Portland office. “I may not turn them on until just after Thanksgiving, but it is much more comfortable to hang outdoor lights in 50-degree weather than 15-degree weather.”
