How much is a cord, rank, etc.?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

City Slicker

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
209
Reaction score
6
Location
Indiana
I think a "cord of wood" measures 4'X4'X8' ? And a "rank" is half of a cord? But what is a "rick" of wood? Just brushing-up on my firewood lingo.
 
I think a "cord of wood" measures 4'X4'X8' ? And a "rank" is half of a cord? But what is a "rick" of wood? Just brushing-up on my firewood lingo.

A rank is the same as a rick is the same as a 'face cord'. These are all vague terms with no legal definition and therefore no enforceability. What is not legally defined cannot be legally enforced.


No objective meaning, in other words.

It means whatever the seller wants it to mean. So, if you buy a rank/rick/face cord of wood, and the seller delivers a 5 gallon bucket of sticks and calls it a rank/rick/face cord of wood, that 5 gallon bucket of sticks IS a rank/rick/face cord of wood. What are you going to do, file a complaint to Weights & Measures? They'll laugh at you.

Stick to the ONE defined term, CORD, and you won't have these problems. Don't want a cord? Buy a half cord or a third cord or a quarter cord. Fine. Those are all legally defined amounts.

Would you buy gas, sight unseen, by the fleeblestort? Would you take the seller's word that a fleeblestort is a third of a gallon?

Would you buy beef by the snickin? Would you take the seller's word that a snickin is a pile of beef 12" x 10" x 18"?


OR would you prefer to do business with standard, legally defined units of measure?

Why should firewood be any different?
 
I think a "cord of wood" measures 4'X4'X8' ? And a "rank" is half of a cord? But what is a "rick" of wood? Just brushing-up on my firewood lingo.

A cord is more easily defined by its volume of 128 cubic feet.

A tightly stacked pile of firewood measuring 4' x 4' x 8' is a cord of wood (4 x 4 x 8 = 128).

If that firewood was made up of pieces 16" long, then you could change that pile into 4' x 24' x 16" and it would still equal 128 cubic feet.

If that firewood was made up of pieces 2' long, then you could change that pile into 4' x 2' x 16' and it would also still equal 128 cubic feet.

etc., etc.

BlueRidgeMark is absolutely correct in that a cord (or fraction thereof) is the best way to define firewood as it is (in many states) a legally defined measure and therefore least subject to ambiguity.

HTH
 
Maybe there could be a sticky at the top of the forum page about the definitions/measurements of firewood:confused:
 
How big is a "pile" of firewood?

How much is in a "stack"?

$100 per truckload? Excellent! Can you move all of that stuff so I can get my end dump backed up to your pile?

:cheers:

.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top