Mike's Blue Wheels' Firewood

Stephen Zeller

★

"This is our first winter in our new home after moving from Northern California. I installed a new wood burning stove insert into our masonry fireplace to reduce the dependency on (and cost) of fuel oil for heat. I'm an experienced wood burner, and knowing that this is our first year and most of what I've already cut on my property won't be ready until year we decided to order a cord of wood from Mike's to supplement. I was pleased by the nice review that I saw, stating that they always receive a full cord and the quality of wood is good. Well, maybe two years ago that was the case but it certainly wasn't what I got. First, I was short 1/2 of a face cord (1/6th of a full cord) once I stacked my wood up. I stack in single rows that are 99" wide and 48" high. The wood appeared to be "seasoned" and I found that on a couple of fresh splits that moisture content was below 20%, which is what you want for a wood burning stove. However, I've been burning some of his wood the past couple of days and I don't think it's all in that shape. I'm getting hissing like crazy when I'm putting this stuff in the stove, which means that the pieces aren't all at 20% or below. Also not good as this contributes to creosote build-up in your chimney which can result in a chimney fire. Granted, we've had a fair amount of rain lately and it rained on Friday night after the wood was delivered. However, typically surface moisture dries in a few days after it's been stacked and won't impact the moisture content of the wood such that it's hard to burn. The wood was delivered a week ago Friday and I called their office on the following Monday to let them know I was short on some wood. The woman on the phone was very nice and helpful and asked if I could send some pictures and that they would make good on the full cord. On Tuesday morning I had sent them some pictures of my 2 1/2 stacks to show them I was short. (And at this point I hadn't burned any of the wood either.) I didn't hear back from them so I called them this Friday to follow up and the woman said that she would make sure the owner (Mike) called me before the end of the day. Mike called, but said that he didn't really feel that I was that short and that if I wanted the additional wood I would have to come get it myself or order another cord for delivery and they would add that to the delivery. Really disappointed in this as I paid $220.00 for a cord of wood that's been split and supposedly seasoned and I get wet wood and short. I would expect for that premium price that I would have gotten much better service than what I did. Needless to say I won't be recommending them to anyone and I don't even want the additional wood at this point because it will likely be more wet wood that will be hard to burn."

Annette Gasperi

★★

"I ordered top soil for my garden beds. Quick delivery, but the top soil was horrible. Full of rocks and way too hard. Almost like it was mixed with something. I had to add a ton of other amendments to get the right composition. I do not recommend this product from this company. I was very disappointed."

Carol Tompkins

★★★★★

"We got a generous 5 loads of mulch delivered and spread in our gardens. The team worked fast and cleaned up immaculately when they were finished. I highly recommend."

Richard England

★★★★★

"Owner is a solid guy to deal with. Delt with him for 25 years and has always done right by me. All his works are very polite. lawn maintenance, tree work, dirt, stone, excavation."

Tony Fusco

★★★★★

"The service at Mike's Blue Wheels is always outstanding.... From the knowledgeable assistance of Mike, himself, to the courteous and capable work of Daryl and Sess.... this is the go-to place for Landscaping, Materials, Lawn Care and Snow Removal.... Their Firewood deliveries are always bigger than I expect. The best value in town!"