Craigslist Score

[Tom Wallace]

(broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/zip/4899470845.html)

No pics in ad, but this one is legit. This guy had several large trees cut down. Most of it is douglas fir, which I'm sure you east coasters will scoff at, but in the PNW douglas fir is a great wood. Easy to split, easy to light and produces great btus for a soft wood, (broken link removed). Some of the rounds are over 40" diameter. There's also some cedar, spruce and a bit of maple. I picked up about 2 cords on Saturday and there's still several cords left. Combined with what I'll have left over this winter, this will be enough for all of next winter I think.

I was there gathering wood with another guy. He was splitting it on site and loading his truck. He said he'd already been there the day before and was telling me that the wood burns great, he burned some last night. I suppressed an eyeroll in regards to burning freshly split wood from a tree cut down in the last week. Didn't want to get in an argument.

 

[Tom Wallace]

The tree service which posted the ad has a cool YouTube video showing how they fell a large douglas fir next to a home.

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[Ralphie Boy]

I don't know what they pay that guy that's up that tree but I'm sure it's not nearly enough!

 

[wardk]

I agree Ralphie, handling that big saw while hanging off the side of a tree , very impressive. I burn a lot of fir and it puts pot a lot of heat,but I only cut standing dead trees. Green Fir would take a while to season and 40 inch rounds would have be split on site or have a machine to load.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I love me some Doug fir, second only to black oak around here. I hoard it like the oak, saving it for the really cold weather and long nights. Not only is it very good firewood, the thick bark slabs make great barbeque fuel. They produce a VERY hot bed of coals.

 

[rwilly]

Dadgum!

I need to find more time to scrounge. There can be some great finds out there if you keep an eye out.

I like fir also, its abundant, burns hot, and leaves little ash.

I talked to a guy for a tree service the other day and he told me if I wanted wood all I had to was show up at their yard, they have a lot they are giving away.

Nice score.

 

[loadstarken]

Dang I always miss the good craigslist scores! Hehe

 

[Creekside]

I don't know what they pay that guy that's up that tree but I'm sure it's not nearly enough!

I climbed for a couple years for Seattle area tree services.....most I ever made was $17.50/hr.... not worth it I decided.

 

[Tom Wallace]

I climbed for a couple years for Seattle area tree services.....most I ever made was $17.50/hr.... not worth it I decided.

That looks like a pretty terrifying job scaling a 200' douglas fir with a large, heavy chainsaw. What safety precautions are in place?

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

i had a couple of trees cut down last year and the guys charged $80 per hour for the climbers.

 

[Creekside]

That looks like a pretty terrifying job scaling a 200' douglas fir with a large, heavy chainsaw. What safety precautions are in place?

Not a lot really. There are ANSI standards but they are voluntary and industry best practices so it varies hugely from company to company and climber to climber. There are very few companies I would actually consider "professional". I see guys here all the time who don't even wear hard hats! A lot of tree services are run by guys who are only focused on the bottom line so they have no problem cutting corners. The biggest thing I see is guys running a chainsaw in the tree with only a flipline for a tie in. You're supposed to have two tie ins when running a saw. A steel core flipline only slows down a chainsaw and doesn't give you an easy way to lower out of the tree if something happens.

 

[Tom Wallace]

Dang I always miss the good craigslist scores! Hehe

The ad's been reposted: (broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/zip/4914036317.html) . Says there's still 3 cords.

 

[rwilly]

There is an ad on now for logs to be delivered free in Seattle from a tree company. I don't live close enough to the city, otherwise I'd have them drop them at my place.

(broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/4917882063.html)

 

[Tom Wallace]

There is an ad on now for logs to be delivered free in Seattle from a tree company. I don't live close enough to the city, otherwise I'd have them drop them at my place.

(broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/4917882063.html)

Wow, wish I had a property big enough to accept that.

 

[drz1050]

That's ridiculous.. guess there are very few people in the Seattle area that burn wood?

You lucky dogs

 

[Oldman47]

Now why can't I stumble on a deal like that?

 

[Tom Wallace]

That's ridiculous.. guess there are very few people in the Seattle area that burn wood?

You lucky dogs

Wood burners don't seem to be very common here. I'm the only one I know who uses wood as a primary heat source. Most people use oil or gas. Some use electric, either baseboard heat or heat pumps. All of those are more expensive than wood, especially if you can get wood for free.

Plus, we have a massive abundance of trees in the area. Coupled with a lot of houses and tree services, that wood's gotta go somewhere.