Wood: Buying cut, split, delivered vs. buying uncut logs vs. Scrounging

[rdust]

I currently scrounge but see a day in my not far future where I'll start buying log loads. Ever since I jacked my back up(microdiscectomy last July) and have spondylolisthesis I keep thinking a log load would be easiest. I have saws, a splitter, truck and a trailer(16'x7'x24") that holds nearly 2 cords of wood but on a good day after it's filled with a cord or so I'm good.(even before the back) Cutting, splitting and rolling rounds around is no problem but I refuse to lift any of the big rounds anymore. They either get split or I get help lifting. I've become pretty picky with the stuff I go after and may have just lined up a "job" cleaning up a fence row so life "could" be good for a while after that.

If I had to burn as much as you I'd be supplementing with purchased wood. It takes enough time to scrounge up 4-5 cords a year I have no interest in 8.

 

[steeltowninwv]

i scrounge...and have no problem getting enuf btu's....but if i had to buy i would....around here u get about 1 cord for 100 dollars...i could heat my house on a cold winter for about 500 to 550 dollars...as for logs..if i had a place to put em i would do that before buying c/s/s but i dont have a place to put em

 

[lukem]

I could buy a winter's worth of oak for $600 delivered to my door, but I still scrounge. As long as it's enjoyable I'll keep doing it. Maybe when age sets in I'll buy some.

 

[nate379]

I don't scrounge because I don't want to spend all summer searching for wood. Also if a person has to drive all over town to get wood, might end up being not so cheap either. I don't mind dedicating 4-5 days of my summer to processing my wood, that's fine, but I've got probably 500 things I could be doing instead too.

I don't think I can get any better of a deal with what I have going on. I mean it's pretty hard to beat making money off the wood isn't it?

 

[amateur cutter]

100% Scrounge. Wood is the only heat source for my shop, & provides 95% for the house. I cut somewhere between 30-40 cord per year, & sell some. I've got room & an unlimited supply on couple of farms, so I'm making a nice part time job out of it. I'd rather be on the trigger end of a saw out in the woods than just about anywhere else, so I make time for it. I usually try to spend @ least 1 day a week on wood cutting, splitting, etc. If I didn't enjoy the work, & have the time, I could buy csd & still be money ahead. I love people that buy fire wood, the pay for my toys. A C

 

[weatherguy]

Ive been scrounging but if I see a good deal on cut and split I buy it too, now that Ive made room I can have a load of logs dropped off if I choose, then I would have to buy a better splitter

 

[DexterDay]

Here is my last load. About 95% Ash.. (love it). Found a couple small Maples and a Red oak.

Its a bad pic of my last load of logs (Wifes phone, from the house)

Then a pic from inside my Barn, so he couldn't see me taking pic (gotta be sneaky)

 

[BrowningBAR]

Here is my last load. About 95% Ash.. (love it). Found a couple small Maples and a Red oak.

Its a bad pic of my last load of logs (Wifes phone, from the house)

Then a pic from inside my Barn, so he couldn't see me taking pic (gotta be sneaky)

Nice. If I had the space for unloading I would be more tempted to buy the logs.

 

[Woody Stover]

At this point I am looking at going through 7-8 cords of wood a season.

That would be a lot to scrounge every year. I've done quite a bit more than that in the last year though, trying to get us and three other households ahead. We'll need about 8-10 cords per year for maintaining the stacks once we're ahead; I'll be doing the cutting and hauling, and letting them do more of their own splitting. I've got quite a bit here that I could get now but I've been scrounging off-site for the most part. No BL on the property but lots nearby, and the Hickory and White Oak don't die often so I will go get those if it's not too far. I help out a couple of older neighbors, keeping their property cleaned up. I've also been going to get starter wood like Red Maple and Pine, but there is dead Tulip here. With the accursed EAB almost here, I'll be doing a lot more on-site cutting soon.
I enjoy processing wood but as others have said, there's a lot of other stuff that needs to be done and there are only so many hours in a day...

 

[Woody Stover]

pic from inside my Barn, so he couldn't see me taking pic (gotta be sneaky)

What, is is black market wood?

 

[katwillny]

I scrounge all of my wood. with the help of a buddy i search craigslist for posts. Recently I came across a great amount of wood, about 1.5 cords of wood right on my street from the power company clearing up some trees.

 

[ChrisNJ]

Now a days due to my hernia I try not to scrounge anymore and I am lucky enough to have found a local tree guy who delivers loads of rounds which I enjoy splitting, I guesstamate I pay around 50 bucks a cord for it and I like not lifting them into my truck, although if it is an easy scrounge of good wood I spy, I do not pass it up.

 

[BrowningBAR]

So, just Fossil and myself get wood split and delivered? Would have figured there were at least a few more that did it.

 

[TimJ]

To some it comes down to saving money and making good use of time. If someone had alot of money and their time was precious, they would pay someone to cut their grass.
However, for alot of people, it is about the feeling of accomplishing and seeing through a task. It gives someone a peace that is hard to explain.

 

[mecreature]

I scrounge, or have for 2 years. I have 12-13 covered and most of 13-14.
Last year there was a guy on CL locally selling cords for 100 bucks.
I might take him up on a couple in the middle of summer if I see him again.

 

[lukem]

I scrounge, or have for 2 years. I have 12-13 covered and most of 13-14.
Last year there was a guy on CL locally selling cords for 100 bucks.
I might take him up on a couple in the middle of summer if I see him again.

If it truly was a cord, and decent wood, I might be on that too....maybe not for 100% of what I needed, but I might get a couple cord.

 

[JrCRXHF]

For me i get 4 cord for 150.00 then i need to cut and split which i get done when i have time. I am not getting a couple years ahead. I do get some free stuff every so often but it is not what i count on. Around me wood is about 55.00 a face if you want it cut and split.

 

[fossil]

To some it comes down to saving money and making good use of time...

It's a hell of a lot more complex than just time & money. Location, age, physical capability...among a host of other things...all factor in to make each of our situations unique. What works for you may well not work for me. What works for you now may well not work for you in 10 or 20 or 30 years. What works for someone who lives among extensive stands of hardwood forests may well not work for someone who lives in the high desert (where I live doesn't even resemble any place in Indiana). It's no surprise that we do things differently. There are a zillion reasons why each of us does just what we do the way we do it...reasons that change with moving, aging, health, etc...thus we sometimes have to adapt by changing the way we do what we do. Rick

 

[Uncle]

Interesting thread....

Soon I am going to have to make a decision on weather or not I want to invest in a chainsaw, maul, wedges, ect,.... or just buy my wood. My descision is not going to be based on how much I can save buy scrounging. I would like the exercise and the satisfaction of scrounging, sort of like eating the fish you catch type of thing.

I keep hearing that wood buring is a lot of work. So I am thinking that buying it cut and split and stacking it myself will be enough exercise for me.

But first things first......I'm still a year and a half away from buying a wood buring stove insert!....lol

 

[BrowningBAR]

But first things first......I'm still a year and a half away from buying a wood buring stove insert!....lol

Buy/gather wood now. Seriously. It will make your life a whole lot easier. Especially when it comes to your first year.

 

[raybonz]

So, just Fossil and myself get wood split and delivered? Would have figured there were at least a few more that did it.

Nope you forgot me!

Ray

 

[BrowningBAR]

Nope you forgot me!

Ray

It's just you, me, and fossil. I'll run down to wardrobe and pick up the Three Amigos' clothes and we can all sing 'My Little Buttercup' over by the piano.

 

[scroungerjeff]

Interesting thread....

Soon I am going to have to make a decision on weather or not I want to invest in a chainsaw, maul, wedges, ect,.... or just buy my wood. My descision is not going to be based on how much I can save buy scrounging. I would like the exercise and the satisfaction of scrounging, sort of like eating the fish you catch type of thing.

I keep hearing that wood buring is a lot of work. So I am thinking that buying it cut and split and stacking it myself will be enough exercise for me.

But first things first......I'm still a year and a half away from buying a wood buring stove insert!....lol

I think you should gather and store hard wood now too. I did the same thing about two years ago and my buddy across the street encouraged me to scrounge well before I had the stove put in back in November. I am very glad I did since I was able to burn quality dry and seasoned wood all winter. I now am ready for next year and mostly ready for '13-14.

 

[scroungerjeff]

I could buy a winter's worth of oak for $600 delivered to my door, but I still scrounge. As long as it's enjoyable I'll keep doing it. Maybe when age sets in I'll buy some.

I am with you, it's not about the money for sure. i doubt I save much between the saw, fuel, wear and tear on the truck, etc. But I sure enjoy spending a Saturday cutting wood with a pal or two. We work together and have a nice network of sources built up. I also get a lot out of the exercise and splitting actually makes my back feel better when done properly. I try to keep 3-5 cords c/s/s at all times. Only problem is I only have a 1/2 acre property to store everything. With our climate and my 2,200 sqft home, I feel like I can make a nice dent in the heating bills.

 

[StihlHead]

10 cord log length = $1200
10 cords cut, split, delivered $2500

Best price I got for c/s/d was $175 a cord and the wood was crap and it wasn't even a cord.

Worth it to save $1300? YES! Not only that but I can take my 4 cords a year out of that 10 and sell the rest, I make $200-300, so not only FREE wood but a profit too.
Yeah my time is money too, but that's "free" if I'm having fun.

Same down south here in the PNW for logs (white oak or big leaf maple), but I can get good cords for $175 here: split 2 year seasoned doug fir delivered. Its a good deal from a guy near here that has good full cords stacked in a trailer that can carry one or two cords at a time. Right there in the trailer, 4 x 4 x 8... no questions about volume. Wood is good too, dry, no rot, burns hot and long. I could get maple and alder tossed into a cord from him for $200, but I can usually scrounge for that from arborists or homeowners in Portland. Right now I have a cord of maple, a cord of alder and a cord of black locust that I scrounged from the city people this year. I also have a lot of birch and cherry trees on my lot that I gate at least a cord from per year.

So in my case I think its the opposite. 10 cords of green wood, I buck, split, stack and store it someplace and wait for it to season 2 years when it is likely going to be 9 cords, for $133 a cord. Or... 9 cords of cut, split and seasoned dry wood delivered when I need it for $175 a cord. $42 a cord saved buying logs is not worth it in my book. $175 for cordwood is equal about $500 in electric heat here, so I save even if I buy seasoned wood. Scrounging free wood is better though. Often times it is already cut up by arborists, and only needs to be split. Sometimes I will clean up a downed tree in trade for the wood if it is a good species. I will also fall trees, but only if it is in a stand and no where near urbania. I also glean slash piles after logging operations.