Sale of firewood on rise

With the cost of oil and gas increasing, the sale of firewood and wood-burning stoves is on the rise as well.

Edwin DesRoches of Miscouche has been selling wood since 1989.

He said he has seen a 50 per cent increase in sales this year compared to last.

DesRoches works hard with his son getting the wood ready for sale, which he purchases from a lumber company.

"I buy it, process it and then sell it," he said.

DesRoches anticipated a busy year and has been preparing since last fall to sell wood this year.

"We had a whole year to get it ready, now we're working hard to get it delivered."

Wood is sold in cords. A cord contains 128 cubic feet of wood.

DesRoches sells a cord of hardwood for $175.

Hardwood is preferred by most customers, he said.

"We have hardwood and softwood, but most people want hardwood," he said.

"When it burns it gives off more heat."

The advantages of having a wood-burning stove are dollars and cents, DesRoches said.

"If you spend $100 on wood, you save $300-$400 on oil."

The part-owner and manager of Corrigan's Stove Centre, Juanita Corrigan, has also seen an increase in sales, particularly with pellet stoves. So much so that manufacturers of high-end pellet stoves are getting back-ordered into 2009, she said.

The centre only sells EPA stoves, which give off fewer emissions and burn more efficiently.

The wood-burning stoves can range in price from about $995 to $3,000.

Corrigan said how much a homeowner uses the stove will determine how much wood is

used.

On average, if someone used their stove 24 hours a day, he or she would go through four to five cords in about an eight-month period, she said.

But as well as heat, some work is also involved in owning a wood-burning stove.

There is some maintenance involved in having a stove, such as cleaning it weekly and getting the chimney cleaned once a year.