Whatever commodity you buy, it’s important to know what to consider before actually giving your money. Before asking others how much a cord of wood costs, it is but wise to understand the process of trading woods. Be wary of traders who might deceive you because there are always dishonest sellers out there.
To make sure that you are getting what you deserve when you give your hard-earned money to the seller, here are some tips and things to consider in buying a cord of wood.
What Does Cord of Wood Mean and its Standard Measurement?
A cord is the officially accepted unit of measurement of woods although buyers might have encountered the non-official terms such as bush cord, running cord, stove cord, or face cord. A full cord pertains to the woods stacked perfectly side by side measuring a dimension of 4 feet tall x 8 feet long x 4 feet deep or 128 cubic feet of firewood.
Here are some tips to consider when buying a cord of wood. You can also watch the Northline Express video to learn more about purchasing a full cord, price range, and others.
Study the Bargaining Process and Avoid Being Tricked
- Measure the firewood delivered. Stack them up to make a full cord of wood but don’t stack the woods in crisscross manner. All the woods should have the standard measurement of a cord which is 128 cubic feet. If the measurement is incomplete or incorrect, inform your supplier to fix the situation. See Popular Mechanics to learn more on how to stack woods.
- Check the quality of the firewood delivered. You must know the difference of green, seasoned, softwood, and hardwood. Cords with mixed type of woods are generally cheaper than pure cords.
Green wood is cheaper because it has to be dried first. Seasoned woods are ready for burning but more expensive. The difference between soft and hardwood is the amount of fire they can produce. Hardwood burns hotter and lasts longer while softwood is the opposite.
- Don’t allow your supplier to use the weight of the woods as an alternative to cord measure. It is still better if the firewood will be stacked perfectly instead.
- Beware of buying a cord of split wood. The general size of split wood is 6 inches and stacking these woods to form a cord yield a smaller outcome because they tend to be arranged more compactly than raw logs. Buying smaller split woods could shrink the cord by 25%.
- Be sure that the woods are free from infestations since some woods could be infested with termites and infect other woods or your house especially if you’ll store them longer. Also, look for and reject the rotting woods in the cord. Read the blog from Firewood For Life to know more about storing your woods.
- Some wood suppliers allow their customers to have access to their storage place where you can physically check out good quality firewood. Another advantage is you can transact personally to the owner and ask how much is a cord of wood. You can also ask for discounts to save you money.
READ: How to Use a Belt Sander for the First Time?
Price Range on Cord of Woods, Delivery Costs, and Stacking Services
Make sure that the pricing is reasonable whether it’s the delivery fee, storage stacking, or the cord itself. Delivery ranges from $50 to $100 depending on the distance where the wood will come from. Stacking service normally costs $20 to $80. Hardwoods price ranges from $300 to $800 while softwoods’ price ranges from $150 to $400 but it will also depend if they are green or seasoned woods. Check out Global Wood for the actual prices.
Regardless of the cost, it’s important to store a significant amount of firewood. It keeps you warm during the winter season; it’s economical and much cheaper than electricity. By knowing the tricks on how to buy a cord of wood and having the knowledge on the price range of the different woods and other costs like delivery fees and stacking service fee, you can prevent yourself from dishonest sellers.