Finding a Wood Supplier

[Lcback]

I am trying to get a year ahead, by buying two cord of wood in the early spring and stacking it in the sunshine.

Can you guys give me some suggestions for finding wood suppliers? I haven't found anything on craigslist, besides overpriced winter sellers. Do I call landscape supply companies, lumber yards, Tree trimming companies?

I have been contemplating buying a ton of EZ bricks instead as well. But im not sure how well they will do in a wood furnace.
I live in SW PA an hour east of Pittsburgh if that matters. This year I burned in an old Jensen Inside Furnace. Planning on buying a new Drolet Tundra this summer.

any suggestions for suppliers, and comments on EZ bricks are much appreciated.

 

[CountryBoy19]

IMHO, I would be patient, often you can get the best prices in summer or early fall. If you buy this summer/fall for winter 2017 or 2018 you should be able to get a pretty good deal. Tax refund time is when the "cheap labor" often stops selling wood because they don't need the money as bad.

 

[Lcback]

problem is I'm trying to get set for Winter 2016. I grew up cutting and splitting all summer and using it in the winter. That worked in the old stove. Probably not so much in the new EPA furnace.

I expected the wood to be cheapest in the summer, but I don't know as I have never paid for it.

 

[Jay106n]

I never had much luck on CL either. IMO word of mouth is best. Talk to people in your area and let them know you burn wood for heat and that you do the work for it. I sneak it into just about every conversation I have, it drives my wife nuts. Put out fliers in public places with your phone number. People start to come around after a while looking to get rid of wood. Right now I have two wood clearing lots made available to me, just by letting people know I burn wood. Sometimes landscaping companies can be good too, if you are local and have an easy dump site, they will come to you.

 

[Lcback]

Thanks.
There is a man local who owns a few hundred acres and he does nothing with it. I am aloud to hunt in it with a permit. I asked him if I could take dead trees to heat the house with. His response was that while he hates to see the wood wasted he can't let me unless I am insured.
I asked my health insurance if I was covered they said yes. So maybe I will ask him again. If he says yes I Wil be in for a gold mine

 

[jb6l6gc]

im sure he's more worried about personal liability insurance. You could see if he'd allow it if you sign a liability waiver, or you could call you insurace company and get a rider on your policy for that. Shouldnt cost that much! As far as finding a supplier, from my experience neigbours are your best bet. I have two neigbour who are brothers, either will supply me for a reasonable price, plus I barder with them by helping them out. We have become quite good friends.

 

[Lcback]

I don't understand insurance that we'll. All I know is that my medical costs would be taken care of. Is personal liability something else?

 

[jb6l6gc]

all anyones worried about nowadays is getting sued. Liability coverage basically will ensure you both are covered monetarily so as to prevent lawsuits against a person in the event of injury or damage for all parties. A lawsuit can still be filed and if it was won or settled on it would be the insurance company paying out. I know some will argue here about the effectivness of liability waivers, but most people around me are ok with having you sign a waiver of liability. Basically you are signing away any legal right to go after the land owner for whatever reason. I sign one for my neigbour so I can ride dirtbikes in his fields.

 

[jb6l6gc]

http://wealthpilgrim.com/what-is-personal-liability-insurance/

 

[Lcback]

Thanks guys, I actually emailed my insurance agent and explained the situation to him. If its not to much money, and will give me access to hundreds of acres of big woods. I will certainly do it. Even better Its within a 5 minute drive of my house, with pretty easy access.

 

[TJ1]

Lcback,
Noticed you mention you live east of Pittsburgh. What town do you live in? Curious as I was born in Mt Pleasant and raised in Scottdale. If you live close to Mt Pleasant I can pass along a contact that my brother gets his wood from.

 

[mike van]

I'm pretty sure the insurance he's looking for is going to be pretty pricey. I looked once, the smallest they would write was a million dollar coverage. If you're on his land, your truck rolls over, fuel leaks into a stream, run over someone, etc. If you drop a tree & kill yourself, lawyers will be haunting your wife / family to sue this man for...........whatever. It's always someone elses fault today. Nothing is cheap or easy these days. Sad.

 

[Lcback]

Lcback,
Noticed you mention you live east of Pittsburgh. What town do you live in? Curious as I was born in Mt Pleasant and raised in Scottdale. If you live close to Mt Pleasant I can pass along a contact that my brother gets his wood from.

You called it, I live in mt. pleasant township. In between kecksburg and Donnegal.

Any contacts you have would be great.

 

[Lcback]

My insurance agent said The best thing to take would be a "Hold Harmless Agreement"
the only liability insurance he works with is for an actual business.

 

[Oldman47]

A liability waiver is probably your best bet. As a landowner I worry not one bit about medical bills but worry about getting sued because some jerk fails to watch his footing and falls in a hole. A waiver that says that you recognize the surface may present hidden hazards and that gathering firewood can be hazardous and that holds the landowner harmless should do it.
In theory your insurance agent should not need to become involved unless your medical policy says you can't waive responsibility.

 

[Lcback]

Yeah, I will have to look one up. But i am pretty sure he has a lawyer, he is a very wealthy man. So maybe just mentioning it to him he can have his lawyer draw up something he feels comfortable with.

In other news. I ordered 1.5 cords of split cherry for $150 a cord. tomorrow. I'm ordering now, because from what the supplier told me over the phone. When someone orders, they split it and deliver it, until then it stays in logs. So I want it split now, and sitting in the sun so It burns well this upcoming winter. Seems the suppliers consider "seasoned" to be anything that was cut last year. cut doesn't mean dry, but they don't care.

 

[jb6l6gc]

A liability waiver is probably your best bet. As a landowner I worry not one bit about medical bills but worry about getting sued because some jerk fails to watch his footing and falls in a hole. A waiver that says that you recognize the surface may present hidden hazards and that gathering firewood can be hazardous and that holds the landowner harmless should do it.
In theory your insurance agent should not need to become involved unless your medical policy says you can't waive responsibility.

Actually sometimes an umbrella policy isn't a bad idea. It has been debated in depth before on this forum how effective a liability waiver is legally as they have been thrown out of court allot. Umbrella policies from your insurer do not cost much and are a good piece of mind if you or the owner are worried in the least bit. I expect anyone coming on my property for any kind of work purposes to have some kind of insurance, yes even cutting trees, however that being said if it was a friend or someone I knew personally I would probably be ok with a liability waiver. Lets not forget a waiver doesn't excuse the owner from gross neglegence, ie. hazards they did not inform you of that they had prior knowledge of. I know allot about this as I've had long discussions about it with my brother-in-law whos family happens to own an insurance brokerage.

 

[TJ1]

You called it, I live in mt. pleasant township. In between kecksburg and Donnegal.

Any contacts you have would be great.

My brother bought two cords from these folks in the fall of 2015:
724 628 9435

 

[Lcback]

My brother bought two cords from these folks in the fall of 2015:
724 628 9435

Well I hope he has good things to say. I just called them today, my dad found there add in the local paper, $130 a cord mixes wood. I paid $150 a cord delivered hardwoods. Coming Friday 1.5 cords. I hope they treat me right, I'll measure the stack when im done better be right, and ill order 1.5 more in the summer.

 

[Sprinter]

I feel for you. The first year or two is going to be tough no matter what. I'd suggest for the first year at least, you try to find a source for light, easily dried wood like pine or something similar, cut it small and stack it nice and loose to allow for good air flow and at least top cover (a shed is obviously best). That should get you through next season.

However, you also need to get supplied right now for subsequent years if you want denser, more efficient wood later because those species (like oak) can take three years to season properly even under good conditions. Personally, I'm three years ahead now and feel good about that, but it will take some planning to get there.

Continue to work with that land owner. I'm in a similar situation, and there is nothing like a source of convenient, free wood. I"m betting you can win him over if you sign a waiver that satisfies him.

 

[Jay106n]

Well I hope he has good things to say. I just called them today, my dad found there add in the local paper, $130 a cord mixes wood. I paid $150 a cord delivered hardwoods. Coming Friday 1.5 cords. I hope they treat me right, I'll measure the stack when im done better be right, and ill order 1.5 more in the summer.

Sounds like a good deal. I love cherry. Save some for grilling/smoking.

 

[Lcback]

Sounds like a good deal. I love cherry. Save some for grilling/smoking.

Cherry is almost all we get, Black Cherry and Silver maple. The ash died, and are rotting. There isn't much oak left around here, but sometimes you see one fall, and usually everyone in town jumps on it.

 

[Lcback]

I feel for you. The first year or two is going to be tough no matter what. I'd suggest for the first year at least, you try to find a source for light, easily dried wood like pine or something similar, cut it small and stack it nice and loose to allow for good air flow and at least top cover (a shed is obviously best). That should get you through next season.

However, you also need to get supplied right now for subsequent years if you want denser, more efficient wood later because those species (like oak) can take three years to season properly even under good conditions. Personally, I'm three years ahead now and feel good about that, but it will take some planning to get there.

Continue to work with that land owner. I'm in a similar situation, and there is nothing like a source of convenient, free wood. I"m betting you can win him over if you sign a waiver that satisfies him.

Im hoping to get by on the 1.5 cords i ordered, and then cutting and splitting pine every week end from now until July. I have a source of that free, I hope it can dry quick enough. Other than that, Ill be cutting what I can scrounge from neighbors and friends for next year.

 

[jb6l6gc]

Im hoping to get by on the 1.5 cords i ordered, and then cutting and splitting pine every week end from now until July. I have a source of that free, I hope it can dry quick enough. Other than that, Ill be cutting what I can scrounge from neighbors and friends for next year.

how big is your house? Just as an example my house is 2100sq ft + 1200 sq ft partially finished basement, last winter was a very cold winter and all I had was my hotblast, I burned 7 cords. This year im on track to use about 4. Once I get my heatmax installed I expect my usage to go down about 30%. So that would be approx. 4.5 cord on a very cold winter to 2.75 cord on a mild one. So to be 2-3yr ahead you wil want about 8-14 cord racked. Im still building up my stockpile this yr I had 9 cords and gonna expand again this yr.

 

[Lcback]

My house is 2,200 sqft with a basement, Its an open floor plan. and well insulated. Built in 2007 with blown in attic insulation, insulated floors, and even the basement is insulated walls inside and out (ICF poured concrete)
This year I used 3 cords on a mild winter with an old terribly in-efficient furnace. and propane back up. I hope to have 3 cords with a good furnace, and use LP if i need to. I Fill it up in October when its cheap. LP is actually not bad at 1.80 a gallon. Its the 2.85 a gallon they jack it up to in Jan/Feb.
And i know its artificially inflated but the delivery company. This year they tried to screw me in January, and filled my tank up with out my approval at 2.85. Called and caused a storm, that the price of oil went down so should LP, they needed to come take it back of give it to me at cost. What did they do? they said, "sorry sir, we will let you keep it for 1.55 a gallon" I know that's still above what they paid for it, but I said that's a good price I'll keep it.