The ideal load of firewood ?

eee · Oct 14, 2004

I am thinking about selling some seasoned firewood.
What do you look for in appearance/stacking etc..
What is the price of wood by the cord in your area. How much do you or they charge for delivery.
I have been cutting timber for about a year and I have lots of seasoned tree tops that are a year old and I hate to see them all go to waste.
I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thank you all in advance !!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

RoughCut

dmp437 · Oct 14, 2004

The going price around here is $40 a face cord already cut, $50 cut and delivered, $10-20 a face cord if you cut and haul it yourself.
There's one guy that will do 6 cords for $240, delivered, that are hard maple mill ends. By delivered he means that he backs the trailer in and hits the button (it's dump trailer) and it's up to you from there.
As far as what I look for, the seasoning starts after the wood is cut and split. The bark's job is to keep the water in while the tree is alive so the drying process doesn't really begin until the wood is split to take the bark out of the picture. I've got some red oak right now that the ends have quite a few cracks in them but after they're split you can see there's still quite a bit of moisture present, definetely more than the 20-25% recommended for clean burning. As far as wood type, hardwood only. White Oak, Red Oak, Beach, and hard Maple (Norway) is what I have right now, with more red oak as soon as I can get to it. I prefer 22" lengths as my firebox is 25 " long.
By all means sell the tops for firewood. With the prices of the fossil fuels going up this year fire wood is going to be a popular fuel. Fuel oil around here was running $1.79 a gallon three weeks ago and it's till eary in the season.

dbelisle · Oct 14, 2004

Not sure where you are located rough cut, but a cord of hardwood in New Hampshire is selling for $160.00 a cord cut,split, and delivered.

And that is Green.

Dave in NH

Youare · Oct 14, 2004

In the southwest area of New Hampshire a cord of seasoned, cut, split, delivered a.k.a. dumped in your yard hardwood firewood is going for $150.00 on average. In New Hampshire a cord or a fraction thereof is the legal measure wood has to be sold by which is a pile of wood 4' wide X 4' high X 8' long.

Most firewood dealers around here stock pile wood in a big heap it goes in a truck in a big heap and is left at you place the same way. Very few dealers carefully neatly stack firewood except if the size of their truck dictates stacking to get the full cord measure in.

Most buyers see an add in the paper and order firewood over the phone rather than inspect the merchandise before purchase. If you can pile your firewood for sale next to a road where people driving by can see wood for sale that will attract attention and maybe worth the time and effort to pile it.

With home heating oil prices on the rise and the crude price high this wil be a good year to have seasoned firewood for sale.

Randy

eee · Oct 14, 2004

Guys,
I live on the border of WVa and Ohio ( near the Ohio River).
I seen some guys advertising they would deliver for $10 to $15 and I am thinking,if that is stacked I am not going to haul and stack for that price,but if I can deliver and toss it off the truck that might be different. I have seen prices for about $50.00 delivered give or take a few dollars. I have a bucket on my tractor, a skidder winch,a nice Cub Cadet log splitter ( I don't have a dump bed though /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif), I am on the edge of 93 acres about 65 total woods.

slowrev · Oct 14, 2004

In Rural areas of KY it is about $40-50 per face cord delivered. However is in or near to a large metro area. it will be at least double that.

Ben

bczoom · Oct 14, 2004

( However is in or near to a large metro area. it will be at least double that.)

Roughcut.
In your area, I'm guessing around $50/face cord. Check your local paper for others selling in your area.
If you don't mind driving to Pittsburgh or other urban area, like Ben said, you can get a lot more for it.

rozett · Oct 14, 2004

I have a firewood business as part of my farm. I sell a cord of 'seasoned' hardwood for $170. Delivery is free within 20 miles and I add $5 a cord for fuel if over 20. I've sold about 100 cord since July. Maine has a legal definition for a cord as 128 cubic feet when stacked. There are few other dealers around that sell green for $145-$150 and seasoned/dry for $155-$165. If you go 40 minutes east into Portland, you can get up to $190 a cord.

Mine was cut to 16 foot and stacked to dry last year after my forester conducted a timber harvest to thin out the property in order to promote the growth of white pine (where the money really is). I started cutting to length (orders from 12" to 19") and splitting in July. I deliver one cord at a time with a dump trailer. If they want it stacked, I refer them to the teens that I've hired to run the splitter for me.

The maple has pretty much dried out in the 16' lengths. The ash splits and burns very nicely and completes it dry out within days of splitting. The oaks, and especially red oak, take six months to dry out after split. So I recommend that they stack the red oak on the bottom. I don't have any birch in my firewood as I sent all that to the mills. It burns too quickly and without a great deal of heat anyway.

My first customer whined about getting "clean" wood. Apparently, most commercial firewood dealers scoop up their wood with a loader and dump it into a truck. This picks up a lot of dirt, rocks, and bark. I was originally planning to do the same with my FEL. But ended up loading the bucket by hand and dumping into the trailer. Almost every customer has raved about how clean the wood looks. So I it turned out to be a good practice.

Before I delivered my first cord, I stacked it to insure that it was a full cord. Then I loaded it into my trailer. Since then I just gauge a cord based on how loaded the trailer is. I've only had one customer come back and say he got shorted. I delivered extra wood and he showed me his stack. Apparently he takes great care to stack as tight as he can. Oh, well. The world is made up of all kinds. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PhilNH5 · Oct 14, 2004

Roughcut,
In the Manchester NH paper a cord of wood is averaging 200 bucks. Some is advertised as high as 220. Around here delivery is usually included.

Very interesting to see the different prices w/in our tiny state.
PhiL

Varmintmist · Oct 14, 2004

Western PA, a stacked split cord is going for 125 delivered. I have sold a couple just for pocket money and I am not real careful on size so I took 100.00/128 cu ft. Plus, the splitter I have is the red and black one from Lowes, 8lb, about 24 bucks. 3-4 cord is enough. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thats hardwood, cherry/oak is preferred.

Wood is sold by the cord, but you can have variations in the cord to. Loose, stacked, loose split, stacked split. If you free stack it, ie no walls just free standing, you will get less wood than if you can stack it against something and are able to fill in the holes.

rdln · Oct 14, 2004

If you are in the Emerald ash borer quarantine area, the market might be flooded, I have met one tree removal guy that dumps 25 yds off just to get it out of his way.

Did you see "Wife Swap" about 3 weeks ago, the one wife had a biz splitting and packaging bundles to sell at gas stations and stuff.

EastTexFrank · Oct 14, 2004

As you can see, the price varies depending on where you are and your profile doesn't say.

When we lived in Dallas, firewood used to sell for about $120/cord and that was delivered. It'll probably be higher now as that was 7 years ago. Around here, (East Texas) you can get a cord for $60/$80.

Prefect · Oct 14, 2004

I didn't read all posts on this topic so forgive me if someone has already addressed this, but keep in mind that in many states wood HAS to be sold by the 'cord'. A face cord is not the same as a cord. There is no legal definition of a face cord (as I understand it). A cord is 128 cubic ft. I have seen face cord defined as a row or rows of wood equaling 4' wide by 8' long.

Just keep this in mind if you are going sell or you're going to buy.

eee · Oct 14, 2004

Wow...
Thanks guys for the info....another question or two.
What is the true dimensions of a cord of wood versus a face cord ?
What is the preferred length for use in a fireplace versus stove wood ?
Not all wood is big enough or has to be split(depending on size),does most people prefer to buy wood that is split ?

Will_C · Oct 14, 2004

Roughcut; Great thread. Brings me back to the days of cutting firewood with my dad. A cord is just what has been mentioned, 128 cu. ft. This is normally a pile 4' wide, 4' high, and 8' long. A face cord is a pile 4' high, 8' long, and what ever width the wood is cut. We cut most wood 16" long, so 3 face cord would equal a full cord.
16" seems to be the popular length for firewood, although I remember cutting 12" and 24" for some steady customers. We simply split the wood that needed it, and did not split the small rounds under 4" or so.
Good Luck, Will

eee · Oct 14, 2004

( A face cord is a pile 4' high, 8' long, and what ever width the wood is cut. )

Thank you Will....
You answered my question.....I see the difference between a face cord and a cord.
I have cut wood most of my life,but always for my self and I never sold any it, just went into a BIG pile outback and we would shove the wheelbarrow down to it and pick up what we needed,snow , rain, and sunshine it laid outside.

MossRoad · Oct 14, 2004

A face cord is supposed to be one third of a cord. Around here they call that a rank.

So if you cut your wood 16" long and stack it and 4' high by 8' long, that's a face cord or rank.

Three face cords or three ranks = one cord.

beenthere · Oct 14, 2004

Not sure what a 'rank' is, but a rick and a face cord are one of the same. But only 1/3 of a cord if the wood is cut 16" long.

Here is a good site that tells about firewood measure, among other things.

Firewood

Mark_in_NH · Oct 16, 2004

I just paid $ 175 for a delivered cord of dry wood. All the guy had was dry wood, usually by this time of year all you can find is green. Go figure !
Now I just need to divide it up and deliver it to the three homes. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

turnkey4099 · Oct 18, 2004

AFAIK there is no legal definition of face cord, rick, rank, pile, load etc. Of course there are localliy accepted definitions of such like the rank or rick mentioned above. Here, though, a "rick" is any pile of wood 1 stick thick piled as high and long and you want.

Just to stir the pot a little. Are you all aware that you will get the most wood by buying it in the round vice split? Any given pile of wood in the round will gain about 10% after splitting and re-piling. You will find a lot of professionals who will deny that but they will not, even when challenged, put it to the test. I even volunteered to pile a rick in the round, split it and then let the pro restack it into the same space. He refused.

Harry K

Harry K