Getting firewood from tree service pros and cons

[Wood Doctor]

I totally understand, but this scenario is the groundies who already have the wood laid down. If I ask other companies to cut, I tell them to cut 16 inch by saying to cut the tree how they need to first.

I have to wonder if units of measurement also has something to do with it. Hard to believe that a sawyer or his boss thought that 16" to 18" somehow got "translated" to centimeters in my case. I gave my instructions, left with a truckload of walnut branches, carried them to my log splitter, and when I returned, the big trunk was already ruined. I should never have left the job site. Somehow inches got converted to centimeters. I should have left behind a ruler or what is often called a story stick to set the length.

Then again, since the sawyer was being paid by the hour, he might have wanted to double the time required to buck cut the big trunk. One thing for sure, he wore out his chain saw more, used more fuel, bar oil, etc. I explained that to his boss, but I don't think anything sunk in.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

"Then again, since the sawyer was being paid by the hour..." Quote from previous post.

My wife co owns an old family cottage with two sisters. Some trees needed taken down to relocate a new septic system. The old drain field failed and the tank and field no longer met distance codes. Neighbors house is tight to the tree taken down, power lines, etc. Hired it out, and the wood was to go across the street to another neighbor who watches the place in the winter. They have an outdoor wood burner. Other sister got involved. I'm not giving away good wood she says. We cleaned up the place for the work to be done late last fall, which included renting a trailer and hauling the quad, trailer, splitter and saws to deal with a pile of logs that sat for four years untouched from previous tree work. I said I'm not volunteering to cut and split this new stuff. So she had the tree service cut it to firewood length. That was expensive. Now it needs moved and split. An excavator put in a new septic system and was going to demo the old shed for three hundred bucks and haul it off. She thought that was too much. An Amish replacement shed was really reasonable delivered. Nope. Nothing that simple. Promises of fixing the forty year old rotten one. Last summer we went up. I fixed rotten boards in the deck and replaced an eight foot section of the outdoor stair, the post and one stringer rotted off of. Now one of them wants to rent it out to make money. Ha!
If I go this year... the only tool I'm taking will be the same one they do... sun screen.
I'd much rather say home with the dogs.

 

[Iowawoodguy]

I have a hard time getting wood from tree services around here(small town middle of Iowa ). The only time I would get it for free is if I went to the job site and loaded it up there, and when you buy it, you never know how much your gonna get. I don't blame them though. Makes me think I should charge more for my firewood when I see how much they get for it unsplit.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have a hard time getting wood from tree services around here(small town middle of Iowa ). The only time I would get it for free is if I went to the job site and loaded it up there, and when you buy it, you never know how much your gonna get. I don't blame them though. Makes me think I should charge more for my firewood when I see how much they get for it unsplit.

Hard to believe that ten years ago the tree service companies around here would actually pay a firewood man $100 for a pickup load carried away from the job site. How times have changed. Occasionally they might help me load the truck, but that's rare.

 

[Ontario Firewood Resource]

Hard to believe that ten years ago the tree service companies around here would actually pay a firewood man $100 for a pickup load carried away from the job site. How times have changed. Occasionally they might help me load the truck, but that's rare.

Resources are going up in price, that's the trend. So is resource ownership and environmentalism. I tell people that one day we'll be standing on the shores of the Great Lakes and they will tell us that there is no water.

 

[sirbuildalot]

"Then again, since the sawyer was being paid by the hour..." Quote from previous post.

My wife co owns an old family cottage with two sisters. Some trees needed taken down to relocate a new septic system. The old drain field failed and the tank and field no longer met distance codes. Neighbors house is tight to the tree taken down, power lines, etc. Hired it out, and the wood was to go across the street to another neighbor who watches the place in the winter. They have an outdoor wood burner. Other sister got involved. I'm not giving away good wood she says. We cleaned up the place for the work to be done late last fall, which included renting a trailer and hauling the quad, trailer, splitter and saws to deal with a pile of logs that sat for four years untouched from previous tree work. I said I'm not volunteering to cut and split this new stuff. So she had the tree service cut it to firewood length. That was expensive. Now it needs moved and split. An excavator put in a new septic system and was going to demo the old shed for three hundred bucks and haul it off. She thought that was too much. An Amish replacement shed was really reasonable delivered. Nope. Nothing that simple. Promises of fixing the forty year old rotten one. Last summer we went up. I fixed rotten boards in the deck and replaced an eight foot section of the outdoor stair, the post and one stringer rotted off of. Now one of them wants to rent it out to make money. Ha!
If I go this year... the only tool I'm taking will be the same one they do... sun screen.
I'd much rather say home with the dogs.

I think we all have relatives like that. They only call when they want something or want to borrow something. Its gotten to the point where I just flat out say, "No, I'm too busy!" or "No, I don't own that tool!", even though I usually do!

People get sick of being taken for granted and/or used.