Buy firewood for a stove or fireplace from a local dealer, tree service, or farm that sells by the cord and delivers. Buy bundles at Home Depot, Lowe’s, grocery stores, gas stations, or the campground store when you need one evening’s fire, and order boxed hardwood online when you want a named type shipped to the door. Whichever route you pick, two things decide whether the money was well spent: moisture under 20% and a volume stated in cords or cubic feet.
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Firewood is cut, dried wood burned as fuel for home heating, a backyard fire pit, camping, or cooking, and it is a renewable fuel when it comes from a sustainable local source. Each of those jobs points to a different seller. A wood-burning stove that runs all winter needs dense hardwood by the cord. Fire pits want a few bundles. Smokers and pizza ovens want labeled wood to cook with, sold by the box or bag.
Cord, Face Cord, and Rick: How Firewood Is Measured
A cord is 128 cubic feet of wood “ranked and well stowed,” meaning pieces laid parallel, touching, and stacked compactly. The classic shape is a pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long. That definition comes from NIST Handbook 130, the model weights-and-measures law that states adopt, often with their own amendments.
| Term | Volume | Legal standing |
|---|---|---|
| Full cord | 128 cubic feet, stacked | Standard unit of sale |
| Half cord | 64 cubic feet | Allowed (a fraction of a cord) |
| Face cord, rick, rack | 4 x 8 feet times the piece length | No fixed volume; banned as a sales term where Handbook 130 rules apply |
| Truckload or pile | Unknown | Banned as a sales term in those states |
| Packaged bundle | Printed on the label | Packages under 16 cubic feet must state volume |
The face cord causes the most trouble. It is one row of a cord stack, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but its depth equals the length of the pieces. Cut to 16 inches, a face cord holds about 42.7 cubic feet, one third of a full cord. Cut to 12 inches, it holds 32 cubic feet, one quarter. Two sellers quoting “a face cord” can sell very different amounts of fuel, which is why the regulation requires cords and fractions instead. “Rick” is simply a regional name for the same row.
Connecticut’s firewood and stove wood regulations, taken from Handbook 130, show what the model rule requires in practice: sellers may not advertise by face cord, rack, pile, or truckload, and every bulk delivery comes with a ticket listing the seller, buyer, date, quantity, price, and the identity of the wood.
Seasoned, Kiln-Dried, or Certified Heat-Treated
These three labels mean different things, and only one of them is about pests. Seasoned stock has air-dried. Kiln dried firewood went through a heated chamber. Certified heat-treated wood reached a regulated core temperature for a set time under a government compliance agreement.
Seasoned. The EPA’s Burn Wise program, which ran from 2009 to 2025 and now stands as a historical record on the agency’s site, says wood burns best below 20% moisture and should season at least six months. Cutting rounds into pieces speeds the drying process because it exposes more surface area to air. Dense oak usually needs longer than pine or fir. Dry splits are darker, lighter, cracked across the end grain, and sound hollow when knocked together. A pin-type moisture meter settles any argument; push the pins into a freshly split face, not the weathered outside.
Kiln-dried. A kiln skips the months of waiting; Cutting Edge, for example, says its logs spend 48 hours in one. The term is not regulated as a pest treatment, though, and both the Don’t Move Firewood campaign and Maine’s forest service say a kiln-dried label alone does not make wood safe to move.
Certified heat-treated. The common standard is a core temperature of 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) held for 60 minutes, USDA treatment schedule T314-a, which states such as Minnesota use for certification. Some states set a stricter bar: Maine requires 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 75 minutes. Certified packages carry a USDA APHIS or state agriculture seal with a compliance agreement number.
Species matters as much as moisture for home heating. Oak, hickory, sugar maple, ash, beech, and locust burn longest and give the most heat output. Softwood like pine and fir lights fast enough to kindle a fire, but burns out quickly. Apple and cherry are standards for smoking meat. The bestseller Norwegian Wood by author Lars Mytting is subtitled Chopping, Stacking and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way for good reason: a properly dried cord of average hardwood beats a wet cord of premium oak.
Local Sellers: Cords, Bundles, and Pickup
Local buying is the only realistic way to get a full cord of hardwood firewood into a driveway, and the cheapest per cubic foot. Bundles cost the most per cubic foot but need no truck.
Tree Services, Farms, and Dealers
Tree removal outfits, farms, and dedicated dealers sell seasoned hardwood by the cord with delivery, advertised on community boards, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist. Many farms that sell real Christmas trees move split cords the rest of the year. Call before the first cold snap, because seasoned supply sells through quickly once demand peaks. Cutting your own? Keep ethanol-free gas on hand for the saw, check your splitting tools and moisture meter early, and wear proper gloves and boots from the work clothes aisle.
Home Depot
Home Depot carries bagged bundles (TimberTote’s mixed-hardwood bundle is one), cooking wood for the grill, and manufactured logs, with store pickup or delivery depending on the item.
Lowe’s and Walmart
Lowe’s stocks bundled splits and compressed logs, so confirm stock on their site before driving over. Walmart covers the budget end, on the shelf and through the Walmart selection online, where some listings are pickup only.
Ace Hardware, Grocery Stores, and Gas Stations
Ace Hardware, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, and many gas station chains sell single-night bundles near the entrance through fall and winter. Read the label for cubic feet, check any bundle stored outside for dampness, and never bring a wet bundle indoors to dry next to the stove. Grab a fire starter, a butane lighter refill, or lighter fluid while you are there.
Campgrounds and Park Stores
Many campgrounds sell local or certified bundles at the camp store, and some parks allow only what was bought there or carries a heat-treatment seal. Check the park’s page before you pack anything.
Ordering Firewood Online
Online ordering suits a named type, cooking chunks, or a gift box. Freight on something this heavy means it rarely beats a local cord for heating.
| Seller | What ships | Best for | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Bundles, totes, chunks, firelogs | Speed | Mixes manufactured logs with real splits |
| Cutting Edge | Hardwood firewood, cooking and pizza wood | Smokers, pizza ovens | Ships nationwide; 24- and 30-inch firewood, 16-inch cooking logs |
| Woodchuck Firewood | BBQ, aromatic, fireplace, and campfire wood | Cooking | Sorted by use |
| OneLogFire | Single-log campfire kits, bagged wood | Fire pits, camping | Swedish-torch style log |
Amazon
Shop the Amazon selection for bundles, totes, cooking chunks, and fire starters. Compare by cubic feet per pack, not headline price, because listings mix compressed sawdust logs in with real wood.
Specialty and Bulk Shippers
Cutting Edge ships hickory, oak, and cherry nationwide, plus cooking chunks in apple, maple, mesquite, and pecan for smoker and pizza-oven owners who want consistency. Order a box direct. Woodchuck Firewood sorts its range by use, OneLogFire makes its single-log campfire kits in Minnesota, and a bulk-order specialist covers larger quantities. Searching by ZIP code also turns up regional suppliers with shorter freight.
Don’t Move Firewood: Pest Rules for Campers and Travelers
Moving untreated wood is one of the main ways tree-killing insects such as the emerald ash borer and spotted lanternfly reach new areas. The Don’t Move Firewood campaign, managed by The Nature Conservancy’s forest health staff, gives a rough rule: 10 miles or less is best and 50 miles is too far.
The rules themselves are now mostly state rules. USDA APHIS ended the federal emerald ash borer domestic quarantine in January 2021, and states kept or wrote their own. Some, like Maine, ban untreated out-of-state wood outright; others, like Utah, accept it only if heat-treated and labeled. Check the state department of agriculture or natural resources for every state on the route. Certified heat-treated packs are the one kind that travels without that homework.
Picks Worth Ordering
Picked on labeling, drying method, and fit for the job. Prices move with season and freight, so check the current listing before you purchase.
Best all-around: Cutting Edge Ultra Kiln-Dried Hardwood Box. Oak and hickory cut to consistent lengths and shipped nationwide, the best firewood here for a fireplace you use often. Order direct from the company.
Best budget: Duraflame Firelogs 6-Pack. Compressed sawdust and wax logs that light easily and burn for the time printed on the package. Check the Amazon listing.
Best for camping: Pine Mountain Traditional Firelogs. Manufactured logs rather than cut wood, in sealed packaging that stows easily in an RV. Park policies differ, so confirm your campground allows them. Browse Pine Mountain options.
Best real-wood bundle: TimberTote Kiln-Dried Hardwood Mix. Mixed hardwood in a carry bundle, sold in a 0.75-cubic-foot size; the same Wisconsin maker sells a hollow one-log campfire. See Timber Tote on Amazon.
Best for smokers: Western Premium BBQ Cooking Chunks. Apple, cherry, hickory, pecan, and post oak chunks sized for offset smokers and kamado grills, where they sit on top of charcoal. Each box names its type and volume in cubic inches. View cooking chunks on Amazon.
Checking a Delivery Before You Pay
Most short cords are caught at the curb or not at all. Run these four checks before money changes hands.
- Ask what species dominates the load by name. “Mixed woods” with nothing named often means softwood filler.
- Get the cord fraction or cubic feet on the delivery ticket, along with the price and the wood’s identity.
- Stack the load, then do the measurement: height times length times piece length. A thrown heap in a truck bed takes far more room than the same load stacked.
- Open a few splits and test the fresh faces with a moisture meter. Readings under 20% mean it is ready to burn.
Red flags:
- Green stock sold as seasoned. Pale ends, heavy weight, and hissing in the fire mean water is boiling off instead of heating the room, and creosote builds in the chimney.
- A quote far below the local market. The load is often short, partly rotted, or mostly softwood.
- Treated or painted scrap. The EPA lists coated, painted, and pressure-treated wood among materials that release toxic chemicals when burned.
- No plan for storage. Keep the stack outdoors, off the ground on a rack or pallet, away from the house, with only the top covered so the sides can breathe.
Start with the job, not the price tag. For a winter of heat, call two or three local dealers, ask for the price per full cord with the species named, and book firewood delivery in spring or summer so it can finish drying in your own stack. For a fire pit, a labeled bundle from the nearest store is fine; for camping, buy at the campground or bring certified heat-treated packs.
Firewood Questions, Answered
How big is a half cord?
A half cord is 64 cubic feet stacked, for example a pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 4 feet long. It is not the same as a face cord, which has no fixed volume until you know the piece length.
How should a load be priced?
By the cord or a fraction of a cord, with the quantity, price, and species on a delivery ticket. Where states follow NIST Handbook 130, “truckload,” “pile,” and “face cord” are not legal units of sale. Compare quotes per full cord, including delivery and stacking.
Is kiln-dried wood safe to take camping?
Not automatically. Kiln-dried describes moisture, not pest treatment. Only packages carrying a USDA APHIS or state heat-treatment seal are generally considered safe to move, and state and park rules still apply.
Is it legal to haul wood across state lines?
It depends on the states involved. The federal emerald ash borer quarantine ended in January 2021, but many states enforce their own rules, and some ban untreated out-of-state wood. Certified heat-treated packs are the usual exception; otherwise buy within about 10 miles of where you will burn it.