Market for oversized hardwood firewood?

[Big J]

I've got a job coming up at the end of next month on a shooting estate wanting to tidy up their various fallen trees. Near Honiton.

 

There will be a couple hundred tonnes of oversized hardwood firewood. Some of it might be worth milling for the non professional sawmiller, but most of it won't make the grade. 

 

Species mixture will be beech, oak, sweet chestnut and ash.

 

I'd thought that about £40/t roadside might be somewhere near reasonable, and my first thought was Euroforest for the timber vacuum that is the biomass plant in Kent. 

 

I'm not selling the timber I should stress (I'm just there on a day rate), but what might prove attractive for a smaller scale firewood retailer is that the vendors are not VAT registered, so no VAT on the timber sales.

 

Any interest, or suggestions where to sell the stuff?

[MattyF]

Euro forest are paying good rates for timber.. up here any way , definitely would be my first port of call.

[spuddog0507]

big beech and oak butts £60 a tonne road side here £40 is way to cheap i could sell 1000,s of tonnes at that price up here but may be less demand for it in your neck of the woods ask £55 tonne r/s,

[Big J]

5 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

big beech and oak butts £60 a tonne road side here £40 is way to cheap i could sell 1000,s of tonnes at that price up here but may be less demand for it in your neck of the woods ask £55 tonne r/s,

It's not millable though. Shake, rot and fractures to contend with. I'm no fan of processing firewood, even when it's processor grade and I wouldn't touch this stuff with a bargepole! ?

[spuddog0507]

27 minutes ago, Big J said:

It's not millable though. Shake, rot and fractures to contend with. I'm no fan of processing firewood, even when it's processor grade and I wouldn't touch this stuff with a bargepole! ?

that at £60 a tonne was some big rough and i mean rough buts that where fit for nothing but either firewood or chip, rot in middle some had big limbs cut off at about 3 ft above ground level, it came down in that beast from the east winds, was about 200 tonne of it and Tweedls bought it,

[Big J]

8 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

that at £60 a tonne was some big rough and i mean rough buts that where fit for nothing but either firewood or chip, rot in middle some had big limbs cut off at about 3 ft above ground level, it came down in that beast from the east winds, was about 200 tonne of it and Tweedls bought it,

That's madness. 

 

I remember about 5 years ago, the estate where I used to live sold off all their piles of crappy oversized hardwood for £25/t.

 

Prices have certainly gone up, but I think that they are possibly highest with you in the north west.

[spuddog0507]

8 minutes ago, Big J said:

That's madness. 

 

I remember about 5 years ago, the estate where I used to live sold off all their piles of crappy oversized hardwood for £25/t.

 

Prices have certainly gone up, but I think that they are possibly highest with you in the north west.

i think you may know this with being in the milling game for a while, what would be a fare price for good clean beech 450-750mm diameter be ??? its for TCT cutting so going in to furniture, i would be interested in your view on this as got some one after 2 loads (arctic) and they have made me a offer,,

[Big J]

Just now, spuddog0507 said:

i think you may know this with being in the milling game for a while, what would be a fare price for good clean beech 450-750mm diameter be ??? its for TCT cutting so going in to furniture, i would be interested in your view on this as got some one after 2 loads (arctic) and they have made me a offer,,

Beech doesn't have much value as it's very much out of fashion. For the last couple of years I wouldn't pay more than £30 a tonne for it (just over £1/hoppus foot) but if you've good quality stuff and a motivated buyer, you might be able to push them to £2.50-3.00 a hoppus foot.

[MattyF]

Beech doesn't have much value as it's very much out of fashion. For the last couple of years I wouldn't pay more than £30 a tonne for it (just over £1/hoppus foot) but if you've good quality stuff and a motivated buyer, you might be able to push them to £2.50-3.00 a hoppus foot.

I had euro forest offering £60 a tonne for a site we where on last year , land agent put us in and we where paying £20 standing but he knew that we would not leave it looking like Mordor.
Would of loved to of known why they wanted the wood so badly.

[Big J]

1 minute ago, MattyF said:

I had euro forest offering £60 a tonne for a site we where on last year , land agent put us in and we where paying £20 standing but he knew that we would not leave it looking like Mordor.
Would of loved to of known why they wanted the wood so badly.

That is silly money for a low grade, impractical product. Good to know though, and gives me a useful negotiating startpoint.