Buy logs now or in the spring?

Personally I am shopping for cull logs/wood poles right now. The sooner the better IMO.

Buy them now, buck them now. You will get a head start on drying and have less work to do in the spring.

I'd buy whenever the price is lower, or perhaps when my yard would be damaged least from the delivery. For seasoning I think what matters is when the wood is cut, split and stacked, not when the wood was cut, so the sooner the better. You're going to get only a little seasoning from logs sitting around in log form. Sure, in the spring sap moves up the tree, but does that change the moisture content of the majority of the wood? I think it only changes the moisture content of the sap wood, and the overall effect is not very significant.

x2 buy now and buck now. Get a head start. Split some, if you can.

gzecc said:

x2 buy now and buck now. Get a head start. Split some, if you can.

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X3

buy it now so you don't have to worry about a soft squishy ground getting all rutted up.

I,d much rather work with wood in the cooler weather. Besides if your ground is froze where you live the Log trucks won,t rut it up as bad as in the spring.

You are a year late as it is. You should be working on 2011/2012 wood right now. Next Winter's wood you should have done last Winter. Don't wait for Spring! Get out there right now and get it split now too.

Buy now . . . buck now . . . split now.

The sooner the better, unless you have next year's wood in and there's a price break for spring logs.

KB007 said:

Would it make sense to buy a load of logs (about 6-7 cords) now and let them "season" on my property until Apri;/May when I'll start splitting/stacking for next winter or just wait until April to buy logs? We live in Ottawa, Canada and are in the middle of winter right now.

At least if I buy them now, I know they were cut before the snow (I would hope), whereas if I buy them in the spring, I have to take the guys word that they were cut this fall.

As to seasoning, how long should you season wood? That depends upon what type of wood you are buying and you did not state what that is.

Does it help to have the sitting as logs? or is it only when they are split that they really start to dry out?

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I agree; buy as soon as possible and then cut & split as soon as possible. It does not help much to leave them in log length; they need to be cut to size and especially split in order to dry.

For drying, stack the wood off the ground. We just cut some saplings out in the woods to lay down but you could use landscape timbers, 4 x 4's, pallets or whatever. Just stack so the wood is off the ground and some air can get under the pile.

There are mixed opinions on covering. We split and stack in April. We never cover our wood until the following fall or early winter and then cover only the top of the stack. However, some never cover their wood at all and some cover the top as soon as they get it stacked. I just like to leave it all open to Mother Nature in the summer that first year.

Good luck.

LLigetfa said:

You are a year late as it is. You should be working on 2011/2012 wood right now. Next Winter's wood you should have done last Winter. Don't wait for Spring! Get out there right now and get it split now too.

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X2 I bought a load in the end of march, started splitting and stacking in april/may and stacking in june. None of it will burn now.

There were times that my wood guy didn't come through for me and I had to scramble to get wood in the Spring. It is a lot harder to get wood in Spring. A lot of the wood gets stuck in the bush until the next Winter when they can take it out on frozen ground. Also they get busy doing other work since the firewood is often just seasonal work for them.

firefighterjake said:

Buy now . . . buck now . . . split now.

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+1

the log length coming my way in March will be bucked, split and stacked by April 1st at the latest and won't be burned until late fall 2013/2013

Ja, I would just toss them into several small heaps and wouldn't cover them. Stack them after the frost leaves the ground.

KB,

This is the best time of the year to buy logs, this is the time of the year that trees are at their lowest moisture content so less time dry. Also wood will likely be skidded out on snow so it will be cleaner, less time sharpening your saw. If you order in the spring you get wetter dirt wood.

Good Luck