Winter is officially encroaching with cold, windy and rainy days scheduled for the months ahead. There's nothing better than wrapping up with a book in front of the fireplace and watching the flames flicker on a cold, wintery night. As it's deemed an essential item during lockdown we've put together some tips for buying firewood and where you can order it from in Auckland to stay cosy this winter.
Understand The Lingo
So you're going to order your firewood and it's asking about a cube—you might be wondering, do trees grow in cubes? Nope—that's just short for cubic metres. A load of firewood is also often called a cord, which is around 3.6m³.
Have a think about where you're going to store your wood. If you have a large shed or garage where you can keep it out of the rain, you can opt to buy wood that has been stored outside, and dry it out yourself—this will also be slightly cheaper. If you want wood that will be good to burn from the get-go, you'll want to choose seasoned wood that has been stored in drier conditions at the lumberyard. If you try to burn wet wood it's more likely to smoke you out than warm up your house.
What To Buy And How Much
Firewood is firewood, right? Well, not quite. First off, trees can have two different types of wood, hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is what you want for a long, slow and clean-burning fire. It's also very dense, meaning it needs a lot of heat to get it burning, so it's best used once a good fire is established. Softwoods are less dense and burn quickly, which makes them great to use for starting your fire. So, it's best to buy a mixture of the two when ordering your firewood, which is often called a 'hot mix' (not to be confused with hot mess). The more you know.
In New Zealand, you'll usually see woods such as pine, macrocarpa, tea tree, fir or gum. If you're looking for hardwood, go for gum, kanuka or tea tree. Fast-burning softwoods include pine, which has a great crackle, and macrocarpa—although you'll want to avoid macrocarpa if you have an open fireplace as it sparks.
If you're planning to have two to three fires a week, you'd probably only need a cord of firewood to get through winter, so if you're planning on using it almost every day you probably need double that. If you're still not sure how much you'll need, these guys have put together a handy guide.
Where To Get Your Firewood In Auckland
As firewood is classed as an essential service during lockdown, here are a few online options to make your life easier:
Ignition Firewood
Ignition Firewood are the real deal. These guys deliver all over Auckland six days a week, plus they do a lot of community work so you can buy your firewood and help to contribute to the local community, too.
Green Earths Firewood
Green Earths supply some decent firewood at budget-friendly prices, with free delivery when you order 3m³ of wood. They have a good selection of different types of firewood, plus a great hot mix too.
Comer Firewood
For the easiest ordering system, Comer Firewood have got it in the bag. Although a little pricier, they deliver free for parts of Auckland for orders of 2m³ or above, and you can pay upon delivery. Easy!
A1 SURE SERVICES
A1 Sure Services offer one thing—their popular hot mix at an unbeatable price. You can pay via bank transfer or credit/debit over the phone, and all their deliveries are zero-contact too, meaning you can keep yourself safe.
Blaze Firewood Co
These guys have free delivery available for Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga. Pick between bags if you're not a regular fire burner, or bulk if you're planning on heating your house with wood the whole winter.
Auckland Firewood
Don't need a bulk order of firewood, or just planning a post-lockdown bonfire celebration? Auckland Firewood only do bags of wood, not bulk, and you'll need to pick up in Grey Lynn if you want a bag so it's best to choose these guys if you're centrally located.
Firewood delivery
South Auckland—this is one for you. Firewood Delivery have chosen to close during Level 4 lockdown, but we're sure they'll be open again soon. They offer free delivery within 10km of their base in Otahuhu. Win!
Baker tree services
If you're doing your garden at the same time as ordering your firewood, Baker Tree Services can deliver mulch to you too, plus remove or tidy up any trees that need tackling. You can pick up your dry firewood from the North Shore, too.
Central Landscape services
With locations all over Auckland, you'll be able to pick up a great hot mix from Central Landscape Services without needing to leave your local area. They're also closed during Level 4, so check out their website for an update once the country goes down to Level 3.
For more things you can get delivered to your door that aren't groceries, check out this list.
Image credit: Stéphane Juban, A1 Sure Services, Ignition Firewood