firewood in france

[Big J]

In my opinion, this is where the rest of Europe embarrases the Uk. Europe does not sell airspace to their customers!

 

As outlined above:-

 

A Stére is an "Official European measurement of cut wood" in France. It is One Cubic metre cut for firewood purposes. It is "tightly packed" and not a "loose firewood bundle" normally associated with the UK way of bundling firewood.

 

The French buy their wood in "Stére bundles" of 1m x1m x1m or "Cordes" which is 3m x 3m x 1m" closely hand packed. The customers do NOT pay for the "air" that the UK customers do!

 

If you look at firewood for sale on sites like "www.Alibaba.com" you will see 1m lengths stacked properly on crates. This is how the world (outside UK) buys and sells firewood. (Closely packed).

 

In my experience the UK is the only place in Europe where "Loose firewood" (unregulated) thrown into a trailer or "one of the various Big-Bags" has a market. You are hoodwinking your customers. [or at least trying to hoodwink them]

 

(In a previous thread I outlined the dangers of firewood suppliers relying on the UK not having a regularity system!)

 

As a firewood supplier you might begin to appreciate, and educate your costumers more.

 

Food for thought.

 

I am not attacking the UK---I AM you guys who sell 1 cubic metre [Loose] as 1m3.

 

1 m3 is a Stére --tightly packed.

 

There is no such thing as a loose UK "Lorry Load, Trailer Load, tonnage or Kgs..................We need to work in unison with what the customer wants.

 

I, personnally think that "Packed M3 + Stéres and Cordes" are the way to go!

 

Whilst I agree with much of what you say, in that firewood weights and measures are all over the place in the UK (and firewood is a bit too expensive, though we don't have the resources that mainland Europe has, and premises costs tend to be higher), selling a stacked load is just too time consuming. It would take me as long to stack a cube as it would take to cross cut and split it. If everyone sells the same amount loose, you have parity.

 

The problem is the builders bag brigade. I emptied a 1m cube crate of small pieces of firewood (very dry stuff I use in the woodburner in the office) into a builders bag today as I needed the crate. The crate was only a touch over half full. That completely filled the builders bag.

[VTS]

I live next to Vallee des Singes about 30 mins from ruffec. 45€ for a stere is a steal especially if its already cut into 50cms.

[Mark Bolam]

Is it a ton?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[borderfirewood]

Thanks all

[peatff]

Is it a ton?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

 

Or is it Hornbeam ?

Sorry, nobody has asked for a while now so I thought I'd just throw it in there

How can you tightly pack different size round trunks ? I think it's a problem that's always going to exist. I'd like to buy my wood in lengths and process it myself but nobody wants to sell it that way.

 

.

Edited March 13, 2014 by peatff

[Logsnstuff]

In my opinion, this is where the rest of Europe embarrases the Uk. Europe does not sell airspace to their customers!

 

As outlined above:-

 

A Stére is an "Official European measurement of cut wood" in France. It is One Cubic metre cut for firewood purposes. It is "tightly packed" and not a "loose firewood bundle" normally associated with the UK way of bundling firewood.

 

The French buy their wood in "Stére bundles" of 1m x1m x1m or "Cordes" which is 3m x 3m x 1m" closely hand packed. The customers do NOT pay for the "air" that the UK customers do!

 

If you look at firewood for sale on sites like "www.Alibaba.com" you will see 1m lengths stacked properly on crates. This is how the world (outside UK) buys and sells firewood. (Closely packed).

 

In my experience the UK is the only place in Europe where "Loose firewood" (unregulated) thrown into a trailer or "one of the various Big-Bags" has a market. You are hoodwinking your customers. [or at least trying to hoodwink them]

 

(In a previous thread I outlined the dangers of firewood suppliers relying on the UK not having a regularity system!)

 

As a firewood supplier you might begin to appreciate, and educate your costumers more.

 

Food for thought.

 

I am not attacking the UK---I AM you guys who sell 1 cubic metre [Loose] as 1m3.

 

1 m3 is a Stére --tightly packed.

 

There is no such thing as a loose UK "Lorry Load, Trailer Load, tonnage or Kgs..................We need to work in unison with what the customer wants.

 

I, personnally think that "Packed M3 + Stéres and Cordes" are the way to go!

 

I get pm's on a diff site from american and canadian firewood merchants who are starting to do bulk bags instead of cords so it's not just the UK. you will also find australian merchants doing bulka bags and bundy bags which are 1m3.

 

I don't sell the air in my bags so maybe I should put another £20 on as im giving something away free of charge atm.

 

Selling by the steer cord etc is outdated, labour costs are to high to hand pack the logs and sell at an affordable price.

 

regulation kills industries just have to look at forestry here the quality of site care and timber going down the roads is shocking, the 4ft high stumps you get now that would have had you fired 20 years ago that's what regulation and certification brought.

[Llenya]

Firstly, I should apologise for a mathmatical mistake in my earlier post:-

 

1 Stere is 1m x 1m x 1m

1 Corde is 3m x 1m x1m [not 3m x 3m x 1m as posted]

 

After studying some of the replies I think I may have stumbled on the problem/solution. "In Europe, certainly here in Spain, we charge the processing of firewood by the tonne of wet wood --- Not a per hour wage!

 

If I bring in a tonne of green trunks then I immediately convert to firewood at 25euro per tonne.

 

I suspect that you work per hour......and that may show the problems.

 

For 25euros I am expected to cut to length and stack into Steres or Cordes.

 

Then I sell by volume, not tonnes. I can sell "green" immediately, or I can sell at any time in the future. The price will be based on moisture content.

 

Eg. I buy 10 tonne for 500 euros.........I convert to firewood for 25 euro per tonne, [250 euros] = 750 euros for 10 tonnes. I convert tonnes to m3 based on moisture content at the time the customer buys and I cover my costs and make a profit.

 

Some of my customers want to buy "Green Wood" cheap from me and dry their own.

 

Perhaps if you guys charged a set fee for converting from Trunk to Firewood per Tonne the your numbers might add up a little bit better..that's how we do it here!

[Llenya]

I think 25 Euros per Tonne is a reasonable price to make this...Stere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

out of felled trees.

[gensetsteve]

I think 25 Euros per Tonne is a reasonable price to make this...Stere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

out of felled trees.

 

We could do a tonne an hour if I could earn £25 an hour I would still be doing it. Processing firewood in the uk is more like £10 an hour.

[ArthurBottlesworth]

Rented house in limousin last year with firewood included

Firewood was beautiful split rings......

There were no round or half round bits of firewood .....so just split trunks

It was bone dry and burned well ( can't remember type of wood)

 

French woodburner was crap...... Burned very inefficiently so I was embarassed about how much wood we burned in a week

 

Driving round kept seeing what I thought were upended yard scrapers at the backs of field and inodd corners -- you know the sort with corrugated vertical section and rubber scraper at bottom

 

When we got lose enough they were vertical log splitters with corrugated curved roofs that were integral with the splitter

 

Absolutely loved the countryside, but the townsand villages were very very sad....in town we stayed ear AT LEAST. Two thirds of shops were empty

 

We visited another potentially beautiful village and roof on shops were collapsing in ....very very sad

 

I'd guess there is no business being done hence firwood at €40 a stear