What a cubic metre of firewood is
Firewood is sold by volume, and the volume to care about is the loose cubic metre: wood as it lands, air gaps and all. Everything we sell is priced that way, and every size is published.
A loose cubic metre of dry hardwood logs weighs roughly 300kg. Stacked neatly, the same logs take up about two thirds of the space, so a “stacked” cubic metre holds more wood than a loose one. When you compare prices, check which the seller means.
The short version. A net bag is 0.03m³, a barrow bag 0.275m³, a ton bag 1.1m³, a half transit 2.2m³ and a full transit 4.4m³.
The five sizes
| Size | Volume | Roughly | Seasoned mixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net bag | 0.03m³ | a carry-home bag, one evening | £12 |
| Barrow bag | 0.275m³ | a large wheelbarrow load, about nine nets | £70 |
| Ton bag | 1.1m³ | four and a half wheelie bins | £120 |
| Half transit | 2.2m³ | two ton bags’ worth | £230 |
| Full transit | 4.4m³ | four ton bags’ worth, a heap the size of a small car | £420 |
Tap a size below and see it drawn to scale beside a person, a wheelie bin and a car.
Ton bag1.1m³ of loose logs
Our most popular size. Tipped out it comes up knee-to-waist high.
About 4½ wheelie bins
£120£109 per m³
Order thisHow long each size lasts
These are for a 5kW stove lit four or five evenings a week. An open fire sends most of its heat up the chimney and gets through roughly twice the wood for the same warmth in the room.
- Net bag: about one evening.
- Barrow bag: a few weeks of weekend fires.
- Ton bag: roughly eight to ten weeks. On an open fire, closer to four or five.
- Half transit: two ton bags’ worth, so about twice as long.
- Full transit: about a winter. A stove lit most evenings gets through 3 to 4 cubic metres in a season.
For your own fire, not an average, use the calculator on how much firewood do I need.
What each size costs per cubic metre
You are not buying better wood in the small bags. You are buying handling and packaging. The bar beside each size below is its price per cubic metre: shorter is better value.
Kiln Dried Firewood 5 to 11% moisture
- Net bag0.03m³
The top-up bag: carried by hand, no space needed. The dearest way to buy a lot of wood.
£15£500 /m³Order - Barrow bag0.275m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 9 nets: £135. This way saves £55.
£80£291 /m³Order - Ton bag1.1m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 37 nets: £555. This way saves £410.
£145£132 /m³Order - Half Transit2.2m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 73 nets: £1,095. This way saves £845.
£250£114 /m³Order - Full Transit4.4m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 147 nets: £2,205. This way saves £1,755.
£450£102 /m³Order
Seasoned Mixed Firewood 9 to 14% moisture
- Net bag0.03m³
The top-up bag: carried by hand, no space needed. The dearest way to buy a lot of wood.
£12£400 /m³Order - Barrow bag0.275m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 9 nets: £108. This way saves £38.
£70£255 /m³Order - Ton bag1.1m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 37 nets: £444. This way saves £324.
£120£109 /m³Order - Half Transit2.2m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 73 nets: £876. This way saves £646.
£230£105 /m³Order - Full Transit4.4m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 147 nets: £1,764. This way saves £1,344.
£420£95 /m³Order
Seasoned Hardwood Firewood 9 to 14% moisture
- Net bag0.03m³
The top-up bag: carried by hand, no space needed. The dearest way to buy a lot of wood.
£14£467 /m³Order - Barrow bag0.275m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 9 nets: £126. This way saves £46.
£80£291 /m³Order - Ton bag1.1m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 37 nets: £518. This way saves £388.
£130£118 /m³Order - Half Transit2.2m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 73 nets: £1,022. This way saves £772.
£250£114 /m³Order - Full Transit4.4m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 147 nets: £2,058. This way saves £1,598.
£460£105 /m³Order
Seasoned Ash Firewood 9 to 14% moisture
- Net bag0.03m³
The top-up bag: carried by hand, no space needed. The dearest way to buy a lot of wood.
£15£500 /m³Order - Barrow bag0.275m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 9 nets: £135. This way saves £50.
£85£309 /m³Order - Ton bag1.1m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 37 nets: £555. This way saves £425.
£130£118 /m³Order - Half Transit2.2m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 73 nets: £1,095. This way saves £845.
£250£114 /m³Order - Full Transit4.4m³
The same pile in net bags would be about 147 nets: £2,205. This way saves £1,745.
£460£105 /m³Order
Unseasoned Firewood Freshly cut
Delivered prices from today’s price list. The bar shows the price per cubic metre: shorter is better value. A net bag is about 0.03m³.
At today’s prices the cheapest ready-to-burn firewood we sell is seasoned mixed by the full transit, £95 a cubic metre. There is more on this in the cheapest way to buy firewood.
Bulk bag, builders bag, load: the names
Be careful with anyone selling by the “load”, the “truckload” or the “builders bag” without a number attached. Those words mean whatever the seller wants them to mean. A cubic metre is a cubic metre.
A “ton bag” does not hold a ton of logs, either. The name comes from the bag, which is made to carry a tonne of sand or gravel. Filled with dry hardwood logs, 1.1 cubic metres weighs roughly 330kg.
Which size should you order?
Storage should decide it. Dry wood delivered in October can be wet wood by January if it sits on bare ground under a tarp.
- Nowhere to keep it, or the odd fire: net bags or a barrow bag.
- A drive, but not much dry storage: ton bags, one at a time.
- A log store and a fire most evenings: a full transit, once, in the autumn.