Value off 100 beech trees???

[drinksloe]

Alright

 

Now I realise this is a bit off a length of string question with the info provided.

Long story short I'm sort off involved with a local community woodland group, speaking to 1 of the trustees ( who is absolutely clueless, infact scarily so considering running the whole project)

 

We were both volunteering on a red squirrel conservation stall at a local agri show, he was saying Scottish Power want to fell just under 100 beech trees on there ground.

Think taking over 1 tree length from power lines instead off the standard 5m clearance.

 

Normally wot is the score money wise??

He reckons SP will fell all the timber for free and we can sell it, a buyer has reckoned worth about 8- 10k for the timber with brash chipped and left scattered over the site.

 

Must admit not looked at site properly, but from memory not the biggest/best beech trees ever but all mature and fairly big

I know everyone thinks timber is worth more than it is,.but £10k for 100 trees is only about 100 quid a tree or 2T of timber per tree if at £50 a T roadside. Rally just firewood grade according to the buyer ( which I imagine will be right enough)

Does that seem ok? ( Not great access but u can get artics up to it)

 

Wot advice to get the most value would u give??

The group relies on charity, fundraising, volanteers and grants so maximising any income is important.

 

I have heard off landowners only allowing this if SP buy the timber, althou often where access/extraction is hard so timber actually left to rot. Can we ask SP for money or deny them this extra clearance??

 

I have also heard hard wood wood chip is making great money the now. I know they shut a road completely for 2 days locally so they could sit the attics on it and chip the brash into it

Near a biomass burner.

 

Wot measurements do u take with hardwoods??  I'd imagine the dbh isn't much of a guide the way it is with softwoods as stem and crown can vary so much from tree to tree.

Most of my hardwood cutting has either been on railways or conservation/Peatland sites so never really pay much interest in wot tonnage is in a tree.

 

Cheers for any advice. I will be going up for a better look so if u told me wot to look for I'll come back on here as a I realise without seeing the trees very hards to estimate value,

But to me 100 quid a tree doesn't seem very much, esp if u had to pay for the felling in normal commercial situation

[trigger_andy]

19 minutes ago, drinksloe said:

But to me 100 quid a tree doesn't seem very much,

Maybe easier if you asked how much a ton roadside? £100 a tree? How big is the tree? You mention maybe 2t a tree so I assume you have an idea of the size of the tree's? 

 

Im sure others with the finger on the pulse will be along soon but £50-75 a ton Roadside seems reasonable. Where abouts is this in Scotland? 

[drinksloe]

Sorry I meant the price estimates/indicates 2T per tree, which I think sounds very low.

2T isn't a particularly big hardwood tree.

I'd say there far bigger than that from memory.

But I will have to nip up for a proper look.

 

Southern scotland

[gdh]

Really we need some pictures but if it's trees from a managed woodland I would be suprised to see 2ton. A 12inch diameter tree will be lucky to be a ton when I would think but it depends how tall.

 

Roadside £50 is easily achievable, up to £60-65 if you're lucky and it's straight enough for firewood. Woodchip value has increased a lot but it should still be worth more as firewood.

[drinksloe]

I would guess most butts would be 2- 3ft possibly some bigger but I don't think much over 4ft which is wot I call a decent beech.

Be decent sized crowns too.

I'll mibee take the mutts a walk there the Morro and take some photos measurements.

Not a managed woodland just been left to grow althou at fairly big spacings

[Big J]

Get some measurements. A 3ft diameter beech is a good deal heavier than 2t.

 

You can get SP over a barrel with these things. An estate we used to work with near Aviemore granted permission for about 50t of birch to be felled on their land on one condition. That is was cut to length, split and stacked in their woodstore. Yes, 50t. And there was some excess, which was neatly stacked to the side as well.

 

I'd say grant permission for the felling on the condition that they cut (to your specifications, so milling grade separated out from firewood) the timber and extract it to roadside. 

 

As regards value, firewood from trees that size is unlikely to be of good quality, so £35-40t is about the maximum I think you'd attain. You might get £80/t for the butts, but more like £60 would be likely. There just isn't much demand for beech. Find your local sawmill on the ASHS (Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers) and approach them. I doubt any single mill would want more than one load though.

[SbTVF]

We had northern power grid in on our small wood about 15 years ago but the wood had zero value so nothing to sell on but it was cut down, mulched with a big fendt and then restocked with variaties that wouldn't get as tall (dog woods and bushes basically) and it didn't cost us a penny.
Even got a set of chainsaw boots off the climber for free that he'd barely used because he hated them so was getting another brand!

So yes, make them do the leg work and get what you can for the timber at roadside afterwards.

[Rough Hewn]

The best quality beech milling logs 2'-4' I've seen have been selling at £65 a ton roadside as firewood.
It's almost criminal.
Fantastic wood, absolutely beautiful and massively underpriced and unappreciated.
It's "unfashionable ".
My advice,
Get SP to leave all the milling logs on bearers on hardstanding.
Get a bandsaw in for a few days and stash them in a dry barn for the next ten years.
By then it'll be "fashionable" and you'll sell it for a fortune.
[emoji106]

[monkeybusiness]

I’d think a decent land agent would be able to negotiate a good financial return to the land owner from the electricity company for this type of work, over and above the works being undertaken to whatever spec the land owner insists upon. 

[drinksloe]

Cheers everyone so far.

I'll head up after tea the nite to get a better idea of sizes.

 

Aye monkey I think that's the problem, bunch of folk playin at it with no idea.

Before I moved here from next village down, not sure wot happened , some local politics etc but they had a forester employed and it got very messy. Sacked and court cases front page of local rag etc

So there trying to do it all themselves.

Still in the early stages and AGM is not too far away, hence why asking the question.

Never been involved with the selling of timber or paperwork side of things before I just cut them down usually.