How much to pay

[Forest2Furniture]

How much do you pay for a fallen tree on the ground.

 

Or

 

Do you charge the customer for milling and moving it.

 

In the past I've done both but not sure as the cost of timber is rising what the going rate is.

 

Any guidance would be helpful

[geoff]

Need to know more specifics to give any opinion,I wont move anything without being paid for it,how I cut it up is up to me once the quote is cleared.

[Forest2Furniture]

For some reason I'm finding that people seem to think they will get loads of money for their trees.

So, I'm just checking that I'm not being unreasonable when I tell people that they have to pay for me to move it rather than me pay them for the tree.

[delabodge]

Theres a cost involved to most people, I get this regularly,,,ie,,,,,"ive a tree surgeon taking my ash tree down would you like to come and buy it?" errrr, no! unless its a lovely straight yew,walnut,or narly oak,,not a chance for free,,,,,but i agree more people seem to think there doing me a favour?

[Rob D]

For some reason I'm finding that people seem to think they will get loads of money for their trees.

So, I'm just checking that I'm not being unreasonable when I tell people that they have to pay for me to move it rather than me pay them for the tree.

 

 

 

Ha ha! Yep there's plenty of people out there who've been told by a knowledgeable friend that their oak is worth thousands!

 

 

Basically there isn't really a going rate as such - too many variables. Some trees are worth paying for but if it's not worth it to you don't offer....

 

I tend to clear timber for free most of the time....

[agg221]

I sometimes buy butts, but they've got to be something I'm looking for. Pricing factors include species, size, cleanliness, access and how immediate a use I have for it but typically between £3 and £5/cu.ft. I'm currently looking for good sized plum for example, as I want to make a suite of bedroom furniture, and if some nice standards (6' length to the branches) turned up in 1' diameter then I would happily go to the top end.

 

Demand has risen a lot for firewood in recent years, so I think the odds of getting butts for free are diminishing. Roadside cordwood is around £2/cu.ft and there's good value in a decent sized ash.

 

I think it's important to draw the distinction between the jobs here - arboriculture and milling are different things and have different economics at work. This also means of course that I don't buy windblown trees as though they were clean butts, and anything standing carries a higher risk of having defects which become visible when felled, so I factor accordingly.

 

Alec