Measuring Firewood To Sell

Firewood and logging is what I do for a living. Not quite 500 cords. I did something around 350-400 last year (don't remember exactly, I'd have to add up all the slips)
I shut down here and there in winter, depending on temps and some weeks I'm working in the woods vs making firewood. Also end up working on equipment too.

The issue with tossed in is the wood doesn't sit the same each time. I have hauled loads home just dropped in off the conveyor and it's varied by easily .25 cords with just ~1 cord or so.

If you deliver firewood for a while, you WILL run into the one customer that stacks his wood using tweezers and a mallet to basically make a solid wall. If they call to complain about being shorted, you can give them the dimensions of the truck.

Also if you just factor in adding an extra .25 cords just to be safe with loose wood, that is a whole cord lost on a 4 cord order... basically just threw away a ~$100 bill in profit.

Get setup to where you can haul several cords, you can upsell. Customer calls wants 1 cord and they are 40 miles away so I charge $60 to deliver.
They might mention that's kinda steep for a cord.... usually I can sell another cord.... Or my big truck holds 6 cords and I usually get 6 cord orders for it. Not too often I haul less.

Let me know if you have other questions. I've been doing firewood sales for several years.

Yes pretty busy. Right now just waiting for the frost to melt and my back to loosen up so I can go fix a tailgate door on my big truck.

 

Yeah question: what would you charge to stack a cord of wood at a customers house? Pros/cons of offering this service?

 

What are you using to deliver? What kind of market do you supply?
Around here roughly $60 for a shortbox picked up, stacked level that's close to 1/2 cord.
There is a guy that sells a delivered 1/4 cord for $70 - if it's that much, my neighbor gets outside fireplace wood from him
I cut 20-22" and heap over the bed, typically stacks out to 2/3cord

 

So far I have been stacking to measure it out. I have some more to deliver and that it what I am going to do unless I can come up with some more efficient and accurate way to measure it. I had to take my add down because I am getting close to running out of wood. I am hoping I can find more to sell. I can't believe that there is this much demand this early.

Thanks for the info on the loose cord.

I know what you are saying about the variation in throwing it on, if you watch what you are doing you can kinda stack the wood by throwing it or you can make a bunch of holes to take up space. Right now I feel comfortable hauling 1 cord at a time. I could get 2 on the truck but that would be a lot of weight on the old truck.

I'm not sure if you were talking to me or Nate. I use a 78 F-350 with a 12' dump to deliver to homeowners.

 

When I sell wood my charges to stack are: 10 bucks for 1/3, 15 for 1/2, and 30 for a full cord. No one has ever had a problem with that amount. Like Dennis said, you'll sometimes run into people that want you to stack it 100 yards up a hill out back. It's up to you if you wanna do it or say sorry, gotta be able to get the truck closer

 

Just sell it like this.

 

Where does she rank on the firewood hoarder scale

 

On the top The Queen of Hoarding

 

I thought I would show a comparison of a cord thrown on and a cord stacked on. The truck will be getting a new bed floor and racks soon.

 

big difference for sure

 

The old girl should be able to haul 2 cords. I haul 2 on my 83 C30 without much trouble. It's a bit slow getting up to speed but oh well.

 

Yes, It will hold 2 cords stacked on. The bed floor is in bad shape and I did not want to press my luck hauling that much. I have the lumber to put a new floor in it. I am going to fix the bed before I haul anymore. I put OSB over the boards as a temporary fix a and it kinda became permanent.

 

Me too haha. I have spruce logs to cut into boards for a new floor, just don't have the time.