Cord of wood costs (purchase, shop, garden)

[Revi]

We just got a cord and a half of green hardwood for $270. That's $180 a cord, delivered. It sounds like that's close to the going price. I am okay with leaving it for a year or two, because we have this year's wood stacked in the woodshed already. I paid about $100 a cord for it, but it was long length.

I figure I cut about half of our wood off of my woodlot and stuff I find around. We get all the wood we use for our maple sugar house from the woodlot and other sources. It's mostly junky wood like popple and hemlock in small diameter pieces, so it's not worth as much as real hardwood.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Revi

We just got a cord and a half of green hardwood for $270. That's $180 a cord, delivered. It sounds like that's close to the going price. I am okay with leaving it for a year or two, because we have this year's wood stacked in the woodshed already. I paid about $100 a cord for it, but it was long length.

I figure I cut about half of our wood off of my woodlot and stuff I find around. We get all the wood we use for our maple sugar house from the woodlot and other sources. It's mostly junky wood like popple and hemlock in small diameter pieces, so it's not worth as much as real hardwood.

If I wanted to spend the time doing it I could easily cut all the wood I need out back every year form just standing dead wood. I have other things I'd rather do than spend the summer cutting wood so I buy it. To me it's worth $1100 to have it dropped in the driveway ready to stack. Since we put in the new oil boiler we're saving almost enough on oil every year to pay for the wood now anyway. System 2000 if you're interested....excellent heat and very efficient!

[Zymer]

Prices are variable, you gotta shop around. I get most of my wood from Dysart's now, they are a fairly big outfit and aren't going anywhere. I used to go to smaller guys but I found that a lot of them don't seem to know how to measure a 'cord'.

When I didn't have enough money to buy more I was paying $150/cord for 4' lengths that I had to tote back in my truck- 2 to 3 trips, depending on how fat the logs were and how well they stacked in the bed, considerable time and effort getting them in and out plus the cost of gas (and it seemed like every time I was doing it, it was snowing).

Eventually I managed to get enough $$ ahead to have them *deliver* 4 cords at a time at $139 per, in 16' lengths (4 cord min). Still have to cut and split but at least I'm not spending a lot of time and gas to drag it home.

I don't like having to argue with people over how much wood is in a cord. Dysarts weighs the load, you get 20,000 lbs. I don't have any figures on wood density and weight handy but at least they have a standard of measurement and not some arbitrary amount they are "guestimating".

[wabanaki]

just curious, if i remember correctly you have either 20 or 40 acres of land, i assume you must have trees on your lot. why you have to buy wood and still have to cut and split them.

Originally Posted by Zymer

Eventually I managed to get enough $$ ahead to have them *deliver* 4 cords at a time at $139 per, in 16' lengths (4 cord min). Still have to cut and split but at least I'm not spending a lot of time and gas to drag it home.

I don't like having to argue with people over how much wood is in a cord. Dysarts weighs the load, you get 20,000 lbs. I don't have any figures on wood density and weight handy but at least they have a standard of measurement and not some arbitrary amount they are "guestimating".

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by wabanaki

just curious, if i remember correctly you have either 20 or 40 acres of land, i assume you must have trees on your lot. why you have to buy wood and still have to cut and split them.

Half, or a little more, of the 20 acres is field. The wooded area is mixed hard and soft wood (with a lot of fir and poplar). I like my trees and trees grow slowly. If I were to start cutting them down I would likely soon decimate all of the hardwood, which I do not want to do. I would like to see more trees here, not fewer.

Besides that, there is a lot more work involved in felling trees and cutting all of the branches off, and dragging the usable bits to the house. It's much easier to have what I need delivered and dumped reasonably close to where I want them. I do not own nor can I afford to buy the equipment that would make that job sufficiently simple and fast, if I were to do it with what I have I would need to spend *all* of the time I am not at work doing it. I would rather spend the $560 for which I have to work two weeks to make, it would take me much longer than that to harvest my own trees.

[wabanaki]

thanks zymer, so 10 acres of woodland would not be enough to supply wood stove for ever even with the growth and regrowing of new trees. I like my trees to be big and tall, i been thinning my lot and you are right it is not that easy and time consuming to move the downed trees close to the house with out proper equipment.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by wabanaki

thanks zymer, so 10 acres of woodland would not be enough to supply wood stove for ever even with the growth and regrowing of new trees. I like my trees to be big and tall, i been thinning my lot and you are right it is not that easy and time consuming to move the downed trees close to the house with out proper equipment.

Depends on how much wood you burn. I cut about 2 cord each Christmas. It takes me about 4 days to cut and bring out. I take my time chunking up and splitting. We also use pellets and some oil.

[wabanaki]

on that note may be 10 tons of logs for $139 may not be as bad at all.

Originally Posted by AustinB

Depends on how much wood you burn. I cut about 2 cord each Christmas. It takes me about 4 days to cut and bring out. I take my time chunking up and splitting. We also use pellets and some oil.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by wabanaki

on that note may be 10 tons of logs for $139 may not be as bad at all.

Seems reasonable to me, but I need the exercise.

[kellysmith]

Originally Posted by wabanaki

on that note may be 10 tons of logs for $139 may not be as bad at all.

You better go back and read the thread more closely. It was 4 cord of wood that weighed 10 ton and price was $139 a cord. Hardwood is bought at the mill by weight. 5000 lbs a cord for hardwood. Spruce and fir is bought at 4800 lbs per cord. (and if the softwood has mostly spruce the logger gets the short end of the stick because spruce is quite a bit lighter than fir) Dysart's sell wood by weight. 5000 lbs for $139.
5000 lbs of tree length hardwood will never pile up to a cord of split firewood, but it's what the mills use for a measure. You are buying it by the pound so no one gets cheated...and yes the truck is weighed on a scale with the load of wood and without to determine the amount of wood.