Why a woodburning stove could help rent out your home...

Well, here's an interesting fact for all you woodburner fans - apparently in Scotland when tenants are looking for a rental property, one of the top assets they seek out in a new home is a wood burning stove. The canny tenants are not only thinking of the cosy appeal of a woodburner, but also of their purses - with energy prices rocketing, a wood burning stove can offer warmth while allowing you to cut down on your central heating bills. 


At Westcombes, we know that it's not just north of the border where it can be colder - although  it doesn't feel that way today - that woodburners are popular.  And it's not just in rural areas either, as we've noticed how many of our customers are keen to install Defra-approved wood burning stoves in their homes.

So whether you want to make your home more attractive whether to a prospective tenant, buyer or just for yourself and your family, come and take a look at our huge selection of stoves to see what might suit your home and budget.


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Greeks opt for woodburning stoves to beat soaring fuel prices

I've just been reading a fascinating article about the rise in popularity of woodburning stoves in Greece as a result of the economic crisis there.  Apparently, rising heating costs and a levy on electricity bills have led many families to turn to woodburning stoves instead of their normal central heating - and they're finding it's not only cheaper with wood costing about a quarter of the equivalent in heating oil, but also a lot warmer, too.  

Here, we're along way from the kind of huge demand that they're seeing in Greece but we have noticed that more and more people are interested in stoves, many of them with fuel bills in mind. Even in London, you can have a woodburner as the latest Defra-approved models are suitable for use in smoke free zones.  At Westcombes, we have one showroom dedicated to stoves with more than fifty different models on display and can offer advice on the right sort of stove for your home as well as arranging for fitting.  

Stove selection....

We're known for our huge range of antique, reproduction and modern fireplaces at Westcombes, but you may not realise that we now have a vast selection of stoves at our Lee High Road showroom.  As stoves have become more popular, we've been expanding our specialist stove selection and can now offer a great choice of different brands of wood burning, multi-fuel, electric and gas stoves.

We now stock stoves from Aga, Franco Belge, Esse, Carron, Capital Fires Stoves, Gallery Stoves, Burley, Broseley, Dovre, Eco Warm, Stovax and Gazco, Bohemia and Pevex, the range from West Fires and the Arada stoves including Aarrow and Villager.  We have one of our showrooms dedicated entirely to our stove range and we can offer help and advice on the most suitable stove for your home - so do come and pay us a visit.

Why picking up logs may not be such a good idea...

At Westcombes, we’ve seen a huge increase in the popularity of wood-burning stoves in recent years, especially now that there’s a wider selection of fires approved by Defra to burn wood in London’s smokeless zone.

It’s not just that the stoves look attractive; with hugely increased bills for gas, electricity and oil, a wood-burning stove can make economic sense too. Now apparently in some parts of the countryside this has led to a resulting increase in timber thefts which is in turn affecting the revenue of woodland charities who rely on timber sales for income. Conservationists say the thieves are often putting their own safety at risk too as they don’t know how to fell trees properly or use the right safety equipment. They also suggest that sometimes people don’t realise that taking logs from wood stacks in forests or at roadsides is an offence.

Of course, the other point to bear in mind about these stolen logs is that they are freshly cut and usually very damp.  In order to burn successfully, logs need to be seasoned, or dried.  If you need supplies of logs, at Westcombes we stock kiln dried logs which are ideal for all wood-burning stoves.

Our new stock of logs...

We're very excited to have just taken our first delivery of kiln-dried logs from a company called Certainly Wood. One reason many people have problems lighting fires is down to the logs they are using.  If you pick up a bag of logs from your local garage, they tend not to be properly seasoned - which means they haven't been dried out for long enough and are still retaining lots of moisture. They're not always stored properly either and are left outside in all weathers. This makes it harder to light a fire, it produces lots of smoke and it's harder to keep the fire going.

Our new stock of kiln dried logs have an average moisture content of just 20% and you can use them in all wood burning appliances - in London, of course, that means Defra-approved stoves.  Dry logs don't produce as much smoke which means they give a very clean burn with maximum heat output. 

The company we're sourcing our logs from dry them first before finishing them off in wood fired kilns. All the wood they use is hardwood, which is sourced from sustainable British woodland.  You can find them at Westcombes  showroom in Lee High Road from today - come and stock up in good time for the autumn!


  

Wood burning stoves in cities

Wood burning stoves are becoming increasingly popular with our customers, but many people assume they can't have a wood burner if they live in the city.

This dates back to the Clean Air Act which regulates smoke emissions in built-up areas and created zones where only smokeless fuels could be burnt.

However, now the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (known as DEFRA) has started a scheme to approve certain wood burning stoves which have an advanced system of eco-engineering. These stoves are very environmentally friendly, as wood is a renewable and sustainable energy source.

What's more, many of these stoves look fabulous and can provide a great focal point for any home.  We stock a huge range of stoves, including many DEFRA-approved wood burners, at Westcombes -  so do come and have a browse!