How much is a cord of wood

15 years ago

Don't be cheated! I don't think I've ever heard anyone evoke the "legal definition" of a cord of wood, but a cord of wood is simply 128 cubic feet of wood, regardless of how you stack it. To test this voluminous theory, one need only take a known cord of wood re-stack it into any of thousands of clever shapes, from a Volkswagen bus to an intergalactic starship. It's still 128 cubic feet of wood... and still a cord. QED

To find what you should pay for any delivered wood, simply stack it (tightly) into any convenient stack and multiply length x height x width (in feet). Divide that result by 128 and multiply your answer by the price-per-cord that your supplier wants.

For example, if your stack is 3.5 x 5.5 x 6 feet, you will find you have 115.5 cubic feet (Not quite one cord, right?). Dividing 115.5 by 128, you get 0.90. Multiplying 0.90 by the advertised price of, say, $200 per cord means you owe your supplier $180.47. Don't quibble, but don't be cheated.

Comments (2)

christopherh
15 years ago
Our supplier has a dump truck that he delivers with. He has a line across the upper section of the dump that signifies 128 cubic feet. He stacks the wood in the truck as opposed to just throwing it in, and then adds another couple rows of "sticks" to make sure he delivers a full cord. He always delivers about 1 1/4 cords per load. He says anybody that just throws the wood into a truck will always cheat the customer.
davidandkasie
15 years ago
yep, the usual measurement is 4x4x8. but again you have to look at how tight it is stacked. a couple years ago my son and i stacked wood in my woodshed. it is divided up to hold 6 cords. i started at one end, he was at the other. my wood was stacked fairly tight, while his was loose stacked. when we got done i had him pull his down and restack it tight(i had told him several times and since he did not listen he ahd to do it over). when he restacked it teh correct way he got almost 40% more wood in the same area!
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