How to engage tree companies for wood drop?

[southernmaine]

I imagine local tree companies get hit up all the time for wood, and in my region (York, ME) there are plenty of firewood companies, log burners, etc.

I'm looking to jumpstart my wood supply for a new wood stove arriving in a few months. I have a side yard along the driveway that would make for easy unloading, no power lines or obstacles, etc. Is a quick email and driveway photo the best way to ask for some hardwood logs if a company is near my neighborhood? A quick online search shows that ~50% of the local tree guys are in the firewood business as well so I'd probably not reach out to them.

Any recommendations on how to do this respectfully and without being a bother to my local tree folks would be appreciated.

 

[MMH]

I think just calling them and asking is a respectful non bother some way. Agree if they sell firewood I wouldn’t call as that would be an unintelligent move to give away your product. I usually just call and ask what they do with their wood, and usually that’s enough to strike a conversation where I can judge what to ask/where to drive the conservation. I’d say just use common sense, “please, thank you” etc go a long way.

 

[bholler]

Yeah pretty much just call and ask. I would bet if half the companies are selling firewood the others have a deal to supply them. But it never hurts to ask.

 

[stoveliker]

Yeah pretty much just call and ask. I would bet if half the companies are selling firewood the others have a deal to supply them. But it never hurts to ask.

Even then, either they supply the others for free, or they get paid. Regardless, if you pay the price that the market sets (be it $0+tip or otherwise), I guess they'll be fine doing business with you.

Best way is if you can give them some work; see if you need a tree taken down. Get a company to do so, get the quote, ask them if you can keep the wood, and go from there. That's an in -person interaction in a mode that gives them business.
Next, refer a neighbor too etc. Of course we can do most ourselves, but if it's close to a home, I prefer not to take the risk

 

[ispinwool]

...and then there's word of mouth...we aren't shy about expounding on how much we enjoy our
wood burner to whomever will listen...so when a friend had to have 5 monster trees taken
down due to high wind damage, we got a call to stop by and take whatever wood we wanted. The
tree guys gave him a break on the price since they didn't have to haul the wood away and we got
a LOT of wood for free.

 

[EbS-P]

Any time I see. Crew in the neighborhood I’ll stop and ask. I’ll tell them I’ll take a load of chips too. If you can save a crew two dump trips and they can get off an hour early they are usually pretty happy. I tip them as well.

 

[all night moe]

I've been doing tree work for 20yrs doing my own jobs and working with other services. Saving a trip or two to home base was a plus for me. Same with others. For those just looking for that firewood score, just offering to take some wood from their job can be a blessing. Less work they have to do.

These days for me, my BTU requirements increased significantly. A service was across the road, stump grinding. I introduced myself and gave him a place to off load some wood if he ever needed to. He also took my number in case he ever needed an extra hand with a job.
I am always networking. It has done me good.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

There is such a thing as to much wood for a tree service, especially when a storm comes by. My friend owns a tree service and sometimes has to pay to get rid of the log length.. Hes dropping 2 dump truck loads off at my shop.at no cost.
Id check with the service and see what they have. Id call ALL of them. If you don't know them, don't expect free. Find out how much they want, if they need to get rid of it, the cost may be next to nothing. Even places that split and sell wood sometimes have to much.. just make the call.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Call around

 

[firefighterjake]

I suspect your success will depend on a) whether they sell firewood on the side, b) if they have to pay to get rid of the wood and c) if they have to travel very far to unload vs. unloading closer to the job site. Sadly (for me) in Bangor where I work the tree companies can dump for free as the City sells the wood as bio-fuel (which is good for tax payers though).

 

[Woody5506]

If you're picky like me you may not want all the garbage that a tree service might dump on your lot. Log loads sure....5' wide silver maple stumps? No thanks. And it seems to me that's what most services around here are looking to dump.

I actually had a tree guy flip out on me via text message because I responded to a CL ad he posted, trying to get names and addresses for people who would want wood dumped at their houses. All he was trying to do was get rid of huge loads of soft wood like willow, pine or poplar and he was QUITE upset I declined his offer. Had to block his number actually, lol...

 

[Country Living in VA]

Last year I was able to purchase a large load of mostly oak logs from a guy who was cutting lumber, but he no longer is logging. I have watched on CL for someone selling logs, but nothing to speak of in the past year anywhere in my area. One person did list some last spring, but their price was higher for a load of logs than I could buy already cut and split. There have been numerous people who put listings on CL wanting to buy logs. I decided to try that about a month ago and not one call from anyone. I live in a very rural area and a good many houses around here have outdoor wood stoves. I have in my listing that I will take any type of wood-pine, popular, maple, whatever-no response. There are several free firewood listings on CL, but my truck bummed out on me last year and didn't really have the $ to put in to repairs. When my truck was working, most scrounges I checked out was either massive size pieces or they would want trees cut down for them in areas that were susceptible to damage something. In other words instead of paying a tree service $800-$1000 to cut the tree down, they would let you have the wood and liability to cut it.

 

[all night moe]

If you're picky like me you may not want all the garbage that a tree service might dump on your lot. Log loads sure....5' wide silver maple stumps? No thanks. And it seems to me that's what most services around here are looking to dump.

I actually had a tree guy flip out on me via text message because I responded to a CL ad he posted, trying to get names and addresses for people who would want wood dumped at their houses. All he was trying to do was get rid of huge loads of soft wood like willow, pine or poplar and he was QUITE upset I declined his offer. Had to block his number actually, lol...

I know those 5' wide Silvers you speak of. I HATE removing them. I call them upside down octopuses. In the suburbs their leaders sprawl out every where. Over the wires, the house, the neighbors house, the yard across the street .....
I never used to even consider soft maple for firewood. Now I do with 4500 sq ft to feed heat to. I'll take that big maple butt. Even if I have to do some noodling after bucking. That said, I wish I had given Silver a little more thought previously. It's not bad when you have a lazy day to tend stove and it's alright for the shoulder seasons too. Another plus, its seasons rather quickly when you have the straighter grain stuff. The twisty grains of the biggies takes a bit longer.

 

[Woody5506]

I know those 5' wide Silvers you speak of. I HATE removing them. I call them upside down octopuses. In the suburbs their leaders sprawl out every where. Over the wires, the house, the neighbors house, the yard across the street .....
I never used to even consider soft maple for firewood. Now I do with 4500 sq ft to feed heat to. I'll take that big maple butt. Even if I have to do some noodling after bucking. That said, I wish I had given Silver a little more thought previously. It's not bad when you have a lazy day to tend stove and it's alright for the shoulder seasons too. Another plus, its seasons rather quickly when you have the straighter grain stuff. The twisty grains of the biggies takes a bit longer.

Agreed, I used to turn my nose up at silver maple but I had a couple taken down 3 years ago at my house that I'm now currently burning and really it's perfect for this time of year. Even some of the chunkier knotty splits aren't too bad for a shoulder season overnight burn. Still though, not worth my effort to even attempt to tackle some of the massive ones around here. My neighbor has one that's basically 6 or 7 big trees coming out of the same stump, probably over 7' across. Can't imagine what she'd pay to get that taken out!

 

[all night moe]

Agreed, I used to turn my nose up at silver maple but I had a couple taken down 3 years ago at my house that I'm now currently burning and really it's perfect for this time of year. Even some of the chunkier knotty splits aren't too bad for a shoulder season overnight burn. Still though, not worth my effort to even attempt to tackle some of the massive ones around here. My neighbor has one that's basically 6 or 7 big trees coming out of the same stump, probably over 7' across. Can't imagine what she'd pay to get that taken out!

Last year we moved in this place in late Oct. I did not have my stove installed at the time and had very little time to prepare for wood.
The only source of heat we used was the Thermocontrol wood furnace in the basement. It's something like 4' deep and 24x24''.
Luckily my buddy had a huge pile of "unwanted wood" in his wood lot. Stuff that was not pretty to sell or bother with for his own use. A lot of it was Silver maple limb wood from 3-8'' in dia. Damn that stuff was so dense in its growth rings, it burned great and left nice big long rounds of coal. That furnace did ok for the bypass damper missing and the controller for the intake was shot. Someone installed a regular flue damper and I jerry rigged the intake so it could be adjusted manually. I will be fixing her before running it this year. Estimating a little over 11 cord last year.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I imagine local tree companies get hit up all the time for wood, and in my region (York, ME) there are plenty of firewood companies, log burners, etc.

I'm looking to jumpstart my wood supply for a new wood stove arriving in a few months. I have a side yard along the driveway that would make for easy unloading, no power lines or obstacles, etc. Is a quick email and driveway photo the best way to ask for some hardwood logs if a company is near my neighborhood? A quick online search shows that ~50% of the local tree guys are in the firewood business as well so I'd probably not reach out to them.

Any recommendations on how to do this respectfully and without being a bother to my local tree folks would be appreciated.

can you let us know how you make out.. just Curious on how it goes

 

[sirlight]

I know this is an older thread, but thought I would chime in. getchipdrop.com was how I got my relationship with a local arborist going. I was literally on the drop list for a year before I got my first drop. My location is rural, but turned out to be on the way back to their company. When they made the first drop, I tipped them $20. Now the logs and wood chips just keep coming. Like others have said, be polite. Tell them you will accept logs anytime they have them. If you are too specific or picky, you may not get another log.

 

[mellow]

I found out that a 24 pack of miller lite keeps them coming back if they are dropping.

I had a deal that during the summer I would go to a lot where a tree company would drop logs off at to store till firewood season and I would have first pick at bucking them up and loading them in my truck, $35 a truck load in my longbed, good thing I had airbags because I would load it up and crawl back home

 

[all night moe]

I have about 15 cord now, or better. One truck load at a time, free loads every time. I've been in the tree trade since, I started to heat with wood only. It has it's perks. There was only one year I had to pay for cords. At least it was at a discount and I only needed 5 cords.

Did I mention I love free wood. Free plus my labor ........ worth it.

 

[ispinwool]

...another thought: ...my only problem with 'free wood drops' would be poison ivy. We get free wood from assorted
friends (as per my earlier post) but we are able to "inspect" it before it comes home to see if it's covered in poison ivy. Hubby and
I are both allergic: I get it if I'm in contact with it, he gets it if someone mentions that they saw some
within a 4 block radius. LOL
Our town has a "pick up wood chips for your garden for free" pile on the edge of town...I got some once
and ended up with poison ivy. I learned my lesson!

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Yep. I like to see the wood first.

 

[kennyp2339]

Its all supply and demand, for my area local tree companies will sell truck loads usually at $450 on average, triple axle which yields about 6 cords once split and stacked (although they advertise that the load is between 8-10 cords lol) now if we have a lot of storms in a row, those same tree companies will give the wood away since usually the customer just wants a clean property, volume is high at the dump yards and the companies are overbooked with work, so I try to take advantage of free wood when that happens. Generally I keep an open spot in my yard that is always on deck reserved for firewood drop off, you never know when that bad thunderstorm is going to strike, or a neighbor up the road is having a large removal done.