Using firewood in your area

[G-Mac]

The common unit of measurement here in Central New York is the "face cord". 4'x8'x the length of cut...which is usually around 16".

Problem is...there's really no way to accurately measure this. I'm sure it's not stacked by face cord before being sold...rather loaded into the back of the dump-truck, pre-delivery, with a front-end loader, from a huge pile on their wood lot.

Most of the sellers simply dump it where you show them (typically the driveway), then the work begins. Whether or not you "got what you paid for" depends how YOU stack it. If you're short and call and complain about it, good sellers will "make it right", in my experience.

I'm burning stuff I bought last year. I think I paid $55.00/face cord delivered, but in truck-loads of five face cords. Single face-cords are priced higher. We normally see mixes of hard maple, ash, some cherry. Less common is oak, apple, ironwood. Not sure what the going rate is right now. Seasoned wood (if you can find it, unlikely right now, costs more than "green" wood). Some sellers cut logs that have been down for about a year and call that "seasoned"...it's not.

Have never heard of a "rick" around here. Learn something new every day.

We use wood for heat....Lopi wood-stove insert, with optional blower, in a standard brick fireplace.

I fell asleep in front of the fire last night.

 

[Tam 3]

$125 face cord of seasoned oak, delivered, stacked.

Regards,

Tam 3

 

[Tam 3]

$125 face cord of seasoned oak, delivere, stacked.

Regards,

Tam 3

 

[sean79]

Usually 50 to 65 for a face cord around here (northwestern PA) - that's split and delivered. We can cut on the national forest, too. I think the permit cost about 20 dollars, but there is a limit to how much one can take in a season.

 

[oldogy]

I still cut and split my own here in east TN. I believe it is going for around$180 a cord delivered here and I am tempted to buy some for next year. I installed a wood burning stove this year, thank you all for helping me pay for it.......tax credits, you know. I got tired of having all my heat go up the chimney through the big stone fireplace. And the dear wife always wanted a fire burning.

 

[rburg]

It is a boundary tree which means it could have had nails put in over the years, otherwise it'd be worth good money as lumber. So I'll start cutting and splitting it this spring.

Nails only occur naturally in the bottom few feet of the tree. If its that big around, You can just cut off the first 5 feet and they can saw the next however many feet to the branches. Cutting that bottom part can be interesting.

I used to do a lot of cutting in a reclaimed gravel pit. We had both sanded wood and nails (we turned it into a campground, the scourge of chain saws.) What I did was invest in Tungsten Carbide chains. I had a couple. From time to time I'd lose a few too many cutters and semi retire the chain. But about the 3rd chain (over maybe 15 years) got me thinking. So I took the bones and worldly remains to my buddy Bubba. He's my chain saw and small engine repair guy. I asked him what I can do, so he took mercy. He just went wild with chain breaker and created a brand new chain out of them.

Carbide chain isn't as fast in wood as a new, sharp chain, but it doesn't dull when it runs in sanded wood (sand embedded) or when it hits a nail or two. Eventually pebbles and nails will kill it. The trick is to swap out the chain and only use it when you suspect bad things are ahead.

My least favorite thing is ceramic insulators. The seem to occur along fence lines (not just boundary's.) As the tree grows it swallows the insulator, the nail that held it, and often the wire itself.

 

[sean79]

The fireplace insert or wood stove is also a good idea. We have a Lopi freestanding stove - creates a lot of heat for the amount of wood we use. Glass front lets us see the fire - and the blower really helps put out the heat.

 

[rburg]

A rick is a unit of measure. Supposedly its half a cord. Usually its what you guys are calling a face cord. The guy I bought from last month uses the term, and its what I called it. Maybe its a language barrier!

I have different views of seasoned than some. If it burns well, I consider it seasoned. Dead an down trees can burn really well right after they're cut and split. Cutting isn't the expensive part, splitting can be. So can hauling.

The walnut I got burns fast and really hot. Since there is little bark on the splits and its not tightly attached, I conclude its been dead a good long time. Just sawed and split recently.

Youngest son has 2 huge dead ash trees behind is house. I wish there was a road down to them, or I could get the jeep down there. As it is, I'll have to carry them, my son will, or we'll have to rent a mule! My wife would get really mad if I beat it like one.

 

[G-Mac]

A full cord measures 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by eight feet long (4' x 4' x 8') and has a volume of 128 cubic feet.

A face cord is 4 foot high, 8 foot long, but the width is only the cut length of the wood. Typically 16".

Unless your firewood comes in 2' long pieces, sounds like a rick isn't the same as a face cord.

 

[elundgren]

Sorry about your wife's finger RIDEWV, Splitters can do a lot of damage to a hand very quickly. Oak and madrone goes for $150 to $185 here in Southern Oregon. You can get a whole logtruck load for $800-900 (8-10 cords) but it is a lot of work to cut and split it. I didn't realize that some of the trees would be 2ft+ in diameter. Helps to have a Bobcat too.

 

[moosedog]

Mixed face cord around here is $65, most of it looks green to me.
I cut my own on my property, and dead falls off both neighbors property.
Costs me gas and once in a while a new chain. Being retired, it also helps keep me busy and in shape.

 

[gregintenn]

Language barrier indeed! The 4x8 "face cord" is what is called a "rick" in my neck of the woods. This is the first time I've heard the term "face cord".

 

[m657]

My area calls a cord 4x4x8, with a rick being (usually) 4x8x16" or whatever the length is of the cut wood. Usually it takes 3 ricks here to make a cord.

Best price I found on delivered oak last fall was $225 with fir $180.

Douglas fir (old growth--nearly impossible to find of late) is a true gift of God.....far better heat and most joyful to split than any other species.

Common here too is red alder, occasionally various 'ash' and maple.

I'm too far north to get much madrone and too far west to get any easy juniper cords.

I've run into what they call 'piss pine' a few times...with good cause, as the odor is unmistakable.

Second growth fir gives heat but not much esthetics. Spruce, hemlock and pine is also without much merit IMHO.

There's a sprinkling of other species but not widely available. I do like locust, cherry, apple but don't come across it often.

Walnut is rare hereabouts but can be had if one is resolute and willing to expend the time & funds to get it.

Saw an add last week for "log truck load 5-6 cords oak uncut delivered $400".

 

[DOEBOY1]

I will take a couple of loads for $100 each. That truck ought to hold a half cord. I figure it will take a long days drive to get here so I think he should pull a trailer load to make a few more dollars out of it.

If there's hunting them be careful what you ask for he may show up at your door with a load. Doeboy

 

[morsecode]

$225 & up full cord mixed hardwood, split and delivered here on CT.
The State legislature has decided only cords and half cords can be sold commercially. The terms "face cord", "truckload", "pile in my backyard", etc. can't be used in ads.
There's an exception allowed for retail outlets that sell small bundles of 6 or 8 sticks for $5.99

We had a banner year for downed oak thanks to a tornado last July. A lot of it ended up going to the dump.

 

[G-Mac]

OK...here's what I'm going with....

A Southern "rick" is the same thing as a Northern "face cord"....

and, assuming a cut length of 16", this would equal 1/3rd of a full cord (3 times 16" equals 48" or 4').

Thanks to gregintenn and m657...

 

[Firehouse]

You can buy a 1/2 ton pickup load full around here for $50 to $75 split and delivered.

 

[oldman45]

You can buy a 1/2 ton pickup load full around here for $50 to $75 split and delivered.

What size pickup?

Send them over this way with 2-3 full size truck loads.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Sotz Monster Maul

I'm not sure what a cord sells for around here. I like to accumulate it myself. This pic was taken last year. I burnt most of that and have got it back to that size again this year.

Look up at the top end behind the golf cart and you can see my splitter. The orange handle sticking up on a chopping block is the handle of a Sotz Monster Maul...15#'s of hand-swung steel. Any body else but me using one of those from the past?

 

[Beaver]

When I was a kid, my dad would let me borrow his pickup for Saturday night if I filled it with firewood. He new better than to ask. We lived on the coast and wood was everywhere. He drove a fork truck at the local sawmill, and came home one Monday bitching about somebody taking all the stickers (4x4's used to separate units of sawn lumber) after loading a big barge. I didn't have the nerve to tell him to go look in the back yard. I cut them in half and stacked them up. Heh, heh.