Are logs worth doing anymore ?

[Joy Yeomans]

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!!

 

sorry to hear that FWM, we have been v.quiet on logs, but wholesale gone mad again

 

all the best for your future whatever that may be

 

joy

[firewoodman]

sorry to hear that FWM, we have been v.quiet on logs, but wholesale gone mad again

 

all the best for your future whatever that may be

 

joy

 

hi joy

 

i've been thinking about it for a few years, but this years sales have really hit home, last year was bad enough.

 

i'm just glad i had some plans in place so this poor season is not too much of a shock.

 

Some one once told me its a fashion fuel, and thats the way it seems, plus customers are sourcing their own wood now, even some of my neighbours have tree surgeons drop wood off and they cut it up themselves, wearing the new lightweight and invisable chainsaw gear:blushing:

[adowning7]

Down here in South Devon everyone is at it, mainly due to the Larch Disease; people are either buying Larch logs which I would not dream of selling. Then in those Northerly gales in April where the small stands of Larch (mainly 5-10 acre plots set amongst hardwoods) once stood all the hardwoods fell like dominoes and we lost another load this afternoon. When you have people selling hundreds of tonnes of Larch and some others selling windblown hardwood for the same price it's difficult to win unless you can be competitive.

 

Competitive means scaling up which means hard work or severe outlay when the whole Ash thing is waiting in wings.

 

Thread question answered possibly.

[windfall]

I think a lot depends on your location, this is my second proper season and i am doing well and most importantly love the work. Even when its pissing down with rain, which is most of the time recently!

 

There is a lot of doom and gloom being written in this thread, but not all of us are experiencing this.

[Alycidon]

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.

 

I do, sell stoves, cut my own cord up and deliver logs, the whole job top to bottom. The only thing i dont do is make starter sticks, I buy those in.

 

And I advise my potential customers to check energy prices per kw and CO2 emissions per kw on the Nottingham Energy Partnership web site.

 

Unless they have a cheap/free supply of logs then fuel costs per kw are about the same as gas. You might guess that the cord suppliers are aiming to keep things that way.

 

A

[combined tree services]

honestly think the Firewood industry will turn a corner soon , down here we have seen firwood firms springing out of the woodwork on a daily basis but now we see a situation the firewood is a cheep commodity as the market is beyond saturation point , down here it is starting to turn as allot of the guys who set up recently have realized that they now can not make a living from it , in speaking to a couple of the bigger well established firewood firms they tell me that they have seen a slight rise in the number of new customers they are getting , most of them have been stung by someone selling un-seasoned timber etc . I really do think that those of you who are well established will see the change and sales will improve

[Mortimer Firewood]

Sold 9.6 m3 today and took £950 take 150out for cord[some is free wood] processing delivery another 100 25 for the unforeseen so 675 - tax will do me for a days work. Tomorrow i will only take 4 cube but over the week it adds up to a good wage so imo its worth doing:001_smile:

[nick channer]

Sold 9.6 m3 today and took £950 take 150out for cord[some is free wood] processing delivery another 100 25 for the unforeseen so 675 - tax will do me for a days work. Tomorrow i will only take 4 cube but over the week it adds up to a good wage so imo its worth doing:001_smile:

same here.. taken 14 loads out through the week and 6 to do today so far.. all wood was free and every 15 loads cost me around £200 in wages and diesel and i can normally deliver up to 20 loads for half tank diesel in transit 4 loads at time and 30 mile radius of yard.. so nice income when its been pissing down most of week or too windy for tree work..

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Down here in South Devon everyone is at it, mainly due to the Larch Disease; people are either buying Larch logs which I would not dream of selling. Then in those Northerly gales in April where the small stands of Larch (mainly 5-10 acre plots set amongst hardwoods) once stood all the hardwoods fell like dominoes and we lost another load this afternoon. When you have people selling hundreds of tonnes of Larch and some others selling windblown hardwood for the same price it's difficult to win unless you can be competitive.

 

Competitive means scaling up which means hard work or severe outlay when the whole Ash thing is waiting in wings.

 

Thread question answered possibly.

 

Would you be a downing of denham bridge?

[gensetsteve]

I do, sell stoves, cut my own cord up and deliver logs, the whole job top to bottom. The only thing i dont do is make starter sticks, I buy those in.

 

And I advise my potential customers to check energy prices per kw and CO2 emissions per kw on the Nottingham Energy Partnership web site.

 

Unless they have a cheap/free supply of logs then fuel costs per kw are about the same as gas. You might guess that the cord suppliers are aiming to keep things that way.

 

A

 

I am sure like yourself alot of stove sellers are helpful and honest but alot are not our local one loves our nets of beech logs but wont sell them for £6 because it shows the cost of fuel for the stoves.