No one wants free wood?

Rent a U-Haul truck and go get as much as you can.

Around here the free oak and maple go fast. Pine does not go at all. I got 1.5 cords of pine from one yard already cut, just needed to split. I left about 2 cords. Should of gotten more. I will use it when it is not to cold. I think people are getting worried about heating this summer. I am trying to get enough wood for next year right now, but I got to get my truck fixed first.

Goes fast here too in central VA. Faster and faster.

Goes very fast here in the central part of Maine.....I haven't seen any free stuff in my vacinity for some time.

Some guy just offered me 15 trees from his pasture to make way for a barn to be built. A mix of poplar, locust, oak. He says the largest are 18"-20" at the base. Nothing beats FREE.

I've looked at the u-haul thing.. It doesn't work out very well on price. They charge a lot per mile (plus an extra 40c per mile for gas), and the weight capacity doesn't go up much as you move to a bigger truck. For a lot of wood that's not very far away (where you could make a lot of trips in a day), it would probably work with a smaller-end vehicle.

No such thing as free wood if you consider the time and effort required to get it all cut and split and stacked in you yard. Lots of folks don't want the hassle of such things and don't see the value until they get burned by not having the wood.

In Ohio we had some recent storms that knocked several trees into neighborhood houses and power lines. The next day, driving home, i stopped at some yuppie's house who was standing outside with his buddy. There were 7 or 8 6-10" diameter 3-4 foot logs out front. I asked if they needed someone to haul them away. He said, "No." flatly. I said, "Ok, just figured I'd ask." He then said, "Must be a hot commodity. You're the 4th person to ask today."

So even a paltry small bit of wood goes quick here, and those that have it think they have a "hot commodity." They think they're sitting on gold.

Haven't found any free cut rounds in my area yet. The ones I called wanted quite a bit for the wood so I didn't bother. Still checking once a week on craigs list.

I did find one nearby that had 50 to 60 pine cut into 5-6 foot lengths. Stated no picking and you had to take the whole lot. Decided that wasn't worth going after since I have a good share of cheap oak already and I have heard fossil call this weedwood.

Jay777 said:

I've looked at the u-haul thing.. It doesn't work out very well on price. They charge a lot per mile (plus an extra 40c per mile for gas), and the weight capacity doesn't go up much as you move to a bigger truck. For a lot of wood that's not very far away (where you could make a lot of trips in a day), it would probably work with a smaller-end vehicle.

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I got a decent deal renting a cargo van from Enterprise. $75/day, with no mileage charge.

I kinda figure people demanding your first born for wood off their front lawn will die out after the media hype (and the pain of jumping instantly from $2 to $4 a gallon) wears off. To most people, wood is a nuisance. They cut trees down because they want sunlight. They cut trees down because they hate maple propellers and cotton-pickin' cottonwoods and catalpas, and walnuts denting their cars. They cut trees down because they dislike mowing around them, or over their roots. They cut trees down so they won't hit their house. They cut trees down because they hate raking leaves. I think at some point we'll return to the status quo of doing them a favor and disposing of their 'junk'.

Just as people are hyper sensitive to the price of gas (really, am I saving any more with Giant Eagle Fuelperks than I was when they used to discount food?) they're hypersensitive to the current energy/oil crunch, whether they're woodburners or gasburners. Oil will either shrink back a bit (not all that likely) or we'll start to move en masse away from oil (which ultimately might cause oil to shrink back in price anyway). People will go back to not giving their heat a second thought, and we'll be able to help them clean up their pretty yards.

Or rent a trailer. You may be able to load more in a U Haul though. If it is free and you think its worth
renting a truck then do it you'll have enough wood for a while.

I missed an ad on craigslist today for all the free hedge apple that you can load. I missed it because I was busy working like a sucker. I have vowed to never again let my job get in the way of free firewood. From now on I will carry pagers, cell & satelite phones, laptop with satelite internet and I will drive a 16 foot dump truck in my undying search for firewood. Free hedge apple what was I thinking!

double post

Same sititutation around here...Maryland. No one wants firewood in the summer. I have asked 15 people if they wanted to come cut,split and haul away free.....yes Free oak and ash that I can have dumped by a tree trimmer....no takers....go figure
Mike

Where are you located, Mike?

I'm in the MD suburbs of DC, and I haven't had any problems finding free wood. Tree services are charging homeowners $250+ to haul off wood, and there just aren't that many wood burners. It does seem that the competition is picking up some lately, but not enough to cause me any heartache yet. I've turned down some free wood that was close but had to be hauled uphill. I'm too lazy for that.

Wish you were a little closer and your problem would be my warmth! :cheese:

Here in Iowa we have ALOT of people offering free wood, most of it the people want it cut down. I don't have a problem dropping a tree out in the country but in town you have to have a city permit to fall trees. I have 15 cords so far split and probably another 15 to split. But free wood is the best wood exp when the people already have it cut up for ya

The wood that is listed on the Milwaukee craigslist is mostly of the "if you cut down my tree, you can have the wood" variety. And invariably the tree is very near a building or power lines. So what they are asking is if you will be a professional tree cutter for them at no charge. Often they don't even know the variety of tree. The wood that is cut down already and offered up is generally box elder, pine, or willow. Barely worth the drive, with gas prices this high.

We have plenty of light fluffy wood ;-) already, and are only going to take a drive for something heavier. We have enough wood for about 2 years already, plus dead wood on site waiting to be cut, so we can be a little picky and not go after all the crappy wood. I am learning to really dislike willow, it is so heavy when cut, takes forever to dry (and the bark is like a sponge, stays wet forever), is hard to split for how useless it is, and then burns so quickly. I will only take willow if it is right in my neighborhood.

I wish it was like that in central Maryland. If you don't hit craigs list every hour you will miss out. I lost a free cord of hardwood by 10 minutes last week. The post on craigs was only 2 hours old. Sounds like I need to get a bigger truck so I can justify picking up wood in the western part of the state. Have fun with all the free wood.

I have plenty that I scrounged this year as well. Hooked up with a tree company and when its close they call me directly. Of course I'm not picky and will take the pine/softwoods. The wood snobs get what I don't/can't take (hardwood wise).

I did have some back and forth with Mike (mtarbert) last year about some wood (hey Mike!!), but if I remember right, he is over an hour away from me. Most of what I get is pretty much on the way home from work.

Some Marylanders showed up for this thread...good to see!!

joel

DiscoInferno said:

I'm in the MD suburbs of DC, and I haven't had any problems finding free wood. Tree services are charging homeowners $250+ to haul off wood, and there just aren't that many wood burners. It does seem that the competition is picking up some lately, but not enough to cause me any heartache yet. I've turned down some free wood that was close but had to be hauled uphill. I'm too lazy for that.

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caber said:

We have a pretty sizable woodlot, but I'm always on the lookout for free stuff on craigslist, freecycle, newspapers, etc. Especially since half the time its already cut to length and then all I have to do is split it. I'd expect that with the warnings about heating costs jumping, free firewood would be going fast. Not so around here, apparently. I'm always being told I was the only person who called. I picked up a pickup truck load of some really heavy stuff I have not identified yet that was cut to length this past Saturday. I took what I could and left the rest for the next guy (share the wealth and all). Owner e-mails this morning - no one else called. If I were closer to some other locations, I'd have piles of free oak and maple and locust - as much as I want.

Cord of mixed wood goes for around $200 a cord. Although a local guy is now advertising $375 along with a dire warning about gas being $8 a gallon and severe runs on his wood supply. hmmmmmm - I could make a fortune at $375.

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Give me a call when you're in that situation again...I'll come help ya out!