I do some chain saw work on the side (nothing large scale), do brush dump runs and also sell some wood, but rarely do i do a "making firewood" job. Next door neighbor of a good friend of mine had a tree removed, cut to lengths and neatly stacked in his yard by a tree service. He had started to buck and split it but he is older and evidently it was too much for him. I looked at it and he says "cut and split the rest and ill pay you for it" The tree was a fresh cut 22" DBH red oak. I dont have to stack or clean up. I was there nearly 3 hours Friday and have to finish up tomorrow. Bucked the logs to 12"and Fiskars made pretty easy work of splitting. Had to noodle some. I worked rather steady and fast. Maybe an hour+ left. Pictures are before i started. He is keeping all the wood. What is an "experienced firewood maker" worth? What would you charge? You can message me if you want to keep it private.
Tough one. The golden rule is to do on to others as you would have done to you. The platnum rule is to do on to others as they would have done to themselves. That one’s tricky. That’s a lot of work to make ends meet if that’s what you do. You’re doing a good deed. You’ll need to find a spot where you’re both left with your dignity in place. Nice job helping out!
Id be expensive.. I would base my price off of how much firewood i could make in an hour and what i sold that wood for, that is how i would go about finding out my price.
that sounds very reasonable LinkedXJ . The tree will generate a cord of wood at 22" DBH. I have 1-2 hrs left. I go rather "Tasmanian devil" when i split. He did maybe 5-10% prior to my taking over.
Tough call. It really depends on how much you want per hour and what your market/customer can support. The fact he started and realized how much work it is goes to your advantage. Personally I wouldn’t have started without having agreed upon a price. I would have brought my saw and tw6 and when I run equipment like that, I aim for no less than $60 an hour but the 6 way makes splits fast.
Next door neighbor and good friend..........hand shake and if he presses you then have him buy you a nice dinner even if it is a restaurant card.
Yes I would have to agree with that. There is no way I think I would ever cut fire wood with the intent to sell it. I just think there is too much work in it to ever make money by the time you factor in your fuel and labor. I would say at least $50-60 an hr. When people are charging $75-90 a rick for good hard wood around here I think that’s fair.
At least 200 per cord is what I would charge. Buying that amount of wood would be $200. Plus he saved lots more money by not paying the tree guys to take it away.
Sounds like you didn't take the job to make money or you would have given him a price in advance of your starting. Let him know the hours you spent working and prepping for work, the materials and then say pay me what you think. I bet that's what you had in mind anyway.
Labor rates are one thing (labor is plentiful around here due to hard-working Mennonites), but using your own equipment complicates per hour rates. Tough one...
I thought the rule of thumb was to go halfsies on the results if someone is supplying the wood. If he really wants it all then you charge half market rate for the finished results?
Two entirely different questions, what is an experienced firewood maker worth? At least $40 an hour. Next question what would you charge? Entirely depends on how good of a friend and neighbor he is. Moreover because he's elderly.
Those can be tough ones to consider what the exchange rate is. I would highly be tempted to just ask him what it was worth to him and go from there. You stated he is older so I would definitely be taking that into consideration. Let him know how much time was spent and how much gas/oil it took for the saw. Splitting would be most of the work. In the end, it is just between him and you.
I kinda like this approach! As a base price, go for how much you could sell at half the market price of the wood. From there, if he is a neighbor, elderly or just a really nice guy, charge less. If he is entirely capable of doing the work himself and just doesn't have the time, is lazy, or just wants to cut a fat hog by hiring a patsy, then charge the market price or more!
If it is a cord of wood then you basically turned logs worth about $100-115 / cord into firewood worth $250 /cord. So somewhere between charity and that. LOL. What does your friend think. It's his neighbor he has to live next to. Is the guy rich or poor ?
I took care of the neighbor’s lawn and helped them out when I could. Never asked anything in return, but when they decided to sell they gave me first crack at their property and a great price. I would offer to help cut the wood, but would ask the neighbor to help do what he could. It might be hard on him having to realize he can’t do it all himself. Expect nothing and let the results be the guide to what you do in the future. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did the homeowner request 12" rounds or was that your preference to making splitting easier? I have such little free time these days he couldn't afford me. Sounds like you went into it not expecting anything, which is the right mentality if payment terms weren't discussed before the work began.
I get $65 a day for splitter a tw 5 and then $30 a hour for me a rental place charges 65 a day and you got to go get it and bring it back so that is how I came up with price for my splitter
$50 an hour cash in that situation normally. I go as high as 75 if using the rapid fire splitter, saw, gas, oil... and down to 25 if its a favor.
