Firewood Moochers

Has anyone experienced problems with friends, in-laws, neighbors, etc who assume it's perfectly OK to show up on the weekend and load up YOUR firewood for camping trips or backyard fires for free? The mentality seems to be “Forget about paying $5 for a bundle firewood! We can go over John Doe’s house and load up our trunk for free!”.

I don’t think they realize how much wood is needed to heat my house for 6 months out of the year. All of them think I have this “life time supply” of free split wood! It’s really pissing me off; it took me the entire winter to hand split 6 cords for the next heating season…I cannot afford to just give it away.

I don’t mind being nice, but, some are coming back for seconds; apparently it’s not a one time favor.

Ya everybody thinks I got more wood than I can possibly burn before it rots. They couldn't believe that huge pile disappeared over the winter.

Yes, all the time. In the winter some relatives even have me deliver it to them to heat their house for free, and then make sure they are not home so that I have to unload it for them by myself. But, it's been going on my whole life and the one and only time I ever tried to get someone to stop having me do their firewood work for free, those relatives won't even speak to me anymore. So I just keep doing it for the others, with a smile pasted on my face.

Quads, thats your answer. Ditch the relatives! :lol: I give firewood to my buddies, but they help me find it so its fair...

It's hard to find good relatives these days.

Practice saying NO!

Ja, one has to choose their relatives more carefully.

I love the mooches that ask " Do you have any Extra Firewood"? Extra...like I have so much I was going to throw that pile away.

Now I know why I have no friends!

It’s hard to "no" when they show up unexpected and say "We’re going camping, we need some firewood". I’m not given the opportunity to say "no" because they never ask; they just take. And on the following day they will drive 20 miles from the campgrounds back to my house for more firewood…wtf lol!!

If I had trouble saying no (which I don't) I would make sure to have some nice low quality pine for them to help themselves to. I would not let them take the high quality fuel.

A couple of years ago I had a guy offer me about 8 bucks for some firewood for a campfire, he then said he had his check book with him if that was not enough, I let him have it for 3$.

chad101- From my view, couple of ways to go on this. 1- let them take what they want, plan on splitting more wood for them in the future, and keep a log-book of how much they take for future reference(this will come in handy-trust me). 2- Limbs and slash, leave it in a separate pile(s), and that is their wood for campouts. 3- Man up- Tell them point blank, that your split & stacked wood is OFF-LIMITS, this is what you use to heat the home for the winter, and their campfires come in at a distant second to that! You can reason that the wood is not seasoned, or whatever. Just equate the wood to NG or Propane, watch their eyes cross at the thought. I do this, on one level or another. My inlaws in Montana think I'm a ****, but my local in-laws love me, and appreciate my direction. Hence, I have 2 cord CSS for the only one that burns,gratis. Good luck, JB

Put a for sale sign on your pile. Then they will know it has value.

point to a dead standing tree and tell them that theirs is just over there. have at it!! Or at the very least tell them that your splitter is beer powered and only gets 12 bppul (beer per pick up load). and make sure it's good "Canadian beer" which i think is equal to about 40 US beer (have to check the current exchange rate)

I had someone once ask if thay could "borrow" some firewood. So, do I get the ashes in return?


KC

Kinda, it burns your a$$ when they keep taking it and never bring it back! :lol:

Is there something that they have that you could "borrow"? Or ask for a couple bucks, or better yet, to come over and help you split firewood for an afternoon.

I think if they want to "borrow" a 1/3 cord, then you should be able to "borrow" $60. That's the going rate around here.
My brother keeps thinking he's going to start cutting into my logs, or take the stuff I have drying in the field. I have my priorities, he has his, and they don't always overlap. Just because I think ahead and plan, and you don't, does not make me anal, it makes you lazy.
I like to use the 3 pigs analogy, where he's the first piggy, and I'm the 3rd. I'm not a boy scout, never was, but I do like to be prepared and think ahead. This is my long term plan to save a TON of money (not the only reason) at the expense of MY time and energy, and the least someone can do is recognize that.
If not, then "SEEYA".
Just so you don't think I'm completely stone cold, I do give some firewood to my son and his buddies and grandsons other grandparents when they come up this way for campfires, but it's mixed oak cutoffs, pine, and soft maple.

LOL - Ja, that would go over like a lead balloon.

Reminds me of the famous quote by Ann Landers, "Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them" which is why they don't have their own firewood stash.

I always offer to my friends but very seldom to they take me up on it. I have a scrap pile from splitting that I give to my friends who want fire pit wood. I'd never let them take my "good" stackable wood. I cut some standing dead pines this year that I split and gave away to friends for their fire pits. The wood was starting to get punky so I saved the good pieces for me and offered them the stuff on the edge.

I'm actually waiting on a guy from one of the other forums I'm on right now who's coming to get some wood for his fire pit.

It does sort of burn your ash, doesn't it?!

I don't give my firewood away, but I do trade it out for services (from handy friends) or for tasty beverages.

Most of my friends and relatives know that I hand-split my wood, and there's some sweat equity involved.

This.

green wood may discourage them taking.

I like the trade idea or invite them over for BBQ. Then tell them to help you split some wood.
Just be honest with them. If you say no and tell them this is how you heat your home 6 months out of the year. If they don't talk to you anymore, then you know their true character and they are not worth talking to anymore.
My neighbor has a firepit. I told him he was welcome to my woodpile, but let us(wife 2) know when he needed some. (I did not want him to be hurt on my property).
1 dark evening @9:30pm I thought I saw some movement in the backyard. Went out the frontdoor and around the side to where I found my fence gate open and a car with its trunk open, running and the lights off. I found my neighbor in my backyard getting some wood, not for his firepit, but a friends. BTW, he had no shirt on and bare feet. I told him and showed him he almost got hurt very badly by not asking for it and not letting us know he was back there.
He now has his own stack on his side of the fence.
I have a face cord of backup wood if he runs out. Then i will offer it to him.