Buying A Firewood Cord

Buying a cord of firewood is not always as simple as it might seem, especially if you are somewhat removed from the source. Like most things in life, if you know the supplier and have a relationship, it is always easier to do business.
When you do not have this relationship, you are somewhat at the mercy of the guy delivering the wood. After all, the only way to accurately check to see how much wood you are getting is to stack and measure the stack. Who is going to do that before payment?
There is also the issue of just how big a cord of firewood really is. Where I live, in rural Vermont (actually, there is not much of an urban Vermont), everyone knows each other and if you don't cut it yourself, somebody nearby does. These people have been doing this for many generations and would not think about ripping one of their neighbors off.
Even if they did short change somebody, it is only a matter of time before everyone in the area knows about it and the word it out to avoid such a person.
So, a cord of firewood is 4 feet x 4 feetx 8 feet. Most people stack it in whatever size stack works for the area available, so you might not actually have an exact rectangle this size. However, with some simple math you can figure out how much wood you have anyway.
4x4x8=128 cubic feet of wood. This means that when the wood is cut, split and stacked you should have this many cubic feet of firewood. So, if you stack is only 16 inches deep and 4 feet high, the row must be 24 feet long. 16 inches is 1.3 feet and 1.3x4x24=124.8, so you have to toss on a couple of extra pieces to make it exact.
Another thing to consider is how you stack it. If you leave a lot of air spaces, you are paying for air, not wood. Then again, you can't just buy a solid block of wood and get an exact amount o solid wood to equal a cord!
Something else to consider is the type of wood you are buying. It is common knowledge that hardwoods are superior to softwoods when it comes to heating your house. Even though the BTU's found in pine are greater than oak, you need much more pine because it burns so fast.
The type of wood you buy is largely dependent on where you live. It just does not make sense to buy oak or maple from Wisconsin if you live in Los Angeles. I suppose it does happen though, oddly enough. Most hardwoods are found in the eastern US, though there are some good firewoods available in the west, it is just that there are really not that many trees in these arid areas.
Many wood suppliers have learned how much wood fits into their truck and can eyeball pretty closely how much wood they have. Nevertheless, it is important to ask questions and be persistent, after all, it is your money and you want to stay warm!