# Buying standing firewood



## teamgreen (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi all, I was aproached buy a man recently that owns 14 acres of woods and he is looking to sell alot of the wood off, It would be a do everything myself type deal, my question is, how do I price it out, Is it best to pay him by the cord, and if so how much should I be paying a cord? what do you guys think am i crazy for even buying my wood like that? Up until now I have been lucky enough to keep stumbling int woodlots on a help yourself type deal. Thanks in advance guys.
Josh


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## turnkey4099 (Jul 30, 2010)

By the cord for sure and pay very little for it. The equipment, time, labor etc required to turn standing trees into saleable firewood does not allow for much 'up front' finances. How much? Depends on species and what the going rate for that type firewood is in your local market.

Harry K


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## teamgreen (Jul 30, 2010)

Thankyou very much thats what I was thinking also, Its all red and white oak with some maple and ash mixed in with it.


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## floyd (Jul 30, 2010)

Speaking from a landowners standpoint what makes you think I will give my wood away? How do I know you won't burn the place down? Are you going to pile the slash?


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## Jed1124 (Jul 30, 2010)

floyd said:


> Speaking from a landowners standpoint what makes you think I will give my wood away? How do I know you won't burn the place down? Are you going to pile the slash?



If you want to be paid for your wood you have a timber company come in and log it out. That means heavy equipment, ruts, and stuff everywhere. If you want a nice,orderly, and clean tree removal or removals, you PAY a tree service, if you want a lot cleared, and don't want a terrible mess, and don't want to pay, you let the poor schmuck clear the lot and take the wood for his trouble.:bang:


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## amlogging (Jul 30, 2010)

*firewood*

I live in Central Ohio and around here most people that buy a surplus of standing firewood buy the tops from trees that are being logged. Since most of these trees are w/r oak,ash, hickory, maple then the firewood is good quality wood after being seasoned. I live on a 500 acre farm with 240 acres of woods so i dont have to worry about it. My buddy however buys per treetop. I am not sure what his exact prices are he pays but he has told me he hasnt paid more than 20$ a top and that was for a everything but the log on a 44" whiteoak in the middle of a field.


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## floyd (Jul 30, 2010)

Ah, no...if I want work done in my woods I do it myself.


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## teamgreen (Jul 30, 2010)

Thanks for the opinions and thoughts guys, in this case the guy just bought the land and wants to sell off alot of the wood, he isnt doing it himself because he doesnt know one end of the chainsaw from the other.


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## USMC0802 (Jul 31, 2010)

teamgreen said:


> Thanks for the opinions and thoughts guys, in this case the guy just bought the land and wants to sell off alot of the wood, he isnt doing it himself because he doesnt know one end of the chainsaw from the other.



Then he needs to call a logging company because a tree service is going to charge him and Joe Baggadonuts shouldn't be paying a premium for firewood when the firewood consists only of standing trees.


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## banshee67 (Jul 31, 2010)

if he wants to sell the wood on his new property, tell him to buy a chainsaw and start cuttin.. then splittin..then buy a trailer and start delivering..oh yea, he'll have to advertise the wood for sale somewhere as well....after all that,then he can sell some of his wood. explain this to him maybe


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## JimiLL (Jul 31, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> if he wants to sell the wood on his new property, tell him to buy a chainsaw and start cuttin.. then splittin..then buy a trailer and start delivering..oh yea, he'll have to advertise the wood for sale somewhere as well....after all that,then he can sell some of his wood. explain this to him maybe



But sean their doing you a favor in letting you use their land....:jawdrop:


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## JimiLL (Jul 31, 2010)

JimiLL said:


> But sean their doing you a favor in letting you use their land....:jawdrop:



Btw... its worth repeating.... wood isnt firewood until its bucked split and aged. And then trucked to wherever it must go


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## Oldtimer (Jul 31, 2010)

Is there any worthwhile logs in this deal? If it's that many acres and it's red and white oak, I sure as hell wouldn't be turning it into firewood if I could run logs out of it. 
Offer him $50 per thousand for the pallet oak logs, $150 for sawlog grades, and $300 for veneer grades. If there's 5000 feet there, you'll make $1000 on that all easy, and he'll make $450 -$500 or so.
Pay no more than $10-$15 per cord on the stump for the pulp/firewood..

How will you be getting the wood out?

Member "floyd"... ignore him. DO NOT tell the landowner you will pile the brush. Lop that shyte down and leave it right where it hits. If he wants the brush piled, CHARGE the man.


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## turnkey4099 (Jul 31, 2010)

floyd said:


> Speaking from a landowners standpoint what makes you think I will give my wood away? How do I know you won't burn the place down? Are you going to pile the slash?



Stumpage rate for firewood is just about zero. If you can find someone to pay you for it, more power to you but don't get your hopes up.

As for your other concerns. That is the standard approach I take when asking. I specify exactly what I will do (pile brush and burn it during burning season - for me, that means "when snow is on the ground"). Also I cruise the plot with the owner to be clear just what is to be cut. It is _your_ job to be sure all conditions are clearly specified and to monitor that it is being done. No fair saying "yeah, go ahead and cut" and then complain when it isn't done the way you like when you never said it up front.

Harry K


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## floyd (Jul 31, 2010)

Maybe you missed the part where I stated I do the work on my ground.


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## teamgreen (Jul 31, 2010)

The land was logged a while back, around 10 or 15 years ago I would guess, There are some good mill logs but the majority of the wood is crooked and just basically the junk wood they left behind ,there is some big wood here and there though. As for getting the wood out I skid my wood with a tractor and load it with the bucket, I hual it with a mason dump and a dump trailer.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 31, 2010)

floyd said:


> Maybe you missed the part where I stated I do the work on my ground.



Great for you. How does this help this guy here in Connecticut? It don't.


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## turnkey4099 (Aug 1, 2010)

floyd said:


> Maybe you missed the part where I stated I do the work on my ground.



So why did you bother posting in this thread? I answered your objections to letting other cut. Those objections are mostly a non-problem. You don't want to let others in, that is your right.

Harry K


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## madhatte (Aug 1, 2010)

Buy "by acre" if possible. Dude is obviously looking for cheap Stand Improvement. You might consider contacting your regional Forester for guidance.


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## Griffbm3 (Aug 1, 2010)

madhatte said:


> Buy "by acre" if possible. Dude is obviously looking for cheap Stand Improvement. You might consider contacting your regional Forester for guidance.



I share your state with you. I can tell you that most of our Foresters around here have walked most stands, and there is a chance that someone in the State has already walked it and can tell you a lot about it. Especially the wetness factor.

I know we all want to get in and out quick, but the Eastern CT guys can usually tell you how wet an area is, and what has been a problem in the past with a particular tract.

PS: Watch the truck cops out there, their numbers are growing, and the fines aren't getting smaller. I just had a buddy get bagged in his mason dump towing a trailer he thought was legal that he "borrowed". Tough lesson.

Jason


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## floyd (Aug 1, 2010)

You know , you are correct. I won't waste my time again.


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## turnkey4099 (Aug 1, 2010)

You did get treated rather badly but it was deserved.

This is a great site, you can get a lot of good advice (and some bad), contributors to posts are always more than welcome but they are expected _contribute_ to the discussion.

Please stick around.

Harry K


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## floyd (Aug 1, 2010)

I just meant I will not respond to you or oldtimer anymore.

I did contribute...from the standpoint of a landowner. Maybe you do not own any woodlands.


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## USMC0802 (Aug 1, 2010)

floyd said:


> I just meant I will not respond to you or oldtimer anymore.
> 
> I did contribute...from the standpoint of a landowner. Maybe you do not own any woodlands.



I think the point is clear that the land owner does not share your view that he does all the work himself. From the OP, it's made clear the landowner wants to make money and have someone else do the work.

That's why you got jumped on a little with your comments. While your views are valid for your land, they just don't apply to this scenario.

No need to get offended, it's just that "contributions" that aren't applicable to the question at hand aren't really worth a whole lot when it comes to answering said question.


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## forestryworks (Aug 1, 2010)

That's a lot of work for one man.

I'd cruise the 14 acres, get an estimate of how many cords per acre there is, find your total for the 14 acres and add 15%. 

Always bid high, that way if it takes longer than you expect, you're covered.

And get everything in writing.


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## D&B Mack (Aug 2, 2010)

Just my 2 cents...

Around here, I rarely find a piece of ground that it is worthwhile cutting standing wood for firewood in any sort of quantity. I typically sell the logs off and use my waste for firewood. The problem with 14 acres (typically) is getting the wood out at a low cost. Not sure of your exact situation, but around here this sounds like a service that would charged for, not paid; especially if there is a time constraint.


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## Billy_Bob (Aug 2, 2010)

The forest service around here charges $10 a cord, and for that the logs are down, limbed, dry, and by the side of the road.

And you can get the wood for free from a tree service. You haul it instead of them, so it saves them work. The only thing is you *have* to go get the wood when they say it is down. (Their customers don't want it sitting there for a week, they want it gone.)


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## madhatte (Aug 3, 2010)

forestryworks said:


> I'd cruise the 14 acres, get an estimate of how many cords per acre there is, find your total for the 14 acres and add 15%.
> 
> Always bid high, that way if it takes longer than you expect, you're covered.
> 
> And get everything in writing.



YES.

My old contract boss would always bid INSANELY high for stuff he didn't really want to do (survival surveys, etc), reasoning "if I'm gonna do that sort of thing, I might as well get PAID to do it". It's a good policy to make sure that you have AT LEAST vehicle/equipment maintenance and insurance/L&I covered BEFORE profit on a bid.


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