RE: Appropriate "thank you" for wood

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firefighterjake

Minister of Fire
Jul 22, 2008
19,588
Unity/Bangor, Maine
Recently a co-worker took down some trees as he is planning on building a garage and invited folks to come help him work the wood chipper in return for some wood.

I took the day off mainly because I've always wanted to run an industrial wood chipper . . . and I figured I would get a load of hardwood out of the deal.

In fact, I had a mixed load of oak, cherry, ash, cedar and white birch last Friday . . . and I was able to get another load of oak and cherry today.

I want to say thanks . . . but just saying "thank you" seems a bit hollow. What would be a good thank you gift?

Beer? How much?
Gift card to a restaurant? How much?
Other?
 
He gave you the wood for helping him chip up the trees. Wasn't that the point of the exchange?

Don't over complicate it. You both benefit from the exchange. My guess is you value the firewood more than he does. If it makes you feel better, next time you see him, thank him again for giving you the opportunity to earn some firewood and tell him you like the selection of wood you got out of the deal.
 
I think you already did more than you give yourself credit for. You took time off of work to help him drag brush. If you feel like you need to do something, I say a 12 pack would suffice.
 
I was given permission to take 4x16"DBH shagbark hickorys off some private property after the power company came through.
In return I dropped off an inexpensive bottle of wine and a letter of thanks. In the letter I calculated how many btu's that wood produces and some other information about the wood.
Turns out they were a friend of a friend and the gratitude for the wine came back around.
Sometimes something inexpensive to show your thanks means a lot.
I would suggest a 4pack of dogfish 90min :)
 
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You should feel no obligation to give him anything... he needed some trees down, you needed some firewood... everybody wins.
 
There was a mutual benefit for both parties. If it was me, I'd probably do something small for a thank you like a 12 pack or bottle of wine or something else if you know he likes it. Or even some cash to offset the price of the chipper if it was a rental. One of my coworkers lives a few hundred yards down the road from me. A few years back he rented a lift to take down some red oaks at his house. The lift cost him around $250. He limbed all the trees and cut the big branches and trunks into 16-18 inch rounds. He also had a whole pile of 4-6 foot branches. I paid him $80 and got just under 2 cord out of the deal. He was going to take the trees down either way so my $80 offset some of his rental cost.
 
I want to say thanks
I'm one to always make sure I give as much or more than I get and it sounds like you are, too. In this case I agree with those that think you did exactly that with your work and removal of wood. I think you're even.
 
Speaking of mutually beneficial and appropriate gifts. If you want to thank him, here is what you do:

-Buy a 6 pack of tasty brew. (Miller high life in glass bottles)
-Drop by said friends place
-Talk about how good his garage will look where the trees were, while each drinking half the 6 pack.
-Drive safely

Sounds like you both win. You're welcome. ;)
 
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You gave him a vacation day of your time to clean up what amounts to him as the slag from his project. It might have value to you, that is why you showed up, but it was barter material to him. You owe him nothing. Maybe you could have pulled a few beers out of a cooler as the cleanup finished, but it was your coworker that should have been offering to show his appreciation for you busting your butt and taking a day off from work to help him out. I hope he fed you a good lunch while you were toiling for him. That would be the least he could have done.
 
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Toss him a few BTU's - invite him over to your place in the fall when the weather turns and you have a fire on - couple brew by the stove while that cherry and cedar lights / heats up the room.
 
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Toss him a few BTU's - invite him over to your place in the fall when the weather turns and you have a fire on - couple brew by the stove while that cherry and cedar lights / heats up the room.
Thats exactly what I was gonna say!!
Invite him over to enjoy a warm fire, during the holidays or the outdoor firepit.
I agree with the guys, though, the barter is satisfied.
How was the chipper? What kind did he get? Pushing limbs into those things aint for the light of heart.
 
Beer now, a and few btu's slash another beer in the fall.
 
I figure I got a solid cord of primo oak, cherry and a smattering of other wood. Truck was really freighted down with the second load . . . took it easy all the way home.

I know he didn't expect anything, but I appreciated the fact that he kept the wood aside for me when he could have given it to any number of other folks . . . so I ended up getting him a gift card to a local burrito place.

My own take . . . I really appreciated all the wood . . . and perhaps he may think of me in the future or mention my name to other folks that may want to get rid of wood.
 
I agree with the others, you did more than your fair share, particularly for taking off work.

so I ended up getting him a gift card to a local burrito place.

However, you can never go wrong being as generous as you want to be, especially to someone who has been so generous to you. Don't second guess if you did the right thing, whatever you do to be generous is by definition correct.
 
If you're happy at the end of the deal ( I agree with your gift card idea) and he's happy, all is well.

I had a neighbor that asked me to bush hog for him. Never a penny for fuel, or so much as a post it note in my mailbox saying thanks. I let it slide one year. After the next.. I stopped crossing the street with the tractor. It doesn't take much for thanks.. but it takes a small amount of effort. You're small gift will pay off. What goes around, comes around.

JP
 
Recently a co-worker took down some trees as he is planning on building a garage and invited folks to come help him work the wood chipper in return for some wood.

I took the day off mainly because I've always wanted to run an industrial wood chipper . . . and I figured I would get a load of hardwood out of the deal.

In fact, I had a mixed load of oak, cherry, ash, cedar and white birch last Friday . . . and I was able to get another load of oak and cherry today.

I want to say thanks . . . but just saying "thank you" seems a bit hollow. What would be a good thank you gift?

Beer? How much?
Gift card to a restaurant? How much?
Other?
How much wood? Valued at $200/cord, I'm hoping your talking several cords, if you're thinking you need to thank him for allowing you to take a day off work to help him.

I cut a lot of wood on friends land. I always say thank you, and they always say, "no, thank YOU." I'm saving them more money than they're saving me.
 
I think one thing worth mentioning . . . up this way . . . LOTS of folks burn wood . . . burn in their camps (summer and winter), burn in their fireplaces and burn in their woodstoves. One reason I opted to do the gift card was that a) it wasn't a great amount of money for what will most likely be a solid cord of very good hardwood and b) I can think of at least six or seven other guys without even thinking that would have also taken the wood.

Up here getting wood is a gift . . . more so than taking wood. Usually getting rid of wood is not a problem -- especially when the wood is down on the ground and bucked up . . . heck . . . in my own case my co-worker even split up some of the larger rounds of oak to make it easier for me to load them.
 
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The mere fact that you want to demonstrate a "Thank You" past the words alone says alot about your character and integrity. You mentioned he was going to build a garage. Maybe a nice personalized sign with his family's last name on it might be a nice gift. Anytime he mentions it too friends, your name and story is sure to come up........Plus if he ever downs more tress....you'll be first on his list.....:)
 
Went with the $25 gift card to the burrito place.

I also mentioned a fella that makes pens out of wood and wood burls . . . but I think he opted to not go that route due to the expense and time frame.
 
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I've found homemade gifts seem espcially appreciated if you've got something. I gave a logger a jar of my honey yesterday as thanks for a double axle trailer load of leftover log ends that he loaded for me. He wouldn't take any money since he said they would have to clear it all out anyway. He seemed excited about the honey though!
 
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