wood needed advice

[timberdelf]

Hi all first post!!

 

I sell firewood in winter and landscape in summer etc..

 

My problem is the firewood side has gone that well in the last two years i have become a victim of my own success lol..i can never seem to keep the (supply ),of cords / wood to cut up .

 

I do fetch trees down but not enough to suppy demand of logs and drying times of logs:thumbup: etc so im looking for a supplier of ash..hatdwood ongoing...i have tried the big boys ie artic loads but given what they charge by the time i cut it up its not really going to pay for time it takes.

 

So im looking for pherhaps local tree arbist who could supply me on permanant basis or domone with a woodland work etc.

 

 

Anyway anyone who can help with this ?

 

I am based in atherstone warwickshire

[Alycidon]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

The problem you will find is that when a customer is having a tree down there is a queue of the houseowners mates waiting for the timber assuming the guy does not want it for himself. So what was waste product a few years ago is now in demand, on top of that most arb boys also run a small firewood business with what timber they get.

 

To go forward volume wise you will probably have to buy in ash and sycamore in 27 ton loads, that puts your cost per cube at about £40 - £45, add processing costs, storage, fuel to deliver, upkeep of the equipment, vat, profit and you will need to be going out at £110 -£120 a cube and then not going to far with it. If its a premium grade product, cut to a standard length, split and DRY it will sell.

 

The other option may be to buy in a container or two of kiln dried logs, 24 tonnes per container, so no work, premium product, dry, delivered to you on a schedule if required, its a route I may try myself this next winter as my volumes are close to exceeding my storage space. You will need handling facilities though, the crates are about .75 tonnes each.

 

A

Edited April 1, 2013 by Alycidon

[AHPP]

My thoughts on firewood:

 

Small

Use wood you get for free and process it with kit you already have. Maybe invest in a little kit that has generic use. Don't buy a very purpose specific processor.

 

Medium

The currently busy middle ground is going to all but disappear in the next few years as merchants realise they're making no money and put their prices up and newer log users realise gas was far easier and now the same price).

Lots of second hand processors coming soon!

 

Large

Take advantage of economies of scale. Buy lots of decent cord and process it efficiently with big kit.

 

 

 

OP,

Your post beautifully frames the issue that I think has been on many people's minds for a while. My advice is put your prices up and maintain high quality. Quality always sells.

[Alycidon]

My thoughts on firewood:

 

 

 

OP,

Your post beautifully frames the issue that I think has been on many people's minds for a while. My advice is put your prices up and maintain high quality. Quality always sells.

 

 

 

Agreed. I am £30 a cube dearer than most in my area, I have 5 cube left.

 

A

[treedweller]

My thoughts on firewood:

 

Small

Use wood you get for free and process it with kit you already have. Maybe invest in a little kit that has generic use. Don't buy a very purpose specific processor.

 

Medium

The currently busy middle ground is going to all but disappear in the next few years as merchants realise they're making no money and put their prices up and newer log users realise gas was far easier and now the same price).

Lots of second hand processors coming soon!

 

Large

Take advantage of economies of scale. Buy lots of decent cord and process it efficiently with big kit.

 

 

 

OP,

Your post beautifully frames the issue that I think has been on many people's minds for a while. My advice is put your prices up and maintain high quality. Quality always sells.

 

Hit the nail on the head there bud!! I'm buying alot of arb waste and i'm always looking if anyone is in the NW but it's a mixed a bag!! There will always be willow conifer and pop in it aswell as decent stuff and a processor is usless because it's normaly 2ft+ diameter or awkward unions but it's a way of getting large quantities relativley cheaply. It just takes a bit of picking through and suplements the cordwood nicley. Anything too nasty goes for biomass.

The problem as i see it is logs have become a consumer product that people want to buy and use straight away. 10 yrs ago logs where logs and mostly sold by the measure of pickup load or trailer load, the customer would season them theirself.

Since i was a child i've seen people startup selling logs and not many last more than a few yrs and thats because they don't realise how much graft, time and diesel goes into it. If i where to pay myself a hourly rate and added up all the time i spend running around with pickup or tractor and trailer collecting wood then time spent processing and bagging and finaly delivering it i proberly wouldn't have much left to cover the fuel costs. I do it because the chances of finding subby work 20 days a month 12 months of the year arn't realistic and i don't want to work for someone else cards in. For me being a firewood merchant is a lifestyle choice but one that pays the bills:001_smile:

[ecotreecare]

My thoughts on firewood:

 

Small

Use wood you get for free and process it with kit you already have. Maybe invest in a little kit that has generic use. Don't buy a very purpose specific processor.

 

Medium

The currently busy middle ground is going to all but disappear in the next few years as merchants realise they're making no money and put their prices up and newer log users realise gas was far easier and now the same price).

Lots of second hand processors coming soon!

 

Large

Take advantage of economies of scale. Buy lots of decent cord and process it efficiently with big kit.

 

 

 

OP,

Your post beautifully frames the issue that I think has been on many people's minds for a while. My advice is put your prices up and maintain high quality. Quality always sells.

 

Good advice. IMO you need to go big or go home. You say you always sell out so put your price up a bit, buy the kit as you need it and invest in stock.

 

 

 

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[timberdelf]

Good advice. IMO you need to go big or go home. You say you always sell out so put your price up a bit, buy the kit as you need it and invest in stock.

 

 

 

Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

I think your right...no in between with it...put prices up it might sell a tad slower thus

Retain some wood etc...

 

I only run chainsaw and home made log splitter...but thats progress in its own right as i used to cleave it all by hand!

 

 

Cheers all so far

[PremiumWood]

Drop me an email, I'll give you some info regarding imported logs [email protected] Dan

[ben_inthewoods]

I wonder what folk are importing when they are importing firewood (and chips) from eastern europe and from further afield?

 

I suspect that if Chalara had not turned up first then Emerald Ash Borer would have turned up from Russia (via Eastern Europe) where it is devasting ash woodland.

 

Bronze birch borer (via US) or Asian Longhorn Beetle (via Italy) next?

 

Would be interested to know what biosecurity controls are being put in place by those traders importing 'kiln dried' wood.....the floor is yours.....

[Grass hopper]

I wonder what folk are importing when they are importing firewood (and chips) from eastern europe and from further afield?

 

I suspect that if Chalara had not turned up first then Emerald Ash Borer would have turned up from Russia (via Eastern Europe) where it is devasting ash woodland.

 

Bronze birch borer (via US) or Asian Longhorn Beetle (via Italy) next?

 

Would be interested to know what biosecurity controls are being put in place by those traders importing 'kiln dried' wood.....the floor is yours.....

 

Very true.......