In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Cord Wood $$$

Discussion in 'The Wood Market' started by shack, Dec 17, 2017.

  1. shack

    shack

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    I am in Upstate NY...the part with cows and apple orchards...Not The City!!!. Anyhow, a buddy does tree trimming, logging and cord wood or logs. He is at $75 a face cord for split hardwood mix, around 20-25% moisture. He is at $70 if you buy 10 or more face cord...not sure about log pricing. He told me again this year, the cordwood business is rough, more people buying a face cord for a fire place, but almost no one for a wood stove and those with wood stoves are only keeping a FC or two on hand for emergencies. No one wants the work or mess anymore he says...they all run pellet stoves or propane fireplaces now. The times have changed..I know growing up in the 70s we added a wood burner for economic reasons...and I fell in love with cutting, splitting and stacking.
     
  2. Woodslave

    Woodslave

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    I'm also in upstate, prices are in the $55-$75 range for face cords.The lower prices are for picking up, higher for delivery within a set distance usually
     
  3. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    We have had a few very mild winters so most firewood dealers are overstocked with firewood to sell. I sell some firewood, but only tree length wood.

    The wife already told me next year we are going to cut, split and then sell some firewood and just buy coal. She dropped a stick of wood on her foot just after sweeping up the firewood mess off her living room floor and was already incensed. Dropping the stick of wood was the last straw.

    I got 6 cord in my firewood shed, but for the past two weeks we have burnt coal. She has not eased off her resentment of firewood...yet.
     
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  4. Woodshax

    Woodshax

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    So.....what is your definition of a "face cord" as it is not a reliable measurement for us to know what the going price is in your part of the world......how many Cu Ft?
     
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  5. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    "Face Cord" is as about reliable a measure as a "cord". I always assumed it to be 1/3 of a full cord.
     
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  6. Woodshax

    Woodshax

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    I have seen everything from 1/3 to 3/4 for a face cord.....but a cord is a cord no matter how you stack it
     
  7. chris

    chris

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    cord, 128 cubic feet, 4'x4'x8' tightly stacked split fire wood less about 10% for air gaps Other dimensions acceptable provided they equal 128 cubic ft
    face cord = generally 4'x8'x16" tightly stacked split firewood, less about 10% for air gaps ( been know to be called a rick also) about 1/3 of a cord or 42.67 cubic feet again dimensions adjustable equaling 42.67 cubic feet.

    have to do your own math for cubic meters.

    Chord an assembly of musical notes played an the same time. (as far as I can tell )- doesn't burn well if at all although if written down the item it is written on is sometimes useful for starting a fire as in kindling, fire starters.
     
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  8. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I respectfully disagree with that statement.

    I can sell you 10 cord of tree length wood on a truck and then cut, split and stack the wood and see how many "cords" it adds up too. In that case you will probably have more cords. But try the same thing with 8 foot wood, or 4 foot wood, and after cutting splitting and stacking you will have less firewood than a cord.

    And then there is the measure of cord that I sell wood by 99% of the time, and that is by weight. Every species has a different weight per cubic foot so some serious averages come into play when they figure out the weight per cord...such as what constitutes "mixed hardwood" which is what the paper mill goes by. If for instance, I cut 100% beech, the same truck will have 11 cords of wood, when if it is loaded with Popil it might have only 8 cord of wood. And cutting in the Spring during mud season when the trees have tons of mud on them, no matter what I cut, the loads are at least 11.5 cords. Even then, selling by weight assumes "green" which will obviously be more than if I fill the truck with blow downs that are half dried out.

    Of all the ways I have sold wood, the most accurate has always been by weight; yes as sad as that is. I once measured out 11.5 cords of green hemlock cut 8 foot, and sold it to a paper mill, and it shocked me when it came back as 11.3 cords by weight.

    Just depending on how I cut my limbs off can make a 10% difference on the amount of tree length wood I cut and sell to a person. Because paper mills buy by weight, if I cut the limbs lengthwise with the bole, I can get another 1-1-1/2 cords on the truck then if I cut them straight off. Considering I get paid by weight, the heavier the truck, the more I get paid for the truck load. That is NOT the case with firewood by the cord. The bible says to "use honest scales" and so I cut all my wood the same, but firewood customers come back and say, "boy it seems like I got more wood from you than the other guy." They did, and I know why, the other logger is limbing their trees the easy way and ultimately putting more air pockets in the pile.
     
  9. shack

    shack

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    ...didn't mean to start anything here... a face cord to most around here is 4' x 8' with 16" splits...
     
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  10. Woodshax

    Woodshax

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    Always a good argument.....most firewood sellers are not going to go through the trouble of weighing although I agree for log length on a semi that is the best method and the most used. I just wanted a reference for what the price was...so about $225 a cord...delivered ....I would be a buyer....most everyone around here is at around $300.....but we have less trees than NY
     
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  11. dotman17

    dotman17

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    I know this. If it is in the middle of the season -- we're going to pa nearly double or more for wood.
     
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  12. dotman17

    dotman17

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    I have both. Both have pros and cons. I would be happy to list them all but I think the biggest advantage a pellet stove has over a wood stove is the fact that I can set my stove on automatic mode and have warm temps in the morning w/o a slow night creosote wood burn -- at exactly the same temps. Having said that, we love our wood stove and burn more in it now than ever before. Wood is still more inexpensive than pellets --and our wood stove is much more quieter as well as providing great a great fire to view. The snap, crackle, pop of the fire is pretty cool too.
     
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  13. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    With LodgedTree’s basis, it’s about weight but since he’s used to dealing with cords by selling green wood, the matter of cordwood as weight is different. As it dries it shrinks so a cord in the spring isn’t the same size as the same cord in the fall and onwards. However since a cord is respectfully a cord as 4’X4’x 8’, that is a measurement that which would be as such without mention of weight, only dimensionally. You can cut a cord however you want if you weigh it as such but how you sell it and stack it means everything. The tighter the better. That’s why if you see splits more like squares or rectangular, this makes it much easier for a dimensional measurement and can be used to compensate for the shrinkage if you know the parameters of the wood losing MC.

    This is why this is such a variable because in one place someone can have oak that seasons in a year or less yet one person can still have pine stacked 3 years in advance and still remains sub-par. Too much to say what a cord is where because every answer is in fact different. Just as long as you stay within the dimensions, you’re in the clear. This link is not in any way exhaustive but does outline why splits and sawn wood are subject to different rates of shrinkage based on their dimensions and environment. Measuring seasonal wood shrinkage
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2017
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  14. chris

    chris

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    Apx Green oak,cord- 8000#, dried to 20% apx 5000# didn't look at chart just numbers i remember because of my 5 ton trailer vs/DOT. I am usually under max with 2 cord mixed hard wood on it.
     
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  15. Canadian border VT

    Canadian border VT

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    If he is selling dry firewood at that price I would be buying! $250 cord here green and about $100 cord log length. Right now with the new ductless mini split freezing houses, prices have gone UP fast. Above prices are normal and delivered.
     
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  16. shack

    shack

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    I talked to a buddy who sells fire wood as part of his logging business, he has been flooded with people wanting 1 face cord of seasoned wood...He tells them that his stuff that he has left is not all that dry and that it is for next season and that delivery of 1 face cord costs a lot more for him compared to selling a full truck load to someone. Every November 1st he raises his price by 50% on fire wood, this season is no exception and he will sell you 1 face cord of wood and tack on another $125 for delivery and dumping it within a 20 mile radius...and a lot of people are in line to pay it...wow!
     
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  17. Matt Fine

    Matt Fine

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    I am near Rochester NY, and everyone around here considers a face cord to be a 4’ by 8’ stack of roughly 16” splits. I pay between $65 and $80 to get a “seasoned” face cord delivered and dumped (stacked for you is extra) depending on the year, season, and supplier and of course volume with more than a single face cord necessary to get those prices. I don’t buy single face cords except for hickory or apple for the smoker and those are usually $65 picked up. The people I buy from all cut the logs a bit long so the splits average 17-18” and the “face cords” I buy are therefore a touch over 1/3 of a cord. Seasoned varies but generally means split at least one year, but usually not as dry as most here would consider fully seasoned. I like to buy a year or more in advance so it is 2-4 years old before it gets burned. The trees that fall on my house (happens more often than one would consider ideal) and other trees I acquire also get seasoned for 2 years as well before burning.

    The black locust pictured fell in March and will be burned next winter. Including the cost to get it off the roof and cut to barely manageable lengths, plus my costs to split and stack it myself make this “diy” wood WAY more expensive than the delivered wood without figuring the value of my time. For $195-$240 per cord I prefer to get it pre-split, partially seasoned, and delivered by the barn not on the house.

    24503E0E-642C-48E4-BA9F-052ED91FD165.jpeg
     
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  18. dotman17

    dotman17

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    Send me some of that wood, please
     
  19. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    Bummer man. My wife who grew up on a farm burning wood all her life says ‘when you burn wood your always nursing a boo boo’:confused:
     
  20. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    damm. Now that’s a free enterprise when you can control your own market. But people either need to stay warm or pay the oil man. But must be more for oil than for wood there if he’s doing that.