Is firewood selling out fast this year in your area too?
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That's part of the answer, you and everybody else are compensating for last winter, and getting in extra in case this winter is as bad.
Also, in my neck of the woods, pellets are a Big Thing, and my supplier says the folks who usually supply him are selling to the pellet makers instead, so he's scrambling to find enough logs to process just for his regular customers. (My guy is a small kiln-dry operation.)
chazcarr
Minister of Fire
It is making the newspapers now:
http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/...cle_9f4b2abe-6308-525e-b521-99b53c3b8d37.html
http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/...cle_9f4b2abe-6308-525e-b521-99b53c3b8d37.html
Wow. Thanks for posting that. It's interesting to note the supply shortage is more than anecdotal and to learn the reasons for the shortage.
Look for low supplies and higher prices to last 2-3 years. I don't see the supply issues being resolved for some time.
My plan is as I use each cord, I'm going to purchase a replacement this winter season (even if its green wood). Because of space limitations I have to go that route. I wonder if I'll have trouble getting green wood in the winter. I would think tree companies would love to make a few extra bucks in slow season & not have to stockpile wood for next year...
Good plan whether there is a shortage or not. Gives you maximum drying time also.
No shortage over the border here, then again we've always had too many firewood sellers, maybe the supply demand will be in balance eventually. The guy I buy wood from did raise his price from $150/cord to $165.
madtrapper
Member
I have almost sold the 20 cord I had for sale in the last 2 weeks have 3 left
That will probably gone this weekend. Usually am not sold out until 1st of dec and most of the buyers are coming from farther away. People that always wait until the snow flies are going to be out of luck this year. Should have raised the price this year didn't realize there was going to be such a demand.
That will probably gone this weekend. Usually am not sold out until 1st of dec and most of the buyers are coming from farther away. People that always wait until the snow flies are going to be out of luck this year. Should have raised the price this year didn't realize there was going to be such a demand.
BruceNorEast
Member
Sean, what is "crown land?"
PS: wood that's ready for this season is in very short supply in southern NH. When I was looking most of the suppliers I spoke to had already sold out what they had for his season, it was scary back in August, doubt it'll be better until spring.
Good luck!
Land in Canada held by government in the name of the Monarch. What we call Federal Land here.
BruceNorEast
Member
I drive by a mill where I sometimes grab a skid of blocks (usually 6x6 end cuts) and they just dropped one on the curb this morning so I scooped it up - will be part of the stacks for next year. They used to have as many as 2 or 3 skids out there some days - easy pickin's - now they're typically spoken for before they hit the curb. Those that aren't spoken for (friends, family I assume) are gone before coffee break. Last winter shook us up a bit.
Seanm
Minister of Fire
Sorry I was working late and missed this chat. Yes and we are able to download a free wood permit that allows us to harvest 7 cords of firewood each year for personal use. It must be dead but that's ok. It prevents people from taking the live Larch and Birch. Sorry to hear wood is in short demand out there, makes it tough Im sure!
chazcarr
Minister of Fire
Oddly after all this talk, I got a coupon in the mail from (broken link removed) with an offer for $175 a cord with minimum 2 cords purchased.
If I had ever heard of them I would take them up on this offer.
If I had ever heard of them I would take them up on this offer.
If you click on their online "store" you'll see this:
"Firewood **** SPECIAL****
Currently being sold by the 20 yard dumpster full. Approximately 4 cords per unit and seasoned. Save $100.00 for unseasoned wood. All dumpster wood is in rounds and unsplit. Pre-cut to size can be requested. Extra charges may apply."
May be worth stocking up on for the future if you have the space...
This the first year I have ever sold firewood. I never planned on doing it because the amount of work never really seems worth the money. However hoarding it for 5 years I ended up with about 30 cords with plenty more needing split and dead Ash and power line cutting I could cut for years on my 23 acres. My wood was seasoned at least 2 years stacked on pallets and top covered. I sold about 10 cords at $200 for a full cord in a heart beat(plus delivery and stacking fees). I am in the software business and wish I could sell software that easily. I am halting sales for now for deer season and I really want to keep about 20 cords for myself. If I sell it next year I am going to raise the price, but it is still not worth the work. Imagine if wanted to make a business out of it and you did 100 cord a year at $200 that would only be $20,000. That is a lot or work for not a lot of money.
The people you meet are interesting, I met some really rich people that own businesses, IT people like myself, professors etc. I felt like the poor guy delivering firewood to the rich guys, ha. Meanwhile I own my own software business. It is not just people heating their homes, it is rich people with fire pits and wanting the ambiance of the fire.
The people you meet are interesting, I met some really rich people that own businesses, IT people like myself, professors etc. I felt like the poor guy delivering firewood to the rich guys, ha. Meanwhile I own my own software business. It is not just people heating their homes, it is rich people with fire pits and wanting the ambiance of the fire.
Yeah when I was working on the will my wife asked what to do with the firewood. I told her to sell it for what I thought the labor was worth. A thousand bucks a cord.
Depends on the area. Where I am, most firewood sellers are just guys in the area with good woodlots for their own fuel who cut an extra few cords on weekends to sell to folks in the town, so it's extra money for them, not a living. These guys do, however, keep the price of firewood down far enough that, as you point out, it's not worth it for many people to get into doing this for a business unless they've got something to add to it-- like my supplier, who has a small kiln-drying operation and can charge more than the going rate for green or "seasoned" (ie, cut down in the spring and cut to order in the fall). Few rich people around where I am in an out-of-the-way part of farm country, and both the cost of living and wages are lower than where you are, I'm sure.
Really that sounds the same, I think most people who sell are doing it for extra money. Even myself I looked at it as money I could use for one of my hobbies like golf or hunting. I really don't think anybody I know does it for a living. So no matter what part of the country even though wood sounds expensive to buy it is not worth the effort to sell it as a living. It is good for a little side cash.
Frank625
Burning Hunk
I am doing the same thing. it is a lot of work. I get $180 a cord around here and I have to turn people away. Some people are buying for next year and are OK with green wood too. It's keeping me in good shape, I had to stop going to the gym for now. I look at it as some extra money for the holidays and it pays to keep all my equipment in top condition. I do meet some nice people as well. I even give them a moisture meter reading on some fresh splits so they know what they are getting.
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madtrapper
Member
I do it for extra money been doing it for about 8 years cleared a lot of fence rows out and a lot of dead elms and ash starting to get low now so won't have much to sell after next year have to keep enough left for me to burn. I have bought a new quad, splitter, saw, and trailer to haul wood behind my quad over the years. When laid off during the winter needed something to do to keep me busy. I know a lot of my regulars will be disappointed because nobody in my area sells anything close to dry.
batchman
Burning Hunk
It looks like I'm SOL for dry wood this year... I did not have my yard ready this spring, then it was too hot/busy to lug and stack LOL. Now I'm doomed to repeating my last year's "fiber reinforced ice chunks" from my local farmstand, *if* I can get enough compressed logs to dry it out.
If anyone can deliver 1/2 to 1.5 cord dry hardwood south/west of Nashua please message me. Bonus points for 18" +/-.
Good thing I locked in my pellets in time. Assuming they don't double-sell them while I wait for the ground to freeze so they can deliver.
Ugh,
- Jeff
If anyone can deliver 1/2 to 1.5 cord dry hardwood south/west of Nashua please message me. Bonus points for 18" +/-.
Good thing I locked in my pellets in time. Assuming they don't double-sell them while I wait for the ground to freeze so they can deliver.
Ugh,
- Jeff
BruceNorEast
Member
The only one I know that still has wood that's supposed to be ready to burn is asking for an arm and both legs; he's on 101A in Amherst, just west of Nashua. He's a higher end landscaping outfit, charging $460 a cord. Amazing thing is his piles are getting smaller, so some are paying...
Maybe some of your wood is good enough to burn if mixed with the compressed bio/evo blocks? Pallets and lumber mill ends?
Good luck to you!
Maybe some of your wood is good enough to burn if mixed with the compressed bio/evo blocks? Pallets and lumber mill ends?
Good luck to you!
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