I cut log loads for a couple of years and it saves a LOT of labor and time vs cutting trees down, wrestling leaners away from other trees and hauling the proceeds closer to home. Even with all the storm damage I have yet to clean up from last year there's a guy advertising 1500 square foot loads starting at $875 and I'm guessing that doesn't include mileage hauling charges but that still might be a pretty good deal .
As a firewood seller, I fully understand where you're coming from. I typically sell 125 ish cords a year which takes up a lot of space. How many of you living on half acre lots are out of storage space for your own personal use? Now imagine storing 125 cords plus having room left to work. My local market is full of weekend burners who buy 1 maybe 2 cords and burn in their fireplace for the ambiance. I've burned 3 year seasoned wood in my fireplace and with no air control it burns too fast. There's also people who have wood stoves (most non EPA versions) who also burn around the same amount to help offset heating costs. Here is south Jersey, we get winter but it's generally not long or harsh. Also, around here many get their chimney's swept every year or every other year. As some of you know from following my posts, I get most of my firewood cut and split in the summer. This wood sits out in a field soaking up sun from sun up to sun down and is fully exposed to the wind. Each year, I sell out earlier and earlier. My goal this year is to sell it all while still wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I've also been able to choose to deliver all of this within a 15 mile radius. No more long deliveries like when I started 23 years ago. This is all sold by word of mouth or through local town facebook pages. And I've never owned a moisture meter and probably never will. As stated earlier, you can tell a lot by checking on the ends, weight, and sound when clacking 2 pieces together.
jrider after splitting 125 cord a summer .. I bet you have a lot knowledge by feel of splits.. Impressive
Scrounging wood is all about being ready when opportunity knocks, hard to swing if you have a job and kids. Getting small batches works best for me, although if I had space I'd like to get a log load, if I could pick the species. But I'd miss the quest!
right now moving a cord of splits from shop to home runs apx $51 with the small suv and trailer ( 1/3 cord at a time ) when I get my truck back up I can move a cord+ for apx $19. This dead heading to shop and load back home round trip costs. I have a 6 log cord load at home ($480) figure that will split down to apx 5 cord or $96 /cord. The stuff at shop doesn't cost me anything up front. none of this counts my time or fuel for processing- that's the same at either location. Once I get my trucks squared away I will have more options as far as acquisition of raw material. Been real tough this summer to accomplish much at home outdoors between the skeeters, the deer& black flies, and the RAIN.
And to piggy back from my previous post, wood dries much faster in a field compared to stacked in yards or sheds with limited sun and air flow. A few years ago I had a number of dead oak trees in our woods to take down and cut/split. We have a small clearing that gets plenty of sun (or so I thought). To save time, I processed the wood in that clearing and piled up like I've always done out in the field. I would guess that in the summer, the pile got 6-8 hours of sun per day. When I went to load that wood to sell, it wasn't nearly as dry as what was in the field. So I ended up moving a 15 cord pile of splits into the field.....never again!
I find it amusing the variety of answers on how to get the wood, ranging from one "I scrounge it, I will never pay for wood" to "I buy wood because its easier, faster when my kids young" I still am awed by the tales of people that have it delivered from tree companies. That does not happen here, almost as mythical as the tree dump, maybe Christmas trees in January but not real wood. Are delivered logs faster? easier? YES.. here about half cost of Firewood cut, split and dumped. I've done the math, and unless you are blessed and can it dropped off for free. It must cost me $70 a cord to process and store trees from my own land. If you add in property taxes and depreciation on equipment and maintenance on such. Bottom line I like wood heat
Yep, most of the tree companies around here process and sell it, I'd like to find a company that will drop off logs to me for free, but if my excavator guy stays steady, I'm good. I'll still scrounge off craigslist if it works for me.
Canadian border VT down here on Long Island, NY, tree companies have to pay town dumping landfill fees to get rid of their wood chips and their bucked wood. most can get rid of the wood or with homeowners permission leave cur wood at curb and post it on Facebook. Chips they pay to dump. If I see a tree company and they look good I'll talk to the foreman and ask if he wants to get rid of his chips and I must get at least one full load of wood. Most will jump at it. Sadly some drive into my yard and and it feels creepy seeing them looking over my tools, tractor, mowers etc.(these guys only come once. I got hooked up with a really honest one and for 3 years (Barry Brothers) had all the wood I could handle and chips too. This is why I'm on a 5 year plan and give split wood away to my kids and neighbor. Last spring they stopped tree work and focused only on landscaping. I still have four truckloads of bucked oak to split from them When my split and bucked wood runs out I think I'll just get green split wood delivered. I should be 72 or 73 by then and just have to stack the wood. Around here. A cord of split wood goes for around $125 (I have to double check this) EDIT. Ok its a little more now but off season it was less!
mikeward I get it, here all chips are sold to electrical generation at 2.50 a ton so a lot of wood gets chipped. Tree services hoard logs, and workers process to firewood on down time to keep good employees working and unemployment expenses low.. Dosent help 20% people use firewood to heat.. Totally different market. Pay to dump wood?? You guys are .. Leaves branches etc etc are brought to flood plain and composted with manure and sold back to city folk as moo-dirt.. Seriously the farmer that started this, could not sell his farm because the taxes were too high. It couldn't be turned into building Lots because it was in a flood plain. So he literally takes all the scrap everything with his cow manure and make Bank. Plus he captures methane for free (govt grants) and sells electric back as green energy.. Brilliant
I think the difference for me in the uk is if I’m honest with my self . It’s just become a obsession to scrounge wood . Forget the fact I paid 3 grand for Fire and fitting . It’s something I have always wanted and I love every second it’s lit
I actually work for a company that does deliver firewood cut 16 to 18 inches for free. Mind you, it's not the "good stuff", almost all of it is Ponderosa Pine, Cottonwood or Elm. The companies workers always take the Oak, Maple, Locust and fruitwoods etc.. The people we deliver it to are within 10 minutes of our job locations as well, we don't go out of our way. And the tree dump? We have free firewood there too. Our transfer station separates larger wood from the slash pile, puts it in a large roll off dumpster and it's first come first serve. I just wanted to let you know the stories are true.
Different places different people. A co-worker has been getting wood delivered for the past 2 or 3 months now through one of the local tree services. He goes through a lot of wood, so I'm happy for him. He's likely gotten about 20 cord+ so far. Says he's got 40 face setup over the summer. (13 cord) Chazsbetterhalf plans to call them and "invite" them to bring some of their excess here. They are the ones that dropped the trees by our house and the neighbors. (I didn't feel like finding out how good my homeowner's insurance is. ) It would not hurt my feeling's to come home to a couple cord of wood sitting in the driveway. Oh, and he says it's been mostly ash and maple, no pine.
Pine i can get delivered free. Only stumbled into a delivered load of hardwood (sugar maple) once, but it was great. Burning some right now infact. Right place, right time - tree guy cutting away from home needed a place to drop his work, got the hookup from another tree guy who is a buddy. He will bring me hardwood now and again, but mostly I have to go get it. No complaints here, free is free and he is a good guy - I "let hi m" dump pine, and in return he hooks me up with hardwood sometimes.
The same price here. Last year got a trailer of White Oak, Hickory and a little Ash. The guy stacked it well and as high as he could, a little over 8 cord.
