Update on splitting wood for $$$

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i would doubt that the origin of "face cord" was because someone was trying to rip someone off. i am not saying it doesnt happen, i too experience the puzzled consumer who wonders why i left them more wood, or why my price is different. of all the customers i deal with, probably about 200/ year, very very few actually KNOW what a full cord is, but most of them know what a face cord is. 1 stack 4' high, 8' long. i also have very few people who WANT a full cord. probably 90% of my sales are single face cords. it is a quantity that the homeowner is familiar with, and wants. i have had the competition call me to find out what my prices are, they will pretend to be consumers. they always ask "how much for a face cord?", followed by "well, how much for a full cord?". they are astounded when i tell them that a full cord costs 3x as much minus a bulk discount. then they will argue with me about what a full cord is. i have been told "a full cord is 2 face cords", or "a full cord is 4x4x6". but no one in this neck of the woods advertises by the full cord, partly because the homeowner thinks a full cord is a face cord.
 
I no longer use the term face cord. I refer to that unit as a 1/3 cord now. From what I have read a face cord is not a legal term you can use for a unit of measurement http://oregon.gov/ODA/MSD/fuel_facts.shtml. I just found this out myself. Most of my customers are surprised by the true amount of wood in an actual 1/3 (face cord). This is mainly due to being shorted by other sellers. I also put the blame on face cord firewood racks you can buy at the home center. Some customers think I'm leaving extra wood because there is some stacked on the side of the rack. Seems previous sellers just leveled off the rack and charged for the full face cord.

Dale
 
In states where firewood is part of the weights and measures enforcement, only cords or fractions of a cord are permitted.

When I buy (rarely - I cut my own) I prefer to buy by the cord in the round. I get more wood that way as splitting will increase the size of a stack, i.e., a cord in the round will stack out to about 10% more than that. It's a bennie for both me and the dealer - I get more wood, he doesn't have the expense of splitting it.

Harry K
 
Around my area a "face cord" is called a teir . And as stated earlier in areas where there is code enforcment by wheights and measures , only a cord or fractions of a cord can be legally sold by a merchant .
 

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