What Firewood Should You Actually Burn in Your Dallas Fireplace?

Every October my phone starts ringing with the same two questions. The first is when can you come sweep my chimney. The second, usually asked halfway through the visit while we are both looking into the firebox, is some version of "what wood should I be burning in here?" It is a better question than most people realize. The wood you put on that grate decides how much heat you get, how much smoke rolls back into the living room, and how fast creosote builds up inside your flue.

So let us talk about it now, before the first real cold front pushes down and you are buying whatever bundle is stacked outside the grocery store.

Seasoned Hardwood, And Not Much Else

The short answer is dry, seasoned hardwood. Around Dallas that usually means oak, pecan, hickory, mesquite, or ash. Oak is the workhorse. It burns long, burns hot, and it is widely available here because it grows here. Pecan is excellent too and smells wonderful. Mesquite throws serious heat but burns fast and can spark, so it is better mixed in than used alone.

Seasoned means the wood has been split and stacked and left to dry for six to twelve months. Freshly cut oak can be half water by weight. When you burn wet wood, most of the fire's energy goes into boiling that water off instead of heating your house. You get a lazy, smoky fire, and all that unburned moisture and gas condenses on the cool walls of your flue as creosote. That is the sticky, tarry stuff that catches fire. We wrote about how to spot creosote buildup and why it matters, and I will tell you plainly: nine times out of ten, the worst buildup we scrape out came from somebody burning green wood all winter.

How To Tell If Wood Is Actually Dry

Dry wood is lighter than it looks. The ends are checked and cracked like a dried mud flat. The bark is loose or already falling off. Knock two pieces together and you get a sharp clack, not a dull thud. Green wood feels heavy, the cut ends look fresh and damp, and you will sometimes see sap bubbling at the end when it heats up. If you want to be certain, a cheap moisture meter from the hardware store will tell you. Anything under 20 percent is good to burn.

What You Should Keep Out Of The Firebox

Softwoods like pine and cedar are the big one. They are full of resin, they pop and throw embers, and they coat a flue in creosote faster than anything else. A little kindling to get things started is fine. A whole evening of pine is asking for trouble.

Never burn pressure treated lumber, painted or stained wood, plywood, particle board, or old fence pickets. Dallas has a lot of old cedar fencing that gets torn down after storms, and I understand the temptation when it is stacked at the curb for free. Those boards are treated, and burning them releases chemicals you do not want in your house and leaves deposits you do not want in your chimney. Same goes for driftwood, which carries salt, and anything that used to be furniture.

Skip the Christmas tree in January. Skip wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, and glossy magazines. They flare up fast, send burning scraps up the flue, and can ignite deposits that were sitting there quietly.