LAKEVIEW LANDSCAPE & MATERIAL

We answered a Val-Pak ad from this local provider, whose ad said they had "Cordwood Available". Our normal wood guys weren't able to service us this year, so we called this company, looking for two cords. Normally, we buy green wood and season it ourselves, but all they had was 'seasoned' wood. So we arranged for two cords to be delivered. I wasn't expecting to be around for delivery, so I left a check in the kitchen with my son for the amount: $600 for two cords. As it turned out, the delivery truck arrived a wee early--just as I was heading out to walk the dog--so I took delivery myself. The driver positioned the truck exactly where I asked him to, then he dumped his load--containing the first cord. I took one look at the wood and asked the driver to hold on while I went inside. I tore up the first check and wrote a second check for $300 to pay for first cord. Then I told the driver I wouldn't be accepting the second cord. Most of the wood had some rot on it; some of the wood was ALL rot. (I joked with friends that it looked like this company had cleaned up a forest floor, and sold what they found.) The pieces varied from 10 inches long to over 20 inches long. Most of the wood had to be re-cut and re-split to fit into our fireplace insert. This purchase was supposed to be for the 2015-16 winter, but we're having to burn it now. By itself, it's extremely difficult to burn. Mixed with properly seasoned firewood (that we already had on hand for this 2014-15 winter), it can be burned somewhat readily. Sadly, this story ends like the punch line of the old yenta joke: "The food there is awful... Horrible... It's almost inedible... And they give you such small portions, too." What we got didn't total a full cord. It's hard to know exactly how short we were (my wife pulled several pieces from the pile to burn inside before I had the lot stacked), but IMHO it was at least 10% short of a full cord. Caveat emptor.