Choose Convenient Pickup or Delivery

Once you’ve chosen your order, receiving your wood is easy! You can either opt for curbside pickup at one of our two locations or delivery to your home or business.

We’re proud to provide firewood in Woodstock, Lake in the Hills and the greater Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin regions. All delivery orders are measured for accuracy before loading to ensure you receive the correct volume of firewood. Please note that the minimum size for a delivery order is ½ face cord.

Our drivers always take care to dump the wood exactly where you specify. For an additional fee, we can also stack the wood on your property.

Ready to Strike the Match? Call 815-337-1451 to place your order!

Keep Reading to Learn More About Kiln-Dried Firewood

Want to get the most out of your kiln-dried firewood order? We have put together this comprehensive guide to help you do just that!

Here’s what you’ll learn:

1. How Kiln-Dried Firewood is Made
2. The Benefits of Kiln-Dried Firewood
3. The Ideal Moisture Content of Kiln-Dried Firewood
4. Kiln-Dried Firewood vs. Seasoned Firewood
5. How to Measure a Cord of Firewood
6. How to Stack Kiln-Dried Firewood
7. Where to Store Kiln-Dried Firewood
8. How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off

Chapter 1: How Kiln-Dried Firewood is Made

Where does kiln-dried firewood come from? Unfortunately, no magical forest produces logs that are perfect for burning. We wish!

The truth is that kiln-dried firewood starts the same as all other firewood: a tree chopped down in the forest. But the magic begins when workers split those logs and cut them to length, removing all substandard pieces. They then take the good pieces and place them into a state-of-the-art dry kiln.

The dry kiln creates the perfect hot, low-humidity environment to remove moisture from the wood. This process brings the moisture content of the wood down to an ideal level for burning.

Many firewood companies use the kiln-drying process because it is much quicker than drying it without a kiln. The kiln also creates a controlled environment for perfect wood production. It’s how the best firewood companies produce a consistently high-quality product all year long.

Chapter 2: The Benefits of Kiln-Dried Firewood

What’s so great about this special wood anyway? We’re glad you asked.

To put it simply, kiln-dried firewood is a luxury brand of firewood. The difference between purchasing it and regular firewood is akin to purchasing a Lexus instead of a Chevy. Sure, the latter car will get you from point A to point B, but the former will make the ride a lot more fun!

And we don’t know about you, but when we purchase firewood, we’re usually looking to have a good time!

What makes kiln-dried firewood so much more enjoyable? Let us count the ways:

1. Its low moisture content makes it easier to ignite than standard wood.
2. It burns more efficiently to create hotter fires using less wood.
3. The kiln-drying process creates wood that is completely free of insects, mildew and pesticides.
4. Burning kiln-dried wood also produces less creosote and harmful emissions.
5. Did we mention that it generates less smoke when burning?
6. Oh yes, and it’s also lighter to lift because of its low moisture content.
7. And it’s cleaner to store because it doesn’t shed much bark or debris.

We could go on, but we think you get the point. It’s hard to beat the luxury of wood that’s ready to burn right when you purchase it!

Chapter 3: The Ideal Moisture Content of Kiln-Dried Firewood

Of course, you won’t get all of the benefits listed in the previous chapter if the wood isn’t dry enough. Which begs the question: how dry should kiln-dried firewood be?

The ideal moisture level for kiln-dried firewood is under 20%. To give you some perspective, freshly cut firewood typically has a moisture level of above 60%. That’s way too moist to burn!

Kiln-dried firewood sellers measure the moisture content of their wood with a moisture meter. If you want one for yourself, most hardware stores sell these nifty tools for public consumption.

But what if you don’t own a moisture meter? How can you tell if your wood is dry enough? Here are a few telltale signs:

• The wood will weigh less than a freshly cut piece.
• The pieces will make a hollow sound when hit together. (In contrast, moist wood will make a dull thud.)
• There may also be drying cracks on the ends of the wood.

If your wood fails the above tests, then it’s not worth the time you’ll spend trying to light it. Never settle for anything less than kiln-dried wood with a moisture level below 20%. Your friends and family will thank you on a cold winter’s night!

Chapter 4: Kiln-Dried Firewood vs. Seasoned Firewood

There is a debate raging on the internet about which is better: kiln-drying firewood or seasoning it. And we wouldn’t be doing our due diligence if we didn’t address it. So here, for your enjoyment, is an overview of why kiln-dried firewood is superior to seasoning.

First, let’s define what seasoned firewood is. Seasoned firewood is firewood dried in the natural way (i.e., without a dry kiln).

There are two problems with seasoning wood that kiln-drying wood solves. First, as you would expect, it takes a long time to dry out wood the natural way. A dry kiln speeds up that process significantly and works year-round no matter the level of moisture in the air.

Second, rarely does seasoning wood get the wood below the 20% moisture threshold. On a good day, seasoned wood still contains a moisture level above that threshold. On the other hand, kiln-dried wood is consistently below 20% because of the controlled drying process.

We think we’ve proved our point. Kiln-dried wood clearly wins this round by a landslide!

Chapter 5: How to Measure a Cord of Firewood

One of the trickiest parts of purchasing firewood is understanding the language firewood sellers use. Specifically, we are referring to the term “cord of firewood.” Maybe you’ve heard that term and you’re not sure what it means. Read on to find out!

A cord is a unit of measurement for firewood. A full cord is the amount of firewood that can fill a space that is 4’ high, 8’ wide and 4’ deep. However, most companies don’t sell their firewood in full cords. Instead, they use a measurement called a face cord.

The difference between a full cord and a face cord is the depth measurement. Whereas a full cord will include multiple firewood stacks to fill out the four-foot depth requirement, the face cord only includes one stack of firewood. So, the depth of a face cord will depend on how long the individual pieces of firewood are. This length often varies from company to company.

Because of this variation, you should be careful when shopping for firewood. One company’s face cord may not equal another’s. After all, one company may chop its wood shorter than the other. Plus, there is no officially recognized measurement for a face cord, making it very easy for shady companies to rip you off.

For this reason, you should only trust firewood companies that clearly state how they measure a face cord directly on their website. For example, at Lumberjacks, we explicitly define our face cord as measuring exactly 4’ high x 8’ wide x 16” deep. We do this so that our customers know exactly how much wood they’ll be getting and won’t be shortchanged.

Chapter 6: How to Stack Kiln-Dried Firewood

You may be surprised to learn that there is a correct way to stack kiln-dried firewood. After all, what difference could the way you stack it make? The answer is a HUGE difference! If you stack the wood willy-nilly, or worse, leave it in a heap on the ground, you run the risk of exposing the wood to too much moisture.

After all, kiln-dried wood already comes as dry as it needs to be. Keeping it that way is the name of the game.

Here are some best practices to follow when stacking your wood:

• Keep the Stack Off the Ground – Stacking it on a pallet or wood beams will keep it from getting wet.
• Avoid Placing Your Stack Against a Wall or Fence – Keep a few feet of space between the stack and wall to allow for airflow.
• Stack the Wood Loosely – Keeping space between the pieces will also allow airflow.

Of course, if you worry about improperly stacking your wood, you can also let the professionals handle it for you. Many firewood companies offer to stack the wood themselves. Just make sure they are not offering to stack it for you so that they can give you less wood than you ordered! The best companies won’t insist on stacking their wood because they have nothing to hide.

Chapter 7: Where to Store Kiln-Dried Firewood

Now that you know how to stack it, it’s time to find where to store your wood! The nice thing about kiln-dried firewood is it comes completely free of mold and insects. Because of this, it’s perfectly fine to store the wood inside the home. However, as we will see, storing indoors only makes sense under the right conditions.

You should only store your wood inside if you have a spacious spot with enough airflow and low enough humidity for the wood to thrive. Usually, a garage, basement or storage shed will meet these requirements.

If you don’t have indoor space, it’s also okay to stack the wood outside. Just keep in mind the stacking principles we discussed above.

You should also consider a way to protect the logs from the rain. A standard wooden log store is great for this. You could also use a tarp. Just be sure that you don’t cover the wood too tightly lest you restrict the airflow.

Chapter 8: How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off

You’ve almost made it through our crash course! The final piece of the puzzle is figuring out where to get your kiln-dried wood.

So, how do you know if a company is worth your business? There are a few key questions to ask to avoid purchasing wood you’ll regret:

• Are they selling their wood for a suspiciously low price?
• Is the wood unsplit, moldy or muddy?
• Does the company you’re buying from insist on stacking the wood for you?
• Do they use crisscross stacking methods when they stack their wood?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, the company is probably not worth buying from. All these practices are red flags that indicate the seller is likely trying to rip you off.

Don’t buy from shady dealers. Instead, look for a company that offers quality wood at a fair price. The business should be transparent about how they produce their wood. They should also have no problem with you asking to inspect the wood to ensure you got the right amount.

Above all, you should always go with a company you can trust!

Congratulations, You Passed the Course!

Now that you’re an expert on kiln-dried firewood, it’s time to celebrate by burning some of your own! We’d be happy to supply it for you.

At Lumberjacks, we produce premium kiln-dried firewood for cooking, camping or relaxing by the fireplace. We also offer local firewood delivery throughout the Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin regions.

You can give us a call at 815-337-1451 to place your order or stop by one of our locations in Woodstock, IL, and Lake in the Hills, IL, to peruse our inventory.

Who loves you? Lumberjacks loves you!

Ready to Strike the Match?

Please fill out the form below to hear back from one of our firewood experts.