Question re: purchasing wood

It was snowy and rainy when delivered. It is wet-wet, not green. It's all cherry and oak. I think there is some hickory in there as well.

How often is often for inspection? It gets inspected and cleaned once a year (a level 2 cleaning by a certified sweep). Should I have it swept more often?

Thanks!

I just finished reading "Wood Heat" by John Vivian and he has a chapter on buying wood. A face cord is not 2x4x8. It is 16" x 4 x 8. It takes 3 face cords to make a federal cord. More importantly is cubic feet of wood. A standard (federal) cord contains 90 cubic feet of wood. That's solid wood. Generally, it is measured as 128 cubic feet with the difference between that and the 90 cubic feet being air. When eyeing a stacked cord of wood pay particular attention to how close the wood is stacked together. You shouldn't see air spaces big enough to stick your hand thru. An honest wood seller will have it stacked very tightly. Around here wood is going for $45 - $50 for a face cord, so your price, IF it meets the criteria mentioned, was a good deal. The difference between your 2' x 4' x 7' (42 cubic feet) and the standard face cord of 16" x 4' x 8' (42.67 cubic feet) is probably 2 sticks of wood. The guy comes out and delivers and stacks the wood for $30 over what you would pay if you went out in the country and got it yourself. It would take at least 2 trips if you don't have a trailer and it's hard work to load and unload and stack. You got a good deal, in my opinion. I hope you weren't snippy with the guy

Face cords are cut to 16" because most wood stoves take that length wood. (My woodstove at my other property takes 12" logs).

Water wet is no big deal as long as you can let the wind dry it out and then cover it. It sounds like you got good wood especially if it's cured.

I don't know what you're burning wood in, what type of chimeny or how much wood you'll burn. There is no such thing as cleaning too much. If you can use a mirror to look up the chimney on a sunny day when you don't have a fire it will help give you an indication of how much creosote is accumulating, better would be looking from the top but if you can do that it's just as easy to run a brush through.

When you have had it cleaned did they say it was very dirty?

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

I do not know what state that you are in, I guess you want it that way.

Some states cover this in their laws, for instance in Ohio it is illegal to offer a "rick" of wood for sale. The word "rick" in the dictionary is a "stack" so I could deliver your rick of wood in a 5 gallon bucket and you would have gotten what you paid for, actually on a good day I could get 2 ricks in a 5 gallon bucket.

A cord is 128 cubic feet, commonly a stack 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. The cord is the only measure recognized in Ohio by law.

The other terms like "face cord" are at best local jubberish. Two people may have 2 different understandings of what they mean and often both are wrong.

DON'T GET BURNED WHEN BUYING FIREWOOD

INDIANAPOLIS - It's easy to get burned when buying firewood, especially when the buyer has received less than they bargained for, according to the Weights and Measures Division of the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).

Firewood is sold in large amount throughout Indiana until the end of the winter heating season, but many people are buying measurements of firewood that are not defined and less than state requirements. The ISDH's Weights and Measures reminds Hoosiers that firewood must be sold in measurements of "cords" - or 128 cubic feet of firewood.

According to the ISDH, firewood sellers often try to sell their products using terms such as 'truckload," "face cord," "rack," "rick" or "pile." None of these terms, however, is an official measurement of anything meaning the buyer can get burned not ever knowing for sure how much actual firewood they are purchasing for the advertised price.

A "cord" of firewood can be stacked and measured to make sure you're getting what you pay for. For example, a "cord" of firewood when stacked could be a pile that is either:

4 feet wide, 4 feet high and 8 feet long (4' x 4' x 8' = 128') or
2 feet wide, 4 feet high and 16 feet long (2' x 4' x 16' = 128')
There are, of course, other ways to stack the firewood the make sure of its measurement, but its width times its height when stacked should always equal 128 cubic feet for a "cord" of firewood.

Buyers should be weary of sellers offering sub-units or portions of cords" of firewood. Firewood can only be sold in a "cord" measurement.

To protect yourself, buyers should ask for a written receipt of their firewood purchase that indicates the seller's name, address and phone number; the price, amount and kind of wood purchased; and the buyer should try to record the license plate number of the delivery vehicle.

Other tips include:

Take the time to measure the amount of firewood you have purchased before burning any of it;
Ask the seller to stack the wood out for you in a 128 cubic foot configuration (there may be a cost for this service, however);
Take photographs of the stack of wood if you believe you have been sold less than a "cord",
Contact the seller immediately with any problems you discover before burning any of the wood; and,
If the problem cannot be resolved, contact your local Weights and Measures official.


Last updated date: 5/18/2007 11:40:33 AM

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"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." -- Winston Churchill

Around this part of the state, wood is sold by the rick or by the cord. I have always sold by the rick. Two ricks equal one cord. Each piece of wood is cut according to the length that the buyer requests, up to 24". I usually cut it 18" to 20" long. Most people did not want it any longer than that. Stack them in a row that is 4' high and 8' long. I always stacked it pretty tight. Like fantasymaker said, the way it is stacked goes a long ways on how much wood is actually there.

You sound like the local yahoo from the goverment that gets on the TV each fall Feeding everyone a bunch of crap about all they want is full cords of seasones white oak.
Where do people get this stuff? Ive sold a bit of wood in my life I raised a family a few years and paid for a new truck with the proceeds. I learned from my father in law who supported his familey all his life with firewood money and learned from his father etc.....
Most of the people In town that Ive sold firewood to should be burning cottenwood. I often would give a "oak" customer a good armload of cotten wood and tel him to try it some night by itself. After they have tried it I almost always got asked for the next load to be mostly cotten wood.
It lights easy ,burns happily,needs replenishment often enough to keep people involved then burns out completly fast so they can close the damper and go to bed. Whats not to like?
My self for home heating I like Ash . A good amount of heat little residue and its a clean wood with little mess.
In Alaska the hardwoods are birch alder and cotten wood while the softwoods were hemlock and spruce which do you think went into the stove most? yep the softwoods with a big wet cotten wood chunck saved for the overnight keeper.
Things vary from place to place and people have diferent reasons for burning wood. There really is no bad wood just diferent attributes.

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

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If the grass looks greener it is probably over the septic tank. - troy n sarah tx

Our existance here is soley for the expoitation of CMG

My 2 cent's worth: In NW ark. the generally accepted volume is the rick, and it is generally accepted as 4 x 8 feet, with the length being "stove wood" at 16 inches or "fireplace wood", which are 24 inches. I have been very dissappointed at the results of buying firewood and can cut better wood than most will sell me. I purchased 4 ricks once from an ad in the local shopper tabloid and came home to find the wood neatly stacked in my yard, right where I had directed the man to put it. However, he had stacked it so that each quarter of a log was neatly placed such that the maximum amount of air was around it so that it took the fewest number of sticks to fill up the 4x8 storage slots. If I had been there when he stacked the wood I could have changed the outcome. We had words on the tyelephone and of course, he feigned innocence and was disturbed that I thought he had done me wrong, but the bottom line is that I never called him again. One of the best vendors I used was this fella who had a 2 ton truck with a bed 8' wide inside the stake body, who loaded his wood 4 feet high and after I had inspected the load, he would toss it off for my stacking. I could see exactly what I was getting. Going back more than a century, woodcutters who lined the banks of our big rivers, piled and sold fuel for the steamboat trade 4 feet long in stacks 4 x 8 feet, sold by the cord. The term then was cords, "ranked up" which became ranks which became ricks. I know ignert hillbillies from SE Mo. who still refer to them as ranks, but call it as you may, a rick is still 4 x 8 feet and those who sell less than that are thieves. There is an intersection in Fayetteville where these wood sellers park, awaiting yuppie soccer moms to stop by and have them follow her home to the Mc Mansion in the SUVdivisions nearby. One fella has a sign on his rig: "season wood" and the stuff he's sellin' may have hit the ground last year, but it was not cut and split until last week. if that long ago. These guys get about $ 85 for a pickup load, your guess as to volume, but it is probably 2/3 of a rick. Caviat emptor (sp?), "the buyer beware..." Another has a sign saying Farwood.

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Seasoned just means it didnt come from a tree that was alive this morning. Commercially most places seasoned wood means the logs were cut last year and the tops lay over the summer. Depending on when the wood cutter actually cut the wood to leght it may have seasond a bit more but most sell wood in the after noon that they cut in the morning.

Folks, a RICK of wood can be any length, so 2 ricks of wood DO NOT NECESSARILY equal a cord. They MAY, but chances are they do not. A cord is 4x4x8.

Like topsider said, I was talking apples to oranges when I came here, in trying to buy a cord of wood. Nobody sells it that way here. A rick is what they sell.

A rick is a stack 4x8, any length. Here it is usually 16"-18" ... which to me is fireplace length, not wood stove length. Wood stove length wood is 24" but I can't find it unless I cut it myself. As you can tell, you are missing a foot or so in width off two ricks of wood vs. a full cord at the 16"-18" length.

A rick of mixed hardwood or oak delivered here goes for $45 to $65; a rick of hickory goes for $55-$100. As always, you have to look for the best deal; prices are all over the place.

Also, how the wood is stacked makes a huge difference in how much actual wood you get in a rick or a cord. Tight stack is a sign of an honest seller.

Seasoned wood to me means that is has radial cracks in it, sounds hollow when a piece is dropped on concrete, and shows signs on the logs that they have been split for a while (dark yellowing or weather gray). Everybody says their wood is seasoned. It is not. I buy seasoned wood only -- using my definition.

Most cutters locally work all spring, summer and fall cutting and piling wood. They then spend winter selling and delivering. So the chances for genuine seasoned wood are good.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

You got two "ricks" 4 X 6 X 14 = 336 cubic feet of fire wood for $130.00
A cord is 4 X 4 X8 = 128 cubic feet of wood.
Around here fire wood goes for about $110- $120 a cord. If you figure in the labor, saw and vehicle wear, and fuel that's a pretty fair price. What we pay for fire wood aside, just looking at the amount of wood you got and what you paid for it I'd say you got a pretty good deal.

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My notion is a face cord is one third of a full cord or 4foot by 8foot by 16inches. 16inch is the old standard for stove wood. A rick is hard to define, but basically half of a full cord, more or less. In other words if you get 24inch then its half a cord, but less if you get something less than that. So in other words a rick maybe anything between 16inch lengths to 24inch lengths. This 3ft by 7fft by 24inch stuff is BS and just a way to gouge the uninitiated. If the seller is that greedy, I would doubt you got much 24inch stuff, probably 20inch.

Visited some friends who were up to Ozarks for Xmas and their regular firewood guy retired. They got his neighbor who he recommended. The guy wanted $65 for a rick. They were little put off but I told them, he did deliver a true half cord cut to 24inch for their fireplace and he stacked it. My only comment was that it wasnt fully cured. It may have been cut year ago but just recently split. Going rate is $45 for a "rick" but it probably will be 16inch and maybe few extra spaces if they stack it.

My best advise is to find a seller you are happy with and stick with him. Some sellers do appreciate loyal customer and not out for that last dime.

Personally I dont mind the log end chunks from sawmill. Last time I bought them, it was $10 for as many as you could get into a full size pickup. I havent bought them for a while since it involves jumping hoops to insure and license my old 3/4ton for just couple weeks use then little longer drive than I care for. I have so much dead wood on my own place, easier right now to cut my own though its many times located where not easy to get to.

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"What would you do with a brain if you had one?" -Dorothy

"Well, then ignore what I have to say and go with what works for you." -Eliot Coleman

Should you be in the position of having the saw and time and not the money, I have always looked around for standing dead wood, less than 12 inches at the butt. I prefer white oak, cherry and walnut, but any hardwood trees that size will be excellent burnable firewood, today. If a tree is fallen, even the same size, it has so much more surface area to soak up water than if it is standing. I avoid hickory for the house stove because of the sparks so if I encounter a suitable hickory, it goes to the shop. I live on a mountain with a mess of perfect sized maples, which is better'n excellent, but I don't care for the smell of maple wood smoke. I prefer the smell of burning blackjack oak to all others.

Some of the old timers around Newton County, Ark. used to set a pole in the ground, say 6 feet high, and stack the wood standing on end, leaned against the pole. As the ring grows larger, start another layer. They made mounds maybe 8+ feet in diameter and 4 layers high. Wood dries much faster if it is on end, rather than laying horizontally. Jes' another survival trick if you don't have your proverbial sitchiation together and it's cold, wet winter and them babies is a'gettin' cold.

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you have to be smart to feel stupid

here wood is sold by the "rank" = 4 ft high x 8 ft long and about 16 inches lengths ( i like 18 better) cost: $35 per rank if you don't live too far out

last wood i bought was wet - not rain wet - more like layin in the swamp for a year wet - stacked it in the house and it still was not dry 2 weeks later! we had to dry it out on top of the woodstove and rotate it around so it would get dry enough to catch fire

roastin wood is kinda stinky!

booklover sorry to say you got tuck, espesialy if as you say you were deliverd 12 and 16 in wood instead of 24in. by the sellers definition of a rick you should have got 84 cubic reet, but even if all the wood is 16in you only got 56.28 cubic feet. if you wish check with your local forrestery department or weights and measures they can tell you exacty how the wood should be sold.

The only legal term used for firewood or pulpwood sales is cord. Which is legally 4'x4'x8'.

Around here if you are selling a "face cord" it's expected to be 16" long pieces in a pile 4' high and 8' long, or 1/3 of a legal cord. Unless the seller states another length such as 15"

A rick to me has always been a pile of wood of random lengths. It was up to me to know how big that pile was, and how long the pieces were.

Many years ago I mispent part of my youth driving an ancient dumptruck for a firewood dealer. We would drive into sw NY or nw PA and buy wood from farmers looking for extra cash in the off season. Then we would truck it into Rochester or Buffalo and resell it.

We would never buy a "rick", unless we had a half empty truck and needed to fill her up to make the trip worth it. In that case we would buy them, drop them at home and sort them later. This sorted wood we would sell to our customers that requested lengths other than the standard 16".

There are two rules to follow buying or selling wood.

1) If it don't ring and hurt it ain't dry. Bang two pieces together holding them in your bare hands. If they make a nice clear sound, they are ringing. If banging them together stings your hands and they ring the wood is properly seasoned. If they just go thud they are still green.

2) When wood is properly stacked. The mouse can run, but, the cat can't chase. That's how the spacing should be for proper air circulation. I can still buy a stack of properly piled wood, drive it accross the county, repile it and half an hour later have the same sized pile I picked up to begin with.

Another thing. Don't buy wood that's been tarped or stored under plastic. Rain doesn't absorb 1/100th as much as most people imagine. But, sap doesn't evaporate without air circulation. And sap isn't just water, it's sugars, and if you don't get it dried up, your buying rotten wood and/or lots of bugs. Save the plastic for just before you bring it into the house.

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HERE'S WHAT I THINK HAPPENED
You got about 1/3 cord .
It seems to be that a lot of us on here see a rick as 1/3 a cord
4'x8' x 16" or 4x5x2 or some such thing.
I think one upon a time someone showed your firewood seller how much was in a rick.
Then showed him how to stack it in inside a 8' rack made of 2"x4"s2x3x7 to fit in a s truck bed or a basement space or just some odd space. Thats why your guy thinks of it as 2x3x7.
Then you come along and hit him with a attitude and he gets his back up right back at ya, after all as far as he is concerned you just insulted his grandpa or hunting mentor.
But it sounds like ya got about what we would expect 1/3 cord of wood dor not to bad a price.
Now since you dont list where you are at we cant answer his question where does it say what size it is in a law book. AND we cant really comment on the cost either last I checked Fire wood in Chicago brings a bit more than the rural midwest.