# Firewood log price?



## esshup (Mar 27, 2010)

While I have enough wood for next year, I'm looking to grow the woodpile. I'll be contacting the local tree services, and also the local log mill, but I have no idea on a price if it's not free.

What I'm looking for is a good guesstimate on what a fair price would be to both parties (me for my use, and the supplier) for log(s) that I could buck/split.

Preferrably a delivered price. I've seen where some guys have had loads of logs delivered, but was wondering what a fair price would be.

How is a price usually figured? per log, cord or ?

Most of the trees in the area are maple or Oak, with walnut & hickory thrown in the mix.

I still have about 10 trees to take down, (they're dead or dying), but with the increased storage space that I'll be building, I figure I could store 4x more wood than I have room for now, and want to get a start on filling it up.

Thanks in advance.


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## ryan_marine (Mar 27, 2010)

What is fire wood in your area selling for per cord? Take that price and knock off 33% per cord. You need to know how many cubic feet are in the logs and then divide by 128. That will tell you how many cords of wood you have. That is a good way to buy fire wood. 

Ray


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## Rudedog (Mar 27, 2010)

ryan_marine said:


> What is fire wood in your area selling for per cord? Take that price and knock off 33% per cord. You need to know how many cubic feet are in the logs and then divide by 128. That will tell you how many cords of wood you have. That is a good way to buy fire wood.
> 
> Ray



Thanks Ryan. That is an excellent question and I appreciate the answer. I have the same opportunity from a local mill.


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## ryan_marine (Mar 27, 2010)

Rudedog said:


> Thanks Ryan. That is an excellent question and I appreciate the answer. I have the same opportunity from a local mill.



Any time. Semper Fi. 

Ray


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## esshup (Mar 27, 2010)

Thanks Ryan. To figure out # of cords, I'm assuming (yeah, I know what it means ) that you take butt end measurement, top end measurement average the 2 out and figure out Cu. Ft. that way?

I've seen cords go from $200 delivered (dumped on the ground) to $145 (delivered and stacked in the shed). Both seasoned hardwood cords. I guess it depends on how hungry they are.


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## howellhandmade (Mar 27, 2010)

ryan_marine said:


> What is fire wood in your area selling for per cord? Take that price and knock off 33% per cord. You need to know how many cubic feet are in the logs and then divide by 128. That will tell you how many cords of wood you have. That is a good way to buy fire wood.
> 
> Ray



Hum. I could be wrong, but 33% seems maybe a little too fair to the seller. Is that really all the value added in bucking/splitting/storing/transporting? Let's say firewood costs $150 a cord, for a low side. Can a logger get $100 a cord for firewood logs? If it were me I'd find what mills in the area are paying, and pay a little more for non-mill delivery. 

Jack


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## ryan_marine (Mar 27, 2010)

esshup said:


> Thanks Ryan. To figure out # of cords, I'm assuming (yeah, I know what it means ) that you take butt end measurement, top end measurement average the 2 out and figure out Cu. Ft. that way?
> 
> I've seen cords go from $200 delivered (dumped on the ground) to $145 (delivered and stacked in the shed). Both seasoned hardwood cords. I guess it depends on how hungry they are.



Kinda depends on the log. And how long it is. I have seen some 30' logs that loose 12" from one end to the other. I would try to measure about every 8'. Then average the 2 ends. That or stack all of the logs up. Most log trucks around here (not semi's) are 7.5' x 8' and 26'. If stacked desently should be about 12 cords. But most of the time they are not that well stacked or filled. Most log trucks will hold 7-9 cords. 

My prices are like this:
1 cord 125
2=240
3=350
4=460
5=550
6=600
That is delivered with in 30mi of my driveway and tossed off.
That is what works for me. I have sold uncut and unsplit for $70 per cord delivered. But I was going by their measurement. And it started to not add up. Loads were getting bigger and heavier but the checks were getting smaller.

Ray


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## bobt (Mar 28, 2010)

The local loggers sell hardwood firewood logs around here for $80.00 to $100.00 a cord in 10-12 cord loads delivered to your property. The lesser cost loads will usually include hard maple, oak,and yellow birch with a smattering of red (soft) maple. The higher cost loads will be either hard maple or oak exclusively. The costs are determined mostly by the paper companies which pay at least the same.


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## peterc38 (Mar 28, 2010)

howellhandmade said:


> Hum. I could be wrong, but 33% seems maybe a little too fair to the seller. Is that really all the value added in bucking/splitting/storing/transporting? Let's say firewood costs $150 a cord, for a low side. Can a logger get $100 a cord for firewood logs? If it were me I'd find what mills in the area are paying, and pay a little more for non-mill delivery.
> 
> Jack



I agree, I think 33% is skewed too much to the seller. I wouldn't pay that much. Closer to 50/50 around here.


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## Ohiowoodguy (Mar 28, 2010)

I may be opening a nasty can of worms here (it happened on another site years ago) but you'll come much closer to the true ammount of finished firewood if you measure the volume of logs on a truck (not each log, but the whole load) and divide by 180 to get the cord measure of cut&split firewood you'll end up with. This is because whenever you go from a pile of bigger things (logs), and make them smaller (firewood), the pile has less air space. Think of turning a bushel of leaves into a bucket of mulch just by grinding them up. A 24' grapple truck (24x8x7.5) usually yields 5-6 cords (I know it comes out to 8, but its close). A semi-trailer usually yields about 10. There's no easy and accurate way to measure logs to figure firewood cordage- if you use a board/foot scale, you have to remember that the scales allow for kerf and wane (slabwood) loss. There is a long formula for measuring the actual volume of a log which may work if you remember that a cord usually has about 90 cubic feet of solid wood (no air).


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## stihlcrazy20 (Mar 28, 2010)

dont know if it will help ya out but prices up here in central wisconsin are $75 a cord for hardwood pulp delivered but it a 13 cord minumum


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## ryan_marine (Mar 28, 2010)

Ohiowoodguy said:


> I may be opening a nasty can of worms here (it happened on another site years ago) but you'll come much closer to the true ammount of finished firewood if you measure the volume of logs on a truck (not each log, but the whole load) and divide by 180 to get the cord measure of cut&split firewood you'll end up with. This is because whenever you go from a pile of bigger things (logs), and make them smaller (firewood), the pile has less air space. Think of turning a bushel of leaves into a bucket of mulch just by grinding them up. A 24' grapple truck (24x8x7.5) usually yields 5-6 cords (I know it comes out to 8, but its close). A semi-trailer usually yields about 10. There's no easy and accurate way to measure logs to figure firewood cordage- if you use a board/foot scale, you have to remember that the scales allow for kerf and wane (slabwood) loss. There is a long formula for measuring the actual volume of a log which may work if you remember that a cord usually has about 90 cubic feet of solid wood (no air).



You might want to read this:

http://metrology.burtini.ca/calc_fire.html

"A cord may consist of whole logs or split logs." I don't belive I burn mulch. And comparing leaves to wood is like comparing a wood spliter to iron ore. A cord of wood is a cord of wood. Unsplit wood stacked in to a cord will make more than a cord after it is split. I have done that several times. I don't know how many times I have brought home a truck load to split got done splitting it and could not get it all put back on the truck. Stacked or other wise. Look at it this way: 

Take one piece of wood that needs split in to 4 smaller ones. Measue the circumference of the piece. Split it up and put it bact together. Measure it again. 

Ray


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## JJuday (Mar 28, 2010)

If your time is worth anything to you that will also have to be a consideration along with vehicle fuel and wear and tear. If you can get someone to drop 5 cords worth of decent logs onto your property and all you have to do is buck split and stack then you have taken most of the mind numbing stuff out of the equation.

Other considerations are bees, snakes, ticks, chiggers, fleas, widow makers, leaners, barberchair'd trees,backing over one of your saws, forgetting where you left your axe....ect. But hey, I still love it, despite all that crap! JJuday


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## Ohiowoodguy (Mar 28, 2010)

ryan_marine said:


> You might want to read this:
> 
> http://metrology.burtini.ca/calc_fire.html
> 
> ...



I checked the link and all it says is firewood calculator- I can already measure and multiply.

Actually, in Ohio, logs are not legally considered firewood until they are split.

I'm saying that the airspace between the logs loaded on a truck is alot more than the airspace between smaller firewood pieces made from those same logs and loaded into the same truck. Consider your pickup bed loaded with iron ore rocks the size of your fist- grind those rocks into smaller pieces and reload into your truck- it will not appear as full because of the reduction of air space. 

I've cut and split many 24' log truck loads (24x8x7.5 divided by 128=11.25 cords) and the most I've ended up with is just over 6 cords.

Of course 1 log will become "larger" when split, but we're talking about the airspace between it and its 50 buddies on the truck.


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## tibikedad (Mar 28, 2010)

Where I live, cut/split/delivered firewood goes for about $225 - $250 / chord. Log length wood goes for $80 - $100 / chord. Both these prices are for hardwood. As you can see, log length wood is less than 1/2 of cut/split.


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## logbutcher (Mar 29, 2010)

There's no comparing CSD firewood to log length loads. Different animals.

A "cord" is not measured the same way for sawlogs, pulp, veneer logs, high grade, or CSD firewood ( green is not the same $$$ as seasoned for example).
Yes, a cord is a 'pile' volume 8'x4'x4'....but the real *amount* of wood in that pile varies. Pulp mills measure by weight for example.

Think more about the value added to getting a rig load of logs: from tree to your stove, what % of the skill and work is involved when you get the logs ?
For cutters harvesting their own most of the effort is getting the tree to the place (yard) to buck, split, stack, and burn---the latter is the easy part.

IMHO: getting from tree to yard is an easy >2/3 of the firewood job. Your mileage may vary.


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## blackdogon57 (Mar 29, 2010)

I mark up processed and delivered firewood at least 150%. Can't see how you would make money selling any cheaper.


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## Ohiowoodguy (Mar 29, 2010)

:agree2:


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