# Lowes firewood...



## heffergm (Dec 18, 2009)

I should post this anonymously so as not to be
laughed at, but humour me. 

Firewood bundles at Lowes. I haven't taken a close look,
but it appears oak-like and dry (obviously need to confirm). 

Anyone burned the stuff in a pinch and/or checked it's moisture content?


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## Slow1 (Dec 18, 2009)

I don't know about the lowes near you but if they are selling bundled wood then generally once you calculate the cost/cord it is a scary number.  Are they selling it by a larger volume?  If so, what is their price?

Edit: Just re-read your post and indeed you are talking about bundles.  Figure out the cost/cord and you won't likely be all that interested for long.  I think their market for this wood is the occasional fireplace burner.

On the bright side it is almost certainly kiln dried and would burn great.  Then again $1 bills burn well as tinder too....


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## heffergm (Dec 18, 2009)

Another good question. I hadn't bothered looking at pricing as yet since I wasn't sure if it was worth burning. Assuming it is I'd need to do that.  They do have it on pallets, but I'm not sure if they sell it as such or not and what the price is.


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## Slow1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Then again, maybe if they don't sell it by end of season it will get discounted 90% off like so many other things do... then it would be a fair price perhaps.  Of course it might be almost as much work breaking apart those bundles as it splitting rounds.


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## quads (Dec 18, 2009)

They sell bundles like that almost everywhere around here.  Mostly it's just the pine slabs from somebody's lumber mill.  They usually get $5 for a bundle and it's about a large handful/small forearm full.  I have to smile every time I walk by the bundles at the entrance to the grocery store and think that I have easily $100,000 worth of oak stacked all over the place.


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## jharkin (Dec 18, 2009)

A couple weeks ago I glanced at one of those bundles in the store and noticed it had a net weight on it...  20 or 30lb?   Having recalled reading somewhere that a cord of hardwood can be 3000lb or more I did a quick math on my cell phone calculator.

Came out to around $900 per cord.


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## basswidow (Dec 18, 2009)

Most bagged wood sold in stores is Kiln dry and insect free. The label should say whether it's hardwood or pine.   If you were to buy any large quantity - you'd be paying a huge amount per cord.  I looked for it to go on sale at the end of the season - and it didn't.  It goes back to the manufacturer or saved for the following year.

Last year - our delivered wood was somewhat green and we suplimented with some kiln dry, because of how easy it got going and it helped to burn the green wood.  My wife would catch some of it on sale at the grocery store for like $ 2 a bag.  She'd get about 10 bags and we'd use them like kindling.  They were called Hotstiks from PA.  Good quality wood.  We called them to inquire about buying a pallet (ton) and it was more then we paid for 2 cords of cherry/ash.  7-11 puts all their bags of wood out front to get rained on.  

Those bags are for fireplace users who just want a fire once and awhile.  If you are in a pinch,  you'd be better off using pallet wood cut up.


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## madrone (Dec 18, 2009)

The bundles outside the local grocery are labeled .7 cu ft, at $5.99, about $1100 per cord. I think they're either alder or soft maple.


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## kalevi (Dec 18, 2009)

$8.95/cubic foot, white birch over here sold at gas stations and grocery stores.


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## quads (Dec 19, 2009)

basswidow said:
			
		

> Most bagged wood sold in stores is Kiln dry and insect free. The label should say whether it's hardwood or pine.


Not here.  No label, no bag.  The bundles are tied with a piece of hay baler twine and they set in a rack at the entrance to the stores.


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## Danno77 (Dec 19, 2009)

it cracks me up when i see those at lowes and other big box stores. surely it'd be cheaper to buy a 2x4...


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## prajna101 (Dec 19, 2009)

Once I figured out the price of a "cord" of 2x4s.  4x4x8 pallet would run $400 and that would one REALLY tightly packed cord (no air).  Seemed like a heck of a better deal than some of the craigs list sellers for kiln dried wood delivered to your house.  I wonder how much it would equal to in splits?  

t


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## rathmir (Dec 19, 2009)

Why the hell would you split a 2x4????


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## ccwhite (Dec 19, 2009)

rathmir said:
			
		

> Why the hell would you split a 2x4????



 :bug:  :gulp:  :-/  :lol:  :cheese:


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## prajna101 (Dec 20, 2009)

i didnt mean split a 2x4.  I meant cordwood of REAL splits.  

BTW.  I love to shave old demensional lumber for kindling.  Its perfect stuff for starting fires or bringing a stove up to speed.


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## jadm (Dec 20, 2009)

My sister gave me a packet of that wood that she had left over from a trip to the mountains.  I figured it would burn really well and was surprised when it did not.  Have no idea what kind of wood it was - looked like pine but was a lot harder to get going and then pretty 'sluggish'.  

Not complaining cuz it was free and I will take anything that is free as long as it is not cottonwood....


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## btuser (Dec 20, 2009)

These bundles will burn for romance, but I think I did the math at one point and it was close to $800/cord.  Better to heat my house with incandecent light bulbs.

They're about the same thing as the Lunchables in kids lunch box.


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## Wood Duck (Dec 21, 2009)

TriTodd said:
			
		

> Once I figured out the price of a "cord" of 2x4s.  4x4x8 pallet would run $400 and that would one REALLY tightly packed cord (no air).  Seemed like a heck of a better deal than some of the craigs list sellers for kiln dried wood delivered to your house.  I wonder how much it would equal to in splits?
> 
> t



I have read somewhere that a standard cord of firewood, which is 128 cubic feet of total volume, can be assumed to contain 85 cubic feet of actual wood, the rest being air space. So, if you have a pallet of 2x4s that is solid wood, the price per cord goes down to $265. Of course there would be air space between the 2x4s, but I have no idea how much.


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## derecskey (Dec 21, 2009)

Of course, those 2x4s are PINE.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 21, 2009)

derecskey said:
			
		

> Of course, those 2x4s are PINE.


Ja, more than likely but they could be Spruce or Pine or Fir.

I have to wonder about consistency and quality of the store bought firewood.  Many here suggest people having wood related issues use this wood as a point of comparison but what if the store bought stuff is mediocre at best?  Then again, many here seem to think that "kiln dried" is some sort of a quality standard.  I've seen kiln dried dimensional lumber that's quite wet and heavy and see how leftovers put up in the rafters of my woodshed dry so much more.  I certainly don't put much credence in the term "kiln dried".

Keep in mind also that much of the store bought firewood is not necessarily kiln dried but rather just heat treated to USDA standards to exempt it from quarantine.


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## azsteven (Dec 25, 2009)

TriTodd said:
			
		

> i didnt mean split a 2x4.  I meant cordwood of REAL splits.
> 
> BTW.  I love to shave old demensional lumber for kindling.  Its perfect stuff for starting fires or bringing a stove up to speed.




I've done a bunch of work with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Massachusetts. Over the past couple of years I've taken home about 1/2 cord of what I call "habiscraps" -- off-cuts of 2x4s (often 4" chunks from wall studs) or even better, the off-cuts from floor joists (2x10s).  These are kiln-dried pine, and they split really easy into 1x sticks (using my wedge and a 4-pound hammer, it's one-tap per split). The 1x sticks are just fantastic kindling. We just throw one or two sticks in on top of the coals, and then load it up with hardwoods on top.

The best part of the deal was for Habitat: they would need to pay for the dumpster to haul these scraps away, and then they would be land-filled. What a waste. By taking them home, I save Habitat the disposal cost and get my kindling for free. I'm sure any local Habitat affiliate would gladly separate their scraps for you to come pick up.

-Aaron


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## awoodman (Dec 26, 2009)

They sell those little bundles around here at Quick Trips (convenience store).
After I got my log splitter yrs ago this buddy and I decided to sell a little fire wood to local apartment complexes to compete. We put flyer's out with Price Splitters as our name.

We had access to acreage behind my house with lots of dying oak trees. We made about a thousand bucks carting 1/8 and 1/4 cords up flights of steps in the evening...........


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## Bigg_Redd (Dec 26, 2009)

heffergm said:
			
		

> *I should post this anonymously so as not to be
> laughed at,* but humour me.
> 
> Firewood bundles at Lowes. I haven't taken a close look,
> ...




You were right about that.  

BWAAAAA HA HA HAAAAAAA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAA


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