How does everyone weather the winter?

Don't convert your old granite built Breton house into open plan, Heat each room as you need it. Sleep over the kitchen. Wear at least three layers. Stews, soups, pulses. Two layers of sock. Long Johns. Insulated shoes with crampons for the dog walk. Cap with ear flaps. Cord trousers. Old Bretons used to have their fires burning slowly all year. Logs two years old at least. Send the wife out to get them from the barn. Marmite soldiers. Locals shut their shutters from abot 4pm to about 9am but I like to see what's happening outside. Drink, incest and suicide are known cures too.

Send him to me, 18m deep plus some under water with a Blackberry to be recovered by a suitable 'volunteer'.

Ouch! I'd probably sell him on eBay as well! I think your phrase 'too much too soon' could be an accurate diagnosis. Sounds like 'everything is about me' syndrome.

Poor grandson indeed he is a very privileged spoilt little lad, its taken us a week to removed the caked on chocolate from my keyboard the furniture and the tv remote which he commandeered refusing to let anyone watch the tv, turning off the freezer was his way of having fun, constantly bored and telling everyone that France is **** and last christmas he spent christmas eve flying around the Bahamas in a helicopter looking for Santa, to much to soon i think and a few table manners wouldnt go amiss either eating with fingers went out of fashion a long time ago for 9 year olds

I've got a feeling that some of those prices could be for a cord because it says "unit" price, for that sort of money i'd expect it to cut, split, stack and then load itself into the fire,

The majority of mine is oak (supposedly) and it was €40/stere if you collect or €43/stere delivered. He cut it into 500cm lengths for me so I wouldn't try using a chainsaw (he looked horrified at the very thought probably cos I'm a girl thinking of using big boy toys). So my 10 steres, hopefully lasting all winter, €430.

Lol John, your poor grandson! Mind you, I tell Twerp almost daily that i'm going to sell him on eBay if he misbehaves. He just grins at me. Oh well...

Dead right Peter, we only ever use it in the big fire, but then that's has a stack a person could climb up and is already well coated with centuries of gluey muck. We have no real need on the whole though. People do not realise that pallettes are mostly nasty, cheap pine and burn it as firewood at a price, as for using it to get woodburners with metal flues hot - more fool them.

Pine Brian, needs to be aged at least two years- it's all that resin that needs to be well and truly dry or it condenses in the flu and can either/or block it and severely restrict the fires 'draw' or bust into flames- either way not a good result- it's a bugger to sweep as well as its like superglue.

WOW Martin tried that site and frightened myself to death average around the 60€ some as high as 100 though is suspect i didnt read correctly and its for more that 1 , i can get it down to 45€but only by having 10 stere in one delivery the lorry big enough to deliver that wouldnt get within 500 metres of the house i doubt blocking the village with 10 stere of wood would make me popular, when i ordered 900kg of dog food from the uk it was dropped off on the communal car park blocking it completly mind saving over 1000€ on that was worth the effort

Whew. In our terms that is expensive, but as said we live just inside a quite large forest. Our woodman has just had a new truck delivered, so has decent enough profits on what he is charging.

We also bought some green wood this year. We'll let it dry in our barn and use it as slow burning night fuel next year. Despite what people say, it does not cause any extra build up in the chimney and as often as not we have found people who tell us they have that problem burn fresh green wood, pine, bits of old pallette and other wood that carries oily deposits.

This is mixed oak/ash in metre lenghts deliverd, not sure on age but certainly isnt green we tend to buy it early in the year so it stands all summer some we have from last year so its at least 18 months old when we come to burn it, we bought some very cheap wood some time back when we first got here what a load of rubbish it wouldnt burn in a forest fire, it does seem to be a different price in each area

Depends where you are Martin, over €40 for two year seasoned oak delivered here and we'd tell the guy where to go... Take it away yourself and €32 the stere. But we live within a forest. People on the Gironde which is relatively treeless compared pay over €50... But yes, shop around unless you are already well set up as we are with one particular woodman.

John, depends on what type of wood- aged oak 50 cms (More than 12 months)- I sell at 70 euro including delivery, in metres around 60 ,mixed ash and oak older than 6 months at around 60, green oak 55 but you have to collect, ash and oak mix 50 if you collect.

So 52 including delivery is pretty good- not sure I could make much of a profit on that.

Mind you I charge by the cubic metre not the steere which can be as little as .7 of a cubic metre depending on the length and age of the wood

€52 a stere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG

Last year we paid 40 a stere for 2 year seasoned oak in 1m lengths, delivered, found the guy on Leboncoin.fr, or have a look on Pagesjeunes, comes up with loads or try ths site http://www.bois-de-chauffage.net just type in your postcode.

This year we're getting ours from the woodyard we use, that's 30 a stere aswell for dry wood, or 30 for 1 1/2 stere for wood that will be dry enough after xmas.

Shop around, you'll always find a good deal somewhere.

Martin.

All this talk of bois de chauffage how much does everyone pay ours are 1 metre lenghts @52€ stere delivered

Valerie i have heard he sends them up the chimney as well, though i did tell my grandson when he looked down the well that thats where he will go if he is naughty that we have a special chair that is lowerd into the water, by the end of the week i was ready to throw him down without the chair

No, just five in and fifteen to go! Will take several days - needs to be separated by type of wood and stacked accordingly, that takes time too.

Blimey, so the poor things moved a walloping 20 steres yesterday afternoon? Impressive! They must be eating a lot of spinach! Puts the paltry 10 I moved to shame. I'll have to make sure it lasts the winter - hopefully mild.

Val, how about this lot. About 15 steres out and first 5 steres in.