# Do you sell firewood?



## ponderosatree

I just give away my wood now but it's always green. I'm thinking of selling my firewood. Does anyone else do this? I have a splitter already but not the space to age the wood. Just wondering if it's lucrative enough to be worth my time. This would be in the California Bay Area where the whether is only cold enough for about 6 months. I can't imagine there being much of a market for wood especially during the summer months.


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## Canyonbc

Ponderosatree, 

I am up in Sonoma County (Rohnert Park/Santa Rosa) and i too just give all firewood away. But i def. think there could be a market. I would say 35-40% of the people who i give would too ask me to come back, split and stack it for them. Pending on the wood, and the size (diamater) pends on what i charge but i think there is def. a market. 

I get a phone call or two a week from people asking for firewood. 

I just dont have the land to keep all the wood and let it age, which sounds like, your in the same situation. 

So i feel i should ask...most of your wood what is it..? 

How many cords do you think you could/would collect? 

Has anyone pondered like renting a Public Storage type center to let wood dry out, would it breathe enough. 

Canyon


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## ddhlakebound

I sell a limited amount, but I wouldn't if I hadn't already been paid to haul the wood away. Around here "lucrative" and "firewood" are never heard in the same sentence. California may be far more profitable. 

Canyon, why would you want to pay cash to rent space? Find someone in your area who has a couple acres unused, and who burns wood. 

You supply their wood, they supply you the space to keep/process it. Rent for cash, or 4-6 cords of wood per year?


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## OLD CHIPMONK

Firewood ! Now there's a pain in the old back.


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## Canyonbc

OLD CHIPMONK said:


> Firewood ! Now there's a pain in the old back.



I a am a college student.

I have friends with fire places and homes..who dont like to run the heater. They help me "for free" in a sense that i give them wood. 

So its profitable for me. 

I dont really advertise it..just when people ask.


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## Canyonbc

ddhlakebound said:


> I sell a limited amount, but I wouldn't if I hadn't already been paid to haul the wood away. Around here "lucrative" and "firewood" are never heard in the same sentence. California may be far more profitable.
> 
> Canyon, why would you want to pay cash to rent space? Find someone in your area who has a couple acres unused, and who burns wood.
> 
> You supply their wood, they supply you the space to keep/process it. Rent for cash, or 4-6 cords of wood per year?



I hadn't thought of that at all. To be honest, i think its genius. Thanks for the information. I might just try that. 

Canyon


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## Tree Student

I sell firewood in North Texas and it's always been profitable for us. You just have to mark it up enough to make it worth the effort but I learned after the first year to hire the helpers to do most of the manual labor.

Don't get me wrong, we're not gonna be able to retire on this kind of income but I have a crew cutting after some loggers and selling wholesale almost all year. It's a nice supplement to my small tree service.


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## ddhlakebound

What kind of prices do you get for selling wholesale bulk?

How did you find your wholesale buyers?


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## Tree Student

I tracked down the loggers and found out who they had "cleaning up" behind them and started buying my firewood wholesale years ago to meet my demand and to cut down on time and labor. 

These guys usually can't keep up with demand so they are turning customers away. Since we help each other out we pass off customers, otherwise I have people who find my retail ads in the local papers for delivery and they call asking if I do wholesale.

Prices range depending on who the customer is and how much they are going to be able to get for it in their area but somewhere in the $100-150ish kind of range per cord picked up.


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## reachtreeservi

I sell firewood. I don't advertise, don't deliver, don't want to even fool with it. Only reason I do is to get rid of all the trunk wood from removals.
And I still sell alot every year. Course I sell it cheap.

I've tried to talk all my family and friends into burning wood , just to get rid of some more. Even though I'd give it to them if they would pick it up, 
I still can't get them to change over

I don't think the return verses the labor is worth it , if you are just selling firewood. It's a hard way to make a living.

For sure, without the space to cure the wood, it's really not viable


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## treeman82

I sold a few cords of green wood this summer. I think that was the best way to do it. We had to get rid of a bunch of wood from a tree job, so I brought this one guy over with a wedge, maul, etc. and put him to work for the day. I was able to work on other stuff at this place while he was "disposing" of the wood for me. Sold it for $150 per cord dropped off... No having to handle it 20 times, or use heavy equipment to transport it. The firewood was split right where the tree had been standing, it was tossed in the back of the truck, and taken right to the customer's house on the way home.


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## Slvrmple72

I have firewood guys come out and buy the greenwood that I have cut to manageable lengths to haul from the job, sometimes they will pick it up onsite so I dont have to haul it. Get customers who want the wood after I have gotten the tree down for them but this is agreed upon before I even begin work. I heat with wood and have about 25- 30 cords in varying stages of seasoning but do not make it a point to sell it but I have on occasion. Most of the time its family and since they help split and stack I will only ask for food or beer:biggrinbounce2:


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## ponderosatree

For those selling wood what type of prices do you get? I'm hoping to sell enough to supplement the cost of a larger yard. Maybe a couple thousand a month at least. God knows I produce enough wood.


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## Tree Student

ponderosatree said:


> For those selling wood what type of prices do you get? I'm hoping to sell enough to supplement the cost of a larger yard. Maybe a couple thousand a month at least. God knows I produce enough wood.



You would have to move a lot of firewood to get that kind of supplement, most of the time the markup is about $50-100 per chord of course that depends on where you are at and what the local economy will support.

At any rate there is alway money in firewood but some people don't streamline the process enough to make it worth their time and effort but it's a waste product of the tree service so why not make some money off of it right? Hire a couple of grunts to split and stack wood all day or just part time.


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## ponderosatree

Tree Student said:


> You would have to move a lot of firewood to get that kind of supplement, most of the time the markup is about $50-100 per chord of course that depends on where you are at and what the local economy will support.
> 
> At any rate there is alway money in firewood but some people don't streamline the process enough to make it worth their time and effort but it's a waste product of the tree service so why not make some money off of it right? Hire a couple of grunts to split and stack wood all day or just part time.



My clients pay us to haul the wood already so my only real costs would be the grunts and space it takes to age the wood. Prices seem to be all over the place. I've seen cords of wood as low as $200 and as high as $450.


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## Tree Student

ponderosatree said:


> My clients pay us to haul the wood already so my only real costs would be the grunts and space it takes to age the wood.



That is the same view that I had when I first started working in the tree industry years ago and have always found enough money in it to keep me going. A lot of the time I would only do it when I didn't have any tree jobs to keep my guys busy for a day or two here and there or if they wanted to make a little extra money on the side. Since then it has grown to a huge business for me and now we are in production year round.

Here in Texas most people burn green wood if it's cut during the winter but other than that my firewood stacks don't take up much room since I run them against fences so they are out of the way.


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## Canyonbc

ponderosatree said:


> My clients pay us to haul the wood already so my only real costs would be the grunts and space it takes to age the wood. Prices seem to be all over the place. I've seen cords of wood as low as $200 and as high as $450.



In my eyes i would think prices are going to be higher in San Fransico and he bay....then they would be in Southern Indiana for example. I dont see to many people splitting wood on Telegraph St. in Berkley. 

If your gonna do it, i would invest into a high production splitter. (Personally, and if people disagree i alway up for learning newer and better ways)....

I would go with something like this http://www.timberwolfcorp.com/log_splitters/default.asp?id=14

A "normal" or something like Iron Horse splitter too. 

Just my thoughts. 

Canyon


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## Tree Student

Instead of going with a TW-10, try starting off with a used TW-5 or 6 that can be found for less than $5k in most cases. My crew can cut, split and stack about a cord every hour with a TW-6.

However I do agree with buying the correct equipment for the job, do the business plan and make sure the numbers jive before jumping head first lol.


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## tree md

We have a huge stockpile of green wood for next year. Sold all the seasoned stuff we had in Nov. We stockpile it and sell it pretty much to just keep our guys busy during the slow season. No slow season here with the ice storm though. People were paying $100 for a rick of seasoned wood while the power was out. We had already sold out but we arranged to have some delivered by a guy we know to the folks who were willing to pay his price. A lot of the places we worked the people wanted us to cut the green wood in firewood lengths so they could burn it and stay warm while the power was out. Had to leave several piles conveniently stacked for a condo complex we take care of with mostly elderly residents. We took down a huge Hackberry out in a rural area with a good 3' DBH trunk and trimmed two storm damages pecans that were well over 3' DBH a couple weeks ago. We just left them in big pieces on the ground and put up a sign that said free firewood. When we came back every bit of it was gone but about 9' of the bottom of the trunk on the Hackberry.


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## Canyonbc

Tree Student said:


> Instead of going with a TW-10, try starting off with a used TW-5 or 6 that can be found for less than $5k in most cases. My crew can cut, split and stack about a cord every hour with a TW-6.
> 
> However I do agree with buying the correct equipment for the job, do the business plan and make sure the numbers jive before jumping head first lol.



Thanks for the information. 

I have looked at Timberwolf, and looked at the TW-5, showroom but never in action. 

When you say crew, how many guys are you talking. 

A cord an hour is good stuff.


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## STLfirewood

I would check out the super splitter. I have one and the damn thing is fast. It's cheap 3k new. Light weight very good on gas(6-8 ricks of wood on a single tank) And they are very fast.

Scott


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## Slvrmple72

Scott, I checked out the videos, it looks like a sweet machine but how does it handle the "ugly" pieces of wood?


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## STLfirewood

It does ok. It will split them but you have to hit them a couple times. I have a separate (cheap 20ton) hydraulic splitter for the real bad ones. This is a great production splitter if you use it right. I have split 30 inch elm with it. It did it but I have to read the wood and wok from the edges.

Scott


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## nitromusky

I have a tw-5 and two people can easily split a cord an hour with out rushing.


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## Canyonbc

nitromusky said:


> I have a tw-5 and two people can easily split a cord an hour with out rushing.



A. Do you have the hyrdralic arm on the side?

B. How does it work, if you have it.


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## beaverb01

*Tw-5*

I have one with the log lift and a 4 way wedge. It's awesome and will run on a tank of gas long enough for you get tired of splitting. I've split wood 16" X 38" with it, knots, limb unions, etc. Not saying it will split anything, I've gotten it stuck many times. Hit the chunk with a mall or cut into it with a chainsaw to free it. Reposition and hit it again. The log lift will pick up a piece WAY too big to handle safely. I have never loaded it enough that it would not lift the piece I put on it. Expensive? Hell yes, but a well thought-out machine and with two people will crank out wood fast enough to keep both busy.

Beaver


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## BostonBull

All the people who are advocating the sale of firewood by tree services, I have a question.

If a customer asked this question tell me what your answer would be..........

Will you come to my house and take down these trees?....YES!


Will You also bring your splitter and split the wood while you are here and leave it for me?..................?????????


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## Canyonbc

BostonBull said:


> All the people who are advocating the sale of firewood by tree services, I have a question.
> 
> If a customer asked this question tell me what your answer would be..........
> 
> Will you come to my house and take down these trees?....YES!
> 
> 
> Will You also bring your splitter and split the wood while you are here and leave it for me?..................?????????



My answer is Yes, for "X" more dollars and for "Y" dollars we will stack it nice and tight too.


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## BostonBull

Canyonbc said:


> My answer is Yes, for "X" more dollars and for "Y" dollars we will stack it nice and tight too.



How many more dollars? Same price as they going rate in your area for a cord delivered?


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## Canyonbc

BostonBull said:


> How many more dollars? Same price as they going rate in your area for a cord delivered?



That is what i basically run it off of. Here and there people will be like well i can pay that price, and a few more bucks and get it delievered here and its seasoned. 

At that time i say, yep you can but one thing your not realizing is...hey you can do that but then its gonna cost you to remove the wood from your place we just cut up. 

In the long run its going to be cheaper to have us split and stack it for _____$'s. Anyways you will be already for winter, or next winter. 

Something along those lines.


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## mckeetree

Tree Student said:


> That is the same view that I had when I first started working in the tree industry years ago and have always found enough money in it to keep me going. A lot of the time I would only do it when I didn't have any tree jobs to keep my guys busy for a day or two here and there or if they wanted to make a little extra money on the side. Since then it has grown to a huge business for me and now we are in production year round.
> 
> Here in Texas most people burn green wood if it's cut during the winter but other than that my firewood stacks don't take up much room since I run them against fences so they are out of the way.



I was in the firewood business from 1982 to 1993 in Dallas and nobody wanted green wood then if they could get seasoned. Nobody on my street burns green wood.


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## Petr51488

Up here in jersey i sell about 20-30 cords a year. I get the wood delivered to my house for free. I split, drive it to another location to stack/dry and deliver from there in the winter time. The winter of 08 i'm hoping to sell around 30-40 cords. I sell at 220 a cord and 120 for a 1/2 cord.


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## okietreedude1

I sell wood. Dont make a living at it, but use it to supplement the winter slow time. Last yr (06/07) I sold prob $2500-3000. This yr was way less but I had a storage issue for quite some time so I wasnt able to keep as much early on.

I get $65-85 per rick (1/3 cord) depending on mixed or oak. When the weather is nice, ill deliver it. if the weather sux azz, its come-n-getit. I decided that last yr when i was delivering wood in the snow and ice. Not worth the risk of an accident.

Boston, to answer your question, i try to get out of splitting on site. i have had a couple of people ask and ive told them they can hire my guy afterhours and pay him cash. Ill rent them the splitter for $X and they can pay him. One guy just rented the splitter and did it himself. most people just ask to keep the small stuff that doesnt have to be split.


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## Tree Student

mckeetree said:


> I was in the firewood business from 1982 to 1993 in Dallas and nobody wanted green wood then if they could get seasoned. Nobody on my street burns green wood.



That's the difference in people from the city and country, I see it all the time but it's mostly the old farmers that want green to go with a little seasoned to get the fires started.

We run a TW-6 and love it, I have three guys cutting, carrying, and splitting nonstop. They average 6 cords in an 8hr work day with all the breaks and refueling.

We rarely get request to split on site but a few every year request it. I give them a price for however many chords they want, the price is always my wholesale price since I don't have to transport the wood.


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## BostonBull

What I am getting at is this, and it WASNT my idea I just like it..............

Alot of guys around here WONT split on site. Too much work to move the splitter etc etc etc.  

BUT

They will take down the trees, haul the logs to their site, pay a guy to split it, pay taxes on the property while it seasons, then haul it back to that SAME site. But yet it is more of a pain to split on site?


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## Tree Student

BostonBull said:


> What I am getting at is this, and it WASNT my idea I just like it..............
> 
> Alot of guys around here WONT split on site. Too much work to move the splitter etc etc etc.
> 
> BUT
> 
> They will take down the trees, haul the logs to their site, pay a guy to split it, pay taxes on the property while it seasons, then haul it back to that SAME site. But yet it is more of a pain to split on site?



That's the part of it that I have never understood about some of these guys, I would love to split everything on site and leave it there. Any splitter weighs less than any tree worth splitting not to mention the size.

If you can get the same price for the wood as you bring the tree down that you get for seasoned wood less a little in fuel cost then any good business person would go for that one because it's the same amount of profit.


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## CRThomas

*Answer*



ponderosatree said:


> I just give away my wood now but it's always green. I'm thinking of selling my firewood. Does anyone else do this? I have a splitter already but not the space to age the wood. Just wondering if it's lucrative enough to be worth my time. This would be in the California Bay Area where the whether is only cold enough for about 6 months. I can't imagine there being much of a market for wood especially during the summer months.


 I have found in selling firewood there are two kinds of sellers. Part time who what ever they thru the winter and then go do something else in the summer time I do it full time I am retired and I make a comfortable living. You have to market firewood for summer and winter. My wrapped wood Xmas I wrap it in green and red 
Just one way of doing full time. The first year is to stock pile. Then you are ready the second year. Don't get in the place were water runs out of your truck on delivery


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## Kingsfold

*might sell too*

I used to sel firewood out of my partents back woods years ago. Wish I had never stopped. I just did a black locust job and dropped some wood off to a freind who needed wood and instead of a 5 or 10 bill He gave me $50 for a full pick -up load of unsplit wood. I think I need to rethink this possibility.. Now if I just had the place to store the stuff. Thanks .


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## CRThomas

*Info*

I see your not full time me and my buddy in the other part of the state he beat me last year by $13.000.00 we run in close to a $100.000.00 a year so don't say there is no money in firewood.
We make what you do sometimes in a day. You get full time and treat your customer good you can make ore than a comfortable living. Later


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## CRThomas

*Info*

I sell fire wood year round people buy it and let it cure all summer. I live in the heartland in Southern Illinois.good luck later


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## tomtrees58

there's some guys here that sell wood me for one i sell 100 cords a year @200 pr cord dumped i have 80 cords cut for this year cut now will have about 130 by sept look at and threads we all post pics tom


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## DeAvilaTree

I sell wood I promise my guys 8 hours a day during the warm months so if we finish up early on a job they split wood for the rest of the day, it works out for me because I usually figure on them being on the job for 8 hours. And wood up here is selling at 300 per cord, but I have to make peices 12-14" because of all the small fireplace inserts that are so popular in the Boston area.


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## Treewolf

*Want Wood?*

Original Poster Ponderosa: I am in your area and will be happy to bring you all kinds of wood if you ever got your wood lot started,  ....


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## Extreme Heat

CRThomas said:


> I see your not full time me and my buddy in the other part of the state he beat me last year by $13.000.00 we run in close to a $100.000.00 a year so don't say there is no money in firewood.
> We make what you do sometimes in a day. You get full time and treat your customer good you can make ore than a comfortable living. Later




We do pretty well in Northern California too...


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## Firewood Dave

Hi Folks
I am new to your forum. I sell firewood about 250 cords a year. A buddy owns a tree service. When the customer does not want the wood he calls me. I go to his site. If his guys are still there they help me load up. I take it back to my yard in blocks to split later. There are some species I won't take.Mostly Cottonwood poplar and willow. I get more red cedar and pine than i really want but that's the she goes
His tree service sells firewood. I process and deliver it to his customers and I get my share. I get maybe 75 cords a year from him and deliver about 50 for him. This is all in Greater Vancouver BC


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## ccjim

i sell wood,i get 300 a cord in upstate NY.all the wood I sell i get is from tree jobs so its just more profit,the only problem i have selling wood is when you get a winter like we had this year you dont sell squat.I only do it because its extra gravy.


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## CRThomas

*Info*



ponderosatree said:


> I just give away my wood now but it's always green. I'm thinking of selling my firewood. Does anyone else do this? I have a splitter already but not the space to age the wood. Just wondering if it's lucrative enough to be worth my time. This would be in the California Bay Area where the whether is only cold enough for about 6 months. I can't imagine there being much of a market for wood especially during the summer months.



I live in southern Illinois I tried selling bulk firewood it was to much work and not enough profit for the damage to equipment so I went to selling bundled or wrapped which ever you call it in your area. My work is a fourth as much and my profit is about 7 times more. I stay busy year round but my customers don't burn for heat they burn for looks. My area those factory wrapped sticks are $9.99 a piece it takes about 4 to build a fire my bundles are $5.00 and it has 8 pieces in it. I can split and wrap 10 bundles a hour. I buy my wood in 16 inch chunks for about $40.00 a load delivered. By buying it by the chunks I get a rank and a half that way I can split it to suit my customers and not me. So many guys try to sell firewood the way they want it split. Every body is different. Try selling wrapped firewood I sell as much in 90 degrees weather as I do in zero weather. There is money in firewood but if your the fellow that does it for beer money or cash flow or because no body needs there grass cut. It is just a fly by night deal. Later


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## Lil Red

ddhlakebound said:


> I sell a limited amount, but I wouldn't if I hadn't already been paid to haul the wood away. Around here "lucrative" and "firewood" are never heard in the same sentence. California may be far more profitable.
> 
> Canyon, why would you want to pay cash to rent space? Find someone in your area who has a couple acres unused, and who burns wood.
> 
> You supply their wood, they supply you the space to keep/process it. Rent for cash, or 4-6 cords of wood per year?




Exactly what I do in the winter and it works out great, usually sell maybe 30. A little extra spending cash and I don't mind a little firewood processing, put's some hair on yer chest. :msp_smile:


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## klancey

Tree Student said:


> That is the same view that I had when I first started working in the tree industry years ago and have always found enough money in it to keep me going. A lot of the time I would only do it when I didn't have any tree jobs to keep my guys busy for a day or two here and there or if they wanted to make a little extra money on the side. Since then it has grown to a huge business for me and now we are in production year round.
> 
> Here in Texas most people burn green wood if it's cut during the winter but other than that my firewood stacks don't take up much room since I run them against fences so they are out of the way.


what is the name of your business? is there any chance you would be interested in buying cedar or pinion firewood or fireplace firewood?


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## jtc16

I sell firewood but I don't sell all wood I get. I try to only save oak, ash, and really healthy knotless wood. If you don't have room to store it idk, but maybe just save up any oak or other primo firewood you get to sell.


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