Cost of Fire wood

[Drew Gemma]

How much do you get per load of split wood!

[dvmcmrhp52]

It's around $120-$130 per cord around here. Not worth the effort in my mind.

[Petr51488]

In my area its around 210 delivered and stacked. Worth the effort for me..

[qualitylandscaping]

We are selling face cords for $75 picked up, $120 delivered, $165 delivered and stacked..

Have seen it being sold for as little as $30 face cord picked up and $40 delivered.. Ridiculous! :realmad:

[1MajorTom]

Firewood needs to be handled too much and not worth it around here.
$210 is a good price for delivered and stacked, people would not pay that here.

[Runner]

We get cords of good hardwood around here for 45-50 bucks. 75 delivered.

[Tvov]

Around me, the low end is $140 full cord delivered, high end is $185 full cord delivered. This is just dumped, NOT stacked. Few guys around me will stack, even if you add $35 most think the labor is not worth it. Actually, this year with the fuel prices I wouldn't be surprised if some were around $200.

I've never sold firewood, the amount of labor involved is too much for a good return in my situation. Most of the firewood guys are either tree services that are being paid to move the wood anyway, or part time guys who just sell some cords for extra cash.

[Up North]

I get 15 cords of 8ft length oak delivered for $65 a cord. I cut and stack, no splitting as it burns longer if I leave it whole. We heat with an outdoor woodboiler, heats the house, shop, & our hot water.

Buck

[Shawns Lawns]

in is $200 here just dumped on your property. What a bargain NOT!!

[mmacsek]

It's around $120-$130 per cord around here. Not worth the effort in my mind.
My feelings exactly!! The real sad thing is when I was going to trade school 79/80, the 1900's, it was selling for about the same price in our area. I used to pick up a cord and deliver it when I came home weekends. Twenty five years later and the same price. Matt

[topsites]

It's around $120-$130 per cord around here. Not worth the effort in my mind.

Agreed, and that's IF they're willing to pay that much.
Look here:
1) Cut the wood AND load it.
2) Unload it, split it, and stack it. (good luck)
3) WHEN you get a call, load again.
4) Then, unload and stack it once again.

On number 2) - More than half the time, you'll unload + stack, then unstack + split + re-stack another day because you're too tired / don't have enough time left for splitting same day.

So you unload, load, and stack every cord at least TWICE, in addition to a minimum of an hour's worth splitting, even the fastest splitter can only split so much/hour because the wedge only raises/lowers but so fast, 2 hours/cord is more like it and you BETTER know how much a cord really is, there's a lot of miss-conception and people sell 1/2 cords as full cords sometimes and that can land you in a lot of trouble but you DO make good money THAT way LOL!
Real pita way to make money, if you ask me.
It's worth it if you burn it yourself to save a bit of money on heating.

The ONE thing that MIGHT be worth it is to sell those little wrapped bundles you see at some gas stations and in front of Home Depot and 7-11 and such where 4 or 6 split, dry pieces of wood sell for $3.50 each, likely wholesale is around 2.75, you fit like 100 of these in your trailer then that's close to 300 dollars/load.

[Drew Gemma]

my thought was my good friend owns a tree service. we share use of a loader. we got a splitter long story on that but anyways. i was just gonna split it toss in a pile then use the loader and toss it in the dump trailer. charge so much per scoop. no stacking just delivery or you come and get it and I 'll load it with the front end loader at your own risk!

s10 ranger load is 50
1500 truck is about 90
long bed or dump truck is 100 to 130
real actual by law cord is maybe 160 180
just giving thought heating bills will rise plus I have 10 acres of woods that was just logged so their is plenty of good stuff left for fire wood. Plus it will clean up the mess!

[prizeprop]

what are the dimensions of a cord? Also, if you fill an 8' pickup bed full with a slight arch above the sides, approx what per % of a cord is that.(just tossed in or loaded with bucket.) Thanks.

[mmacsek]

what are the dimensions of a cord? Also, if you fill an 8' pickup bed full with a slight arch above the sides, approx what per % of a cord is that.(just tossed in or loaded with bucket.) Thanks.
A cord is 4'x8'x4' or 128 cubic feet. I used to put a cord in my C20 pickup in my younger days. Matt

[sildoc]

Now the guys are getting 165 per cord delivered. min of 2 cords. that is split and tossed in drive. No stacking. In December when I get around to cutting My father and I do 10 cords a day presold at 190-210 min 2 cords. We do this 3 days a week to stay in shape. Plus you get bored only mowing and shrub and trees once a month maybe twice.
Last year we split 29 grand or just short of. Total cost in fuel, saw supplies, insurance and oil 2500 or just a hair more. this year I think we will get 250 per cord and will cost us 2x what it did last. My truck and trailer can haul 6.5 cords and dads hauls 4. We keep .5 cord per load for my father as he has electric heat. He usually quits keeping the .5 about mid Jan.
All money goes into a bank account untill March first and then is divided with a 3grand kitty left in bank to pay expences for next year. Last year we cut right around 145 or so cords.

[sheshovel]

Here they charge different for hardwood than they do softwood.Cedar and pine run $175/$185 a cord delivered
Oak and Tamerack and other hardwood(fruit tree wood usualy)$185 to $235 and the prices go up as the season progresses.Some deliver and stack,some don't some free delivery dump some charge for delivery and some just fill up thier truck and park it in town with a big
" Wood for sale" sign on it and sit there in a little lawn chair,when that's sold for whatever price they want they go cut another one.

[rodfather]

Years ago, I used to take a cord or so every weekend into NYC on Saturday. Most of the time, you had to use the freight elevator (which wasn't too much of a problem), but other times you had to tip the doorman too (that was a problem). Also, you needed to bring along an extra person to watch your stash while you were delivering upstairs.

I seem to remember getting about $400 a cord that way. Back in the late 70's, that was a lot of $$$ for a cord of wood.

[topsites]

my thought was my good friend owns a tree service. we share use of a loader. we got a splitter long story on that but anyways. i was just gonna split it toss in a pile then use the loader and toss it in the dump trailer. charge so much per scoop. no stacking just delivery or you come and get it and I 'll load it with the front end loader at your own risk!

s10 ranger load is 50
1500 truck is about 90
long bed or dump truck is 100 to 130
real actual by law cord is maybe 160 180
just giving thought heating bills will rise plus I have 10 acres of woods that was just logged so their is plenty of good stuff left for fire wood. Plus it will clean up the mess!

Ok there is an application to this, much like what I do with composting leaves and grass clippings, it would be mostly a waste of time but in the end it works hand-in-hand with what's already going on anyhow. With a bucket loader, it sounds feasible, keeping in mind a lot of places won't truly benefit from true firewood (isn't it stupid, we switched to propane fireplaces and most houses don't have a wood-burning stove) but there certainly is a market for it for the main reason NOBODY likes doing it due to the money issue.
Good luck.

[topsites]

A cord is 4'x8'x4' or 128 cubic feet. I used to put a cord in my C20 pickup in my younger days. Matt

Interestingly enough, that's right around 5 cubic yards for those who get into measures of topsoil or mulch. (3x3x3x5 = 135 cu.ft.)
And way I know how much 5 cu.yds. is, on a 6x12 trailer with 2-foot sides, basically a load flush with the sides = 5 cu. yds.
2x6x12 = 144, so maybe about 2-4 inches below the top of the sides.
So yeah, a 6x12 trailer load with 2 foot sides, which is again why I say be careful about using the back of the pickup truck, it might be 4x8 but to stack it four feet high is another story and it needs to be a square stack, not a mound.

[mmacsek]

Interestingly enough, that's right around 5 cubic yards for those who get into measures of topsoil or mulch. (3x3x3x5 = 135 cu.ft.)
And way I know how much 5 cu.yds. is, on a 6x12 trailer with 2-foot sides, basically a load flush with the sides = 5 cu. yds.
2x6x12 = 144, so maybe about 2-4 inches below the top of the sides.
So yeah, a 6x12 trailer load with 2 foot sides, which is again why I say be careful about using the back of the pickup truck, it might be 4x8 but to stack it four feet high is another story and it needs to be a square stack, not a mound.
I had sides on the back of the truck. The key point is , I did this in my younger days. I would never attempt this today. A 6x12 trailer would hold it physically but can it weight wise? Matt

[sildoc]

I had sides on the back of the truck. The key point is , I did this in my younger days. I would never attempt this today. A 6x12 trailer would hold it physically but can it weight wise? Matt
Depends on the type of wood. Hardwood?? Maybe but probably at the max wt for the trailer.
Pine or fir, soft woods definitly.
My truck weighs approx. 7800. loaded with lodgepole pine it weights right at 9grand. that is one cord. Loaded with 1/2 cord scrub oak it weights right at 8500. Now this will vary to wether it is dry or not. I sell pine and fir dry and hardwoods green.

[LwnmwrMan22]

Now the guys are getting 165 per cord delivered. min of 2 cords. that is split and tossed in drive. No stacking. In December when I get around to cutting My father and I do 10 cords a day presold at 190-210 min 2 cords. We do this 3 days a week to stay in shape. Plus you get bored only mowing and shrub and trees once a month maybe twice.
Last year we split 29 grand or just short of. Total cost in fuel, saw supplies, insurance and oil 2500 or just a hair more. this year I think we will get 250 per cord and will cost us 2x what it did last. My truck and trailer can haul 6.5 cords and dads hauls 4. We keep .5 cord per load for my father as he has electric heat. He usually quits keeping the .5 about mid Jan.
All money goes into a bank account untill March first and then is divided with a 3grand kitty left in bank to pay expences for next year. Last year we cut right around 145 or so cords.

Sildoc -

Are you sure you're talking about a true cord, 128 cubic feet?

I've got a processing machine, where a guy loads 10-20' logs with a tractor, move 5 / 6 levers and the machine puts the wood in a split pile for you and we can't do 10 cords / day. Plus, I've got a 16' dump trailer, with 4' sides and can only fit 4 full cords in there, if I stack it all in.

Usually I end up hauling 1 1/2 full cords because I load it with a tractor off a concrete slab. I'm not about to handle the wood by hand any more than I have to.

I suppose you could be using a larger dump truck to throw wood in as well.

Anyways, we get $350 / full (4'x4'x8) cord here delivered and stacked.

I'll run through about 40 full cords this fall / winter, most of my clients take 1 or 2 face cords (4'x8' in 16" pieces), which we get $115 - 150 to deliver and stack, depending on the delivery area.

[sildoc]

Sildoc -

Are you sure you're talking about a true cord, 128 cubic feet?

I've got a processing machine, where a guy loads 10-20' logs with a tractor, move 5 / 6 levers and the machine puts the wood in a split pile for you and we can't do 10 cords / day. Plus, I've got a 16' dump trailer, with 4' sides and can only fit 4 full cords in there, if I stack it all in.

Usually I end up hauling 1 1/2 full cords because I load it with a tractor off a concrete slab. I'm not about to handle the wood by hand any more than I have to.

I suppose you could be using a larger dump truck to throw wood in as well.

Anyways, we get $350 / full (4'x4'x8) cord here delivered and stacked.

I'll run through about 40 full cords this fall / winter, most of my clients take 1 or 2 face cords (4'x8' in 16" pieces), which we get $115 - 150 to deliver and stack, depending on the delivery area.

It is a rythym. Most all wood we cut is about 8-10" diameter. One hit with a 15 pound head maul splits it in to two pieces. My father being a retired timber faller can have 10 cords on the ground in about 3-4 hours. I will start splitting till I get tired and then stack while my father splits for a while.
I have found that when we bring a 3rd person we might only get 8 cords done for the fact of the flapping gums.
Takes about 8-10 hours to cut and load 10 cords.

My guess is that your machine is only running 3-4 hours of actuall work time. I don't know.

I can tell you we can't do 10 cords the first few times out. Probably takes a week to get the grove down.
Oh also this is Lodgepole pine. Not oak, madrone, mahogany or any other hard wood. Heck there is no way we could haul 10 cords of hardwood unless we had a log truck.

[sildoc]

Sildoc -

Are you sure you're talking about a true cord, 128 cubic feet?

I've got a processing machine, where a guy loads 10-20' logs with a tractor, move 5 / 6 levers and the machine puts the wood in a split pile for you and we can't do 10 cords / day. Plus, I've got a 16' dump trailer, with 4' sides and can only fit 4 full cords in there, if I stack it all in.

Usually I end up hauling 1 1/2 full cords because I load it with a tractor off a concrete slab. I'm not about to handle the wood by hand any more than I have to.

I suppose you could be using a larger dump truck to throw wood in as well.

Anyways, we get $350 / full (4'x4'x8) cord here delivered and stacked.

I'll run through about 40 full cords this fall / winter, most of my clients take 1 or 2 face cords (4'x8' in 16" pieces), which we get $115 - 150 to deliver and stack, depending on the delivery area.

Oh yah. One 18' trailer 6' inside 4' high tandom axle and one 20' 6.5 wide 4' high tripple. both mounded about 1-2feet above the 4' rail. plus both beds mounded at least 2 foot above bed. we figure on 10 cords. At the top of the rail it comes to about 9 cords but the mounding is at least another good cord.