Are you trying to figure out whether to order a batch of hardwood or softwood for your home fire? If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we explain why and when you should use hardwood and softwood, so you can build your home fire with the perfect fuel.
Does it matter which type of wood you use in your fire?
Some people think that because you’re going to burn it, there’s little point in worrying too much about the type of wood that you use in your fireplace. Yet failing to recognise the differences between the types of wood you can buy is not only costly, but it can also reduce the efficiency of your fire.
Typically, the types of wood that you can buy for your home fire are classed as hardwood or softwood. The key difference between the two types of wood is their density, and we explain which is the best option for your home fire below.
Using hardwood for your fire
Hardwoods that are commonly used as firewood include ash, birch and oak, while other hardwoods - such as maple and mahogany - are typically reserved for making furniture. In most instances, hardwoods are a product of deciduous trees and are slow-growing, which causes them to produce particularly dense wood.
Due to the density of the wood, hardwood burns for longer and produces more heat when compared to softwood. It’s for this reason, among others, that our kiln-dried firewood is made from birch. As well as burning for longer, the hardwood - birch in this instance - has been dried to a moisture level of less than 20% and is perfect for wood burning stoves, open fires, and pizza ovens.
Using softwood for your fire
Softwood originates from a family of trees called gymnosperm, with the most populous softwood trees in the UK being conifers and other cone-producing trees. The key distinguisher of softwoods is that they’re much less dense than hardwoods, and tend to grow much faster in a natural environment.
You will commonly find softwood used in manufacturing industries, which produce day-to-day products such as paper. When used specifically in a fireplace, the most common types of softwood are fir, pine, cedar, and spruce. Softwood is sometimes used in back garden fires that are predominantly for aesthetic purposes only, as they don’t give off a great deal of warmth.
The verdict
When it comes to choosing the right type of wood for your fire, we would have to say that hardwood is the better option of the two. This is mainly because it’s denser and burns for much longer than softwood, while generating more heat and a better flame.
You can use hardwood in practically all fires, whether it’s your in-house fireplace, your garden fire pit, or a special wood-burning stove you have at home. Our hardwood has been kiln-dried to ensure your fireplace can give off more heat while burning for a longer period of time.
Be sure to check out our collection of hardwood today, and get your wood store stocked up to see you through these long and dark evenings with a roaring fireplace in your living room.