Where To Buy Firewood? (Bundle and Cord Buying Guide)

Ossiana Tepfenhart
by Ossiana Tepfenhart

Humanity was born with an innate love of the smell of a hot, crackling fire. It’s in our blood, and that’s why fires are still popular today. If you’re wondering why people still regularly look for reasons to light up a fire today. If you’ve got a fire pit, installed a brand new wooden fireplace in your home, or going camping, you will need to get some firewood to make it happen. But the question remains…where?

Firewood can be bought from a wide range of different venues, including:

  • Grocery Stores
  • Home Improvement Stores
  • Local Farms
  • Nurseries
  • Online

Finding firewood isn’t always easy, especially if you live in a major city. However, it’s always doable. You just need to know where to look. The question remains, where can you go?

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The Most Likely Areas To Get Firewood

The problem with sourcing firewood is that it’s often a seasonal good—at least in the eyes of most major stores. So, you might need to have a long list of places where you’ve seen it, and you may need to work on calling stores up before you go. Regardless, check out our list of the “usual suspects” from the job.

Grocery Stores

Most major grocery stores will carry some stock of firewood, at least during “fire-friendly” seasons like winter. In this case, you will most likely find firewood in the seasonal section of your grocery store. Whole Foods, Shoprite, and Acme are the most likely culprits that you can rely on when it comes to firewood.

Of course, there’s another more obvious option that tends to have firewood year-round in this category: Wal-Mart. Because Wal-Mart is more than a grocery store, you can usually find firewood in their home improvement section or their gardening section. That’s the benefit of being a store for everything, we suppose!

Home Improvement Stores

We already know that Home Depot sells and cuts wood for a nominal fee. We also know that Home Depot tends to sell other services like rekeying locks. It’s a store that most home improvement fans tend to adore. (Actually, we at Upgraded Home will fall in love with virtually any home improvement store you drive us to!)

Unsurprisingly, part of the home improvement sphere includes fireplaces. With fireplace supplies and equipment comes a notable demand for firewood. This is why most home improvement stores stock up on firewood and fire-making supplies year-round. It’s just business as usual.

Local Farms

If you are like half of the country’s population, you live in an area where farming is a popular way of life. Most farms, whether they raise chickens or grow tomatoes, are always looking for a way to make extra cash. It’s not shocking, then, that many farmers who have plots of land heavy with trees sell firewood from time to time.

Most farms don’t do this as a regular, everyday occurrence. They only do it during specific seasons—most often fall, winter, and late summer. This is because farmers tend to do this when they are clearing out the land. If they are currently focused on other farming tasks, then this won’t make much sense.

Finding a farm that sells firewood isn’t always easy. While some farms now advertise this service online, the truth is that you may need to be proactive in your hunting here. If you’re looking for a farm, the best way to find a place that sells firewood is to drive around your farming area to see who’s advertising it.

Nurseries

Gardening is one of the most plant-friendly hobbies out there, and unsurprisingly, it’s also linked to the hobby of hosting fire pits. Nurseries tend to have just about everything that is related to fire pits, including the glass that needs to surround it. Building a smokeless fire pit often means that you may need to have a trip to your local nursery.

How likely it is that you will be able to find firewood at your nursery will vary depending on both the season and the location that you live in. Areas that are rich in lumber, like Washington State, are more likely to have firewood year-round. A good way to find out what your local nurseries offer is to call them ahead of time.

Online Stores

By and large, the most convenient way to obtain firewood for your home is to go online and buy it. Since online stores service homes across the country (and world), you can always rely on them to be able to bring firewood to you regardless of where you live. In many cases, you might also be able to get specialty firewoods that smell extra nice or are easier to light.

There is an issue that many may find annoying with online shopping, though. As most people already know, it can take a while for your order to come to your door. Choosing a site like Amazon, though, might reduce that waiting time.

How Much Does Firewood Cost?

Firewood’s prices can vary from place to place, especially when it comes to matters involving circumstances. Once in a blue moon, it is possible to find ads for free firewood on Craigslist, or even piles of free firewood with a sign nearby. However, this is not the norm and should not be treated as such.

Most firewood will cost between $120 to $140 for a full cord of wood that has been dried, split, and seasoned. However, during times of high demand, certain areas may charge as much as $200 to $400 per full treated cord. If you are unsure whether or not you will find yourself being upcharged, check local prices.

What Is A Cord Of Firewood?

If you are new to buying firewood, then you might be thrown for a loop when you hear the term “cord.” In this sense, “cord” refers to the measurement unit that you can buy firewood. A cord of firewood is the amount of firewood it takes to occupy 128 cubic feet.

A cord sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. Or rather, it may be deceptively small when you actually see what it is. This is approximately five feet high, by five feet wide, by five feet long.

Why Is It Called A “Cord” Of Firewood?

This is a great question, and it actually has to deal with the manner in which firewood is classically sold. In the old days, firewood would be wrapped up with string or twine. The “cord” in this case refers to the typical cord measurement that would be used back in the day.

While it has been codified into a legitimate measurement today, this wasn’t always the case. In the distant past, a cord would simply refer to a large bundle of firewood that was tied up with a long rope.

Are There Any Types Of Specialty Firewood Out There?

Believe it or not, regular firewood isn’t the only type of firewood you can buy. If you want to jazz up your fire pit a little bit, you can choose to buy scented firewood or firewood that has been treated so that you can see bright colors like blue or green. However, it’s important to note that most of these firewood types cost way more than standard firewood would.

Specialty firewood can range between $15 to $40 per package. Unlike standard firewood that’s been chopped up and sold in cords, specialty firewoods are generally packaged up in smaller pieces. How big the packages are can vary from company to company. Sometimes, it’s only one log. Other times, you might get three to five in a pack.

The most common upgrade that you can get on standard firewood is to get a special “easy light” firewood log. These are usually sold as individual logs and are made to be a quick and easy supplement for your typical fire. Most easy-light logs cost between $15 to $25 per piece.

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Related Questions

What is the best type of firewood for a fire?

Generally speaking, you want to go for a dry, dense wood whenever you want to keep a fire lit for a long period of time. Some of the most popular woods to use as firewood include oak, maple, pine, ash, and sycamore. If you like a more fragrant fire, burning applewood or hickory is a good way to go. Generally speaking, if the wood in question is being sold as firewood, it’s fairly good to use.


What wood should you never burn?

Believe it or not, there are some types of wood that can actually make you sick if you try to light them. Any wood that comes from a tree with the name “poison” in the name should never be lit on fire. Moreover, it’s important to know that oleander wood is also extremely toxic if it’s burned. In fact, smoke from a burning oleander tree can even be lethal. Mexican Elder, too, is a known source of cyanide.Aside from that, there is also the matter of avoiding burning wood from endangered tree species. If you are offered firewood from trees like American Chestnut, Kentucky Coffee, or Blue Ash, turn down the offer. The person who made that firewood just chopped down an endangered tree!


Is selling firewood a lucrative business?

It depends where you are and what the demand for the firewood is like around you. It’s possible to line your pockets with a nice sum of money by selling firewood that you cut and season yourself. However, it’s important to note that this is rarely ever a full-time gig. It’s best seen as a quick side business or as a way to add some seasonal income to your bank account.

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Ossiana Tepfenhart
Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is an expert writer, focusing on interior design and general home tips. Writing is her life, and it's what she does best. Her interests include art and real estate investments.

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