Firewood in Seattle
Seattle has a real heating season without the extremes of the northern tier. Most households here burn between two and four cords a winter if wood is their main heat.
Suppliers in Seattle
What to ask a Seattle supplier
- Is that a full cord, 128 cubic feet? If the answer is a face cord or a rick, ask the cut length before comparing to anything.
- What species? This changes the heat you get per cord by up to a factor of two.
- When was it split? Seasoned means split and stacked for months, not felled months ago.
- What does delivery cost to my address, and is stacking included?
- Where was it cut? Local sourcing is not just good practice here, it can be a legal requirement.
Seasoning in this climate
Humidity works against you in Seattle. Wood that would reach burnable moisture in six months in a dry climate can take a full year here, and a stack pressed against a fence or covered to the ground will not get there at all.Split it, stack it single row off the ground, leave the sides open to the wind and cover the top only. Check it with a moisture meter on a freshly split face: under 20 percent is ready.
Check the quote before you accept it
Once you have two or three numbers, put them through thefirewood cost calculator. It converts face cord and half cord quotes to a price per full cord and adjusts for species, which is the only way to tell whether the cheap quote is genuinely cheap or just smaller.
Common questions
How much is a cord of firewood in Seattle?
Firewood in Seattle, WA is quoted per delivery rather than from a published price list, so any specific figure you see online is a guess. Call three yards within your delivery radius, ask each for a full cord price delivered, and ask what species and how long it has been split. Run the quotes through our cord calculator to compare them on the same basis.
Can I move firewood into Seattle from elsewhere?
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency calls burn bans on stagnant winter days, and uncertified wood stoves are restricted during them.
How long does firewood take to season in Seattle?
Longer than the national rule of thumb. Humidity in this region slows air drying, so allow a full year for most hardwood split and stacked with airflow, and closer to two years for dense oak. A moisture meter reading under 20 percent is the only reliable test.
How many cords will I burn in Seattle?
With a heating season of roughly 150 days, a household using wood as its main heat source in this climate typically burns two to four cords a winter. Occasional evening fires use far less.