Some tips for an open fire

This is our first year of having an open fire. It’s marvellous. I’ve learnt some things about them:

1. First, get your chimney swept by someone from the National Association of Chimney Sweeps. Chimney fires ain’t no joke.
2. The wood absolutely, positively has to be properly seasoned. This means it’s completely dry. Those bags of logs from Homebase? They’re not even close to being right and you’re wasting your time. Look for a local tree surgeon who has seasoned the wood for at least 2 years.
3. Decent kindling is really important too. You can make this yourself by using some off cuts from a builders merchants or by buying some cheap pieces of pine and chopping into small pieces.
4. You will burn your fingers. Many times.
5. The Evening Standard isn’t very good for starting fires, neither is The Metro. Any paper which has ink that is permanent won’t burn very well.
6. Build your fire in a pyramid, adding new logs on a slant so they burn with plenty of air.
7. Finally, you’ll need a log store if you’re going to keep any useful amount of wood. Anything which allows the wood to be stacked with enough air around and a secure roof.