I recently got in contact (through a friend) with a local tree service that is currently overwhelmed with business. he is looking to get rid of green rounds by the tractor trailer load. lengths are around 16'-20', depending on how heavy it is for his equipment to load. he said the stuff is "big", 18"+ inches in diameter. 90% white oak . he is estimating 6-8 cords per load and is asking 500$ a load (because i'm not out of his way). i process my own wood currently, and have a good saw and a 29 ton splitter. its a decent amount of work, but seems like a pretty good deal. what do you guys think?
Green rounds, worth it?
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Jonathan Corcoran
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I would jump all over it! Lots of work but that's a lot of BTUs for the price. Oak in the Northwest is super rare and spendy
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yeah, I just reached back out to him. he said it will be at least 6 cords and probably closer to 7 and piece. its all big rounds, so i figure if i get it split before spring it, i can start into it the end of 2015/2016 winter, really burn it the winter of 2017. I'm in the Northeast (New Jersey actually) so its basically all pine and oak around me. current wood prices in my area 160-180$ a cord for split, seasoned, and delivered hardwood (although its almost always not really seasoned). i think i'm going to jump on it in the morning. he said the really really big stuff will be cut into 25-30" lengths, which saves me more time.
that would be $700 to 800 here and there are waiting lists.
Cords are $225 to $275 here "seasoned cut to whatever length you want" LOL
I wish I could get even a dump truck (3 cords ) right now as I like cutting when there are no bugs
I'd like to be 5 years ahead instead of three
18 inches is a nice size to work with
2 of us did 3 cords a few weekends ago in a pile and we didn't put in more than 4 or 5 hour days on it ( 1:00 Sunday football games )
Cords are $225 to $275 here "seasoned cut to whatever length you want" LOL
I wish I could get even a dump truck (3 cords ) right now as I like cutting when there are no bugs
I'd like to be 5 years ahead instead of three
18 inches is a nice size to work with
2 of us did 3 cords a few weekends ago in a pile and we didn't put in more than 4 or 5 hour days on it ( 1:00 Sunday football games )
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I made friends with a couple of tree trimmers I met when I answered their craigslist ads. They had the same problem with wood. They did tree removals in the next county north that has "spare the air" days in the winter to cut down pollution. You can't burn there. They normally have to pay to dump wood when they remove a tree. They gave it to me and thanked me for taking it.
If the arborist you are working with is overwhelmed with business I would think he would be happy to find a place to take trees he cut down. I would think he would charge you for trucking and that's it. I get wood for free but I do load and haul it myself. Firewood may be the first thing I found around here that is cheaper than other parts of the country.
If the arborist you are working with is overwhelmed with business I would think he would be happy to find a place to take trees he cut down. I would think he would charge you for trucking and that's it. I get wood for free but I do load and haul it myself. Firewood may be the first thing I found around here that is cheaper than other parts of the country.
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
It's a shame that you have to pay for it but if you need the wood I guess it's a good deal, I know there are a lot of wood burners in Sussex county so maybe there is more demand up north, here in central jersey, I can get 1 1/2 cords cut into 18" rounds delivered and stacked in my driveway for free, you just need to be in the right place at the right time....
If he's really overwhelmed with it I would offer less. More like $300 for the load. You are doing him a favor and you have to cut, split and stack it yourself. It is a lot of work but at least you have a splitter. I have nothing but a Fiskars X27, a couple of wedges and a sledge. It would take me quite a while to process that load.
drz1050
Minister of Fire
it's easier to split in the winter, especially when the ground is frozen. Stand up the rounds in a line and just walk along it with the 6 lb maul. Way faster than a splitter, and since the ground is frozen you don't lose energy into it without a splitting block.
Everything is still covered in snow up here though, which comes with its own set of challenges lol
7acres
Minister of Fire
$500 for 7 cords of wet unsplit rounds that all need trimming to stove length? I'd offer less. $500 sounds like a "See if we can get $500 a load; otherwise just get rid of it for whatever."
Curious that he'd sell nice large hardwood in log length for firewood with the price of hardwood lumber. Not even just the prices at Lowes or Home Depot, but even direct from a sawmill (rough cut lumber) hardwood boards are high. He could get much more than that selling for lumber or flooring. Be careful that it isn't old fence row wood with barbed wire in it or something. That could be the reason he's selling it as firewood.
You said green rounds, 16' to 20' . Are they selling logs or rounds? Do you mean 16 inches or 16 feet?
Has all the straight lumber been cut out already?
Rounds to me mean trees that have been bucked so they can be hand loaded. You know grapple loading and hand loading?
And White Oak sounds like a bait trap. Thats how they can charge 500.00. Can you ID white oak?
Are you getting White Oak logs? (unlikely) or odd shaped crotches? (Most likely).
Ask if you can go look at it. You said local so you can go look and tell if you want to cut up odd shaped pieces.
If it is White oak logs (90%) that would be a consideration, but if these people are true professionals any decent logs are already at a sawmill.
Be careful.
Has all the straight lumber been cut out already?
Rounds to me mean trees that have been bucked so they can be hand loaded. You know grapple loading and hand loading?
And White Oak sounds like a bait trap. Thats how they can charge 500.00. Can you ID white oak?
Are you getting White Oak logs? (unlikely) or odd shaped crotches? (Most likely).
Ask if you can go look at it. You said local so you can go look and tell if you want to cut up odd shaped pieces.
If it is White oak logs (90%) that would be a consideration, but if these people are true professionals any decent logs are already at a sawmill.
Be careful.
I bought oak from a tree company in log length. The going price here is 100.00 a "cord", ( in logs its hard to tell.) The guy gets here and tells me he has 1 1/2 cord so he wants 150.00. It didnt look like 1 1/2 and it wasnt.
After these monster logs are on the ground he told me they were rejected at a mill because a metal detector found metal in them.
Which I didnt mind, Im just saying these guys, if they are good get the best bang for their efforts. What I did mind was cutting up monster red oak and paying them 150.00 for one cord of green logs.
In your case it doesnt matter where the logs got rejected or why, I mean its good for the firewood industry.
Its just that at 500.00 a load they are profiteering.
IDK its your money.
After these monster logs are on the ground he told me they were rejected at a mill because a metal detector found metal in them.
Which I didnt mind, Im just saying these guys, if they are good get the best bang for their efforts. What I did mind was cutting up monster red oak and paying them 150.00 for one cord of green logs.
In your case it doesnt matter where the logs got rejected or why, I mean its good for the firewood industry.
Its just that at 500.00 a load they are profiteering.
IDK its your money.
I'm going to take a look at it when i get back from vacation, he said he got a good contract so he will be cutting through next month (so no rush). I know he will be selling whatever he can to a saw mill, so it will be the pieces that the mill doesn't want. however, thanks to living in the pine barrens, a majority of the hardwoods around me are not really mill worthy. they just don't grow really well and tend to be too thin or gnarly. and yes, i meant logs (sorry), he said it will be around 16 foot or longer for the smaller diameter stuff, approximately 12". the really big pieces will be cut down to around 30" (i image that will be butt ends and crotches). He even said i could come down to the site and take a look at the "firewood" pile. I can ID white oak without an issue, its extremely common around me and its 90% what i burn currently. I'll snap some photos of the site when i go out next week.
now what does 6-7 cords of logs look like? i would have a hard time knowing if i got ripped off till i had it processed mid spring.
i think you guys are probably right. although he does a ton of firewood (i've seen his yard, conveyors, splitters, the works), i get the feeling that this contract is just dumping too much non-millworthy wood on him. so basically i'm saving him a lot of time and money. $300 might be a better offer.
thanks for the opinions, i will post some pictures next week.
now what does 6-7 cords of logs look like? i would have a hard time knowing if i got ripped off till i had it processed mid spring.
i think you guys are probably right. although he does a ton of firewood (i've seen his yard, conveyors, splitters, the works), i get the feeling that this contract is just dumping too much non-millworthy wood on him. so basically i'm saving him a lot of time and money. $300 might be a better offer.
thanks for the opinions, i will post some pictures next week.
drz1050
Minister of Fire
I'm surprised by those saying to offer less. Sure, you can try.. but $500 for 6-7 cord of oak is a damn good price IMO.
Log length firewood sells for $100/ cord around here.
Log length firewood sells for $100/ cord around here.
Andy S.
Feeling the Heat
I would offer $100 for the load to cover his fuel and time since he's a friend of a friend. I think you're doing him a favor.
claydogg84
Minister of Fire
Log length fetches $100/cord here as well. I see nothing wrong with the guys price. If you're used to buying firewood anyways, I think $500 for a minimum of 6 cord is a good deal. You're really not going to know how much wood you have until you get it split up and stacked though.
Even though I've got thirty acres of hardwood to cut from, I'd still pay $500 for a log truck (6-7 cords) of white oak. That's better than the going rate around here. Saves me from having to drop the trees, buck them in the woods and haul out the firewood.
I would think that log length should be well under half the going rate for split/delivered/stacked. So, if it would cost you $225 to $250 for S/D/S then $75 a cord or maybe $400 to $450 per truck load max. But I would sure want to see the wood before it is dropped on the front lawn.
petes_sakes
Member
$500 doesn't sound like a well thought out number to me, sounds more like a cash grab(remember, most arborists think of wood as waste material(IMO)). I'd hold out to see if that was the case. But if you need the fuel, and the price sounds good to you, then by all means!
claydogg84
Minister of Fire
That's not the case here in NY. Almost all of the larger tree removal companies take the wood to sell.
husky345 vermont resolute
Feeling the Heat
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