Why is firewood so expensive?

[Dataman]

Where I live there is still lots of Downed Trees. U can't give wood away for 100 bucks a cord. White Pine too.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Also I don't know anyone who's gotten rich running a firewood business.

 

[The.Devo]

Vermont...Bernie Sanders...Poor me...everything should be free

 

[Dakotas Dad]

LOL.. Just go out there and split your own.. Look "free wood"..

 

[Chas0218]

I do it because it is still 1/6 my fuel oil bill. In 1 season I paid for my chainsaw, and wood splitter plus $1000 more in savings. I would go through about $3000/yr. for heating my house with fuel oil. It costs be about $75 for 2 cords to cut, split and haul it from my parents house to mine. I try to find it locally where someone just wants to get rid of the wood but I can't make it there fast enough. I have 40 acres with a mix of hardwoods and poplar but like to bring it from my fathers being I don't have a ton of hardwoods compared to their 130 acres worth of Ash, Maple and Beech. I can heat my house for 1 winter with 6 cords of wood so it doesn't cost me much. I would rather heat with wood anyway I like the heat from it and saves me a ton of money. I can usually fell the 6 cords I need and have it CSS in 2 days with help 4 without so I'm not spending a ton of time doing it .

 

[Woody5506]

You think it should be $30/face cord? Where exactly does that number come from? Have you ever processed a facecord from tree to firewood, including stacking?

Usually my effort goes like this:

Search craigslist, contact whoever has free wood and if I'm lucky they actually get back to me, drive out usually after work (in a diesel truck), load wood, come home and unload, get around to splitting/stacking when I can (usually well over an hour just into that)...


This is why I refuse to sell wood - Cant charge enough for it.

 

[bholler]

You think it should be $30/face cord? Where exactly does that number come from? Have you ever processed a facecord from tree to firewood, including stacking?

Usually my effort goes like this:

Search craigslist, contact whoever has free wood and if I'm lucky they actually get back to me, drive out usually after work (in a diesel truck), load wood, come home and unload, get around to splitting/stacking when I can (usually well over an hour just into that)...


This is why I refuse to sell wood - Cant charge enough for it.

Yeah i have plenty of other things i can do that pay way more than a couple dollars an hour i would make processing wood. I am happy to do for myself because i enjoy it. But i dont enjoy it that much.

 

[Woody5506]

Yeah i have plenty of other things i can do that pay way more than a couple dollars an hour i would make processing wood. I am happy to do for myself because i enjoy it. But i dont enjoy it that much.

No kidding, and if you end up with a surplus for yourself then it's just even better seasoned for when you do get around to burning it.

 

[ErikR]

are you saying i could BUY a truckload of logs uncut and just cut them myself for cheaper?????

I know prices for wood and services can vary a lot, depending on location, but here's an example of costs based on my location... Prices just verified on Craigslist.

A full logging truck of allegedly all oak, NOT the the prettiest wood I've ever seen, but delivered within 30 miles of the logger's location, is going for $1200.00 for 12 cords... a big, long, stack of loose logs on a truck and a pup trailer... More $$ if he's got to drive farther..

If you don't want to move, cut, split, and stack a whole truck load of logs by your self and need help, there are guys that will bring a firewood processor to your place, set it up and process your logs for you.. Around my location, it's $35 a cord IF you have a skid steer to bring him the logs... and make that $50 a cord if he has to bring his own skid steer... His equipment may be paid off but that doesn't make his services any cheaper!!

So, a full logging truck ($1200) + someone to process it ( 12x$50= $600 ) = 1800 for your firewood. Keep in mind that the 12 "logging cords" that you bought, now that it's cut and split into 16" pieces, is going to probably only produce 10+ cords of firewood (in stacks 4' x 4' x 8') That makes for $180 cost on the cords of wood... Divide that by 3 for $60.00 in cost for each "face cord".....

Yes, you can save money, but after all that, plus time invested in "seasoning" it...... How much would you sell it for???? Don't forget, to figure in you time to load it up, deliver it, unload it, and drive home!

Try CSS'ing 4 or 5 cords by hand or even with a hydraulic log splitter and I'd bet your asking price would go up considerably more!

Other than that... Welcome to the forum!

 

[weatherguy]

Also I don't know anyone who's gotten rich running a firewood business.

I do, my BIL did very well and retired early, for his retirement activity he cuts wood. I guess he cant get enough.

 

[vtwoodheater]

F*** Bernie Sanders. I am actually surprised Vermont doesn't have a state run firewood subsidy.

I don't process firewood because it is easy, cheaper, or fun to do.
I process firewood because it is hard work, I enjoy the time working, and it has to do with self reliance. Nothing worth doing is easy. There are no handouts.
Anyone that comes up my driveway appreciates the work involved in making my firewood stacks.....

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

If the OP is legit, it's an obvious lack of business sense. You have to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. Guys that run large processors and equipment do so because they've built a business that gave them the opportunity to take some risks and operate on a large scale. Smaller companies may not have the same output, but their profit margins may be comparable because they have less overhead. So "sitting" may be a benefit of working hard, paying your dues and being smart. Not to forget working smarter, not ......... This one sure ruffled some feathers and for good reason, but i cant help but think this might have been a trollin post.

 

[MisterFixIT]

> Why is firewood so expensive

(broken link removed to https://reno.craigslist.org/grd/d/almond-firewood/6709315569.html)

Because the "1/2 cord" measures 3'x3'x5' ... ha ha.

Just about every firewood place around here plays these games so nobody knows what an actual cord is. Their eye balls would pop out of their skull if they realized a real cord of hardwood cost near a 1/2 grand.

 

[wooduser]

I'll bet there are plenty of people who wondered why firewood was so expensive.

Some probably went out and bought a chainsaw, splitter and such, paying good money up front.

After doing the hard labor of actually processing firewood, I'll bet most of them understood not why it was expensive, but why it was a bargain at the price.

 

[leonardo]

Go process a cord by hand by yourself and then answer your own question of "what am i paying for". Why would anyone run a business to break even?

great answer chimney smoke, you are a wise man. the big question is whether the whiner will read your response.? the bigger question is will he comprehend?

 

[jetsam]

I'll bet there are plenty of people who wondered why firewood was so expensive.

Some probably went out and bought a chainsaw, splitter and such, paying good money up front.

After doing the hard labor of actually processing firewood, I'll bet most of them understood not why it was expensive, but why it was a bargain at the price.

I wouldn't heat with wood if I had to pay for wood. The time and effort spent wood processing is the part that gives me the sense that I am heating the house on a cold night, and I am currently knocking the gas/oil/electric bill down to zero. If you're paying $250 cord, why not just use a form of heat that doesn't require you to carry it inside and load the stove and clean the stove and sweep the flue, etc?

Wood heat is definitely not for everyone. I saw two guys loading up those baggies of kindling that Home Depot calls firewood the other day. (If you're not familiar, it's a tiny mesh bag full of 2" - 3" splits for $6, which comes out to roughly $1200/cord.)

Guy One: "I use so much of this because I have a WOOD STOVE!" Guy Two: "Oh, be careful, that's why my friend's house burned down. You should get a fireplace!"

 

[Dug8498]

I wouldn't heat with wood if I had to pay for wood. The time and effort spent wood processing is the part that gives me the sense that I am heating the house on a cold night, and I am currently knocking the gas/oil/electric bill down to zero. If you're paying $250 cord, why not just use a form of heat that doesn't require you to carry it inside and load the stove and clean the stove and sweep the flue, etc?

Wood heat is definitely not for everyone. I saw two guys loading up those baggies of kindling that Home Depot calls firewood the other day. (If you're not familiar, it's a tiny mesh bag full of 2" - 3" splits for $6, which comes out to roughly $1200/cord.)

Guy One: "I use so much of this because I have a WOOD STOVE!" Guy Two: "Oh, be careful, that's why my friend's house burned down. You should get a fireplace!"

I understand what you’re saying, but even at $230 per cord, which is what I pay, I am saving thousands of dollars every winter over the electric heating system that’s in our house. I could also install an oil or propane heating system that would cost many thousands of dollars to install and would still be more expensive every month to run than burning wood is for me... I do also process wood when I can get it, but I don’t have trees on my property I can cut down and I don’t have a ton of free time, so paying $230 for about 2 months of heat is more than reasonable for me


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[jetsam]

I understand what you’re saying, but even at $230 per cord, which is what I pay, I am saving thousands of dollars every winter over the electric heating system that’s in our house. I could also install an oil or propane heating system that would cost many thousands of dollars to install and would still be more expensive every month to run than burning wood is for me... I do also process wood when I can get it, but I don’t have trees on my property I can cut down and I don’t have a ton of free time, so paying $230 for about 2 months of heat is more than reasonable for me

Well, if there's an outright cost savings, that's an incentive for most people. Local prices for gas/electricity/oil change the math considerably as you travel.

I imagine I could actually save money at $250/cord here too, since there's no natural gas- and propane, oil, and electricity are all a lot more expensive than the national average (electricity is more than double). I don't know if I WOULD, though... I'd have to run the numbers.

I do know that when I get too old for wood processing, solar panels and a battery bank will be doing most of my heating, wherever I am.

 

[weatherguy]

I wouldn't heat with wood if I had to pay for wood. The time and effort spent wood processing is the part that gives me the sense that I am heating the house on a cold night, and I am currently knocking the gas/oil/electric bill down to zero. If you're paying $250 cord, why not just use a form of heat that doesn't require you to carry it inside and load the stove and clean the stove and sweep the flue, etc?

Wood heat is definitely not for everyone. I saw two guys loading up those baggies of kindling that Home Depot calls firewood the other day. (If you're not familiar, it's a tiny mesh bag full of 2" - 3" splits for $6, which comes out to roughly $1200/cord.)

Guy One: "I use so much of this because I have a WOOD STOVE!" Guy Two: "Oh, be careful, that's why my friend's house burned down. You should get a fireplace!"

Even if I paid $250 a cord, )I never have) a season would cost me $1,000, I save at least $2,000 in oil using wood some years more and my house is always nice and warm when before it wasn't. I'd still be ahead of the game.

 

[Dug8498]

Well, if there's an outright cost savings, that's an incentive for most people. Local prices for gas/electricity/oil change the math considerably as you travel.

I imagine I could actually save money at $250/cord here too, since there's no natural gas- and propane, oil, and electricity are all a lot more expensive than the national average (electricity is more than double). I don't know if I WOULD, though... I'd have to run the numbers.

I do know that when I get too old for wood processing, solar panels and a battery bank will be doing most of my heating, wherever I am.

Right on, Solar would be awesome. I hope to one day have some panels installed, or maybe do a geothermal setup, or a combination of both. For now, wood is our cheapest option by far


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[blades]

besides the fuel cost of oil propane or gas, there is the added charge of electric to run same- until the power goes out then you freeze.
most of the wood i use i get for free- but as is stated else where, that free comes with a cost. Just had my Propane tank topped off- $ 400/1.59/gal + tax around here that is about 2 cord "green" wood cut and split +delivery. so it will be 2 years before it is usable. Properly Kiln dried is pushing $500/cord. Conventional stack and wait dried stuff about $350 or so for a cord. ( course we all know that is a myth propagated by the sellers 95% of the time)( looks dry on the outside dripping wet inside) normal use for my stove is about 3-4 cord a season, That propane is only going to last till apx Feb 1 if used for heating 24/ 7 maybe less depending on weather. My wood stove can cut just about 3/4 of the propane cost out of the budget, The wood processing and transport would add some back in. Runs me about $10 to transport a cord plus up to 50 miles add another $20/cord for processing fuels. so that would bring me to about $120 wood vs $1200 propane for the season ( amount I spent last year sans stove- new to me abode).

 

[Rich L]

I got quoted for $80 per face cord.
$960 for four full cords.

Im trying to rationalize it and would appreciate clarification.

Our guy has a firewood processor more than likely paid off. He sits in a seat as he cuts the tree, plops it in the processor, and the machine cuts and splits the wood to size. He then sits in a seat in the skid-steer and loads it into a truck. He then sits in a seat and drives it to my house where the truck automatically dumps the wood... he gets paid almost $1,000 just like that.. and drives off.

Am i wrong to assume that the cost of firewood is due to the convenience of it more than the actual product? Yes, i didn't have to cut down the tree or split it... but it seems like firewood should be around $30 a face cord.

I know they have to pay for gas, fuel, maintenance, possibly an employee or two.. but come on now. Almost $1,000 for wood??

Is there anyone out there who sells their own firewood who can clear up for me what I'm missing?

Honest question here.. when you're done dumping the load and you're driving off and have $1,000+ in your pocket.. do you laugh or call your customers 'suckers' for paying for something that cost you much less?

Even more... a lot of these guys have tree removal services. So.. they're getting PAID to cut the tree down, but then are being PAID again for the same product!???

So when the first customer thanks them for removing the tree, the owner knows that the product they just cut down and was paid to do so will be sold for even more profit!

It's almost like its one of those businesses all firewood people DONT want you to know about or think about starting so that you don't take business away from them. I feel I should get into the business.

And whats worse is many of these people spout their wood is seasoned when in reality its not. Ive only found one guy who actually cuts and splits and STACKS his wood (not in piles or cuts the tree the day before delivery).

If I was buying wood I'd gooble up that price for four cords.Some of the garden shops in my area want $600.00 a cord.The cheapest that I've seen for seasoned wood is $300.00 a cord.So as far as I can see your doing just fine.

 

[KJamesJR]

$240 isn’t bad per cord. I think it’s better than most prices around my area.

Buying a grapple is cheaper if you don’t mind splitting and waiting a year or more to use it.

Still cheaper than propane.

 

[saewoody]

> Why is firewood so expensive

(broken link removed to https://reno.craigslist.org/grd/d/almond-firewood/6709315569.html)

Because the "1/2 cord" measures 3'x3'x5' ... ha ha.

Just about every firewood place around here plays these games so nobody knows what an actual cord is. Their eye balls would pop out of their skull if they realized a real cord of hardwood cost near a 1/2 grand.

We want that Craigslist post to live on in posterity.

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[saewoody]

I can relate to your comment. I get my log length wood from a friend who cuts trees. He dumps them in my back yard, then I'm on my own to turn them into fuel. I have a couple of high quality chain saws, a 1970 vintage John Deere splitter that I have overhauled (Good old Yankee ingenuity), and my own labor. If I calculated just the time I spend processing at my exceptionally high Yankee wage, I suspect a cord would be worth a grand or more. Bottom line, it is a labor of love and the love of the fire. I could heat with oil at a reasonable cost, but we love the flame and local heat. In my area of New England, we buy, sell and burn wood by the cord; 128 square feet. Never saw or heard of wood being sold by a face or a rick in this area. I do have a rick who lives down the street who burns wood and my wife said he has a nice face, but that's about the connection I've experienced with ricks, face and wood. Just sayin.

So out of curiosity, has your wife ever mentioned what she thinks about Rick’s wood? Or just his face?[emoji6][emoji23]


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