GLAD I CHECKED FIRST

[JotulOwner]

I was looking through the many firewood listings on CL in my area. I called one guy who said he had all cherry for $160/cord and the same price for oak/maple mix delivered (average price for firewood around here). It sounded fine to me, but I asked if I could see it before ordering. I went to the place (a private home) with logs piled up and also neatly stacked rows of seasoned-looking wood. He told me that I was the first person to ever ask to see the wood in the yard before buying. I figured I found the supplier I have been looking for. Just before making an appointment for a delivery, I looked around and asked him if he had a big truck somewhere, because all I saw was a pickup and a couple of other passenger vehicles. He said that the pickup was the delivery vehicle. I said, but it only holds half a cord at best. His response was "that's what I call a cord".

I am convinced that he was not trying to rip me off because he was straight forward about everything I asked. He just didn't know what a real cord was. I am glad I know enough to question everything and still expect that something about the deal will always fall short of my expectations. Despite the fact that I am willing to pay well, every last one of the firewood dealers I have dealt with had some issue. There was only one that came close to providing a fairly well- seasoned cord but he can't deliver to my area.

I can accept the fact that the wood will never, ever be fully seasoned (unless it is kiln dried, and even then they leave it outside exposed to the elements). It's just the way it is in this business. But, I expect a full cord when the price calls for a full cord.

The search continues.........................

 

['bert]

how about the idea of posting a "wanted" CL ad. That way those that meet your expectations can simply contact you. May be more efficient.

 

[Shipper50]

We called that CYA in the steel mill. Glad you knew enough to question before you paid and had them take it back or worse?

Shipper

 

[JotulOwner]

how about the idea of posting a "wanted" CL ad. That way those that meet your expectations can simply contact you. May be more efficient.

I have found that, whenever you make these guy aware that you know what you are buying, all you here is the sound of crickets. :smirk:

 

[RoseRedHoofbeats]

I had the same experience, though thankfully they were nice about about bringing me a full four cords and an extra half on top of that when I called to ask WTF.

I've had to call the attorney general on a few unscrupulous businesses in my time, and I usually bring that up when dealing with people. Amazing the kinds of results that will get you...

~Rose

 

[homebrewz]

He may not have been trying to pass one over on you, but he should still know what a cord is. A full-size pickup with an 8' bed will hold half a cord with the wood stacked neat and tight up to the bed rails. Smaller mid-size trucks hold about a third of a cord.

From the NYS ag & markets website: "In New York, all firewood sales and advertising must include the three dimensions of the wood, that is length, width, and height, with the wood ranked and well stowed."

http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/WM/WMwood.html

 

[Bigg_Redd]

how about the idea of posting a "wanted" CL ad. That way those that meet your expectations can simply contact you. May be more efficient.

I have found that, whenever you make these guy aware that you know what you are buying, all you here is the sound of crickets. :smirk:

I'm guessing the availability of free or cheap cut-and-haul yourself wood is not great on LI (maybe I'm wrong?) but here in WA if you buy firewood from a firewood cutter you're a mark so of course you're going to get worked. 99% of firewood sellers here are complete dirtbags.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Youre not far off,there, BiggRedd. Here on L.I. , with NO state or public land on which to cut, we really have NO reliable source for free(or cheap) wood. Thats not to say it cant be had ( im a year-round scrounger,and proud of it). Every firewood 'dealer' Ive ever come across (ALOT) is either a crook(90%) or has no clue what their doing.

 

[clr8ter]

What if you buy the cheaper green wood, (who cares how wet that is), and just season it yourself? Then go and see the wood, and ask them how much a cord is? After that I would be mostly concerned about the mix I was getting, desireable species VS mot as much ones.......I can see someone pulling that one, and most people would have no clue.

 

[JotulOwner]

What if you buy the cheaper green wood, (who cares how wet that is), and just season it yourself? Then go and see the wood, and ask them how much a cord is? After that I would be mostly concerned about the mix I was getting, desireable species VS mot as much ones.......I can see someone pulling that one, and most people would have no clue.

Most of what they are selling is pretty green, so I doubt they will be discounting much.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dang, it sure makes me happy we live in the country and have our own woodlot. I feel for you guys.

 

[Dix]

I've got a guy in Yaphank, with fairly decent firewood. Really decent (I thought) for here.


Drop me a line if you'd like the info.


I got a cord last month 1/3 ready 1/3 will be ready, & 1/3 maybe. It really helped with "will I have enough", considering the wood we blew through last year. What wasn't ready is seasoning nicely. It's been split for a while, atleast 1 year. Hardwood mix. I know he's got pine, too.


I had 5 50' pines taken down this year, pine is my friend this season ;-)

 

[JotulOwner]

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that many of the tree guys/ landscapers don't sell firewood around here because the cost to process, store, and deliver the wood makes the profit pale in comparison to what they get to remove trees. They prefer not to pay a dumping fee, so some of the firewood guys actually get free wood delivered to their property by the tree guys. Some will deliver to people on a waiting list when they are working in the area. The problem with that is you have to take everything (cords at a time) and some of the logs are huge (beyond what the average suburban property and homeowner can manage). Some list the location they are going to be at on CL and leave the cut rounds at the curb. I had some success with that in past years, but this year was very strange. Literally thousands of trees were knocked down during the several apocalypse-like storms we had locally this year, including a micro burst and even a tornado in Brooklyn of all places. A storm in March resulted in more than 6000 claims for my insurance company alone. Trees were down everywhere, but I really didn't see any indication that free wood was available for the taking. Maybe the government helped pay for the dumping cost. Who knows.

I like scrounging for wood. It's good exercise and I enjoy it. But, financially, I am much better off just buying it since I can earn a lot more at work in the same time it takes to find and process wood for free. I still scrounge occasionally when the opportunity arises.

 

[Dix]

I'm lucky to have one heavily wooded acre, and some carpenter ants at the moment :coolsmirk: , so wood is not an issue for me.


Plus Dix & Matisse live on 25 acres in Riverhead, which, we have discovered, is a killer score of dead & standing locust, ash, maple, & cherry <insert mega happ dance here> . There is currently 2-3 cords of cherry cut into rounds last year just waiting for the splitter, and at least 3 18" cherry trees ready to meet their wood stove :coolsmile: .


With 2 of us at the barn already burning wood, and my friend who's place it is getting ready for wood heat, putting in a day or two of cutting, splitting, dividing, stacking, etc to be split 3 ways is a good deal. A real plus for the owner is that they will have dry wood when they start.

 

[peakbagger]

During the first energy crunch in the seventies there were a lot of folks getting into wood for the first time and not very well educated on wood. A local old timer sold "half cords" for what sounded like quite a reasonable fee. Most folks didnt realize that his deifnition of a half cord was a stack 2'x2'x4' !. He knew better but would just play dumb if someone complained.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

And because of that first energy crunch, within 4-5 years or less there were lots of good buys on wood burners and tools for cutting and splitting. There seems to be a cycle as we've seen this happen a couple more times since that first one. Folks get into the wood burning but most find it is too much work or too dirty....

 

[n3pro]

Same situation here - the problem of living in suburbs. There are many advantages but there are many times I wish I had much more land; my .21 acre lot with a 2100 sq ft McManison and neighbors way too close are a disadvantage when it comes to wood storage and wood scrounging.

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that many of the tree guys/ landscapers don't sell firewood around here because the cost to process, store, and deliver the wood makes the profit pale in comparison to what they get to remove trees. They prefer not to pay a dumping fee, so some of the firewood guys actually get free wood delivered to their property by the tree guys. Some will deliver to people on a waiting list when they are working in the area. The problem with that is you have to take everything (cords at a time) and some of the logs are huge (beyond what the average suburban property and homeowner can manage).

I like scrounging for wood. It's good exercise and I enjoy it. But, financially, I am much better off just buying it since I can earn a lot more at work in the same time it takes to find and process wood for free. I still scrounge occasionally when the opportunity arises.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that many of the tree guys/ landscapers don't sell firewood around here because the cost to process, store, and deliver the wood makes the profit pale in comparison to what they get to remove trees. They prefer not to pay a dumping fee, so some of the firewood guys actually get free wood delivered to their property by the tree guys. Some will deliver to people on a waiting list when they are working in the area. The problem with that is you have to take everything (cords at a time) and some of the logs are huge (beyond what the average suburban property and homeowner can manage). Some list the location they are going to be at on CL and leave the cut rounds at the curb. I had some success with that in past years, but this year was very strange. Literally thousands of trees were knocked down during the several apocalypse-like storms we had locally this year, including a micro burst and even a tornado in Brooklyn of all places. A storm in March resulted in more than 6000 claims for my insurance company alone. Trees were down everywhere, but I really didn't see any indication that free wood was available for the taking. Maybe the government helped pay for the dumping cost. Who knows.

I like scrounging for wood. It's good exercise and I enjoy it. But, financially, I am much better off just buying it since I can earn a lot more at work in the same time it takes to find and process wood for free. I still scrounge occasionally when the opportunity arises.

I have a tree guy that will drop bucked rounds at my house when he's going from one job to another. It does mean I get some massive slabs, odd shaped pieces, shredded leaves and chippings, the odd beer can, and a hillbilly driveway, but I'll take it. It's great to be me

 

[Lumber-Jack]

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that many of the tree guys/ landscapers don't sell firewood around here because the cost to process, store, and deliver the wood makes the profit pale in comparison to what they get to remove trees. They prefer not to pay a dumping fee, so some of the firewood guys actually get free wood delivered to their property by the tree guys. Some will deliver to people on a waiting list when they are working in the area. The problem with that is you have to take everything (cords at a time) and some of the logs are huge (beyond what the average suburban property and homeowner can manage). Some list the location they are going to be at on CL and leave the cut rounds at the curb. I had some success with that in past years, but this year was very strange. Literally thousands of trees were knocked down during the several apocalypse-like storms we had locally this year, including a micro burst and even a tornado in Brooklyn of all places. A storm in March resulted in more than 6000 claims for my insurance company alone. Trees were down everywhere, but I really didn't see any indication that free wood was available for the taking. Maybe the government helped pay for the dumping cost. Who knows.

I like scrounging for wood. It's good exercise and I enjoy it. But, financially, I am much better off just buying it since I can earn a lot more at work in the same time it takes to find and process wood for free. I still scrounge occasionally when the opportunity arises.

I have a tree guy that will drop bucked rounds at my house when he's going from one job to another. It does mean I get some massive slabs, odd shaped pieces, shredded leaves and chippings, the odd beer can, and a hillbilly driveway, but I'll take it. It's great to be me

Hey, aren't we are all trying to be CarbonNeutral. ;-)

 

[Highbeam]

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that many of the tree guys/ landscapers don't sell firewood around here because the cost to process, store, and deliver the wood makes the profit pale in comparison to what they get to remove trees. They prefer not to pay a dumping fee, so some of the firewood guys actually get free wood delivered to their property by the tree guys. Some will deliver to people on a waiting list when they are working in the area. The problem with that is you have to take everything (cords at a time) and some of the logs are huge (beyond what the average suburban property and homeowner can manage). Some list the location they are going to be at on CL and leave the cut rounds at the curb. I had some success with that in past years, but this year was very strange. Literally thousands of trees were knocked down during the several apocalypse-like storms we had locally this year, including a micro burst and even a tornado in Brooklyn of all places. A storm in March resulted in more than 6000 claims for my insurance company alone. Trees were down everywhere, but I really didn't see any indication that free wood was available for the taking. Maybe the government helped pay for the dumping cost. Who knows.

I like scrounging for wood. It's good exercise and I enjoy it. But, financially, I am much better off just buying it since I can earn a lot more at work in the same time it takes to find and process wood for free. I still scrounge occasionally when the opportunity arises.

I have a tree guy that will drop bucked rounds at my house when he's going from one job to another. It does mean I get some massive slabs, odd shaped pieces, shredded leaves and chippings, the odd beer can, and a hillbilly driveway, but I'll take it. It's great to be me

Hey, aren't we are all trying to be CarbonNeutral. ;-)

I like carbonneutral, but I am not trying to be carbon neutral.

I sold 4 cords of wood last weekend and the people were all surprised at what a cord looked like. Also though it was odd that the wood was grey.

 

[Flatbedford]

I'm surprised they didn't refuse the wood because it was too old.