# Michigan wood prices 2019/2020



## Drew3308 (Nov 12, 2019)

Hello,

My Regency i2400 should be installed within the next couple of weeks. I just moved to a new house so I have yet to build up my wood supply and looking to purchase some. Prices seem to be all over the place and of course people trying to sell seasoned wood that was just split in the summer. I have a local guy at work selling a half cord of cherry that was cut and split in February of last year. He is asking $250 for it delivered. Would that wood be seasoned enough? Is that a fair price? I would rather go pick it up and save $80-$100 if I can.


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## kborndale (Nov 12, 2019)

Was  the wood cut split and stacked in Feb, or was it cut split and left in a large pile?  Most likely left in a large pile, and if that is the case then I doubt it is ready to burn now.  If it was stacked then it wont be perfect but should be burnable.  You may need to get some construction scraps of broken up pallets to help it out when starting a fire.


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## KindredSpiritzz (Nov 12, 2019)

Just crazy to me a cord of wood costs $250.   Be cheaper to heat with gas than pay that much for 1 months worth of wood. Course im a cheapskate to begin with.


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## trguitar (Nov 12, 2019)

$250 for a 1/2 cord seems very expensive. Here I pay $200 for 1 cord of oak.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 12, 2019)

I thought it was pretty expensive. It sounds like it was stacked as well when they cut and split it. I could probably get a cord for around $200 but it wouldn't be seasoned. I paid for a truck load a couple years ago for some that was supposedly seasoned and it pretty much gushed water once I put it in my insert.


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## BigJ273 (Nov 12, 2019)

Wood is ALWAYS wet when you buy it.  But “wet wood” doesn’t sell. So they always call it “seasoned”. It’s not.


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## RSNovi (Nov 12, 2019)

I typically pay $70 per face cord of hardwood delivered to my house.  It is never seasoned long enough for my stove so I try to buy two years in advance.

I recently moved into a new house so my system broke down, but I am building it back up.


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## Kevin Weis (Nov 12, 2019)

Wow, that's expensive.  Anywhere around here you can get a full cord of oak for that as well.


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## kennyp2339 (Nov 12, 2019)

Take that money and save buying compressed wood bricks on Black Friday, supplement your regular heat by only burning when your at home, hopefully the stove is in the most populated room in the house, so keep the t-stat low on regular heat and burn the bricks.


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## BigJ273 (Nov 12, 2019)

$190 a cord delivered here, all oak.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 12, 2019)

I think I have already came to the conclusion I will not save any $$ this year using the insert as a main heat source. This is my first time living in a two story home as well and I have a 10 month old son that my wife thinks he is cold when his room is 70 degrees. I would just like to get some good dry wood to break the insert in and get a good feel for everything. Looks like I might have to bite the bullet and just pay a little more for some actual seasoned wood this year.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 12, 2019)

I like Cherry, but not quite _that_ much. 


BigJ273 said:


> “wet wood” doesn’t sell. So they always call it “seasoned”. It’s not.


It is technically 'seasoned,' if they sprinkle a little salt on it.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 12, 2019)

Yeah, I am not going to pay $250, might low ball offer him $100 and say I will come get it and see what he says.


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## Woody Stover (Nov 12, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> Yeah, I am not going to pay $250, might low ball offer him $100 and say I will come get it and see what he says.


I might give him a little more than that since it's ready to burn. But are you sure of that..got a meter? I might be able to tell from the heft of it, but not too accurately. Cherry isn't the longest-burning wood either, ya gotta weigh that against the cost of some BioBricks.


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## Grizzerbear (Nov 12, 2019)

$250......man its crazy the different prices of wood around country. A cord is anywhere from $130-$160 on average around here and thats oak/hickory. Thats anywhere from green to maybe "seasoned" 6 months. True seasoned wood to be bought here is non-existent.


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## billb3 (Nov 12, 2019)

cherry is selling for a premium here as it seems to be a bit of a fad to burn it in outdoor firepits and chimineas as a "step up" from white pine. $300/cord in a huge pile. 

iirc, the equivalency for nat gas here is $14/therm vs $250/cord for hardwood. I think we are at $17/therm here in Ma. ( I use oil )

Although  with a little one I would want a back-up source of heat just in case.

Buy a cord of something and even if it is only half seasoned cross stack it all, whatever it takes to try to accelerate the seasoning and/or get some bio-bricks or compressed product. 
Even seasoned pine is better than nothing although shoveling it in like coal is no fun.


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## peakbagger (Nov 13, 2019)

Its around $225 to $250 a cord for green wood cut split and delivered in my area. The unemployment rate is so low in NH that most of the folks who cut wood are doing other work (like construction or tourist jobs). There are some folks who sell on craiglist for cash but caveat emptor. I just paid $80 for 1/4 cord of kiln dried hardwood. Its one step away from not needing kindling to light.  No gas in the street or the area and propane pricing tends to get pricey when its cold.


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## KindredSpiritzz (Nov 13, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> a local guy at work selling a half cord of cherry that was cut and split in February of last year. He is asking $250 for it delivered.


Yikes, I didn't notice it was a half cord, that's outrageous. I wouldn't even entertain the idea of buying at that price. Better off just heating with gas or oil then, it'd be cheaper by far.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 13, 2019)

KindredSpiritzz said:


> Yikes, I didn't notice it was a half cord, that's outrageous. I wouldn't even entertain the idea of buying at that price. Better off just heating with gas or oil then, it'd be cheaper by far.


I know, I found a truck load for $135 about 40 miles from me. I might just see if that guy will do that.


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## kborndale (Nov 13, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> I know, I found a truck load for $135 about 40 miles from me. I might just see if that guy will do that.



How much wood is in this truck load for $135?


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## Drew3308 (Nov 13, 2019)

kborndale said:


> How much wood is in this truck load for $135?


However much I can fit in my Ram short bed which I think should be around 55-60 cubic feet.


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## EbS-P (Nov 13, 2019)

I’d burn pine and bio bricks at that price.  I liked the bio bricks.  Figure in they are 0% water and I think it’s money ahead vs pricey cord wood. and there almost no ash. I tried to burn marginal wood to start last winter it took all the fun out of a new stove.  My wife kept asking if I was sure I was doing it right. It’s just fire .  Three bio bricks at 11 pm and I’d have enough to restart in the  morning


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## Drew3308 (Nov 14, 2019)

EbS-P said:


> I’d burn pine and bio bricks at that price.  I liked the bio bricks.  Figure in they are 0% water and I think it’s money ahead vs pricey cord wood. and there almost no ash. I tried to burn marginal wood to start last winter it took all the fun out of a new stove.  My wife kept asking if I was sure I was doing it right. It’s just fire .  Three bio bricks at 11 pm and I’d have enough to restart in the  morning


Yeah I had crap wood one winter and it was super frustrating. I will look into the bio bricks, I also am getting some wood from a friend and will see how dry that is. Maybe I will luck out and that is good.


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## choosetoshrug (Nov 14, 2019)

Where in Michigan are you?  I'm in Macomb and a face cord is about $80 from the local tree companies.  My neighbors kid splits and sells firewood for extra cash so I threw him $100 and he delivered and stacked it for me.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 14, 2019)

choosetoshrug said:


> Where in Michigan are you?  I'm in Macomb and a face cord is about $80 from the local tree companies.  My neighbors kid splits and sells firewood for extra cash so I threw him $100 and he delivered and stacked it for me.


I am in St.Joe, stones throw from Lake Michigan.


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## johneh (Nov 14, 2019)

2 year seasoned Sugar Maple  and Red Oak is 350 a cord delivered here
And this guy starts the year at over 150 cord. Buy the end of February it is all gone


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## BigJ273 (Nov 14, 2019)

Dang. That’s high. Almost twice as what I pay for red and white oak, when I pay for it


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## Drew3308 (Nov 15, 2019)

BigJ273 said:


> Dang. That’s high. Almost twice as what I pay for red and white oak, when I pay for it


The guy said he would do a truck bed of the cherry for $85. Still not sure if I will do it, he also said he wold come down some on all of it. I want to say I would take it all for $100-$130. 

Side note, how do you like your i2400? That is what I will be getting in the next couple weeks. I had a Century CW2900 before and wanted to step up a little.


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## BigJ273 (Nov 15, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> The guy said he would do a truck bed of the cherry for $85. Still not sure if I will do it, he also said he wold come down some on all of it. I want to say I would take it all for $100-$130.
> 
> Side note, how do you like your i2400? That is what I will be getting in the next couple weeks. I had a Century CW2900 before and wanted to step up a little.


So far I love it. 1800 sq feet house. Heat hasn’t been on yet. 77 when I went to bed last night. Just had an Arctic blast this week also.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 15, 2019)

BigJ273 said:


> So far I love it. 1800 sq feet house. Heat hasn’t been on yet. 77 when I went to bed last night. Just had an Arctic blast this week also.


Sounds good. I don't plan on using it as my main heat source, I would but we have a two story and the bedrooms stay pretty cool. We have a 10 month old boy that she thinks is freezing when the his room is at 70 degrees. 

I was lucky to find an i2400 left, everyone was sold out because they are switching to the new i2450. The salesman talked me into finding the non EPA 2020 certified due to bad performance.


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## BigJ273 (Nov 15, 2019)

Same here. I wanted to get mine before the switch as well. And I darn sure didn’t want the 2500 with the Cat


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## webfish (Nov 15, 2019)

I bought some bios last year for January cold spell. Just to try them out. I liked them. 20 lbs for $2.65. Throw them in with other wood and it really helps.  No worry about dryness and can get you out of a pinch. 
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...el-blocks-6-count/6408290/p-1444444870049.htm


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## Drew3308 (Nov 18, 2019)

webfish said:


> I bought some bios last year for January cold spell. Just to try them out. I liked them. 20 lbs for $2.65. Throw them in with other wood and it really helps.  No worry about dryness and can get you out of a pinch.
> https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...el-blocks-6-count/6408290/p-1444444870049.htm


I will have to look into those. It is 11% off right now so I might as well pick some up.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 19, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> I will have to look into those. It is 11% off right now so I might as well pick some up.




What is the main heat source for the house?  Forced air? And what fuel does it use, NG, LPG or fuel oil?


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## Drew3308 (Nov 20, 2019)

Sodbuster said:


> What is the main heat source for the house?  Forced air? And what fuel does it use, NG, LPG or fuel oil?


Forced air and it is NG. To be honest I am not buying the insert with hopes of heating the house 100%. My parents always had a fireplace growing up and I really enjoy burning wood and if I can get some heat from it why not. My first house was a 1,200 sq ft ranch and I put in a Century CW2900, it would get the room it was in super hot but the bed rooms were always cold and I struggled to get heat back to them. Now the current house is a two story and again I know it will be tough to get the bedrooms up to the temp my wife likes for the baby.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 20, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> Forced air and it is NG. To be honest I am not buying the insert with hopes of heating the house 100%. My parents always had a fireplace growing up and I really enjoy burning wood and if I can get some heat from it why not. My first house was a 1,200 sq ft ranch and I put in a Century CW2900, it would get the room it was in super hot but the bed rooms were always cold and I struggled to get heat back to them. Now the current house is a two story and again I know it will be tough to get the bedrooms up to the temp my wife likes for the baby.



We had natural gas installed a couple years ago, and it's nice because I don't need to make a dash for the thermostat if i hear the furnace come on.  My last gas bill, from Oct 18 though the middle of November was $52, and that's heat, hot water and cooktop. I got way behind on my wood cutting. My wife was quite Ill for a spell, and then I fell and severely sprained my left wrist, which took 4 months to heal. I would not buy wood for this year, you're going to end up with wet overpriced crap, and will lose money on the deal. Instead, start looking for dead Ash, and dead or alive Cherry both of which will be perfect for next year if you get it cut, split , and stacked (CSS) now.  What part of Michigan are you from? I'm in the SW near Howell.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 20, 2019)

Sodbuster said:


> We had natural gas installed a couple years ago, and it's nice because I don't need to make a dash for the thermostat if i hear the furnace come on.  My last gas bill, from Oct 18 though the middle of November was $52, and that's heat, hot water and cooktop. I got way behind on my wood cutting. My wife was quite Ill for a spell, and then I fell and severely sprained my left wrist, which took 4 months to heal. I would not buy wood for this year, you're going to end up with wet overpriced crap, and will lose money on the deal. Instead, start looking for dead Ash, and dead or alive Cherry both of which will be perfect for next year if you get it cut, split , and stacked (CSS) now.  What part of Michigan are you from? I'm in the SW near Howell.


I am in St.Joseph right by the lakeshore. My last months bill was $65 and that was with the wife wanting to keep the thermostat at 72.


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## weatherguy (Nov 20, 2019)

If for some reason I didnt have any seasoned wood, I have oil heat, I'd buy 4 pallets of bio bricks XL. Still cheaper than oil and my house would be much warmer, even better if you can find NEIL's.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 21, 2019)

The guy at work says he will do a truck load for $85 of the cherry, that was supposed cut and split a year ago in January. I will likely just do that and give it a whirl. I also bought so bio bricks, so that should get me decently far. Again, I am not using this as my main heat source. Mainly for some nice views and heat is also a plus.


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## Sodbuster (Nov 21, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> The guy at work says he will do a truck load for $85 of the cherry, that was supposed cut and split a year ago in January. I will likely just do that and give it a whirl. I also bought so bio bricks, so that should get me decently far. Again, I am not using this as my main heat source. Mainly for some nice views and heat is also a plus.



For $85 you can't go too wrong. If he's telling the truth, and working with you, I hope he would be, it should burn fine. If not, it will be perfect by next year.


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## Drew3308 (Nov 25, 2019)

The guy said he would take $150 for the half cord of cherry. I think I might just do that, it should be good to go if he cut and split it last Feb.


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## Medic21 (Nov 30, 2019)

This is a 12 dump bed with three foot sides.  Pretty much right at 2 cords.


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## Woody5506 (Dec 2, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> The guy said he would take $150 for the half cord of cherry. I think I might just do that, it should be good to go if he cut and split it last Feb.



What kind of cherry? Just asking because if it's the kind we have a ton of around here in NY that has birch-like bark, chances are it won't be all that ready to burn now. Moisture will just seep from under the bark. I wanna say it's called choke cherry. If it's just black cherry though I would think it'd be easier going.


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## Drew3308 (Dec 3, 2019)

Woody5506 said:


> What kind of cherry? Just asking because if it's the kind we have a ton of around here in NY that has birch-like bark, chances are it won't be all that ready to burn now. Moisture will just seep from under the bark. I wanna say it's called choke cherry. If it's just black cherry though I would think it'd be easier going.


I picked it up last week, split a couple pieces and did a moisture test. Got a reading of 16-18% every time so it is pretty dry. Already did a couple burns with it and it burns really well. Some of it is wet due to sitting out in rain/snow but it will start to get even more dry now that I have it in the garage.


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## rosem (Dec 18, 2019)

Tustin/Cadillac area is around $150–$180 a cord ($50–$60 a face cord) for seasoned oak or maple.

We had a terrible wind storm here two years ago. Lots of maple, beech and oak trees down by us.


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## RandyBoBandy (Dec 18, 2019)

Ann Arbor is between $100.00-$150.00 a face cord.


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## Woody Stover (Dec 19, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> However much I can fit in my Ram short bed which I think should be around 55-60 cubic feet.


Yeah, I think a full bed, thrown in and heaped up a bit, is about a half cord..


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## BigJ273 (Dec 20, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> I picked it up last week, split a couple pieces and did a moisture test. Got a reading of 16-18% every time so it is pretty dry. Already did a couple burns with it and it burns really well. Some of it is wet due to sitting out in rain/snow but it will start to get even more dry now that I have it in the garage.


Win-win for everyone then. I love burning cherry. Wish I had some.


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## weatherguy (Dec 20, 2019)

Theres pin cherry with the birch like bark that's soso, then theres black cherry with the scaly bark thats much better firewood.


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## Drew3308 (Dec 20, 2019)

weatherguy said:


> Theres pin cherry with the birch like bark that's soso, then theres black cherry with the scaly bark thats much better firewood.


It is black cherry. He has plenty more but that has been sitting outside for a couple years and is starting to show signs of rot. I need to get my own supply built up starting this spring.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 20, 2019)

Drew3308 said:


> It is black cherry. He has plenty more but that has been sitting outside for a couple years and is starting to show signs of rot. I need to get my own supply built up starting this spring.



black cherry burns nice when dry.. has good coles and seasons quickly.. you did good..


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