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The elusive "cord" of firewood.

13,322 Views | 89 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by Ag by Association
91AggieLawyer
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In reply to Ribeye-Rare • 7:25p, 10/13/21
AG
Ribeye-Rare said:
schmellba99 said:
powerbelly said:
What is confusing about 128 cubic feet.
Uhhhhh......have you seen what comes out of the school system these days? Pretty much everything is confusing about math.
No kidding.

This is an absolutely true account of an exchange I had with a kid working at a hardware store when I was standing at the bulk hose rack:

KID: Sir, need some help?

ME: Thanks. I need to buy some 3/4" OD braided vinyl water hose.

KID: How long do you want?

ME: 48"

KID: I'm sorry sir, we only sell it by the foot.

ME: OK. I'll take 4'.


It's hilarious if it weren't so sad.

There may be more of it today (OK, a LOT more of it today) but it isn't totally generational specific. In college I was working retail and went to a Grandys, I think, for lunch one day. My order rang up to something like $4.78. I gave the girl at the register a 5 and 3 pennies. She looked at me funny and said, "its four-seventy-eight. All you need is the five." I told her to punch it in and she'd see why I did that. She did and it came back with a quarter for change and I told her I wanted the quarter. She was surprised. She asked, and I kid you not: "Did you go to college?" I sheepishly said, yeah, why? She said, "that's why you knew that; because you went to college."

I almost couldn't eat and I certainly couldn't drink anything. I spit everything out laughing for an hour after that.
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to 91AggieLawyer • 8:50p, 10/13/21
AG
You coulda had your queen of the double wide trailer right there man.
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shiftyandquick
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10:25p, 10/13/21
Having spent a good bit of time this past year collecting, bucking, splitting, and stacking wood....I tell you, I don't really see how someone would want to see a true cord of wood for $200. Especially delivered.

It's a hard way to make a living.

I think I'm going to sell my remaining wood by the bundle for higher profit. Who am I kidding. I'm too lazy to make that many transactions.
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91AggieLawyer
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In reply to OnlyForNow • 10:45p, 10/13/21
AG
OnlyForNow said:
You coulda had your queen of the double wide trailer right there man.

NO THANK YOU!

Did I mention I was at Grandys? I turned off chick trolling radar within 200 feet of those places.
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to 91AggieLawyer • 4:19a, 10/14/21
AG
Prolly coulda sucked the chrome off of trailer ball.
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Sea Speed
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7:01a, 10/14/21
AG
There is NOTHING texags can't argue about.
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Old RV Ag
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In reply to Sea Speed • 7:57a, 10/14/21
AG
Sea Speed said:
There is NOTHING texags can't argue about.
Hey, a cord and a yard are volumes. So are gallons and barrels. Next time they fuel up your ship, you want a gallon to not be a real gallon?
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to Old RV Ag • 8:05a, 10/14/21
AG
A yard is a unit of length, a cubic yard is a measure of volume. Gotta be sure which our referencing.
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Old RV Ag
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In reply to OnlyForNow • 8:07a, 10/14/21
AG
OnlyForNow said:
A yard is a unit of length, a cubic yard is a measure of volume. Gotta be sure which our referencing.
Dude, when you buy a yard of concrete or sand, it ain't linear.
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to Old RV Ag • 8:17a, 10/14/21
AG
Agree.
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Jason_Roofer
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In reply to TikkaShooter • 8:45a, 10/14/21
TikkaShooter said:
Firewood delivery guys usually compete with extended auto warranty and TruGreen for shadiest business practices.


I dunno, I talked to a homeowner who gave an out of state roofer 15,000 dollars and never saw him again. That seems kinda shady too.
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shiftyandquick
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8:51a, 10/14/21
I'm a firewood delivery guy. I'm not shady. I'm shifty though.
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agfan2013
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9:29a, 10/14/21
AG


Dang, thread like this makes me thankful to have access to family place with plenty of trees to cut up.

This stack only cost me a trip to the ER when I sliced open my left leg just above the knee with a chainsaw (wasn't deep and just tore open some skin), so y'all complaining about the cord size and getting ripped off still probably made out cheaper than I did…
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Sea Speed
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In reply to Old RV Ag • 9:31a, 10/14/21
AG
Old RV Ag said:
Sea Speed said:
There is NOTHING texags can't argue about.
Hey, a cord and a yard are volumes. So are gallons and barrels. Next time they fuel up your ship, you want a gallon to not be a real gallon?
i understand what a cord is and im not arguing anything. i find it funny others are arguing about how long their wood should be.
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Martin Cash
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In reply to powerbelly • 9:36a, 10/14/21
AG
powerbelly said:
What is confusing about 128 cubic feet.
Same reason people think a 1/4 pound burger is bigger than a 1/3 pound, because 4 is bigger than 3.
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Rexter
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In reply to agfan2013 • 9:36a, 10/14/21
agfan2013 said:


Dang, thread like this makes me thankful to have access to family place with plenty of trees to cut up.

This stack only cost me a trip to the ER when I sliced open my left leg just above the knee with a chainsaw (wasn't deep and just tore open some skin), so y'all complaining about the cord size and getting ripped off still probably made out cheaper than I did…



Don't let your insurance guy see that wood up against the house!
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to Sea Speed • 9:37a, 10/14/21
AG
It's important!

Fireplace andirons are sometimes specific widths, you get pieces of wood that are too narrow and it doesn't let the coals do their job and all the ash covers them up. Or if the pieces are too long for your fireplace, that's a bu ch of useless wood!
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Martin Cash
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In reply to agfan2013 • 9:37a, 10/14/21
AG
agfan2013 said:


Dang, thread like this makes me thankful to have access to family place with plenty of trees to cut up.

This stack only cost me a trip to the ER when I sliced open my left leg just above the knee with a chainsaw (wasn't deep and just tore open some skin), so y'all complaining about the cord size and getting ripped off still probably made out cheaper than I did…
You stack wood up against the wall of your house??
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up-n-aTm
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10:34a, 10/14/21
AG
To be fair- that IS vinyl siding so the wood is probably not doing any harm.
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AggieOO
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In reply to up-n-aTm • 10:40a, 10/14/21
up-n-aTm said:
To be fair- that IS vinyl siding so the wood is probably not doing any harm.
i'd have more of an issue of the mice/rat habitat.
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Sea Speed
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In reply to OnlyForNow • 10:53a, 10/14/21
AG
OnlyForNow said:
It's important!

Fireplace andirons are sometimes specific widths, you get pieces of wood that are too narrow and it doesn't let the coals do their job and all the ash covers them up. Or if the pieces are too long for your fireplace, that's a bu ch of useless wood!
useless wood is a problem i will never ever have.
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agfan2013
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In reply to Rexter • 10:57a, 10/14/21
AG
Rexter said:
agfan2013 said:


Dang, thread like this makes me thankful to have access to family place with plenty of trees to cut up.

This stack only cost me a trip to the ER when I sliced open my left leg just above the knee with a chainsaw (wasn't deep and just tore open some skin), so y'all complaining about the cord size and getting ripped off still probably made out cheaper than I did…



Don't let your insurance guy see that wood up against the house!

Pool room (large shed with tools and pool table in it), not a house, so not a structure that is lived in. And the building itself is very old, picture is from a few years ago when I lived out on some family land after graduating that my grandparents left to my dad when they passed away. Main house is in the back right of the picture where I lived before getting married and moving back into town.

About 3/4 of that stack has been used and the remainder I moved under an old carport where it stays out of the elements even better than what the tarp could protect. My wood is mostly used for bbqing so I'm not leaving it out to the elements where its going to rot and mold and all that, gotta keep it dry.
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tlfw378
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In reply to [removed post] • 6:44p, 10/14/21
AG
jayelbee said:
What's wrong with 16" cuts? 3 rows in a 4x8 footprint is the full cord.


That is what I told him…he said no, 4'x8'x16" is what his cord is…

I don't have any issue with 16", as I cut it into smaller chunks anyway.
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CS78
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8:45p, 10/14/21
I thought the argument was about the attributes of the Grandys wait staff?
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78_Pacecar
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10:00p, 10/14/21
AG
Grandys or Denny's, which one are you taking home?
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HTownAg98
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In reply to tlfw378 • 10:10p, 10/14/21
It makes a difference if you're trying to get the best deal on something that is supposed to be a standard unit of measure and everyone's definition is different.
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BeachRanger
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In reply to Ribeye-Rare • 7:32a, 10/15/21
Ribeye-Rare said:
schmellba99 said:
powerbelly said:
What is confusing about 128 cubic feet.
Uhhhhh......have you seen what comes out of the school system these days? Pretty much everything is confusing about math.
No kidding.

This is an absolutely true account of an exchange I had with a kid working at a hardware store when I was standing at the bulk hose rack:

KID: Sir, need some help?

ME: Thanks. I need to buy some 3/4" OD braided vinyl water hose.

KID: How long do you want it?

ME: Forever.

KID: ummmmmm

ME: OK. I'll take 4'.


It's hilarious if it weren't so sad.
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Bird Poo
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In reply to BlueSmoke • 7:40a, 10/15/21
AG
BlueSmoke said:
Golden Tree in Lewisville just fills up the back of your truck until it won't take nay more for about $60.


I called these folks. They wanted $200. You sure about that deal?
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BlueSmoke
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In reply to Bird Poo • 4:26p, 10/15/21
PearlJammin said:
BlueSmoke said:
Golden Tree in Lewisville just fills up the back of your truck until it won't take nay more for about $60.


I called these folks. They wanted $200. You sure about that deal?
Maybe it's more now, but I just backed up the truck before the big freeze last year. This was mismatched firewood, not for smoking. It was less than $100. I also didn't specify a cord, or half cord. Just fill up the bed.
Nobody cares. Work Harder
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TxAg20
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6:28a, 10/16/21
AG
I went through this last year. The firewood folks around San Antonio, in my experience, are mostly unreliable tweakers.

I bought a cord and the seller helped me load it out of a big, unstacked pile of cut and split wood. Somewhere around 1/3 of a cord he said that's a cord. I said, a cord is a 128 cubic feet, typically stacked 2'x4'x16' or 4'x4'x8'. Since my trailer is a little less than 8' wide, let's stack it 4' high and 4' deep the width of the trailer. He said he agrees, but to stack a cord, you should stack 3 pieces, then the next 3 pieces perpendicular and on top of the pieces you just stacked (he didn't actually say that, but stacked some that way and said that's how you stack a cord.) I told him that's a good way to get a little bit of wood and a bunch of air. How much more do you want for enough wood to 4' high and 4' deep the width of my trailer (all stacked parallel). He thought about it for a few seconds and said $40 more.

In my mind, I paid $225 for the first 1/3 of a cord and $40 for the next 2/3 of a cord. I wasn't going to argue too much as I was about 6 hours into my firewood journey after the first guy I called never showed up and this guy was about 2 hours late for his own proposed meeting time. Of course, neither person would tell me where to get the wood. Both needed to meet me somewhere then have me follow them to the place to load the wood.
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Gunny456
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In reply to Sea Speed • 7:39a, 10/16/21
AG
I see what you did there.
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BlackGoldAg2011
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In reply to Sea Speed • 8:59a, 10/16/21
AG
Sea Speed said:
Old RV Ag said:
Sea Speed said:
There is NOTHING texags can't argue about.
Hey, a cord and a yard are volumes. So are gallons and barrels. Next time they fuel up your ship, you want a gallon to not be a real gallon?
i understand what a cord is and im not arguing anything. i find it funny others are arguing about how long their wood should be.

Yea, from my experience it needs to be just long enough to get the job done and no longer.
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O.G.
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10:43a, 10/16/21
I had a tree guy explain it once. It sounds obvious at first but then when you realize how many times each individual stick of wood has to be touched/worked etc before it gets to your fireplace, its a lot.
(assuming a downed tree here from a storm etc)
1.cutting it
2.picking it up off the ground
3.throwing it into a trailer
4.stacking it
5.loading it into your truck
6.you re-stacking it
7. you burning it.

Thats if you don't split it AND you you cut it to correct length the first time. If you have to haul it any distance from the tree to where he stores it, thats fuel etc etc....

Then, if you're paying someone to help you, it eats into the profit quite a bit. If you're by yourself, its a huge time suck. Either way, its a hard way to make an easy living.

I wish I had a cost effective way to get mesquite wood to the east coast, DC/NY etc....the displaced Texans there and the yankees love it.
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TRADUCTOR
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4:20p, 10/16/21
@16" the problem is not being shorted on a cord, but a tiny fireplace. Tiny fireplace gets tiny cord, actually just needs a rick. A tiny rick.
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MisterShipWreck
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In reply to schmellba99 • 5:25p, 10/16/21
schmellba99 said:
powerbelly said:
What is confusing about 128 cubic feet.
Uhhhhh......have you seen what comes out of the school system these days? Pretty much everything is confusing about math.
Yea, you are correct! A few years back, I confused the hell out of the person at the HEB deli when I asked for a fifth of a pound. They had no idea what language I was talking. I had to explain 5 times after that to look at the scale and go with 0.20 - still couldn't grasp it.
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