njtuna
ArboristSite Operative
hello, i am very glad i found this forum. my wife and i have just about finished our first year in our house. we have a fireplace xtrordinaire 36 model and absolutely love it. i've been learning a lot about firewood since we moved in. i've learned enough that i decided to chop my own wood from now on. bought from a couple of different places over the winter, with not so great results. have a few questions: 1. i have been splitting a large oak, and found that some of the wood, near the outer edges seems a bit "soft", probably rotting? it's a lot less dense and lighter than the good wood, and breaks off in small pieces. just wondering if you can burn this? 2. how do i tell what kind of oak it is? the heartwood is red, but the rest of the wood seems very white. will try to post a few pictures tonight. 3. how small will i have to cut pieces so that i can burn them in decmber? will be stacking them on log racks made from stack-its and pressure-treated 2x4s. 4. how do you feel about burning hemlock? i have a bunch from when we cut down a lot of hemlocks on the property that is split and has been seasoning since october. 5. why is silver maple not good firewood? thanks ahead of time