CL add, What's your take on this ? they want part of wood cut

[HDRock]

I have a 30 acre wood lot in the ________ area. Please contact me if you are fair minded, don't mind an honest day's work, and need firewood. I have a fair amount of ash that needs to be removed, along with others to open up the woods a bit.

I ask for the following in return:
Notification of when you will be there
Portion of the cut wood
Treat the property with respect

Please respond via email to this posting with your full name and phone number (Timber professionals not necessarily excluded, but the deal will be different and there really is not a lot of timber value in what needs to be cut). I will give you call to discuss further.
Thank you.

 

[rdust]

Cutting on shares sounds fair as long as the share is fair. I'd be ok with a 70/30 share.......

 

[red oak]

If I just had to cut it and the other party split their own then 70-30 sounds reasonable to me also.

 

[paul bunion]

A landowner is lucky to make $5.00 a cord for wood on the stump when logging. The same cord is sold for about $100 log length, either as pulp, (which is sold by the ton) or as logs in someone's yard or to a firewood processor. The logger gets about $65-70 and the trucker gets about $30. There are a lot of variables, like how far it is into the woods and how far the trucker drives but that is about how it works.

A logger pretty much cant can't cover the cost to truck his skidder to a 30 acre job if it is only pulp and cordwood.

If all you are doing is felling the landowners share and leaving it then 70/30 might be fair. If you are doing any of the processing on his share then it rapidly becomes 1 for the landowner, 19 for you.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I sold some firewood on shares. 75/25 and they also split our share.

 

[tekguy]

green unseasoned cord wood cut and split only gets about $150-175/cord around here so depending on how much of a split they want and how much you value your time then you could end up paying them so to say to do the work

last time i bought logs they where $80/cord delivered

 

[Woody Stover]

I might go 70/30 (or 2/1 to make the math easier.)
I would only buck his share, no splitting or dealing with any of the brush. I might also grab most the big stuff, depending on how greedy I felt that day.

 

[StuckInTheMuck]

green unseasoned cord wood cut and split only gets about $150-175/cord around here so depending on how much of a split they want and how much you value your time then you could end up paying them so to say to do the work

last time i bought logs they where $80/cord delivered

Sounds like the ratio could be even lower than 75/25. That of course depends on where you live. According to this price report
http://masswoods.net/sites/masswoods.net/files/stumpage-reports/1994-present-PDFs/2013-SR1.pdf
Firewood in MA goes for about $10 per cord on the stump (min $5 and max $20). So assuming that you're "buying" your firewood off the stump and cutting, splitting and delivering to the landowner, it would be 15-17 truckloads to the processor's house and one truckload to the landowner. Of course have fun trying to convince someone that the ratio is fair if they've never sold timber before. If the trees are easy to access, i.e. no equipment required to drag them out of the woods, the ratio could go down.

 

[chvymn99]

I'd have to be hard up to do something like that. There is a lot of work and time involved, unless he was to help some. But it definitely wouldn't be no splittin' involved at that rate.

 

[lukem]

I cut on my neighbors property. I pretty much have the run of the place. I can haul out as much wood as I want and in return I cut his wood for the winter. I would guess that he burns about 1.5 cord and only wants the tops of trees (read no splitting required). I usually haul out 6-7 cord a year and he gets about 1.5. So that about 25%.

This is within ATV distance from my house. I figure if I went somewhere else to cut and had to haul back about 6 cord of wood in my F150 I'd spend way more time driving than cutting his wood...not to mention the wear and tear saved on my truck, gas, etc.

 

[Mitch Newton]

The heck with any sharing. There's to much free wood around that's already been cut into rounds. Most homeowners or tree companies I've talked to are just glad for someone to take it. Usually the tree companies will even load it for you. I've got about ten cords on hand of which two came from my land and the other eight were free.

 

[smokinj]

I would only split a deal like that if there: "you are fair minded, don't mind an honest day's work" goes both ways. I would split what there willing to split! Oh and these deals very rarely work out. You in a since are paying them to work!

 

[tekguy]

Sounds like the ratio could be even lower than 75/25. That of course depends on where you live. According to this price report
http://masswoods.net/sites/masswoods.net/files/stumpage-reports/1994-present-PDFs/2013-SR1.pdf
Firewood in MA goes for about $10 per cord on the stump (min $5 and max $20). So assuming that you're "buying" your firewood off the stump and cutting, splitting and delivering to the landowner, it would be 15-17 truckloads to the processor's house and one truckload to the landowner. Of course have fun trying to convince someone that the ratio is fair if they've never sold timber before. If the trees are easy to access, i.e. no equipment required to drag them out of the woods, the ratio could go down.

his remarks about 'not a lot of timber value' makes me think he already contacted some pro's and didnt like what they said

 

[Ashful]

You in a [sense] are paying them to work!

Yeah, that's true! They have to pay someone to take down this stuff, and rather than just have you do it for free, they're asking you to give them some of the wood!

On the flip side... I find this sort of work fun, and I don't have enough land to do it on my own. If I didn't already have a friend on whose land I could cut for free, I'd consider it.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I sold some firewood on shares. 75/25 and they also split our share.

Thats a fair deal Dennis.

 

[Paulywalnut]

It sounds good in the ad. I guess what share is his is the factor of course

 

[smokinj]

Yeah, that's true! They have to pay someone to take down this stuff, and rather than just have you do it for free, they're asking you to give them some of the wood!

On the flip side... I find this sort of work fun, and I don't have enough land to do it on my own. If I didn't already have a friend on whose land I could cut for free, I'd consider it.

Wood grows on trees and there are everywhere! I started out running 40 miles round trip. Now I can do all my cutting with a 128 cub cadet. If you can do what you say you can do there way to many people that just want it gone. Learn to find that person.

 

[Ashful]

Yep... I did! I imagine not everyone is so lucky, tho.

The trouble with too many people who, "just want it gone," is they call you when they have a reverse-leaner hanging over their house in high winds. I ain't insured, so I'm not touching anything on another's property, that could fall on something worth more than my chainsaw.

 

[smokinj]

Yep... I did! I imagine not everyone is so lucky, tho.

The trouble with too many people who, "just want it gone," is they call you when they have a reverse-leaner hanging over their house in high winds. I ain't insured, so I'm not touching anything that could fall on something worth more than my chainsaw.

I just walk away. I normally go for the Big trunks that no one else can handle. I gotten many of oaks this way.

 

[HDRock]

I was considering this a little and wanted to get some opinions here.

The location is about 17 mi, one way for me , so not that great, would be more worth it if there was no sharing
I like the part about, a fair amount of ash, cuz it is very very likely dead and mostly dry, and with the other stuff and 30 acres I could get a lot of wood
If he wanted his part split , forget it , I can't take my electric to the site any way ,no way in heck am I hand splittin on site.

That said, I have other options to get wood , and like said ,there is a lot of free wood out there, a lot of it all ready cut up with no limbing to do, but on one hand ,cutting down trees on a wood lot ,is the most Fun part .

 

[StuckInTheMuck]

his remarks about 'not a lot of timber value' makes me think he already contacted some pro's and didnt like what they said

I can't argue with that.. as they say, there's a sucker born every minute. Sounds like this guy is just waiting for someone to come along.

 

[aansorge]

Every situation is different. If wooded areas are rare in your area, if it is handy, if it is a beautiful area you want to spend time in, etc. then it sounds like a good deal.

I cut and split 90 percent of my uncle's wood for access to his woods, but I get free access to a 2012 ford f350, a dump trailer, a dump truck, a Ranger, gas, extra saws, a skid loader, two splitters, and any tractors necessary. It works out well for both of us I think.

 

[ScotO]

Several factors here in this guy's proposition that could sway the deal either way. First off, how desperately in need of firewood are you? Second, have you ever felled trees before? Felling trees in a crowded woodlot can be very tricky and dangerous, especially dead trees. Lots of variables there. Third, does this guy expect you to be insured? He's basically "employing" you to do this work, and "paying" you with a portion of the firewood.......he should pay for your insurance policy, at least whilst you are cutting on his property. And also, make sure that this wood is worth processing. It'd be a shame if you went out and made the deal with this guy only to find out that most of the dead wood on the property isn't ash, but poplar or cottonwood, instead!

As far as the 75-25 like Dennis mentioned, I'd be OK with that deal ONLY IF THE PROPERTY OWNER SHARED IN THE PROCESSING. There is a HEAP of work involved with cutting, splitting and hauling firewood.....

Anyway, just my two cents on the matter. If you do decide to take this project on, make sure you are very careful felling those dead trees.....crowded woodlots make it very tricky.

 

[Applesister]

Maybe the landowner is just testing the water to see what kind of takers he gets. As a landowner myself I dont know how serious he could be by advertising on Craigslist. You know...putting a worm on the hook. Seeing if theres fish.
Around me guys like to hunt more than split wood and working a woodlot has multiple incentives for all kinds of activities like 4 wheeling and snowshoeing etc that younger guys may want.
If you only consider the wood it may be just a case of tunnel vision.

 

[smokinj]

Maybe the landowner is just testing the water to see what kind of takers he gets. As a landowner myself I dont know how serious he could be by advertising on Craigslist. You know...putting a worm on the hook. Seeing if theres fish.
Around me guys like to hunt more than split wood and working a woodlot has multiple incentives for all kinds of activities like 4 wheeling and snowshoeing etc that younger guys may want.
If you only consider the wood it may be just a case of tunnel vision.

Good Point. There darn sure would need to be a lot more incentive than firewood! But on the flip side he's not advertising that. He's advertising for a very hard worker. To big of an if game for me. Wood grows on trees and there everywhere. Read that ad a couple times and you can get an insight to the author. Free wood cost between 35-75.00 a cord split half of it (70-150 per) Now you can afford to buy from a wood service. Bypass start-up cost labor and wear and tear.

he also say this is all you need:

"I ask for the following in return:
Notification of when you will be there
Portion of the cut wood
Treat the property with respect"

Well your going to need a lot more than that and cash to help this guy out. And, a hope for hunting fishing and 4 wheeler trails. No thanks!