ABOUT US

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We're a small, family-owned and operated business located in the beautiful Hawke's Bay. We started Peak Wood Limited to try and improve the firewood industry by setting a higher standard for customer service and quality firewood. We operate with honesty and integrity, which means we carefully select suppliers and partners that share our values, and most importantly, we place our customers at the very heart of what we do and why we do it.  

Mid-way through 2024, we purchased the operational side of Watt's Wood from Sarah and her family.  Sarah and family did a fantastic job of building a reputable brand and business, and we aim to continue with the same level of professionalism, customer service and quality firewood.  It's a tall order - but we're committed to our goals and intentions. If at any point you feel that we are not living up to our promise, please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know. We are committed to improving and becoming the best we can. 

Many of us have been lighting fires for years and feel that we have a pretty good understanding of what we're doing.  Here are some details that we have learned and would like to share with you:

1. Types of Wood

There are 3 main types of wood, namely soft, medium and hard density woods.

1. Soft Woods: Pine, Poplar

Great for getting the fire started, and can provide enough heat for a small room / home if using a new, efficient wood stove or fireplace.

2. Medium Density Woods: Douglas Fir, Old Man Pine, Macrocarpa

These woods are very popular as they light easily but burn for longer and give off more heat than soft woods. Macrocarpa is known to spark so not ideal for open fireplaces or firepits and brassiers.

3. Hard woods: Gum, Wattle, Native hard woods, Fruit Wood, Oak

These are excellent for adding to your fire once it's already hot, as they burn for longer and give off great heat.  I love to cook with most of the hard woods available here in NZ - cooking a lamb chop or steak on the braai is just heaven.

4. Moisture content

Wood is considered dry and ready to burn with a moisture content of 25% or less. The use of a moisture meter is good, but not always an accurate indicator of moisture content, particularly if the piece of wood is thick, as the centre may still be green.  Other ways to determine the dryness of the wood is by weight - dry wood is considerably lighter (especially the soft and medium wood types), and knocking two pieces of wood together should provide a crisp knock, not a muffled sound.

5. Seasoning Firewood

Soft and medium woods actually take a lot less time to season than you might think - especially if we ring and split the logs in Spring and early Summer.  Just 12-14 weeks of peak summer heat and wind is more than enough time to season the wood to be ready for the shed. This means that if you buy wood from a seller than is not dry, please try and do this as early as possible to give yourself the time needed to season the wood sufficiently.

Hard woods do need extra time to season in log form, before being rung and split.  

Clean wood is good wood - and once split, we stack our firewood on pallets to keep them off the ground. This helps the drying process by allowing air to flow through the stack from below, and importantly, this also keeps our wood cleaner than most other wood on the market.  Our firewood has less dirt, grime and dust... making it cleaner and safer to burn in your fireplace.

6. Knowing your fireplace / stove

Newer, efficient stoves run best on soft woods and some manufacturers recommend only using soft to medium-density woods. Closed fireplaces / stoves are most efficient.  Open fireplaces are fantastic for atmosphere, but most of the heat is lost up the chimney and the room / home retains less heat as a result.  There are certain types of firewood that do spark and we recommend not using in an open fireplace.  These are Macrocarpa and Wattle.

7. Maintenance before Winter sets in

Ensure your chimney is clean.  Not only to ensure clean burning, but also to eliminate any excess sap and residue that can be dangerous. If you needed to burn unseasoned wood last season, please be safe and have your chimney looked at.

In May each year, Consumer NZ publishes national pricing averages for different types of firewood on offer.  It also publishes great information on the industry and useful tips.