Logs, what does the future hold?

[Hodge]

With the recent rise in gas and electric more and more people are getting wood burners, I know this for a fact as I sell logs to a stove showroom and they are getting more and more sales of burners every week. The fuel has got to come from somewhere. Hard wood is harder to get and the pice keeps rising, more people are using softwood but expect it to be cheaper even though at roadside it is a bit cheaper there is still as much work to process it. More and more people are selling logs and there seems to be a trend round my way of being cheap, but I really don't see the point in that as its a lot of work for not much return. Logs should be £100 a cube minimum to make a good living if buying in cord. The wear and tear on equipment and spiralling fuel costs mean that we need to increase costs to keep up with the demand. So where does this take us? People burning anything, people taking wood from woods without permission/skills, stealing wood etc. what happens next??

[Eddy_t]

Same as tree surgery, an over saturated market, leading to collapse, causing it to be difficult to obtain firewood, but then it will stabilise after, with more sensible prices on offer

 

 

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[Hodge]

Same as tree surgery, an over saturated market, leading to collapse, causing it to be difficult to obtain firewood, but then it will stabilise after, with more sensible prices on offer

 

 

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Yes I suppose its like a whirlwind, starts small and grows and destroys its self to then start again. More people need to get into burning softwood on wood burners, even on open fires like the old days, fire guard and a hearth rug were made for that:)

[carpenter1]

Yes I suppose its like a whirlwind, starts small and grows and destroys its self to then start again. More people need to get into burning softwood on wood burners, even on open fires like the old days, fire guard and a hearth rug were made for that:)

 

completly right, a gaurd for open fire and rug, so when it spits it does not matter,

 

is the only way to go, there will be nothing else left soon otherwise

 

it really needs to crash, then thin out the cowboys of the log trade

[wrsni]

I wouldn't panic, yes there's a big trend for "log burners" at the minute but look into a bit deeper and it's maybe not all that it seems.

 

Just bought one myself recently so have been doing to rounds of the showrooms/plumbers merchant and got the sales pitches and heard other people getting them. Nobody else that I've heard is actually going on to wood as a means of heating their home, it's just an "in" thing at the minute and lots of people want onboard. According to everyone from manufacturers to suppliers to fitters, the trend is very much for the cheaper multi-fuel fitted with a boiler, well that is classed as a "log burner" when actually it's anything but.

 

Give it a year or two for the novelty to wear off and see then where the market is going. After all, as stated elsewhere, wood is still a long way off being a viable cost effective means of heat, and certainly not in a poorly constructed lump of cast iron fitted with a multi-fuel grate!

[Johny Walker]

very cost effective if yr woods for free .

[aspenarb]

With the recent rise in gas and electric more and more people are getting wood burners, I know this for a fact as I sell logs to a stove showroom and they are getting more and more sales of burners every week. The fuel has got to come from somewhere. Hard wood is harder to get and the pice keeps rising, more people are using softwood but expect it to be cheaper even though at roadside it is a bit cheaper there is still as much work to process it. More and more people are selling logs and there seems to be a trend round my way of being cheap, but I really don't see the point in that as its a lot of work for not much return. Logs should be £100 a cube minimum to make a good living if buying in cord. The wear and tear on equipment and spiralling fuel costs mean that we need to increase costs to keep up with the demand. So where does this take us? People burning anything, people taking wood from woods without permission/skills, stealing wood etc. what happens next??

 

We supply a lot of wood to the log boys and here in Surrey they have all been busy. One guy in particular has been doing up to 10 loads a day even in the summer. I dont know anyone short of wood but on the same token we dont supply wood thats any good for a processor, I know the harvested log wood has gone up but there is no shortage of it. Judging by the amount of mulching work on the books at the moment the harvesting guys must be busy. A lot of people now will leave the heating off and just light the fire/stove for a back ground heat which is just enough in most cases to take the chill out of the whole house, that is a huge saving on gas/oil .Its not a fad thing its here to stay and people that use a fire wont give up on them easily

 

Bob

[Woodworks]

Around here there have been a lot of new stoves put in and these are for wealthier people who are buying top notch stoves. I can't see them leaving these stoves to sit idle because wood has gone up in price. This means logs sales will hold up driving up the price of cord. This may help the non profitable woodland around these parts become viable again. This is only my guess but if right I see it as good thing for some of the local woods.

[the village idiot]

I think the anti energy company feeling is also a significant factor. I feel slightly sick when I hear about the price hikes and then the subsequent huge increases in profits for the big companies. It is very, very wrong.

I realise that on the whole people will (and need to) opt for the cheapest mode of household heating, but thankfully there seems to be a growing trend towards questioning the practises of the main suppliers and considering a more localised, sustainable and 'wealth spreading' form of fuel- the mighty log!

[the village idiot]

Around here there have been a lot of new stoves put in and these are for wealthier people who are buying top notch stoves. I can't see them leaving these stoves to sit idle because wood has gone up in price. This means logs sales will hold up driving up the price of cord. This may help the non profitable woodland around these parts become viable again. This is only my guess but if right I see it as good thing for some of the local woods.