"Can I Borrow Some Wood?"

[cannonballcobb]

My wood pile has been described to me as a "freight train". Yes, it's 200' in length and unfortunately, visible from the road. Any how, I find it amusing/annoying when neighbors ask "Can I borrow some wood?". This always confuses me; how does one borrow fire wood? Will they bring me back ashes? Or maybe they will just put in their fireplace and not light it, returning it to me in the Spring. Either way, I decided last season to stack 20 pieces at the end of the driveway, with a sign that reads $10. I figured this would scare people away, however I think it did just the opposite; an extra $300 never hurt!

Anyone else out there experience "can I borrow wood"?

 

[TMonter]

I've gotten that a few times and if it's neighbors who need 2-3 pieces for a fire in a fireplace for a party I usually oblige. However I do have one local neighbor who I've put my foot down and explained that he needs to find his own source of firewood.

My next door neighbor who made fun of me a few years ago for buying a wood stove instead of a gas one knows better I think lol.

 

[Molson]

I get that every so often. I dump my rounds at the side of the driveway to be split then stacked at the back. I had 3 notes on my door asking to sell/give away the wood. You can see the stacks, the splitter, and the rounds, do they think I'm just doing it for the exercise?

 

[big_fish]

our neighbor is 72 and she will ask for some but like most of the people in her generation has to pay you for everything we just cut a load today for her and tried to stack it and leave before she noticed but for 72 she is pretty quick so we take $5.00 for gas so she will let us out of the driveway but if you are able to get out don't ask for mine. We used to have a family that lived next to us and I used to stack my wood by the fence i would see a fire and find out they stold my wood for a bond fire so as you can guess we had problems and I stacked the wood some where else

 

[VTSR5]

...Anyone else out there experience "can I borrow wood"?

Yeah, only they didn't bother to ask, so count yourself lucky.

I had two cords stacked very nicely and evenly along the hurricane fence behind my warehouse. Beautiful place to dry wood, great sun all day long and plenty of air. But after a month, I noticed a big bite right out of the middle of the stack, like someone had backed up and loaded 25 splits. If they had taken these evenly across the length of this stack, I would never have noticed.

One consequence of this is that I got nervous about leaving it there and moved the wood to my garage in mid September, and it is not properly seasoned yet. But I stupidly stacked it in front of all the good dry stuff, so I'm going to have to move it again.

Counting two failed holz hausen attempts with this wood, by the time it makes it into the stove I will have moved it like ten times! You know you've handled it too much when you get to recognize several of the splits in the stack like they are old friends.

 

[joeleisner]

I run a bandsaw mill for personal use and would be more than happy for people to borrow some wood! I have two neighbors just a tractor path away. I keep my hardwood slabs under some old tin roofing and just gang cut the slabs to the size of their stoves. Nicely stacked on a pallet I can "lay" some nice fire wood on them with the forks on my tractor. Not much splitting with slab wood and they have a great orgainc garden and eggs that they send the extra items from my way.

 

[MrGriz]

Can you borrow some wood?.... Sure, as long as I can 'borrow' some beer and return it when I'm done!

 

[Elfin]

That old "borrow" line really cracks me up... reminds me of the time I had a compost delivery sitting in front of the house and the neighbor came down with his bucket wanting to "borrow" some... how would you return something like that? (at least he only had a bucket, not a wheelbarrow, cause he came back with his bucket more than once).

I don't mind sharing, but I guess in many ways I'm glad that our current house is very hidden from the road, and you can't see our stacked wood at all. It certainly is awkward when someone asks for things of this type... you don't want to say no for just a small amount, yet you don't want to set a future precedent of this being a frequent request.

 

[kevin85]

This is the first year of nine or so burning that I am way ahead. I have lots of wood stacked that I worked my butt off to process. It has been split and stacked in the sun and wind since February/March. I also paid to have the tree lengths delivered, saw, gas, and all the extras. I had a friend of my wife's call her and ask if I sold firewood. My wife said she would ask me and get back to her. I told my wife that I really would like to help them out, but the wood is too valuable to me to sell right now. I figured I would want $250 a cord as I have seen people in my area selling cords for that price and I am sure my wood is probably more seasoned.

Anyway, we told them(husband & wife) that I wasn't selling wood, but that we had a friend selling some for $225 a cord delivered. Both the husband and wife smirked and the wife asked, "Is that STACKED too??" I am sooo happy I didn't offer my wood for $250. No appreciation for the work and costs involved in processing firewood. Sorry for the rant!

 

[MrGriz]

Yep, people just don't realize how much even 'free' wood really costs.

 

[allhandsworking]

I wish my wife would ask to borrow some wood!

 

[JustWood]

I have a 2'x2' sign with a picture of a 44 mag on it at the entrance of my place that says "NO TRESSPASSIN' unless you can outrun a bullet" and nobody asks me to borrow nuttin'!

 

[BrotherBart]

When I think about the blood, sweat and tears that go into that woodpile I wouldn't sell it for a grand a cord. Besides the fact that I am still paying a mortgage on every tree I cut down and burn on this place.

Of course I told my wife that if I grab my chest and fall over that she needs to ask $200 a cord for it.

 

[cannonballcobb]

Yes, occasionally people will ask me how much I charge for a cord. I just tell them that I don't have enough to sell in those quantities.

The $10 stacks are just too easy and profitable not to sell, and it keeps the "borrowers" away. (Maybe this season I'll have to raise it to $12.)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

cannonballcob (quite a name!), I like your idea of the wood with a sign with $10.00. Good thinking!

I do give a neighbor a face cord of wood each year and sometimes two, but then we also get things from them. Just trying to be neighborly. Tis much better to have happy neighbors than the other way around. Life is too short to have bad neighbors.

 

[CowboyAndy]

I was thinking about putting up a sign near the wood pile that says "ONE of these peices has dynomite in it. Guess which one."

I live on a main road, but I don't worry too much about it, but it is still a concern. Jeez, if someone really wanted something of value form me, my table saw, air compressor and other toold have been on my front porch all summer long...

 

[cannonballcobb]

Don't get me wrong, if I had a neighbor that was incapable of gathering of paying for firewood, I would be more than happy to give some away. I suppose it rubs me the wrong way when healthy middle aged men don't have the forethought to plan ahead. It's like they think, oh look at all that guys wood, he has plenty to go around. Now, if when they see me out there splitting and stacking, they were to stop and offer a hand, that would also be a different story. But that has yet to happen, LOL.

 

[Jfk4th]

I park my Police truck right next to my wood, don't know if that helps or attracts more attention . Haven't had any wood taken....yet

 

[kevin85]

I agree with cannonballcobb. I had another mother in our neighboorhood ask me this morning about firewood. I know her a little better than the other couple so I explained why the wood is too valuable for me to sell. I told her about the other friend who is selling a cord for $225. She said, "Isn't that expensive? I saw $150 a cord in the paper." I told her to check and make sure the wood is well seasoned and even offered her my moisture meter if she wanted to check the $150 a cord wood out. I gave her my opinion that I thought it would be better to buy from someone we all know and that his wood is definitely seasoned well.

She then went on to tell me that the stove her husband is installing himself is old and she's not sure how well it will work. I told her to get a CO2 detector and to be really careful. As everyone is saying all over, I hate to see how many chimney fires and fire accidents will happen this winter.

 

[big_fish]

AMEN cannonball I cut all yr long never a down time its only money in the bank if you dont burn it this year I hate to hear someone say they dont have time to cut I work a full time job and do small engine work on the side in my garage and I find time

 

[CowboyAndy]

Don't get me wrong, if I had a neighbor that was incapable of gathering of paying for firewood, I would be more than happy to give some away. I suppose it rubs me the wrong way when healthy middle aged men don't have the forethought to plan ahead. It's like they think, oh look at all that guys wood, he has plenty to go around. Now, if when they see me out there splitting and stacking, they were to stop and offer a hand, that would also be a different story. But that has yet to happen, LOL.

We went through something simmilar this year with my brother in law Bill. My wife and her 5 siblings all have 200 acres of cherry, maple, birch, boxelder and hickory at their disposal, to take as much as they would like. My brother in law Bill and sister in law decided to buy a stove to heat their small 1200 sq ft ranch. We all offered and offered to help him cut wood. Not once did he accept. A few times my brother in law Dennis just went out and cut for them, about 1/2 a cord. Bill finally went out once and fell 1 tree, about a face cord. it has all been sitting in the yard unsplit since then. So 2 months ago he decides he is too busy, and gets a "great deal" on some seasoned maple... 5 face cords for $325, he has to pick up. Most guys are selling for $65 a face delivered.


Some people...

 

[billb3]

$10.00 for 20 pieces of hardwood is cheap compared the the tiny bundle of campsite pine they sell at 7/11.

I have a similar answer for people who think I'm not "using" my woods so they are fair game.
You don't cut trees or ride minibikes on my property unless you are paying the mortgage and liabilty insurance.
Go buy your own.

The other one I like is: "Do you have extra" ?

Tell ya what, show me a pack of 20 class A cigarettes that came with 21 in it by mistake and I'll show you "extra" firewood.

 

[Vic99]

So far I have had no requests for wood. I think this is because all of my wood is behind a 6ft wooden fence. My immediate neighbors know what I do, others don't unless they pay a lot of attention.

My wife asked why I don't use space at the end of the driveway to dry wood. I told her that I would be infuriated if someone stole wood that I processed. It's just too much time and effort to make it easier for theives.

 

[trailblaze]

my neighbors know i'll attack anyone stealing from me... so i don't have any problems with the neighbors...

but my pain in the ass in-laws seem to think since i have 4 cords that i have a ton of wood to spare... they wanted to fill their pick-up truck with my seasoned wood for their backyard fire pit.... i was not happy! when i said umm NO, they got offended and said i'm stingy....

my wife knows what i think of her parents, and i told her if she takes them wood, then she should take her belongings over with her too!

 

[bluewater_1993]

I'm always concerned about coming home to missing wood, although it hasn't happened yet. I would be royally pissed if I did though, so I can understand all your reactions. It's a lot of time and effort in gathering, splitting, and stacking wood to just have someone mooch off me. I do like the idea of the sign saying one piece has a stick of dynamite in it...