jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've been heating with wood since 1974, with oil as a backup and for hot water. The price of a cord of firewood has risen to $300 locally. There's no way that I can justify paying $300 for a "cord" of wood. I don't think I ever got a full cord delivered. I stack and measure it, and it's always short of a cord. I'll have to figure out a way to see how much it would cost to heat the house with oil. I'll also try to stop the drafts and add more insulation here and there.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

What expense is not going up?

eshore46

My parents had a wood stove for heat in one room, so my father purchased a "cord" of wood from a local man. He had the wood delivered and stacked, after the delivery my father looked at the wood and he measured the wood stack,it was not a "cord"; 4'x4'x8'.He then contacted the state department of weights and measures, they inspected the stack and agreed, and asked how the wood was delivered, "in a pickup" was the reply. My father was then informed that a "cord" of wood will not fit in a pickup, so the seller of the wood was contacted by the state and informed of the shortage and enough wood to make up the shortage was delivered free of charge.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There are no supply chain issues with firewood, and there's no labor shortage. One or two guys use whatever equipment they have and churn it out. The increase in the price of gasoline doesn't justify that kind of price increase. Their expenses have remained about the same, yet they are charging 50% more. The problem is that people are willing to pay that much. People would be willing to pay $500 for a cord, but I'm not one of them.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

The weights and measure guy was wrong!! a 8' pickup bed will hold over 1 cord of wood, now it would be questionable if the average pickup could safely carry the weight of a cord of Good firewood.
In Missouri the only legal way to sell wood in by the cord , 4X4X8 stacked to fill all possible voids.
The guy I bought wood from 30+ yrs ago sold his wood by the pickup load the first load he delivered was well over a legal cord and he only charged $25 a load. I never cut another load of wood to heat the house.

Old Coot

He who cuts his own firewood is twice warmed

Wuligal Loc: Slippery Rock, Pa.

We're paying $225.00 per pick up load for firewood and heating an 8 room farm house with two loads (Two wood burners) We have an oil furnace but the cost would be over $800.00 a month since the price of oil is over $3.50 a gallon. We do not have access to natural gas and propane is out of the question.
I don't know what AOC uses to heat her apartment but I want some of that.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

If your home was built in 1974, by today's construction codes it is not properly insulated. I would ask an insulating contractor for an estimate to bring your insulation to code. Upgrading the homes insulation would save you more money than changing to any heating fuel

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Hot air.....
Forced hot air.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Beware! There is such a thing as a “face cord”. 2’ x 4’ x 8’. A half cord.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

A cord is no longer a cord. Used to be that when a cord of wood was properly stacked you couldn't get a piece of paper in it because it was so tight. No longer. Now you are lucky to get ¾ of an actual cord.

And talking about pricing...you have a valid point about the cost of gas and expenses for the guy selling the wood, but remember he is buying groceries and paying utilities, etc., and all of those are going up up up. He has to make enough money to pay for all of those things.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

A cord is no longer a cord. Used to be that when a cord of wood was properly stacked you couldn't get a piece of paper in it because it was so tight. No longer. Now you are lucky to get ¾ of an actual cord.

And talking about pricing...you have a valid point about the cost of gas and expenses for the guy selling the wood, but remember he is buying groceries and paying utilities, etc., and all of those are going up up up. He has to make enough money to pay for all of those things.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I tried that last year, but boy, did the neighbors get mad when they saw me cutting down their trees.

Many years ago, I bought a load of logs. I forget how many cords, but they were dumped on the front lawn, and I cut and split them into firewood. I did that for two years, but then those loads were no longer available.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

The only way to heat your house economically is to cut, split and stack it yourself and that is backbreaking, labor intensive work. I read somewhere that a 10 acre woodlot would support continued annual cutting sufficient to heat a 3 bedroom house.

I cut, split with a maul and wedges, and stacked 2 cords a year from government land when I was much younger. It was fun, satisfying work for a young guy. Now I would hate to think about even carrying the seasoned wood from the wood pile into the house.

Red6

When I was growing up we heated our house with both wood and coal. It was my job to help my father cut and split wood and to carry in the coal and wood into the house when needed. It was also my job to clean out the stoves and carry out the ashes. When I was old enough to handle the saw, I would wade into a downed tree with the chainsaw and do the trimming. I was young and stupid and did not realize how dangerous this was. I was lucky.

Years later I had a good friend cut into his leg below the knee, he bled a lot but did not lose his leg, though he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. In my first year of college, I had a professor that talked with a very raspy voice. He also seemed to wear turtle neck shirts most of the time. I learned later that he had been cutting firewood and the chainsaw kicked back on him violently and slashed his throat. Missed his main arteries but did a lot of damage to his windpipe and larynx.

I have not picked up a chainsaw in many years and most likely never will again. Even with all the safety improvements to the saws, cutting wood is one of the most dangerous things an individual can do.

Today I heat my home and hot water with natural gas at around $150 per month in the winter months, less in the summer. In my opinion that is a bargain. An added benefit is no chimneys to clean or ashes to carry out!