Increasing unseasoned timber sales discussion

[pancakedan]

I’m a customer and lucky enough to have the space for about seven/eight cubes. I process all my own wood and keep myself 12 months ahead as I use wood for my main heating source. But unlike most, I enjoy it and see it more of a hobby than a chore.

[skyhuck]

Think another issue is if you start getting customers to think about seasoning their own logs, its not a huge step for them to think maybe I should be looking to get wood free or very cheap and cut it myself.

[Mick Dempsey]

18 hours ago, Big J said:

The point is that in Europe I think we're alone in that dried log sales dominate. Elsewhere, it's cut and delivered fresh, and then stacked to dry where it will be used. It doesn't really make sense to cut it, store it, rehandle it to deliver it to then stack and store again. I don't hate storing firewood (I quite enjoy stacking to be honest), I just hated the inefficiency of it. 

 

I would guess that more than half of customers have the space to store enough to be able to buy green. A 3m wide, 1.5m deep and 2m high store will accommodate 9 stack cube (about 13.5 loose cube) which is the size of a garden shed and I reckon as much as 90% of domestic log customers use over two seasons. Have one full of timber you're drying, the other timber you're using. 

 

I have firewood stacked at home to take me to 2021 now, which makes me happy

Just a point there J, here at least peeps want seasoned wood.

[Big J]

19 minutes ago, skyhuck said:

Think another issue is if you start getting customers to think about seasoning their own logs, its not a huge step for them to think maybe I should be looking to get wood free or very cheap and cut it myself.

There will be some that that would appeal to, but I think that's a limited market. Most customers have got the space to store and dry split logs, but few have the facilities to process it themselves.

[Big J]

1 minute ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Just a point there J, here at least peeps want seasoned wood.

My experience of my father buying wood in France and my uncle was that it's generally bought green and then seasoned. Doesn't take long to dry on a continental summer.

[Stubby]

Just now, Big J said:

There will be some that that would appeal to, but I think that's a limited market. Most customers have got the space to store and dry split logs, but few have the facilities to process it themselves.

Agreed . They mostly have jobs so would be hard pushed just for time .

[Stubby]

I don't sell logs any more but do exactly as Jonathan suggests for my self . Take a week in the summer to process and stack in my log stores . I do this for all the reasons Jonathan states including liking the look of it .?. 

[rotorv8]

There may not be a choice of wet or dry for the final consumer depending on the findings of the current consultation by the govt. on particulate pollution

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45225406

[woodwizzard]

Where are you on Exmoor Durruti?

 

Have tried selling green in the past with no take up. I would struggle knowing what to charge for green, cut to length un-split logs.

[Mick Dempsey]

18 minutes ago, Big J said:

My experience of my father buying wood in France and my uncle was that it's generally bought green and then seasoned. Doesn't take long to dry on a continental summer.

I’m sure that’s the case for wholesalers or some individual clients, but having just checked on a buy/sell website the ads to end users all state it’s seasoned.