Question re: purchasing wood

booklover · #1 01/01/08, 08:52 AM

What is the standard length, height, width of a rick of wood? Is a rick = cord? What is the difference between a cord and a face cord?

This is what I assumed. A cord is a rick and they are 2 X 4 x 8. There isn't anything in the rule books about this... it was an assumption based on the old "handshake" guarantee.

A face cord = 2 cords or ricks. 4 X 4 x 8

I just ordered in 2 ricks of wood yesterday (we don't have woods where we can get it for free). The guy comes out and in the process of stacking it says, "Well, a rick is 2 X 3 X 7". I was ticked off to say the least. I felt cheated, but he says, "Where on the law books does it say how much a rick is?" Needless to say, I won't buy from the guy again, but I feel like I learned a valuable lesson.

What is is a rick or cord, etc. according to you and what is standard in your area?

I paid $130 for this wood. Was I cheated? Do I have my measurements and terms wrong?

The last rick I ordered in was what I thought was standard 2' wood lengths, stacked 4' high and 8' across.

mamakatinmd · #2 01/01/08, 09:03 AM

you have it backwards. a full cord is 4x4x8. A face cord is 2x4x8. I've never heard the term "a rick" and cannot comment. A full cord of split, mixed hardwood runs about 175.00 delivered. We order unsplit wood for about $60.00 a cord. That is for this area. It's going to be different in other states/areas.

scaryguyoy · #3 01/01/08, 09:09 AM

A face cord is the length of what you see of a cord so( however wide the cut) 4ft high 8 feet across one stack thick in other words you see the face of the cord.A full cord is 4 ft thick by 4ft high By 8 ft long usually 2 to 3 pieces thick depending on the length of the cut.A rick is usually less than a face cord,more like a pickup truck load.So depending on your area you may not have been charged too badly,since it was delivered.Some area you can get it very cheap most suburbs can pay way more than that.I Believe many states do have laws about the amounts of wood some even don,t allow the sale of Ricks.I could be wrong .This is a common misunderstanding especially when wood is delivered there are a lot of unscrupulous people selling wood that way.Its like well its here now what are you going to do about it.

js2743 · #4 01/01/08, 09:14 AM

mama is right a cord is 4x4x8, and as you said a "rick" well around here if its stacked up its sometimes called ricked up so a very small amount of wood that is stacked could be a rick. next time make sure you understand the terms of what they are talking about. i know here if they say cord then it has to be just that or you can make them come good on what they short you. most people around here just sell it by a truck load that way it takes all the measurments out and every one is happy. a full size long bed pickup is about 50 to 75 dollars just tossed on. .

booklover · #5 01/01/08, 09:27 AM

Learning a lot. Thanks for straightening me out on the difference between a cord and face cord.

But is there anything that is 3' high by 7' long?

I thought that any standard was 4' high by 8' long.

Or just consider the cost by the truckload? I just want a standard to do price comparisons.

topside1 · #6 01/01/08, 09:33 AM

A rick is the standard way to sell firewood in my area. A rick in these parts is four feet high by eight feet long by whatever lenght you cut the individual pieces of firewood usually 16 inches. Ricks in my area sell for $50 delivered and stacked.

topside1 · #7 01/01/08, 09:34 AM

Booklover, from what I am reading yes you were cheated bad...

Anchor · #8 01/01/08, 09:42 AM

For what it's worth;

Cord= 4'x4'x8'
Face Cord= 2'x4'x8'
Rick= 2'x2'x8'
* Tightly stacked

These are normally accepted measurements for firewood here in NE Texas, with variations that are agreed upon before sale.

Of course, there are wide variations and interpretations every time two or more people discuss anything-nature of the beast. Try to get two people to agree on a precise verbal description of an elephant, for example...

Stay warm!

--Joe...

RichieC · #9 01/01/08, 09:43 AM

You got 2 "ricks"? So a pile 3 feet by 7 feet by 4 foot wide? For $130? Cut, split, delivered and stacked? Here, that would be a decent deal. That's nearly 2/3 of a cord, and here cut, split and delivered (not stacked) runs about 240 a cord.

It would also be illegal, since NH mandates that wood be sold by the cord and defines a cord as 128 cubic feet (4x4x8)

brownegg · #10 01/01/08, 09:55 AM

Yep, around here some cities don't allow face cords, because you can get bad deal if the length isn't at least 16".

booklover · #11 01/01/08, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichieC

You got 2 "ricks"? So a pile 3 feet by 7 feet by 4 foot wide? For $130? Cut, split, delivered and stacked? Here, that would be a decent deal. That's nearly 2/3 of a cord, and here cut, split and delivered (not stacked) runs about 240 a cord.

It would also be illegal, since NH mandates that wood be sold by the cord and defines a cord as 128 cubic feet (4x4x8)

I got two stacked "ricks". Each rick was 3' high X 7' long and each piece of wood was 12" - 16". I paid a total of $130.

It was also wet and not seasoned like the guy said.

I'm wondering what recourse I have here. I feel really cheated. It was starting to snow, though, when he delivered it, and with it being 2 large guys and me by myself, I didn't feel like arguing much.

Iddee · #12 01/01/08, 10:24 AM

Anchor has it right. 2 ricks "2x4x4" equal 1 facecord "2x4x8". 2 facecords equal 1 cord "4x4x8".
Who remembers the wooden wheelbarrow looking things called rickbarrows? They were built to haul a rick of wood. 4 foot by 4 foot 2 foot long.

fantasymaker · #13 01/01/08, 10:53 AM

2X3X7=42
face cord=4X8= 32
42/32= 1.3125 feet or 15,75 inches so you got pretty close to a face cord or a rick of 16 inch material . Whats know as stove wood around here (should be fireplace) Many that dont know the math behind it get used to thinking of a rick as 1/3 a cord because the 16 inch is nearly a standard in the firewood business.

A rick is the frame used to hold a cord of wood so it is the same as a face cord thus the stack should be 4x8 feet X the agreed lenght. Not sure where in the midwest you are(once agin location rears its ugly head) But if you are anywhere from Grandrapids Mi to Cairo IL and Pittsburg Pa to Kansas City you got ripped if you ordered a rick of 2 foot long wood .

In many states by law you have to sell wood by the Cord or fraction thereof. A phonecall to the DNR should tell you if thats true where you are and if it is a call back to the guy might get you the rest of your wood.
On the other hand a cord is pretty meaning less too. I used to sell wood for a living and I could make two cords or four out of the same tuckload.
I prefer to buy by the ton Dry weight, its a lot more fair to everyone.

WindowOrMirror · #14 01/01/08, 10:53 AM

now WIHH... be nice!

I don't care if you're right, be nice!

mtman · #15 01/01/08, 10:54 AM

if he said a rick is 2x3x6 and you got 2 that would be a pile about 4x6x6 thats about 1 cord just it measure about 2 foot higher and 2 foot short

de Molay · #16 01/01/08, 10:55 AM

No matter what the terms of the sale. I have seen it for sale as stove wood, which is 12" long, Fireplace wood which is 16" long or 22" long. Just always remember to make the guzinta's work out to 4'X4'X8' a full cord of wood. It is a cubic measure. Keep that in mind and you will never feel ripped off.

fantasymaker · #17 01/01/08, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de Molay

4'X4'X8' a full cord of wood. It is a cubic measure. Keep that in mind and you will never feel ripped off.

LOL any good firewood seller can lay you a full cord that would certainly leave me feeling ripped off!

copperkid3 · #18 01/01/08, 11:14 AM

It ALWAYS boggles my mind, that people with access to the internet, will inevitably go to a chat site to get upteen different answers and then have to wade thru them all and try and decide on the basis of the majority rules.......which is the correct answer! So take a bit of advice; take boggle and change a couple letters......and with that you end up with GOOGLE and try entering your search question: rick of wood.

I tried it......even though I already knew the answer and found this an excellant site that pretty much explains it in a nutshell.

http://www.jwiwood.com/faq/rick.html

Depending on "where" you reside in the midwest, you very likely did get "taken".......especially if they advertised (in print) that they were delivering seasoned firewood and you got wet or green.......not to mention that most locales DO NOT recognize ANY such description as "rick" as legal for selling firewood; ONLY a full cord or portions thereof; ie 1/2 a cord as being 2'x4'x8' or 4'x2'x8' or a 1/3 of a cord; ie 16"x4'x8'.

So you may very well have legal recourse if you so choose to follow up on it.

Next time, BEFORE they start to unload.......get it in writing EXACTLY what they will be delivering or that you be picking up; that way there is no confusion or hard feelings.

Beeman · #19 01/01/08, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booklover

What is the standard length, height, width of a rick of wood? Is a rick = cord? What is the difference between a cord and a face cord?

This is what I assumed. A cord is a rick and they are 2 X 4 x 8. There isn't anything in the rule books about this... it was an assumption based on the old "handshake" guarantee.

A face cord = 2 cords or ricks. 4 X 4 x 8

I just ordered in 2 ricks of wood yesterday (we don't have woods where we can get it for free). The guy comes out and in the process of stacking it says, "Well, a rick is 2 X 3 X 7". I was ticked off to say the least. I felt cheated, but he says, "Where on the law books does it say how much a rick is?" Needless to say, I won't buy from the guy again, but I feel like I learned a valuable lesson.

What is is a rick or cord, etc. according to you and what is standard in your area?

I paid $130 for this wood. Was I cheated? Do I have my measurements and terms wrong?

The last rick I ordered in was what I thought was standard 2' wood lengths, stacked 4' high and 8' across.

Experience is a great teacher, the tuition is hell though.

You got what you got. You basically have no recourse and you've just paid some tuition.

Now onto what you've got. First thing to be considered besides size is what type of wood and what condition. You say it's wet, do you mean rain water wet or green not seasoned wet? It sounds like you might be fixin to pay some more tuition. If it is softwood you definetly got cheated and it will not produce as many BTU's and burn much faster. If it is not seasoned green wet you will not get as hot of a fire and will build creosote quicker and you will have to inspect/clean your chimney often.

booklover · #20 01/01/08, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wind in Her Hair

How's that educatin' and brains part workin' for ya? If I were you, I'd get a gun.

Just fine, thank you. And exactly how would a gun have made the situation any better? Please explain that to me. Waving around a loaded gun because their "rick" size was different than mine? That would have, ummmm.... what??? ----ed them off enough to pull the shotgun down from their back window? Yeah, that would have been a good ending... all over a load of wood. How civilized that would have been.

I stick to my original opinion in the other thread. In this case, they simply won't get my business again. And through it, I know better now. An inexpensive lesson to learn in my opinion.