How wood is measured

There are different measuring units when it comes to wood, for example solid, stacked or lose cubic metres. But what exactly is the difference?

Everything in good measure

Wood can be measures in different ways. Here are the most common measurements:

Solid cubic metre
A solid cubic metre corresponds with one cubic metre from 1 metre long logs of wood. These are placed on top of each other without gaps in 1 m width and 1 m height. A solid wood cube results.

Stacked cubic metre
A stacked cubic metre also corresponds with one cubic metre. However, the wood logs are stacked. There are gaps between the logs.
One stacked cubic metre corresponds to 0.7 solid cubic metres.

Lose cubic metre
One lose cubic metre also corresponds with one cubic metre. However, the wood logs are losely dumped, thus creating many gaps. Therefore, there is a lot of useless air inbetween the wooden logs.
A lose cubic metre corresponds to only 0.4 to 0.5 solid cubic metres.

How much wood is required per season?

As always, one can say that the amount of required wood depends of course on the way of live one has. Do you need to heat a big house and have cold winters, or do you rather live in a small apartment, or in an area where the sun always shines?

Here are some general values which can only be seen as rough estimation:

Occasional enjoyers of fireplaces need approx. 3-4 lose cubic metres.

If the fireplace supports heating in the transitional period, approx. 7-10 lose cubic metres are required.

Sole wood heaters can quickly require 10-15 lose cubic metres.