A cord is 4x4x8, or 128 cubic feet, of tightly stacked wood. Firewood can be sold by fractions of a cord, but it’s illegal to sell it by any other unit of measurement.
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds said a cord usually runs from $100 to $200 locally, depending on the type of wood and whether it’s delivered.
Reynolds said the seller must provide the buyer with an invoice that includes the name and address of both parties, the delivery date, the cord or weight price and the amount delivered.
Reynolds advises people to buy from a reputable dealer and to contact his office if they’re concerned about a wood purchase.
There are also laws pertaining to the transport of firewood across counties quarantined because of the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle decimating local ash trees.
Ohio Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Kaleigh Frazier said Butler and surrounding counties are all quarantined. This means people can be fined up to $4,000 for taking firewood out of the area, or transporting it across state lines.
“The best thing I can suggest for people in that area is burn it where they buy it,” Frazier said. “That’s to avoid spreading the emerald ash borer further into Ohio.”
Jarrod Hendel, whose Fairfield company Hendel’s Affordable Tree Service does home delivery of firewood, advises people to ask about the exact measurements of the wood they’re buying. .
Hendel said firewood sales have been slow this year, largely because of mild weather so far, and many people have leftover wood from the September 2008 windstorm.
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