Solid, stacked and loose cubic metres
A cubic metre of wood is not always a cubic metre of wood. Depending on how it lies, it holds very different amounts. This is the most common cause of disputes over firewood.
What applies here
- Firewood
- m³ = loose cubic metre
- Sawn timber
- m³ = solid cubic metre
- Wood pellets
- sold by the tonne
The three measures
- Solid cubic metre (Fm)
- One cubic metre of solid wood, no air. The measure for round timber and sawn timber.
- Stacked cubic metre (Rm), also called Ster
- One cubic metre of split logs, neatly stacked. Air remains between the logs.
- Loose cubic metre (Srm)
- One cubic metre of split logs, tipped in loose. The most air, the least wood - and the usual measure in the firewood trade.
Conversion
What the three measures come to, starting from one solid cubic metre of round timber.
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Festmeter (Fm) | 1 |
| Raummeter (Rm), Scheite 100 cm | 1.6 |
| Raummeter (Rm), Scheite 33 cm | 1.4 |
| Schüttraummeter (Srm), Scheite 33 cm | 2.1 |
Guide values. The ratio depends on diameter, length, the shape of the logs and on how carefully they were stacked.