You’ve made your winter getaway plans to our little tree-covered Bowen Island. You’ve read through the Welcome Guide, which mentions you’ll be getting five logs per night to make a cozy fire... Wonderful! You feel warmer already as you picture lazing by a crackling fire all day and night. Until you realize that five logs won't last all day and night…
While we would love to fulfill your wishes for an unlimited wood supply, simple economics and storage space prevent us from doing that. We want to explain why and offer you some tips for planning to ensure your stay is as cozy as you'd like it to be.
Storage space ~ do we have enough space on the property to store two seasons of wood?
Just barely. One rack needs plenty of seasoned and ready-to-burn firewood, and the second needs wet wood drying for the following year's use. The planning and distribution of our firewood require careful allocation to deliver the relaxing fireplace experience to you and all our wet season guests.
Providing wood storage for two seasons takes up space, and calculating the right amount for each year requires us to monitor our supply. It's tricky, and we want to stay supplied during your cold winter visit.
Planning is essential!
We purchase a truckload of wet wood each spring to supply for the following year's burning season. For example, the wood delivered spring of 2022 will be ready to burn in October 2023. The wood needs to dry over a year to make it burn efficiently and emit minimal environmental pollution.
Caution~ never gather wet wood from the surrounding area. You likely already know that burning wet, unseasoned wood emits too much smoke causing poor air quality. In addition, damp wood leaves creosote in the flue, which is dangerous and can lead to a chimney or house fire. For this reason, we ask our guests to refrain from gathering wood from the trails or beach as it is not safe or healthy to burn.
Why not buy dry wood when your supply runs out?
A dry load of firewood delivered during the burning season can be triple the price of wet logs. In addition, dry seasoned wood may be scarce, driving the rate even higher. Over the many years of vacation renting, we have learned that planning the wet-to-dry wood rotation can control our costs enabling us to offer reasonable nightly rates and deliver value to our off-season guests.
Savour the fire on Bowen. In short, planning and distribution of our firewood require careful allocation to deliver the relaxing fireplace experience to you and all our wet season guests. For this reason, we don't offer an unlimited supply of firewood.
Solving Guests Wood Woes. Do you want to burn all day long?
We understand that our guests are excited about the opportunity to have a real fire, as wood-burning fireplaces are being banned in the city and even for new construction on Bowen Island. If you’re booked at one of our properties that have a fireplace and you are dismayed by the allotted wood supply, we have a few solutions.
Purchase additional bundles from the Bowen General Store. The general store now sells wood bundles for approx 7.99 plus tax ~ while supplies last.
Watch our video to master your wood-burning time and heat distribution skills.
All properties have electric heating to keep you warm.
You will not be cold as fires are unnecessary but rather a supplemental heat source, as all have modern heating systems. Wood fires are a lovely treat to be treasured while you sip a beverage and relax by the meditative flames. Enjoy your wet season stay on Bowen Island.
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