I have found if I figure my time in..its a losing venture ....even at minimum wage . Maybe I just am not as fast as I once was !! LOL . To me its more about fun , love of nature , and being self-sufficient . Also about staying in shape...and running cool equipment !! Really firewood cutting for yourself....or selling small quantities ....you are just trading your time and resources for some cash and heat . Theres really no "profit" .
If you take care of yourself and don't ruin your back, you save money, but if it takes away from you physically, there is no price you can assign to that. Also the is added value if you can get the family involved. Kids learn there is value from working and gain a sense of responsibility. That helps make independent adults. In that sense, wood cutting is paying you.
I've most always owned a truck, and a daily driver long before buying my house with an insert. (no more insert, just the owb and stove i put in the garage) So rite or wrong, I don't figure the cost of the truck. The saws have been paid for since the winter I bought 'em, at that time L.P. was 536 bones for 200 gallons which didn't go far even with the insert and most rooms were always cool. Installed the owb myself back in '07 and figured I broke even on that last year, I'm averaging 16-17 months on 200 gal of L.P. since the owb install, and it was -3 degrees this morning and every room in my house was a solid 70 degrees. Heck, when I remodeled the bathroom a few ago, I moved a furnace vent next to my crapper. Did I mention it was -3 degrees this morning?? Yeah, well , my crapper was warm when I took my morning constitution,,how do ya' put a price on that? I figure 10 bucks a truck load.
I have a tree service drop the wood off for free. Most of it is already cut to length. Sometimes they bring log length but usually it is cut into rounds and or quartered so they can lift it onto the truck. I might have bought 1.5 gallons of fuel for the splitter last year; don't really keep close track. So ~$15-$20 for about 15-20 cord of wood last year. I can split and stack a cord of wood in about a hour add another hour per cord to stack it outside, bring it inside and eventually feed the boiler. I use about 10 cord a year. Which offsets 1500+ gallons of oil. To buy that oil it would cost $5250 (3.50 a gallon) To have that 5k to spend I would have had to earn ~$7500 before taxes. So $7500 - $10 for fuel = 7450/20 = $372.50 per hour of labor to split, stack and feed the boiler. Of course I could have bought the wood for 2500.. Being self sufficient and burning NO oil... priceless.
I am a salaried engineer and really don't have much opportunity for extra pay. As long as my wood cutting is not taking away from other stuff that needs doing, I see it as a net gain. I only get so much money per month, if I spend it on saws and tools instead of propane; well, at least I still have something to show for it at the end of the winter. I love being outside. I hate hearing the propane boiler fire up. To me I might as well be shoving dollar bills into the damm thing. No ROI.
Last couple of years my "free" firewood has been, without counting my time, free. When my splitting area is empty I call a couple of local landscapers. Usually a truck load of oak &/or maple rounds, about 1 to 1.5 cords worth, shows up within a day or so. They know where to dump it. If I'm home I'll tip the driver $20 but i rarely see him. It cost so much for them to dump at the town center that they make a profit by putting it in my yard. They are actually neat about it, buck it to my spec, 18" to 22", and, if they have the time, they stack the rounds. They caught me splitting by hand once and since then I usually get nice clean rounds. Once it is in the yard I split by hand and stack right where I split. The only time I use my saws or truck is when I'm helping somebody else. KaptJaq
Actually now that I think about it I think it pays me about 600.00 a month since I don't use the propane furnace. All of the wood I have burned came off my land. If I didn't clear out the dead trees they would most likely burn in a forest fire. Much better to heat the house with it
I get logs in the front yard. Aside from one time fixed costs of the saw, axe, etc; my only costs of actually processing are time, gas for the truck to move the rounds out back, and gas/oil for the saw
Its a hobby like everything else...do i want to know how much i pay fer a lb of venison...not really..i just enjoy doin it... jeesh i have way too many hobbies...
If I calculate the cost of the tools, I'd divide the cost of the saw by how many years I've had it, or how many cords it's cut. Then, I'd have to do that every year it stays alive. Same for the splitter, and whatever else gets used to process wood. Some have mentioned hobbies, such as bowling. Add cigs, drinking, tickets of choice for a concert or sporting event, going to the club, go fast parts for your car/truck ...man, this could go on for a long time. I could buy my firewood c/s/d and still save money over Nat. gas to heat this sieve.
I paid over $700 for free native dirt a few years ago. DH was out of town so I ended up renting a bobcat and hiring temp labor to push the native dirt off our driveway entrance and over our aged septic field. No worries, 18 tons of native dirt, for FREE! Hubby was thrilled (sincerely, it would have been alot more if we bought approved dirt). As our lives have changed, I am not sure how much cutting he will do anymore, things are different now. He will still c/s/s here but buying is looking more attractive lately.
thats a good way to put it. my neighbor can't understand how i can go out and split wood by hand when i have a splitter. i usually just say its something to do and i can hear the kids if they need anything. i think his and my priorities may differ but thats a whole nuther can a worms.
Free? You bet! Not only the immediate costs on the equipment/vehicle(s) but don't forget how much quicker they will wear out! My f-150 is a sorry example of that! I still call all of it free, though. Probably always will. Something about taking a ride with the saw and finding a logging site with butts and tops just scattered about and left to rot that makes ya want to pick it up and use it. Out west and different parts of the country, there are places you can go for "hobby money"; panning for gold, digging for diamonds; searching for meteorites, opals, gems, precious stones; you get the idea. I've told 99lbs that around here we may not have that, but we will save money normally spent on heating by my scrounging and not buying (as much) firewood. My total scrounges this year amount to over 15 f-150 truck-loads. I quit keeping tract of it after that. I have been burning for over 5 weeks now and when I look at it all I see it as is free heat and free hot water!
