Firewood F.A.Q’s

Q         I saw a load of wood advertised for $70, why is Bean’s Farm much higher?

A         Several good reasons, but basically Quality, Quantity & Service.

Quality:

Size

We cut our own wood or have it cut to very precise specifications.  A standard 16” length means every piece will stack nicely and fit into your stove.  Most pieces are 4”x4” square or equivalent wedge shape, with a few smaller.  This makes for easy starting and uniform burning.

Discount suppliers often include pieces that range from 6” – 25” long, or to wide to fit into the stove. 

Selection

We supply either all oak or mixed hardwoods.  Our oak is great for long burning fires and dependable heating.  Our mix includes only hardwoods at the top of the hardness chart.  Specifically, there will be no willow, poplar, cottonwood, or box elder in our mix.  These species are plentiful in this area and when green look like good wood, tempting disreputable or unwise wood processors to split for resale.  This practice fills up the wood lot quickly but with wood that burns like rolled up newspaper.  Our mix includes any or all Maple, Hickory, Cherry, Walnut, Oak, Ash, Elm & Birch.

Seasoned Wood

Drying wood takes time, up to a year depending on conditions.  Over the years, we decided that stacking our wood in drying racks was the way for us.  A steady SW breeze and a summer of sunshine gets our wood to target moisture content quickly and dependably.  Others use huge piles, most of the wood never seeing the sun or catching a breeze. 

Clean wood

This is another benefit of our stacking system.   Early on we learned that nobody wants a load of wood with a wheelbarrow full of bark and dirt.  Debris gets mixed in when a loader tractor scoops up wood from a dirt base.  Each piece of our wood gets loaded by hand.  When we drop a load on your driveway, it is as clean as we can make it.

Quantity

We sell in what is commonly called a “Face Cord”  this is best defined as a row of wood 8 feet long and 4 feet high, cut 16” deep.   There are many technicalities, legalities, and disclaimers that go along with this definition, but that’s basically the deal.

This definition can be “cheated” by cross stacking,  or by estimating piece count,  short pieces, or just plain shorting.  Other units like “rick”, “truck load”, “stack”  have less precise meaning and are actually illegal in some states.

We stack our wood in racks 8 feet long and 4.5 feet high.  The extra height allows us to criss-cross the ends for stability and compensate for moisture/volume loss due to proper seasoning.  When we get your order we hand-load the wood from that rack into our truck and bring it to you.  Many of our deliveries are just that one face cord right to your house.  If we are lucky and organized enough to have several orders going out on the same day, each order is hand stacked separately on the trucks the night before and tossed off  the back in your driveway.  This saves fuel and still ensures accurate delivery.  We never estimate volume by counting pieces or “eyeballing”.  

Service

We try very hard to be the best option you have.  Our computerized records remember your address and your delivery preferences.  We answer the phone or return messages promptly.  Our delivery turnaround time is pretty quick.  We rarely miss a delivery time and if we do, we’ll call first.  Making deliveries if product to homeowners is our business, we are not a tree company or landscaper.  To be truly honest, the profit in firewood is pretty lousy, the only way for us to make it work is to keep our customers happy so they keep coming back.  Give us a try and please let us know what you think!