Finding a good deal on firewood is helpful, especially if you use a lot of it to warm your home. Most of us here at Northline Express are “seasoned” wood burners so we have compiled some tips and pointers that will help you make sure that you are getting the most bang for your firewood buck.
The price of the firewood that you buy will increase as the lengths get shorter. This is because of the increase cutting and handling on the dealers part. If possible we recommend buying your firewood in full cords and splitting it yourself into the lengths that you need for your wood burning appliance. While firewood prices vary greatly depending on the region here is a good example of the savings you can get splitting your own firewood. If a full cord, which is stacked 4’ high x 8’ wide and in 4’ lengths, costs $200 you could pay as much as $260 per full cord if the pieces are cut to length.
If you have the space and time the best option would be to by your firewood early in the spring and buy it by the loggers cord like we do to heat our building here. Also buying firewood green and letting it season will usually save you about 30%.
What is a loggers cord? A loggers cord contains the same amount of cubic feet as a full cord but because the logs are in 8’ lengths a single loggers cord would be stacked 4’ high x 4’ wide x 8’ deep. This year we purchased 20 loggers cords and spent $1500. Each loggers cord equals about 3 face cord, so our 20 loggers cords translates to about 60 face cords. Locally the going rate for a face cord of firewood is about $50 for mixed hardwood like we purchased. That means we saved about $1500 purchasing our firewood this way. If we would have purchased firewood cut to length we potentially could have spent $3000. That is an awesome savings but keep in mind it is a savings that you will have to work for. It is not a project that we recommend taking on either without a good log splitter. You do not always need the biggest splitter either in fact all of this firewood was split with our WoodEze electric 4 ton splitter after it was cut into lengths.
If you just do not have the space, the time, or the desire to purchase your firewood in bulk like we do, it can still be cost effective to buy firewood that is already split from a dealer. Here are some tips to help make sure that you are buying good firewood and not getting ripped off.
Never order your firewood over the phone. It is best to go to the dealer’s storage area to inspect the firewood that you are purchasing. It will be easier to walk away from a bad deal than it will be to deal with wood that is not what you were promised upon delivery.
If possible get your firewood ordered and delivered in the spring. This will allow you to stack it properly for seasoning all summer long. It will also allow for enough time if the wood does require additional seasoning before use.
Never buy randomly piled wood. First that is not an efficient method of seasoning so it is most likely not properly seasoned. Secondly there is really no way to tell what or how much you are actually getting.
Ask the dealer if you can restack it upon delivery before paying. This will allow you to measure the pile before and after to confirm that you are getting the volume that you paid for.
I hope you found this information helpful. It is just one more way that Northline Express keeps your home fires burning.