How much do you pay for firewood?

[Balog]

I'm hearing that (here in W WA) somewhere around $200 a cord seasoned and split is about average. What do you pay for yours?

[never_retreat]

Just remember tires and pallets are free heat.

[Jamisjockey]

Just remember tires and pallets are free heat.

When we first moved to Utah the house we rented had a wood burning stove, and they had built a small wood shed behind the house.  The bottom of the shed was full of large coal chunks. 
Mormons are pretty serious about preparadeness.  I'm not sure what it takes to burn coal, but I talked to several people that told me it was basically their just in case heating solution for the house.

[Regolith]

I think $200 is right around what my parents are paying per cord.  Can't remember exactly; might be up to twice that. It sure as hell isn't seasoned or split, though.  (What exactly do you do to "season" firewood, btw?)

Just remember tires and pallets are free heat.

Tires don't smell all that great when burning...

[charby]

To buy it here its $125-$190 a cord for seasoned hard wood, like oak, hickory, ash, honey locust or elm.

$125 if you pick it up, $190 delivered and stacked.

I don't pay for firewood, I usually cut my own. Some one stole my saw a couple years ago so I'll have to buy another one to cut this year, finally ran out this summer. I don't heat with wood just for the fire-pit and park camping.

[charby]

 (What exactly do you do to "season" firewood, btw?)

Means that the moisture in the wood is below a certain value, here it takes about 2 years from green wood to firewood by air drying.

[Regolith]

Means that the moisture in the wood is below a certain value, here it takes about 2 years from green wood to firewood by air drying.

Ah.  Yeah, the wood they get definitely isn't seasoned.  It was probably cut less than a week before they get it.  Probably doesn't need it, though.  Northern Nevada isn't exactly humid.

[Tallpine]

What exactly do you do to "season" firewood, btw?

You cut, split, and stack it and leave it set for a season. 

I cut my own wood, so the cost is gas and oil, and new chains and files.  My saw is the one I used to log with, which I bought new the last year I worked full time in the timber.  Thirteen years later it is still running fine but someday I'm going to have to spring $900 or so for a new one, unless I don't live that long.  I had also bought a 100' roll of chain and now I'm down to the last couple loops - it makes 16 if I recall.

I split everything by hand so a $20 maul does a lot of wood. 

There are guys selling split pine for around $120/cord (dumped, I think).  That's really pretty cheap.  I considered going into the business again myself but decided I couldn't make any money at that rate.  Partly I still do my own because I need to get rid of dead trees, and there are neighbors who want me to get rid of their dead trees.

I used to just sell the logs (16-20' long) delivered to folks' yards for them to saw up.  Charged 50-60 dollars per cord for that 20++ years ago, and wasn't making any money even back then considering wearing out equipment.  I had a self-loader and didn't deal with cut/split firewood at all except for a couple loads for close friends.  There is just too much multiple handling of ready to burn firewood.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

good wood is worth paying for  huge difference in btu output.creosote etc  arboristsite.com has reference charts and buyers guides

[Lee]

I think I paid $140 for a cord last year (seasoned hardwoods  - and dumped at the end of my drive).  Ohio

[Boomhauer]

We burn green wood because it burns slower than dry wood. And we DON'T have a problem with creosote buildup or any soot problems. But take note that we burn it in a standard open fireplace. I have no idea how green wood would do in a stove or insert.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i mix some green in to make it burn over nite  but i have a catalytic stove it reburns the smoke

[Jim147]

It runs around $100 a cord you pick up here. That's hardwood hedge and oak. When it gets colder it can go up quickly.

I planned on having about 8-10 cords sitting here this winter. I have plenty of trees down, but I need to get out and cut and split before we get much ice.

jim

[Northwoods]

Balog - if you need wood give me a call.  If you need my number again send me a PM.  I've got a bunch of alder, maple and some birch (and maybe a little fir) that you can have free.  You'll have to come up here to get it, and it'll need to be cut to length and split (I'll help you with that).  But quite a bit was standing dead wood for long enough that's fairly dry.  I want it gone from the yard more than I want money for it.

[Leatherneck]

We pay $650 for a dump truck load of about 5+ cords of seasoned oak, hickory and cherry in the years we have to buy it. This year I've got six oak trees that died on our property. I've got about three cords split and stacked; am working on the rest.

TC

[Hutch]

Minor drift, very few of the firewood suppliers around here have a clue how much wood is actually in a cord.  I called one guy out on his "cord", and it got tense.  I no longer expect any of 'em to actually deliver a stack 4'  x 4' x 8' when they say "cord".  Trivia:  A "face cord" is a stack 4 x 8 x 16inches, and a "kitchen cord" is 4 x 8 x 12inches, presumably because the kitchen stove took shorter lengths.

[MechAg94]

Y'all are doing it wrong.  If you are selling, you save up all your wood, separate or tie it up in smaller sets and then wait for the first cold snap to roll in and then go to the nearest city and sell it on the side of the road.  You can get way more than $200 per cord I think.  :)

At least, that is what you see all those people in Houston do.  I guess since it isn't so cold down here, people don't bother preparing the same way they might further North. 

I do agree on wood quality.  A good oak log will burn a hell of a lot longer than some of the lesser wood types. 

My grandmother has 75 acres so we always had a source of wood as there was always a dead tree or one struck by lightning to cut up.  Most of my relatives out there have separate heat so the fire is just a feel good measure anyway.

[Tallpine]

Minor drift, very few of the firewood suppliers around here have a clue how much wood is actually in a cord.  I called one guy out on his "cord", and it got tense.  I no longer expect any of 'em to actually deliver a stack 4'  x 4' x 8' when they say "cord".  Trivia:  A "face cord" is a stack 4 x 8 x 16inches, and a "kitchen cord" is 4 x 8 x 12inches, presumably because the kitchen stove took shorter lengths.

It was funny - I hauled a 20x8x4 foot load of long logs to one town and all my customers said it was way over the stated five cords.

When I hauled to a town the other direction, they all claimed I cheated them 

And the first group I charged 20% more because I had to haul over a 12K pass.

[charby]

I do agree on wood quality.  A good oak log will burn a hell of a lot longer than some of the lesser wood types. 

But pine has more BTU per pound that oak does.

[charby]

We pay $650 for a dump truck load of about 5+ cords of seasoned oak, hickory and cherry in the years we have to buy it. This year I've got six oak trees that died on our property. I've got about three cords split and stacked; am working on the rest.

TC

Oak wilt?

[Marnoot]

I'm not sure what it takes to burn coal, but I talked to several people that told me it was basically their just in case heating solution for the house.

We burned it a few times in our stove growing up. You just get a nice hot wood fire going, then start adding coal. Makes for a VERY WARM room, whenever we did coal the room the stove was in really got too warm to be comfortable in, so we didn't do it often. Did have to take the little catalytic converter out of the top of the stove when we burned coal as the coal smoke would ruin it otherwise.