VERY...VERY DISAPOINTED IN "SEASONED" FIREWOOD DELIVERY!

[davenorthshorema]

I just need to vent...I plan to call the firewood supplier tomorrow considering today is super bowl sunday and I am trying to be polite however the wood that I got looks like it was cut during the ice storm we had less than two months ago and the lengths are between 9 and 12 inch splits. The wood is soaking wet even while leaving two days worth of this junk in the house to "dry" Also with the delivery it was one and one half cords delivered. I asked to stack in my garage at the standard 4 feet wide by twelve feet foot print this amount of wood should have. Boy did he stack this...three rows that tapers down at each end for the twelve feet. So you think the tweleve feet was bad...remember the 12 inch length max....each row has a 4 inch gap between for "venting purposes" but the three rows only equate to 36 inches wide...not 48 as it should have been. It gets better...the height of this stack at at best three feet high. I was told "my kids stacked it all and it measured just fine".
So essentially I didn't want to argue with the guy and part of me should have stopped the hole delivery once I saw the wood. But my trust in this guy is at the mercy of my wallet because I burned my last 400 dollars of my budget to heat my house so i can keep my wife, daughter and soon arriving son warm for the remaining winter. He traveled almost an hour to deliver and I should have known better...what to do what to do.

I still don't feel better and with the way the economy is bastards like this one will get his turn.

Here is his link on CL.

(broken link removed)

I also asked him the questions:
I plan to burn this as soon as you deliver...are they ready to burn?...Replied Yes!
Will the stack be 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall, by 12 feet long?...Replied Yes

BTW...I never new a full size truck with plywood sides up to the top of the cab could carry 1.5 true cords...I thought this was going to be two trips but NO.

UGGGGGHHHH.

Sorry for being a baby all but you guys are my life line on situations like this. Thanks for reading....truly thank you!

Best regards,
Dave

 

[begreen]

Bummer. I am always suspect of anyone saying the wood is seasoned, especially at this time of the year. That's why I will only buy in spring if I have to buy at all.

What's important to do is when the truck stops by to deliver that before unloading, you first take several random splits from the pile and split them in half. Then check the moisture. If damp, refuse the load. As far as delivering the correct quantity, in our state there are some stiff regulations for cord size and substantial penalties for undersizing loads. I'd check the local regs to see if you don't have something similar. Then I would politely call the guy and tell him of your dissatisfaction. If he is legit he will make up the shortage or take back the wood and reimburse you.

 

[davenorthshorema]

Bummer. I am always suspect of anyone saying the wood is seasoned, especially at this time of the year. That's why I will only buy in spring if I have to buy at all.

What's important to do is when the truck stops by to deliver that before unloading, you first take several random splits from the pile and split them in half. Then check the moisture. If damp, refuse the load. As far as delivering the correct quantity, in our state there are some stiff regulations for cord size and substantial penalties for undersizing loads. I'd check the local regs to see if you don't have something similar. Then I would politely call the guy and tell him of your dissatisfaction. If he is legit he will make up the shortage or take back the wood and reimburse you.

Thank you for the advice and thank you for calming me. Your words helped me breath a bit better. I really hope he will make this good. I'm not sure of the regs in Massachusetts...anyone in the area know? Please chime in. Thanks again

 

[lawandorder]

Feel your pain. Already been down that road earlier this winter. Im surviving on borderline wood, diggin through the woodpile to get the best now, hoping marginial wood will be usable in a month.. Not a good first season with a gassifier.. I called my supplier when I was stacking his delivery and found a bunch of 12 inch stuff in the middle of the well designed "pile" He wouldnt do anything about it at first until the threats of reporting and some other "implied leverage" he came over looked at the wood and agreed to refund the for three face cords. I agreed to split the difference seeing as he drove out at least to settle it. Lesson learned.... again..... "sometimes your the windshield, sometimes the bug" explains most of my last year...

 

[webby3650]

This year was the first time I have had to buy wood. I thought I would have enough, I was wrong. When shopping for wood I always asked when it was split. Everyone I talked to of course said it was seasoned and they split it this fall or, they split it as needed. I remembered seeing a very nice stack out of town so I asked and it was for sale. It was very well seasoned red Oak for the same price as the other unseasoned mixed wood. I found that (in the absence of a moisture meter)asking when it was split can tell you a lot.

 

[LeonMSPT]

I've had them hang up on me. I tell them when I call, "Don't bring me what I am asking for, and I will not let you dump it in the yard. If it's not seasoned. The largest amount of it isn't 16 to 18 inches long, and split reasonably. Don't bring it."

"Click".

When I've bought, I've heard in response, "That's what I do. What time do you want me to come with it."

A reputable and reliable dealer will come right back at you. "Dare you to refuse it. It's what I'm selling, and what I say I'm selling."

Most dealers up this way take their reputation seriously. Want to around here, once word gets out you can't give anything away.

 

[btj1031]

Dave, you're not the only one to waste his time with craigslist this weekend. I found a guy selling wood there and ordered two cord of four foot lengths to be delivered Saturday morning. He never showed up, then didn't respond to my phone call or email asking where he was. Granted, its not as bad as not getting what you paid for, but annoying nonetheless. Lots of morons and losers out there in this big world, and many of them peddle their goods and trades on craigslist. That said, I have found some nice wood and good deals there as well. Like the moderator said, if it doesn't look like what you were expecting (or even a little bit more), say no thanks, I'm not paying for this if you drop it.

 

[Girl]

You can contact weights and measures for the rules and regs. Mass does have them.

Asking when cut, split and how the wood is stored is a good idea for future reference.

 

[davenorthshorema]

Update...

He's coming over on Sunday to check out what was delivered after some argument...don't worry i was nice at first but he wasn't budging.

He stated that stacking it tight up to each (rows that is) other is not the way to do it but that goes against him if it still doesn't measure up. I thought that a cord was 4feet high, 4 feet wide by 8 feet long...stacked close together. Am I wrong to assume this?

He also stated that he gets this wood seasoned by the grapple and get 20 cords at a whack. He said after cutting and splitting that exactly what he gets...20 cords stacked. I thought you loose a percentage after just cutting them to length...based from what I thought I read on this site...am I wrong?

If I get a moment to snap a picture with a tape measure I will try.

Thanks all

 

[LLigetfa]

A cord measured in the round and then stacked as tight as possible, will not fit back into a 4x4x8 space. It actually occupies more space, not less because there are more air spaces.

 

[lexybird]

atleast get him to deliver a half laod more to make up the difference ,that price seems incredibly really high even if it was well seasoned and the full amount