As we have just left August I know it is at the forefront of everybody’s mind - now is the time to order logs, 2 years ago we left it until October - and couldn’t find any at a sensible price.
Just had 2 stères delivered in 1m lengths (95 euros delivered) for me to cut to 33mm, I will also split the bigger ones with new toy (hydraulic splitter).
Ummm…we order in Feb/March for delivery in September (after his holiday). Much cheaper, as price goes up the later you leave it, and also nicer for the woodsman to know what his order book is like.
Yep so don’t leave it.
We’ve just ordered ourusual 7 stères from our usual chap - I normally order a bit earlier but we’ve had quite a lot on recently. He offered to bring it over at the beginning of next week but we need to clear more space in the barn and won’t have time to stack it before we go away so it will be a bit later in the month. Same price as last year and very competitive for around here. A number of the local farmers do log deliveries in addition to their “usual” activities…
Bloody hell! For the whole commune?
We have no other heating at the moment, Mat!
Thanks for the reminder. I’ve just passed your message onto OH. 
Be aware that it is reported that well dried wood is in shorter supply than in previous years. Better order now. We buy in M³ as opposed to steres, if you are buying cut wood this can considerable increase the amount.
We got through 15 last winter !
We were around the same, but last winter was especially cold and longer than usual, down to -8C at one point.
The whole house is heated from one large fire with hot air ducted to all the rooms, it runs 24/7 and keeps the temp around 21C.
The gas central heating will most likely be running as well this year if it is as cold, fire during the day central heating at night.
Yes - we reckon on using 4-5 cords (12-15 steres) per year - but that’s heating the whole of a big old farmhouse, along with occasional gites lets.
Our woodburner drives 12 radiators and the hot water in the main house - the gites just 2 space heating stoves. It’s a LOT cheaper - and of course more ecological - than our old oil-fired system - especially as I generally harvest half the wood from our own trees.
Can you share the details of your “new toy” please Mat. I really need to buy something like this so recommendations would be helpful.
It is a hydraulic log splitter that I bought in the local Leclerc Brico for approx 250 euro.
It has 6.5 Tonnes splitting power and seems to be able to split just about anything. I split 2 stères about 2 weeks ago with ease and most importantly safely.
I think I need to get one of them, looks very useful
I would say as someone who went the other way from burning 5 chord of wood a year to using less then 1000 ltres of fuel a year that the price difference is considerably cheaper with fuel,as is the space required for stacking the stuff. The cost of only decorating every three years with fuel as opposed to every year with a woodburner ,the ability to go and turn the heating up at the touch of a button.
Pollution is debatable" dirty fuel " is no to different coughing your guts up when there is no wind and woodsmoke is hanging in the air.
My OH has one of those as well, just a slightly newer model than that 
We are fortunate to have a woodyard nearby.
16 steres of well seasoned oak delivered for 570 euros. We order in spring and delivered in july. When I renovated our house I made sure it was super insulated. We have a extremely efficient Broseley wood burner that supports radiators in every room and all our hot water needs from October to May. Nothing beats the flickering flames of a wood burner.
We’re trying to be as fossil-fuel-free as possible, for obvious reasons. But I am aware that I won’t be able to continue our present lifestyle into old age - not just because of the work involved in heating with wood - rather because of all the physical work involved in running a gite complex with swimming pool and a couple of acres of grounds. But if we move from here in the next few years it looks like it will have to be electric heating in one form or another (probably a mixture including air source, which we already use to some extent - before we changed the pool over to a heat pump we could use a thosand litres of oil over the summer!).
