Picking up wood

There was an interesting item recently on BBC Radio Four's You and Yours programme about wood theft from forests.  Although many people think it's fine to pick up any wood which you may see lying around if you're out on a walk in woods or a forest, it is actually theft and you  need to get permission from the landowner before collecting wood. Apparently, some offices of the Forestry Commission offer members of the public the possibility of purchasing the rather wonderfully titled Firewood Scavenging Permit which will allow you to pick up wood for your woodburner. Rotting wood is an important part of the forest ecosystem, which is why landowners don't want it all taken away.

It is, however, legal to pick up drift wood from a public beach below the high water mark!

We'd always advise caution when using wood you've picked up yourself anyway as you need to leave it to dry out first and this takes a long time. We sell moisture meters at Westcombes which will help you to work out when your wood is ready to use.  Never use unseasoned, damp wood as it will not burn properly, will produce a lot of smoke and can clog up your chimney and stain the glass.

We sell a range of kiln-dried logs, kindling and flamers which we always recommend to our customers as you will find it easier to light your stove and it will burn more effectively and efficiently.

Happy New Year

We wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to all our customers past and present, and to wish you all a very happy 2014.

It has been a busy year for us, and we've been extending our range of woodburners, stoves and fireplaces (now we just need to find time to add them all to the website!)

Our wonderful logs, kindling and flamers have proved popular along with our smokeless coal, and it has been great to see so many of you coming back to stock up on fuel.

Happy New Year from all the team at Westcombes!

Special offer on our kiln-dried logs this autumn

It's not quite cold enough to put the heating on, but getting home after a day in this wet weather nothing is more welcoming than a warming fire or stove. We've had more and more of our regular customers coming over the last few days to stock up on kiln-dried logs and kindling, and we wanted to let you all know about our new offer on logs.

If you come into the shop to buy your logs and can take ten bags or more, we are now selling them at a discounted rate of £5.50 a bag. For fewer than ten bags, they are still priced at a competitive £6.

We've been selling kiln-dried logs at Westcombes for a couple of years now, and we've found that practically every customer who has come in to buy a bag has returned   for more. They really are completely different from the bags of logs you may be used to buying at your local garage which are often damp and unseasoned. Our kiln-dried logs contain very little moisture which makes them easier to light, and means a cleaner burn - which will help reduce the chance of smoking and a stained glass window in your stove.

Come and try a bag next time you're passing - we're sure you'll see the difference!

Why fuel is so important...

We've had a few customers recently who've been burning the wrong sort of fuel in their stoves which can cause real problems.  If you put damp unseasoned wood into your stove, it is much harder for the stove to work efficiently. Damp wood doesn't light well, smokes badly and can stain the glass in the stove window.  What's more, it can cause problems that you can't see - filling your chimney with soot and deposits which means it will need sweeping more often in order to avoid the risk of a chimney fire.

People are often surprised at the difference it can make when they start using proper wood.  At Westcombes, we recommend the kiln-dried wood which we stock in store, along with kindling and flamers firelighters.  We've found that once customers try a bag of our logs, they never want to go back to buying damp wood from their local garage again.  It really does make a difference, and that's why we give a free starter pack of kiln-dried logs and kindling to everyone who buys a stove at Westcombes and offer free local delivery on orders of ten bags of logs or more. 

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.


For more on this story, click here 

How to light your fire or stove?

We're often asked how to light a fire or stove, as the art of fire-lighting is no longer something we're taught as we're growing up. Although it's nearly summer, it's still very chilly outside and we've got our woodburner blazing away to keep us cosy, so we thought we'd bring a timely reminder of how to light a fire or stove.

First, you need to prepare your stove or fireplace. Check that the damper is open, and that the air vents on your stove are all open,

Then, lay your kindling.  We like to use either our flamers firelighters - or some scrunched newspaper - which we place inside across the base.  Then, make a pyramid of kindling on top.

Light the paper or flamers, and once the kindling begins to burn you can layer some slightly larger pieces of wood, and as soon as the fire is established, put on your coal or logs.

You will need to tend to the fire or stove to top up the fuel as necessary.  You should always make sure that you have a smoke alarm in the same room and don't ever leave the fire unattended.

Finally, it's worth remembering that using the right fuel is key to lighting a fire successfully.  All too often, we've had customers reporting problems when they've been using damp unseasoned wood - it makes it really difficult to light a fire, and what's more it will fill your chimney with soot and tar.  The kiln-dried logs we sell here at Westcombes are ideal - and that's why people who've bought them tend to keep coming back for more.  Once you've used dried logs, you'll know why it makes such a difference!

The woodburning stove car heater...

Woodburning stoves are ever more popular, but the idea of installing one to heat your car was certainly new to us!  Faced with icy temperatures during the winter, one Swiss German guy decided that by far the most effective way to heat his Volvo would be to install a woodburning stove in the car - and so he did just that... The sight of him driving through the snow with a blazing stove in his car and a chimney poking out of the roof is quite interesting - take a look here!

Our installers can't put stoves into your Volvo, but will be able to help if you want a stove in a more normal setting in your home or office - contact us for information about our huge range of woodburning stoves approved by DEFRA for use in London's smoke control zone.

It feels like winter...

After a glorious September and a mild autumn, it finally feels as if winter is here.  We're so pleased we've got a Defra-approved woodburner going in the shop to keep us warm, and we're using our fabulous kiln-dried logs from Certainly Wood  - which are suddenly selling like hot cakes! We've also got the luxury of a working gas and an electric fire in our other showrooms which means you can check out a range of options to see which you might prefer in your own home.  So if you're feeling chilly, head to Westcombes!

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.