As a family, we have been in the Woodburning Stove industry for over 45 years, so when we discovered that many of our local customers were struggling to find good quality, dry wood to burn, we decided to help.
Since 2005 we have been supplying high quality kiln dried logs and kindling to both our loyal local customers and newer customers further afield. The past 13 years we have gone from strength to strength thanks to the high demand for dry firewood. Our logs are easy to light and give out maximum heat with minimum deposits up the chimney.
From Forest to Fireplace
Fortunately for us, Great Britain is ideal for tree growth due to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil. With hundreds of acres of beautiful woodland right on our doorstep, we believe it is important to work in harmony with nature, in order to protect the wildlife and future growth of this natural resource for years to come. We ensure this by carefully harvesting the smaller, weaker trees, to create more space and light for the vigorous trees to grow on and flourish. As well as powering our kilns by wood chip instead of fossil fuels, to ensure the whole process is sustainable.
Before the timber deliveries reach our yard, we go to great lengths to ensure that we have sourced only the best quality, British trees available. Once the carefully selected logs arrive in our yard, they are sorted and then run through one of our firewood processors, which precisely cuts and splits the wood to a desired shape and length ready for the kiln. These logs then spend around 5 days inside our kiln, where their moisture content is reduced from around 70% to less than 20%.
It is this slow drying process that makes Walkers Logs unique. Many other kiln dried log suppliers blast their logs with an intense heat over a short period of time. This results in logs that appear dry on the outside but are unfortunately still wet internally. At Walkers Logs, we do things properly. We bake our logs over a longer time cycle, which ensures that all of our logs are dried throughout, meaning they will burn brighter for much longer, especially in comparison to logs that haven’t been dried as thoroughly. This drying process also ensures that your fire will light more easily and burn more efficiently with a vastly improved heat output.
High Standards and Sustainability
To ensure that we are always working correctly and to the highest standards possible, we are members of “Woodsure” and “Grown in Britain”. We are audited each year by these two organisations to check our quality control processes, our moisture content of finished product and proof that all our timber harvested is sustainably sourced and from the UK. We have also just become a member of a Defra backed quality assurance scheme called, “Ready to Burn” which is also endorsed by the “Stove Industry Alliance” These companies make sure our standards stay high and that we are always able to meet the expectations of our customers.
Did you know it is around 800 miles to Eastern Europe but only around 50 miles to the majority of woodlands used by us?
We ensure that all of our wood comes from sustainable sources and we only buy from British woodlands that have a valid felling licence and management plan, regulated by the Forestry Commission. These trees are routinely assessed by an expert who chooses and marks which trees can be felled.
If you ask us, we will be able to tell you where your logs have come from.
Our State of the art Yard
We have made drastic improvements to our Compton Abdale yard over the years, and in January 2018 we made the decision to increase our cutting capacity by purchasing a new firewood processor. We have purchased another Pezzolato processor, which can easily cut and split timber up to 90cm (36″) in diameter. This machine is also the first of its kind in the UK! Making us one of the most versatile firewood companies in the country, taking timber from 10cm in diameter up to 90cm.
We have also ordered a new purpose-built log handler, which will enable us to handle large tree trunks that weigh in excess of 4 tonnes, while also improving efficiency when we unloading lorries of raw material.
Not only that, we have installed a 50 tonne weighbridge at our yard. This new weighbridge ensures all of our timber deliveries are accurate and accounted for. This helps us to make sure our customers are getting the best quality timber at the best price. It also allows us to accurately gauge how much moisture we have successfully removed from our logs during the drying process, from these measurements we can assess how to improve our drying methods as we go forward.
Our Customers
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we work tirelessly to ensure that they receive the best possible product, along with the best possible customer service. We believe that this approach is what has enabled us to grow and evolve for the better.
We deliver throughout England and Wales, using a nationwide pallet delivery service. If you live more locally to us in the Cotswolds, we can deliver using our own vehicles, the main benefit being that we are able to do the stacking for you, for a small extra fee!
If you are interested in purchasing our kiln dried logs or have any questions about us and the service we provide, visit our website: walkerslogs.co.uk or call us on 01285 720940.
