Reliable Firewood

GABRIELLE FORTUNA

★★★★★

"Great kiln dried maple. Jan has great quality maple. We pick it up in his driveway by schedule. It works out great from us. Call him let him know what you want and pick it up at the end of the week. It’s perfectly dried. We can get large, small or mixed sizes. Great local business."

Laura Lennon

★★★★★

"Great repeat experiences getting top quality kiln-dried maple from Jan! Jan is very knowledgeable, responsive, and kind. I knew way more information about firewood after my first phone call with him than after hours of googling. Echoing that you MUST reach out first to schedule an appointment. The exact address is not listed here"

Brett Howell

★★★

"Jan is really nice and a one-man-show. A few things about my experience after buying $322 worth of wood (4'x8'x1'): 1) Since he's a one-man-show he unloads himself. He doesn't offer customers to pay for the wood to be stacked neatly, he throws it randomly in a pile, resulting in a headache. The wood was stacked nicely in his truck, thrown into my carport, then I had to stack again. Very counterproductive. 2) He promised me it was the "best kiln-dried wood". As I type, the wood is hissing moisture from being wet, when I assure you it has been in dry in my position. Not all my kindling in the house could start this thing up. 3) It's a good deal if you have the time to let it dry in your possession, but it is wet when delivered. At least mine was."

Ken Colwell

★★★★★

"(Note -- location is not where marked, but within, say, a mile radius of it.) Great wood at a good price. I've bought probably a cumulative half cord of wood from Reliable, about a trunkload at a time. All of it has been well-seasoned (really well, or maybe it's the species of tree, but it's like starting fires on easy mode). Proprietor is friendly and helpful. Make sure you get in touch ahead of time, especially in early winter. It's not a storefront where you can stop by anytime. But it's worth making the logistics work. Looking forward to our next load of wood."

Timothy Deenihan

★★

"I hate writing bad reviews. I really do. So let me open with the positives. The volume of wood for the price is very reasonable. Jan says that it's about half the price of supermarket wood. I don't think it's quite THAT much of a deal, but it's definitely a savings as a matter of volume. The wood is already cut and is easily split further if you, like me, need smaller pieces for something like a potbelly stove. That said... This is far and away the wettest wood I have ever purchased. Even split down to the smallest pieces I can cut with a hatchet, trying to make for kindling to get a fire started, it refuses to light. When I break a piece in half over my knee, there is actually a damp spot on the cloth of my jeans from the wood. When I manage to get a fire going, it requires CONSTANT attention. My desk is by the stove, and typically (with supermarket wood) I will get up every 15 minutes or so, stir the fire and add a new piece or two. 1 to 2 minutes process. Now, I am at the stove every five minutes, spending 5 minutes trying to splinter pieces so that the wet wood will be small enough to burn anyway. I've placed a fair amount of wood near the pot belly, hoping the dry heat will help dry it out. When I take a warm piece of wood from that stack and split it, it steams. STEAMS. It's that wet. I don't typically write bad reviews. I don't typically write reviews. It takes a lot of frustration to get me to stop what I'm trying to do and post this. But my advice is, if you want firewood that will actually catch on fire, get it elsewhere. UPDATE: End of February and I have only just come back to the reviews page and seen Jan's offer of refund. I have to give credit where it is due - that is a solid offer and genuinely appreciated. It's a good businessman who stands behind his product as Jan has done. As noted above, the wood does burn, but only with constant attention. Thus, I have managed to work my way through much of it, and certainly enough that I would not insult Jan by demanding a refund on wood I have burned (Like someone returning a three-quarters-finished meal and demanding the waiter comp the check...). So. Result? I feel much better that Jan has taken the critical review seriously with his offer. And I reiterate that my issue was not that it did not burn at all, but rather the effort it took to start and maintain a fire when I have other things to do. For anyone using this review to consider purchasing firewood - know that Jan stands behind his product. I respect that. Just pay close attention to the wood you load."