Free wood - too good to be true?

[brianbeech]

My good friend just told me he knows a tree service that will give me as much free wood as I want. He said I can tell them what I'm looking for and they will call me when they get some and I can have it.

Does this sound too good to be true and does my friend misunderstand something? I think it sounds too good to be true and I hear when that happens, it usually is.

 

[ikessky]

Maybe, maybe not. A lot of tree services haul the wood to scrap piles or dumps. If they know someone who will take it, then they don't have to pay to haul it away. It's kind of a winning situation for them also. I say give them a call and see what's up. The worst they can tell you is no or that they would charge you.

 

[mayhem]

^ Bingo! Alot of wood places locally charge the customers to haul their felled trees away. They often chip the brush and cut/split the trunks and alrge limbs and sell it by the cord. Some places don't want to get into the firewood business and have to pay to dump their wood...they may love you for taking some of that wood on and may or may not deliver it or give you access at their lot or onsite at the customer with a narrow window of opportunity.

Call them and find out, you mgiht be pleasantly surprised.

 

[brianbeech]

Okay, I just didn't want to commit a faux pas by asking something that was possibly WAY out of line. :D Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[JustWood]

I do think you'll get wood but I don't think you'll get what you want. That said, take what you can get to get ahead then maybe be a little fussy.

 

[Bspring]

All well said. Even in the south I can get all the junk wood I want but many people want the oak so it is a bit more trouble to get. It cost the Tree Service guys $40 plus gas and a 45 minute drive to dump their wood at our county dump. I am several years ahead and told them that I only want Oak so I have not seen them in awhile.

 

[Wood Duck]

If you're in need of wood, don't be too picky about what you ask for. Everyone wants nice, straight oak logs. Fewer people are willing to deal with less premium wood, but it all burns and free is free. I would probably ask for anything they have except willow and ailanthus. Maybe I'd leave out cottonwood as well. Anything else is fine with me, but I live out of town so my yard is not convenient for the tree services.

 

[smokinj]

I do think you'll get wood but I don't think you'll get what you want. That said, take what you can get to get ahead then maybe be a little fussy.

+1

 

[mecreature]

I do think you'll get wood but I don't think you'll get what you want. That said, take what you can get to get ahead then maybe be a little fussy.

+1

This is the boat I am in at the moment. It will be a while before I am going to be too choosy.

~cutting my teeth on scrounging, hitting the local tree services, trying to meet the right people.. LOL hard work and good fun so far.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Just be prepared to come home one day and find a 50" Red Pine or something similar lying in your yard ;-) You gotta take the bad with the good, otherwise why would you be their go-to guy?

Gonna cut that 50" with your Home Depot Pull-on???

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[smokinj]

Just be prepared to come home one day and find a 50" Red Pine or something similar lying in your yard ;-) You gotta take the bad with the good, otherwise why would you be their go-to guy?

Gonna cut that 50" with your Home Depot Pull-on???

:lol: :lol: :lol:

:zip:

 

[Naandme]

I got about 3 cords of wood this summer from a tree service cutting around the power lines in our area. After I bought them a case of cold ones they called everytime a customer didnt want the wood. They usally only called with decent wood hickory walnut ash some oak and maple but free is the best wood lol Its always worth looking into

 

[billb3]

You wouldn't have any trouble finding free pine around here.
Might even get someone to cut it up into the lengths you want, too.

 

[granpajohn]

The worst they can tell you is no...

The *worst* that can happen...according to our local newspaper....

A homeowner here in MD, (or possibly VA), volunteered to take wood, and as time went on, his place became known to a variety of landscape companies; through word of mouth. And now he can't turn them off. It became so widespread, that he wouldn't know who to call anyway. He has a "no wood please" type sign up, but keeps getting pre-dawn deposits dropped off.

Probably no problem, but watch out.

PS. I read this story a few years ago, and it may have been in the Washington Post, which you may know, prints a great many untruths. (In fact, I dropped my subscription years ago.) However, they did have a photo, and it did seem to confirm the story. Wood everywhere.

 

[krex1010]

This is exactly how I get all my wood right now. Where I live alot of tree services pay to dump and some dump everything they cut. I have one buddy that hooks me up for free ( he gets a case of his favorite brew delivered to his house everytime i get wood)and another 2 guys that said they would give me wood for free when they are working close by, those two guys I had no previous relationship with so even though they said they would not charge I still throw them a few bucks each time, figure that will help ensure they don't forget about me. All in all I got about 6 cords worth of mixed hardwoods dropped at my house last year and it cost me about $100 bucks and 3 cases of beer. Not bad in my book.

 

[bogydave]

Sound like you may have scored big time.
Let us know how it works out.
With some nice pictures of a nice stack of fire wood to ooooglt at

 

[Llamaman]

if you are looking for free wood check out your town DPW, Highway Dept or local dump/transfer station if there is an area where folks can dump brush and wood - I have had lot of success scoring free wood - also landed about a cord and half of bucked red oak from CL ad I placed asking if anyone had wood in their yard they wanted to get rid of, its a sport for me now.........good luck