tree service droped off some......oak?

[Remmy122]

So the other day at lunch there was a tree service taking down some Emerald Green Arborvitae that had gotten out of control at a neighbors. I stopped by and asked if they had anything else going on this week. They said they took down an oak earlier and a guy was on his way to the dump with it. So they called him and he was supposed to stop by. They ask if I want any of the wood they were cutting...im running out of room in the yard and becoming more selective so I pass and make it clear Im not interested in that stuff, explain why and say that Id still be happy to take the oak and some other types of wood off their hands.

So I go back to work, and my wife calls. They came by and dropped off a load of wood. I get excited, she says "but it smells kind of weird, like cedar". Yup you guessed it. They dropped the trunks from the arborvitae in my yard and bounced.

Now Im stuck with this stuff and not sure what to do with it. I know my fraternity guys burn in fire pits so Im thinking I can split it up a little and stick it at the frat house for them next fall. other than that its going in a dumpster (unless some one tells me it turns to gold as it burns).

Was I not clear enought? Was it presumptious of me to ask for one type of wood an not the other? Let me hear it from the Pro's, I dont want to keep running into this.

I know one thing I wont bother stopping off with them unless i see them cutting and oak. this is the second time this one company has screwed me.

 

[Flavo]

No words of wisdom for you but that really stinks. Do you think they did it on purpose or were they just too busy to listen or maybe they have rocks in their heads?

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

I'd say keep it!- it's free wood & wood burns! Consider it bonus wood

 

[SolarAndWood]

I had the same problem with a service that works for the power company. I told them they could leave anything firewood sized. They left me a pile of long brush to clean up and maybe 3 or 4 rounds of 8" firewood. Must of thought I wanted to have a bonfire under that full moon.

 

[Wood Duck]

It seems like it should have been clear enough that you didn't want the arborvitae, and I think there is no harm in asking for oak not softwood- if they think you're being too picky they don't have to drop off anything at all. However, if you got the trunks of the arborvitae then I'd cut them up. They will make great kindling, or very nice fire for a fire pit. They are a lot less dense than oak but I think that is nice for a fire pit. I burn a fair amount of softwood and I find a mix of hard and soft wood makes a nice fire in the stove.

 

[billb3]

Doesn't sound like you talked to the boss of the ground crew.
Also doesn't sound like you want to.

I had some 50 year old arborvitae that actually had some decent trunks and might have been worth my time cutting up.
Paid a ground crew to come in with a bobcat and yank them all out of the ground. They wanted " two or three weeks" for the dirt to wash and fall off the roots. 8 months later after I told them not to bother finishing the job and I was going to cut some up to see if it made decent firewood ( hey, I burn white pine, how bad can it be ? ) they show up with a huge chipper, and they are all gone in about an hour.
I think they were renting equipment and finishing started jobs.
Never got to try any.
I have burned some yew just for the heck of it. ( yanked those out myself with a small backhoe). Burned about the same as pine or cedar. Not worth the work, but it is also a way to get rid of it beyond just tossing it all in the woods to rot ( if you have woods).

 

[billb3]

Doesn't sound like you talked to the boss of the ground crew.
Also doesn't sound like you want to.

I had some 50 year old arborvitae that actually had some decent trunks and might have been worth my time cutting up.
Paid a ground crew to come in with a bobcat and yank them all out of the ground. They wanted " two or three weeks" for the dirt to wash and fall off the roots. 8 months later after I told them not to bother finishing the job and I was going to cut some up to see if it made decent firewood ( hey, I burn white pine, how bad can it be ? ) they show up with a huge chipper, and they are all gone in about an hour.
I think they were renting equipment and finishing started jobs.
Never got to try any.
I have burned some yew just for the heck of it. ( yanked those out myself with a small backhoe). Burned about the same as pine or cedar. Not worth the work, but it is also a way to get rid of it beyond just tossing it all in the woods to rot ( if you have woods).


I kept the mulch but it got mixed with the hemlock ( about 30 of those got cut down and the stumps ground down at the same time) and that mulch is still around and the chips pretty hard still 6 years later.

 

[RED FRONTIER]

I burned some last night. I have no problem with any type of pine as longt as I season it a year. Great for the shoulder
season. My father in law thinks im crazy but I have learned alot since I started coming here.

 

[Remmy122]

well, Im going to take it to the fraternity house (rather theyre going to come get it and split it). They do firepits alot and I get some decent wood off of the lot there. They were stoked about it and I dont have the space to keep it here. for some reason the wife isnt ok with me covering the entire yard with firewood....

 

[Remmy122]

oh... and Im done with that tree service. The last time I spoke to them they were going to bring the wood to my house (less than a block away) and never showed. I pulled up as on of their buddies was filling his pick up they said "we didnt think youd want it" and then this.

I got 2 other guys who are pretty good at letting me know when theres a good score so I dont need to mess with these guys.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Just because a fellow is taking down a tree does not mean he knows what kind of wood it is. There are many, many folks who just do not know one tree from another. Some think just because a certain log is super heavy it must be oak! I once met a man who had a load of popple and he thought it was beech...

 

[chvymn99]

I'm weighing the same decisions from some tree service guys also. They are trying to get me to take "All" at the end of loading the good wood. Which I did with the cherry wood, since smokin' wood will come of that. But he's got another pick, which is hackberry and hedge, however there is also elm and sycamore. So I might take the trash, for the good wood. Its one of those things that sometimes you have to go through the bad to get to the good.