Guides
Ordering firewood in Burgundy from the UK
Plan your first Burgundy firewood order from the UK: log length, stated volume, moisture information, delivery and suitable storage.
Contents
Your first firewood delivery is due before a stay at your Burgundy house. The supplier mentions stères, logs “in 33” and wood that is ready to use. You recognise some of the words without knowing exactly what will arrive. Before ordering from the UK, settle three things: the product, the delivery service and its final storage place. Otherwise, the first evening may involve a pile you cannot use as expected.
Start with the appliance rather than the advert
Find the stove or insert’s manufacturer, model and instructions. Check the accepted log length and intended fuel in that documentation or with the professional responsible for the appliance. Do not order simply because the previous owner said they used wood. Logs, pellets and compressed briquettes are not interchangeable descriptions of the same product.
If the instructions are missing, identify the equipment before committing to a delivery. A photograph taken with the owner’s permission may help recover a model reference; it does not establish every condition of safe use. This enquiry can begin during the purchase without operating unfamiliar equipment at a viewing.
Ask for a clear quantity and unit
The French consumer authority explains that firewood is sold in cubic metres or cubic decimetres and that the stère is no longer the legal sales unit. If a supplier uses that familiar term in conversation, ask the written offer to specify the quantity, unit, log length and presentation.
Distinguish loose delivery, a pallet and a stacked supply. The visible size of a load is not an identical checking method in all three cases. Ask how the advertised quantity is established and how it can be checked on delivery. You do not need to improvise a conversion from memory; you need both parties to describe the same product.
“Dry” needs supporting information
The consumer authority lists information including wood species, log length, moisture and drying indications on the invoice. Request those details before accepting the offer. If the intention is to burn the wood during your next stay, say so. A supply requiring further drying does not meet that particular need, however attractive the headline price appears.
Separate product price from the work included. Does the quotation cover delivery only, moving the logs within the property, stacking them or removing packaging? Two offers for the same stated quantity can leave very different tasks for you. That matters especially if the lorry will arrive before you reach the house.
Choose the store before choosing the delivery date
ADEME recommends storage protected from rain, with ventilation and without direct ground contact. Identify the space available and seek advice if its suitability is unclear. An empty cellar should not automatically be treated as an appropriate wood store simply because nothing else is kept there.
Explain where unloading is possible and where the wood should finally be placed. If someone is receiving it for you, agree what they can check: the order reference, described product, stated quantity and destination. Do not quietly give them responsibility for specialist moisture assessment or heavy handling they have not agreed to undertake.
Keep a useful record of the delivery
Retain the delivery note, invoice and any observations relevant to the order. Ask the supplier to clarify discrepancies rather than relying on an impression of the pile. Photographs may help explain what arrived and where, but do not turn an image into a technical measurement it cannot provide.
When preparing a Côte-d’Or purchase, ask Shawez Ali, agent immobilier, which appliance references are available. The second-home guide covers wider absence arrangements. This first order has a more specific objective: suitable fuel, delivered to an agreed place, under instructions the supplier and the person receiving it both understand.