Whole Logs - Fair Price/Cord

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bryankloos

Member
Oct 31, 2013
132
Weston, CT
Hey Guys,

First year burner here and I see the necessity to get ahead. I've been calling around looking into purchasing some wood for future use and now have a few questions.

The person I am talking too is a tree service guy who clears land for building and development. He states he can sell me whole logs at 12-14 foot for around 125/cord with a discount for quantity. I'm assuming I can get him to near 100/cord if I buy up to six cords or so...

He says the wood is hardwood (I'll inquire about specific species closer to ordering) cut between 12-14 foot. All straight good pieces. I'm assuming it is clean and not dragged through the mud but will confirm and I also assume the logs are solid with no rot.

For reference, cut split goes for 200-250/cord around here for mixed hardwood.

My math tells me that buying whole logs will save me between 600-900 if I get 6 cords. Probably worth the work cutting, splitting and stacking.

Does this sound reasonable and if I do go forward with this person what questions should I ask him before buying the logs? Is 12-14 foot a standard length? Anything else I should be thinking about?

Many Thanks,

Bryan
 
log cords are generally cut in 8 ft lengths, so they stack 4 ft deep 4 ft high and of course 8 ft long. 1 cord is 128 cubic ft , less about 10% for air gaps So I will let you do the math with 14/16 ft long logs. The term hardwood is all inclusive to deciduous trees which wood include anything that is not a fir, pine, basalm types. Cotton wood, Willow, Bass, Mountain Ash are very soft hardwoods that are not worth paying for Box Elder is another although better than the 3 i listed.
Oaks ,locust, beech, elm, silver and hard maples Hedge are worth paying for to name some. There are some btu ref. charts in the stickies on this sight that will give you a better idea what to be asking /paying for. The avg price for cord loads around here for quality type hardwoods is 100/cord delivered in 10 cord quanity. Fuel prices walk that around a bit. hope this is of some help
 
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Keep calling tree guys. Log loads or pickups full of rounds can be had for free where I am about 40 miles away suburban NJ. My last load was oak, ash, hickory and sycamore. The load before was oak, black birch, ash, and beech. There are more trees than wood burners. Tree guys have to pay to dispose of wood. Your location in Fairfield county CT makes me think the economics are the same.
 
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This all really depends on the area your from. Here in Michigan everyone burns wood and most tree services sell firewood as part of the business. The only free wood around here is if you find a farmer that wants a fence row clear or friend who want dead wood cleared out.
Delivered logs in this area go from 80 to 120 per cord. I just got 10 cord of maple and oak mixed for 80 a cord
 
How many cords do think you will burn a season? If <2cords a year start scrounging. If you can get it at $100/cord might be worth it. A lot of work left to do at $125/cord.

Can also call a couple other local tree services, these guys end up paying to dispose of wood.

Maybe I'm off since split hardwood goes for $150-180 a cord by me in season so $125 doesn't sound too good to me. FWIW I'm at 8 cords all scrounged or from trees I had to have taken down.
 
Thanks for the info guys...
Let me ask one other question.

If I am to buy some logs in random length what diameter log is ideal relative to cutting and splitting. that is, at 36" diameter oak, getting the rounds onto a splitter is going to be serious work. What size diameters do you guys prefer in logs?

Thanks,

Bryan
 
16 to 20" logs are the sweet spot for me. Logs greater than my bar length at 20 inches are where it starts to get real old real fast. As for 36 inch rounds, once cut they are not that bad so long as you have a vertical splitter. I got my neighbors 37" DBH red oak this past fall, his tree guys cut it into rounds and rolled it into my yard so I didn't deal with cutting it up. The trick to splitting them is to put a piece of pipe in front of your splitter so that once you plop the round down you can still roll it on the pipe to get it into place. A couple of 1x or 2x planks for the pipe to roll on helps also.
 
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100.00 is the log cord standard in my area. Im just below Adirondack State park.
Loggers are different than tree service companies here. And I would say one type works in urban lots and the other works larger tracks of land. Equipmentwise. Tree service companies are a better bet for free wood but also a better bet for a crapshoot of tree species. Bugs and disease are my concerns. EAB and other concerns.
Id rather pay a logger.
 
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A tree sevice should be less per cord than a logger.
A logger can take his logs to a mill.
Most mills won't take "yard trees" to many nails etc.
PS your chainsaw won't like nails either!
 
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Scrounging free wood is a good way to go but it may take a while to build up a good stash, what you're proposing is a good way to get 3 years ahead, once you get that cut and split in future years you can scrounge at your leisure. $100 cord is standard around here where I live and I'm in a fairly rural area.
 
Never hurts to call around a few more places... given your location I would also think there are more trees than people to burn them, so you should be able to find some cheap/free.
 
I pay about $100/ cord. I get about 7 cords out of a $700 tri-axle load. I think my guy doesn't actually do the logging.
 
Up here you can get ten logger cord of Maple and Ash for $800-$850. There's a lot of loggers working in the woods here to supply the paper industry and they sell firewood loads also. I can get my wood by scrounging around just a few blocks from the house so I've never had to buy wood.
 
Have you tried craigslist? I bought 5 cords of green hardwood split and delivered here in NJ for $500 at the start of last summer. Here is what I found in east Connecticut . Wood hoarding becomes a hobby :)

I have two tractor trailer loads of firewood that was freshly cut. Oak, Cherry, Maple, Ash--all hardwood. $500 for a truckload consisting of six cord. Buyer must also pay $100 per load for delivery within 15 miles of Oakdale.


Call Mike at (860) 885-8182
 
Land clearing companies are a good place to start. Keep on calling and sending emails. I have 2 suppliers I use. Both equate to around $100 a cord. Each delivery is around 8 cord. It fluctuates on what they deliver. If they supply smaller diameter straight logs I have gotten up to 10 cord per load. I get one load a year and split it with my neighbors.

It is cheaper but you have to like the work and you have to have the right tools besides a chain saw. When you process logs a hydraulic splitter is really nice to have. You can not split it all by hand because the knots can get ridiculously knotty. Other tools that I use all the time.
  • Chains 25'
  • Timber jack
  • Log roller
  • Skidding tongs
 
bryankloos said:
Thanks for the info guys...
Let me ask one other question.

If I am to buy some logs in random length what diameter log is ideal relative to cutting and splitting. that is, at 36" diameter oak, getting the rounds onto a splitter is going to be serious work. What size diameters do you guys prefer in logs?

Thanks,

Bryan
Click to expand...

I like 12"-24". Smaller than that and bucking seems to take forever. Larger than that and bucking turns into a wrestling match when it comes time to roll and finish the cut.

This is just my "in a perfect world" scenario - I have cut and will cut many cords out of bigger and smaller logs. Also, when you buy a load of logs I'm pretty sure you get what you get.
 
About $105/cord for a truckload delivered in our area right now.
 
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