Stacked vs thrown: how much firewood are you getting?

Two ways to measure a metre

A stacked cubic metre is wood stacked neatly, piece against piece, in a space one metre wide, one metre high and one metre deep.

A thrown cubic metre is wood tipped loosely into that same space, the way it comes off the back of a truck. The pieces sit at all angles with plenty of air between them, so there's less wood in it.

How big is the difference?

Roughly 3 m³ thrown is about 2 m³ stacked, according to Consumer NZ. Put another way, a thrown metre holds about two-thirds of the wood in a stacked metre.

That changes how prices compare. As a worked example, wood sold at $100 per thrown m³ works out at about $150 per stacked m³. A stacked price that looks dearer can be the better deal.

Ask which one they mean

Many Suppliers just say “per metre” or “per cube” without saying which. It's always fair to ask:

• Is that a stacked or a thrown cubic metre?
• If it's delivered tipped, how much would it be once stacked?

How Neighbourwood does it

Neighbourwood always talks in Stacked Cubic Metres. When you send an Enquiry, the quantity you give is in stacked m³, so everyone is talking about the same amount of wood.