Are logs worth doing anymore ?

[Alycidon]

It occurs to me then that ash should be felled now while it is uninfected, no doubt getting permission for that would be impossible, probably just as well !!

 

A

[Crazy Cutter]

It occurs to me then that ash should be felled now while it is uninfected, no doubt getting permission for that would be impossible, probably just as well !!

 

A

 

You will end up felling the resistant ones as well without knowing. Anyone with decent white ash should fell now as the disease darkens the wood making it un-marketable. The felling in denmark i feel was for this reason not as a precaution.

[StephF]

Just checked this thread after finding it a week or so ago and it seems to have changed direction!

Sick of people joking me about how much firewood we will have soon (Ash), we remember all the Elm only too well and it was not funny at the time!

[gensetsteve]

Just checked this thread after finding it a week or so ago and it seems to have changed direction!

Sick of people joking me about how much firewood we will have soon (Ash), we remember all the Elm only too well and it was not funny at the time!

 

The amount of cheap wood about is irrelevant. Cheaper wood means more people will turn away from gas and oil. Higher demand will mean your services will be more in demand. The way I have always looked at it is I am only interested in the hourly rate after all costs have been accounted. The reason we are now packing in the logs is I am not prepared to stock 50k in cord and 30k in machinery to earn £20 an hour. I am in no way saying logs are a waste of time its just in my area we are now over run with people doing logs on a very large scale in some cases. I probably work 70 hrs a week and now concentrating on large generator service and kindling wholesale I might actually get my life back

[Chris Sheppard]

Just had the local free ad paper through the door, 5 log men in there now, with one even offering hardwood for £50/pickup load or softwood for £40 per pickup load. Even for a double cab pickup it seems awfully cheap.

[treedweller]

Luckily enough my local rag only has my ad and one other which is actually a sawmill selling offcuts in .7 m3 bags. However I'm not feeling the love so far this year at all. I'm sell softwood at £50 and hardwood at £75 in .7 m3 bags delivered and the margins arn't really there. It dosn't help that we no longer process on site as we changed from a yard to a small nursery with limited access (nightmare in it's self but thats another story) and we have to haul 48 bags at a time via artic from my parents a good distance away. Couple that with as everyone else says price of cord and haulage going up and it really knocks the edge off the job. But to be fair what else am i going to do?? Work in a call centre or on a check out through the winter months!!! Can't see that happening even if they'd have me

[StephF]

Every week 'New log burner' owners phone for a dry log supplier (& for past 3 years!), New stove shops still opening in town (must be at least 3 now).

I would like to know how many stoves there are to supply, not forgetting all the wood boilers and chip boilers.

Where is this extra firewood supposed to be coming from?

Have priced and won work to thin 2 neglected woods this winter, but I dont think it is worth doing unless the price of logs increases (also I buy timber in bulk.) as soon as you employ staff to work there is no profit in this business.

[gensetsteve]

It does not help when some stove sellers tell the public wood is free or if you get really stuck you may have to pay £50 for a well heaped transit load. The stoves are being sold as a way to save on your heating bill. You wont find many stove warehouses cutting logs in their yard.

[skyhuck]

The amount of cheap wood about is irrelevant. Cheaper wood means more people will turn away from gas and oil. Higher demand will mean your services will be more in demand. The way I have always looked at it is I am only interested in the hourly rate after all costs have been accounted. The reason we are now packing in the logs is I am not prepared to stock 50k in cord and 30k in machinery to earn £20 an hour. I am in no way saying logs are a waste of time its just in my area we are now over run with people doing logs on a very large scale in some cases. I probably work 70 hrs a week and now concentrating on large generator service and kindling wholesale I might actually get my life back

 

This is very true, basically if the wholesale price of your raw material drops you can make the same or more profit (or at least pay yourself a decent wage, depending how you see it) while still retailing for less, thus increasing your customer base.

 

Those who buy standing timber and the woodland owners could be hit hard by the Ash glut though.

[firewoodman]

It does not help when some stove sellers tell the public wood is free or if you get really stuck you may have to pay £50 for a well heaped transit load. The stoves are being sold as a way to save on your heating bill. You wont find many stove warehouses cutting logs in their yard.

 

have to agree there!!

they just want to sell the stoves, they are just salesmen, as soon as the stove is fitted in the house its not their problem where the wood comes from!!

 

I too am packing it in this year, as soon as the last log is sold the machinery goes up for sale.

 

going small scale, and fresh wood only split on demand to order, I dont even think thats worth it either!!

 

bloody hard work for little return!!