Wood source in Collin County

[woodchuck]

Anyone have any experience with Mr. Firewood or Randy’s Firewood in Collin County? Looking at a ¼ chord of pecan…big difference in price between the two.

[tex_toby]

Don't know either one, but are both seasoned? What kind of prices are they quoting?

[woodchuck]

Yes, both advertise as seasoned. $195 vs. $150

[tex_toby]

They both seem really high to me, but I don't buy my wood in Collin County either although that is where I currently live. Just for reference, I buy my wood in Grayson County by the rick and 1 full rick of Pecan is typically around $90. Let me start this off by saying that I'm not wood expert by any stretch, but here is what I would look for....is it seasoned and is it split? I like a little bit of a mix between limb wood (20%) and split logs (80%). You definitely want it seasoned as well as you don't want to cook with green wood. #1, it produces creosote when it burns and #2, it just smolders when trying to burn green wood. Pecan is my cooking wood of preference for everything, although I usually do try and mix in some oak as well if I have it.

Everybody seems to have their own idea on what wood measurements should be and can become quite debatable. I've always been taught that a true cord is 24" sticks stacked 4' tall and 8' long, two rows deep and that a rick is half of that - essentially only one row deep. That would mean your 1/4 cord would be the same as 1/2 rick. NOW, that said - MOST wood cutters/sellers do not cut 24" sticks anymore mainly because they would just be too big for the majority of fireplaces in houses these days. You will typically find most wood cut 16" - 18" in length. Sellers will still stack it 4' high and 8' long and sell it as a rick (or two rows deep as a cord), but you are really getting cut short (pun intended ) because the sticks aren't the full 24" long. Really - it is what it is and you get what you get. I have a Ford F-150 Supercrew (short bed) and when I buy a rick, I can fit it all in the bed of the truck, but barely. I try and stack it up to bed level and then everything else just gets tossed on top. It heaps up about as high as I can go without worrying the sticks are going to start falling out going down the road.

Cord is 4 feet deep x 4 feet tall x 8 feet long
Half cord (or a rick) is 2 feet deep x 4 feet tall x 8 feet long
1/4 cord (or 1/2 rick) is 2 feet deep x 4 feet tall x 4 feet long

If I were you and these were the two wood seller choices you are narrowed down to, I would certainly go with the cheaper one given that it is seasoned and split. If you haven't seen the wood first hand, ask them to take a picture of the stacks with their phone and text it to you. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[Boots]

Used to use Mr. Firewood but now I have trouble getting a return call to my VM; I know he has some bigger clients, so I get it. The wood quality for the pecan and hickory I used to get from him was good though, clean splits and not many culls, and I think he cut a lot of it himself. He priced fairly and delivered and stacked and did a nice job.

Have not tried Randy's, he is advertising hickory at $195 for a quarter cord, and I called another guy in McKinney about 2 weeks ago that quoted $275!!

Toby, if you have a source for good hickory in the Grayson, I would be game to go get a 1/4 to a 1/2 cord if good stuff, and a 1/4 of pecan to supplement the passable stuff I recently got. Just let me know if you have a source you can share.

[woodchuck]

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it!

[x1jett]

Mr. Firewood is a flake, he does not return calls. Randy's is solid.