Firewood, the cheapest way to heat your house in France

Today we had a delivery of logs from our neighbour. We do have central heating but the price of oil being high (not far from 80 cent/litre) we are using our log burner to heat up our cottage in France. When ordering logs in Brittany you will be asked how many ‘cordes’ you require.

A ‘corde’ is about 3 cubic meters. In other areas French people call it a ‘stère’. It is 1 cubic meter of wood.

If you have just moved to France and don’t know where to get firewood from, start with visiting your local mairie and ask for some “Bois de chauffage”. You might also see some adverts in the free newspapers or look at some adverts in the local shops. Most French supermarkets and shop s have a notice board and anyone can put an advert there for free.

Depending on the quality of wood (oak, chestnut, etc) and the size the price can vary between 200 and 250 euros. It is best to order it in the summer so it is dry when you need it!

Stacking wood is also a great way to keep warm. It took the 2 of us 1 ½ hours to stack one corde!

That is my exercise for the day!