How Much Firewood Is Actually in a Cubic Metre (and a 'Trailer Load')

Short version: a cubic metre is a fixed volume, a "trailer load" is not, and most firewood disputes in Australia come from sellers and buyers using the second term as if it meant the first. If you want to know what you are actually paying for, ask for the price per cubic metre, then check the load against that number yourself before the wood comes off the trailer. It takes five minutes and a tape measure.

Why "cubic metre" is the only unit worth trusting

A cubic metre is one metre by one metre by one metre, or any stack of split wood that adds up to the same volume: 2 metres long, 1 metre high, 0.5 metres deep is the same cubic metre as 1 x 1 x 1. That is the whole appeal of it as a unit. It does not care about ute size, trailer brand, or how generous the seller is feeling.

Everything else you will see advertised, "trailer load," "ute load," "bulk load," "half load," is a guess dressed up as a measurement. A 7x4 box trailer loaded flush to the sides holds roughly 1 to 1.2 cubic metres of split wood if it is stacked properly, and considerably less if it is thrown in loose, because loosely thrown split wood has more air gaps than a neat stack. Two trailers that look "full" side by side can differ by 20 to 30 percent in actual wood volume depending on how it was loaded. That is not a small margin when you are paying by the load rather than the metre.

Stacked vs loose: the gap that catches people out

This is the single biggest source of confusion. A cubic metre of neatly stacked, split firewood is genuinely a cubic metre of wood with the air gaps that splits naturally leave. The same wood thrown loose into a trailer or tipped into a pile takes up noticeably more space for the same actual volume of timber, because loose stacking traps far more air between random-angled pieces.

Sellers who deliver by tipping a loose load and calling it "a cubic metre" are, deliberately or not, selling you less wood than the stacked equivalent. This is common enough that it is worth asking directly: is this quoted as a stacked cubic metre or a loose ("scaled" or "bulk") measure? A straight answer to that question tells you a lot about the seller before any wood changes hands.

How to check a load yourself

You do not need trade equipment. A tape measure and five minutes at delivery is enough.

1. Stack a representative sample. If the wood arrives loose, restack a metre-square section against a wall or fence rail so the pieces sit reasonably tight, the way you would stack it for storage anyway.
2. Measure length, height, depth. Multiply the three figures in metres. That is your cubic metre count for that section.
3. Scale up. If the seller claims 2 cubic metres and your sample stack suggests the whole load is closer to 1.5, you have a concrete, measured number to raise with them, not just a feeling that the pile "looks small."
4. Photograph the load against a known reference (a star picket, a wheelie bin, your own height) before you start moving it, so you have a record of how it arrived if a dispute follows.

What a genuine cubic metre looks like once it's home

As a rough guide for eyeballing a delivered load: a cubic metre of split hardwood, stacked reasonably tight, fills a space a bit bigger than a large wheelie bin laid on its side, times three. If what has been tipped in your driveway looks like it would comfortably fit in the boot of a mid-size car, it is not a cubic metre, no matter what the invoice says.

Piece size matters too. Genuinely useful firewood splits are typically in the 30 to 40cm length range for a standard household fireplace or wood heater, though check what length your particular heater takes. A load padded out with oversized rounds or offcuts that need further splitting before they will fit your firebox is technically wood, but it is not immediately usable wood, and that gap between "delivered" and "burnable" is worth factoring into what you are willing to pay.

Ask these questions before you pay

• Is the price per cubic metre, and is that stacked or loose measure?
• How many cubic metres is this specific load?
• What length are the splits cut to?
• Is it seasoned or green? (If you are not sure how to tell, our guide to seasoned vs green firewood covers the moisture checks that take the guesswork out of that question.)
• Where was this wood sourced, and has it crossed a biosecurity zone? Firewood movement is genuinely restricted in parts of Australia, and what to check before a load crosses a zone or state line is worth reading before you buy from outside your immediate area.

The honest reason this matters

None of this is about assuming every seller is trying to short-change you. Plenty of sellers measure carefully and quote honestly, and a genuine cubic metre of dense hardwood is a lot of wood and a fair amount of manual labour to cut, split and deliver. But "trailer load" as a unit gives a dishonest seller cover that "cubic metre" does not, because nobody can point to a tape measure and prove them wrong. Insisting on cubic metres, in writing, before the wood is delivered, protects the honest sellers as much as it protects you: it turns the transaction into something both sides can verify.

Buying or selling firewood on the marketplace, list or search by the metre, not the load. Browse current firewood listings to compare like-for-like pricing, or if you are the one selling, list your wood free with an honest, measured cubic metre count. Buyers are getting sharper about this unit, and sellers who quote it properly are the ones who get repeat business.