How Much Firewood a Cottage Actually Needs (and When to Order)
A cottage used most weekends, with a woodstove or fireplace as secondary or ambiance heat, burns roughly 1 to 3 face cords per season. A cottage heated primarily by wood burns 4 to 6 or more face cords. A face cord is a single stacked row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, with logs about 16 inches deep, so roughly a third of a full bush cord. Get the number right and order at the right time of year, and you never run out mid-winter or overpay in a panic buy.
Firewood Units, Explained Without the Guesswork
Before you can size an order, you need to know exactly what you are buying, because the word "cord" gets used loosely and that is where people overpay. The cottages we look after around Collingwood and the Blue Mountains almost always order by the face cord, but suppliers do not all mean the same thing when they say it.
A full cord, also called a bush cord, is 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood. That is a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long. A face cord, also called a stove cord, is a single row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, with the logs cut to whatever depth the supplier splits to, usually about 16 inches. That makes a face cord roughly one third of a full cord. Most firewood sold in the Georgian Bay area is priced and delivered as face cords, so the rule we give every cottage owner is simple: always confirm the unit and the log length before you compare two prices, because a "cord" at one yard and a "cord" at the next can differ by a factor of three.
| Unit | Dimensions | Approx pieces | Typical Georgian Bay price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full (bush) cord | 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft (128 cu ft) | 600 to 800 | $400 to $600 |
| Face (stove) cord | 4 ft x 8 ft row, 16 in deep | 200 to 275 | $150 to $250 |
| Half face cord | 4 ft x 4 ft row, 16 in deep | 100 to 140 | $90 to $140 |
Those price ranges move with the season and with the species (oak and hard maple sit at the top, mixed hardwood in the middle), and a delivery and stacking charge is usually on top. In our experience, seasoned wood carries a premium over green, and prices climb through the fall as supply tightens, which is exactly why timing your order matters as much as sizing it.
How Much You Need, by How You Use the Cottage
The right number comes down to one question: is the wood heat a treat or the furnace? Here is how the cottages we deliver to actually break down, from the occasional visitor to the owner running wood as primary heat.
- Occasional weekends, ambiance fires: 1 face cord, sometimes less. A few fires a month October through March, mostly for the look and a bit of warmth.
- Most weekends, woodstove as secondary heat: 2 to 3 face cords. This is the most common Georgian Bay cottage pattern, a woodstove taking the chill off while the furnace or baseboards do the overnight work.
- Primary wood heat, lived in through winter: 4 to 6 or more face cords. A well-insulated cottage near Craigleith or Thornbury heated mostly by an efficient stove will land in this range across a full season.
- Shoulder-season fire-pit and bunkie use: add roughly half a face cord for spring and fall evenings outdoors. Outdoor fires eat wood faster than a stove, so budget a little extra if the fire pit sees regular use.
When in doubt, we tell owners to round up by a half cord. Extra seasoned wood does not spoil if it is stacked and covered properly, it just gets better, and running short in February when every Meaford and Wasaga Beach supplier is sold out is a far worse problem than a little surplus in April.
Seasoned vs Green Wood, and Why It Is a Safety Issue
Green (freshly cut) wood is 40 to 50 percent moisture. Seasoned wood has dried down to under 20 percent, and that is the target you want for a cottage stove. For most hardwoods, seasoning takes 6 to 12 months, which is the single biggest reason timing your order matters. Wood split and stacked this spring is ready for next winter, not this one.
The reason this is more than a burning-efficiency question is creosote. Green wood does not fully combust, and the unburned moisture and tar condense inside the chimney as creosote. Creosote build-up is what fuels chimney fires. At a house you live in, you notice a sluggish, smoky fire and get the flue swept. At a cottage that sits empty for weeks between visits, nobody is inspecting the chimney, so the risk compounds quietly. This is why we push seasoned wood so hard for seasonal properties.
Green Wood in an Unattended Cottage Is a Chimney Fire Waiting to Happen
Burning green or unseasoned wood coats your chimney with creosote far faster than seasoned hardwood does. In a cottage nobody checks weekly, that creosote can build to a dangerous layer before anyone notices a problem, and a chimney fire in an empty, remote cottage can spread before help arrives. Burn only wood under 20 percent moisture, and have the chimney swept every season. A moisture meter costs about $30 and settles the question in seconds.
Best Firewood Species for the Georgian Bay Area
Not all wood is worth the same money. The high-BTU hardwoods common in our area (sugar maple, oak, ash, and birch) burn hotter and longer per piece, so you buy less of them and they leave less creosote behind. A face cord of sugar maple simply does more work than a face cord of poplar.
Ash and birch are the practical favourites when you are cutting the timeline close, because they season faster than dense oak or hard maple. If you are ordering in late summer and need it burnable by December, ash is a smart pick. What we steer cottage owners away from for primary heat is softwood: pine and spruce burn fast, throw sparks, and build creosote more quickly than hardwood. A little softwood is fine for kindling and quick shoulder-season fires, but it should not be the bulk of a woodstove supply.
Storing and Stacking It the Right Way
Good wood stored badly turns back into bad wood. When we deliver and stack for a cottage, the setup follows the same rules every time, because they protect both the seasoning and the building.
- Keep it off the ground on pallets or rails. Wood sitting on bare dirt wicks moisture up from below and rots at the base.
- Cover the top, leave the sides open. A tarp draped over the whole pile traps moisture and prevents seasoning. Cover only the top foot or so and let air move through the sides.
- Pick a sunny, windy spot. Sun and airflow are what drive out moisture. A shaded, sheltered corner will never season properly.
- Stack it 20 to 30 feet from the cottage wall, never against the siding, for pest and rodent reasons covered below.
That last point is the one owners most often get wrong. A woodpile stacked against the cottage is a ladder and a nesting site for mice, carpenter ants, and other pests, and it puts them one gap in the siding away from getting indoors. Keeping the pile well clear of the wall is part of the same job as sealing the cottage against rodents for winter, which we cover in our Collingwood area winterization checklist. Distance keeps the wood seasoning and keeps the pests where they belong.
When to Order So You Are Never Caught Short
Timing is where the money and the peace of mind live. There are two honest strategies, and which one you use depends on what you have on hand right now.
If you are planning ahead, buy green in the spring for next winter. Green wood is cheaper, and stacking it in April gives it the full 6 to 12 months of sun and wind it needs to season before you burn it. This is the lowest-cost route and it is how the best-prepared cottages we service run their supply, always a season ahead.
If you need to burn this winter and did not stock up in spring, buy seasoned wood by late summer. Good seasoned hardwood is a limited supply, and around Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, and Meaford it sells out as the weather turns. Owners who wait until the first cold snap in November are the ones paying premium prices for whatever is left, or worse, buying green wood that is not safe to burn yet. Late summer is the sweet spot: the seasoned stock is still available and you are ahead of the rush.
For cottages that also lean on propane heat, firewood is one layer of a winter warmth plan rather than the whole thing. Our cottage propane winter monitoring guide covers keeping the tank topped up and the furnace running as the backstop behind the woodstove. And if getting a delivery truck up your laneway in January is a question, bundle it with winter snow removal and laneway access so the wood, and you, can actually reach the cottage.
We Deliver and Stack Seasoned Firewood
Skip the sourcing, the hauling, and the guesswork about who really means a face cord. We deliver and stack seasoned hardwood across southern Georgian Bay, stacked off the ground, covered on top, and kept clear of the cottage wall so it is ready to burn when you arrive.
Let Us Handle the Whole Season
Our maintenance plans start at $349 per month. We handle fall closing, winterization, and firewood stocking, so the wood is split, seasoned, and stacked ready when you pull into the laneway. One less thing to think about before the first cold weekend.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many face cords does a weekend cottage need?
A cottage used most weekends with a woodstove or fireplace as secondary or ambiance heat burns roughly 1 to 3 face cords per season. If you run wood as the primary heat source through the winter, plan on 4 to 6 or more face cords. The single biggest variable is whether the fire is nice-to-have or your actual furnace.
What is the difference between a face cord and a bush cord?
A full cord (also called a bush cord) is 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood, the volume of a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long. A face cord (also called a stove cord) is a single row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, with logs cut about 16 inches deep, so roughly one third of a full cord. Most firewood sold around Collingwood and Wasaga Beach is priced by the face cord, so always confirm which unit a supplier means before you compare prices.
Can I burn wood I just bought this fall?
Only if it is genuinely seasoned, meaning under about 20 percent moisture. Green wood is 40 to 50 percent moisture and takes 6 to 12 months to season for hardwood. Burning green wood at the cottage builds creosote fast, and creosote is what causes chimney fires. In a cottage nobody inspects weekly, that is a serious risk. If you need to burn this winter, buy wood already labelled seasoned by late summer, because the good seasoned stock sells out by fall.
What is the best firewood for a cottage woodstove?
High-BTU hardwoods: sugar maple, oak, ash, and birch. They burn hotter and longer than softwoods and produce less creosote. Ash and birch also season faster than oak, so they are a good choice if you are cutting the timeline close. Avoid pine and spruce for primary heat, since softwoods burn fast and build creosote more quickly.
Where should I store firewood at the cottage?
Off the ground on pallets or rails, in a sunny and windy spot, with the top covered but the sides left open so air can move through. Keep the stack 20 to 30 feet away from the cottage wall. Wood piled against the siding is a highway for mice, carpenter ants, and other pests looking for a way indoors, so distance matters as much for pest control as it does for seasoning.
Want us to deliver, stack, and stock your firewood?
Cottage Care Company delivers seasoned firewood and handles season prep across southern Georgian Bay. Pick your area:
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