firewood processing business?

[CUCV]

I get a couple calls a year for it but usually just offer to give them a discount on a processed seasoned cord for the wood I take from them. Setup time is a killer, if they have a day of work or more thats great but I've only seen that a couple times.

 

[CUCV]

I get a couple calls a year for it but usually just offer to give them a discount on a processed seasoned cord for the wood I take from them. Setup time is a killer, if they have a day of work or more thats great but I've only seen that a couple times.

 

[Johndirt82]

I have done splitting service for a few people . I charge $100 bucks the first cord and $60 bucks a cord there after. Say I do two cords, Half of that will go to gas and my lunch bill. I also sell oak by the cord too and that goes for $300-400 a cord. So it really does depend on your market area. Gas and Maintenance gotta be covered and always make sure and pay your self.

 

[biggenius29]

I dont think something like that around here would work.

For one, if a homeowner has a tree down and he cuts it up with his wildthing he will more than likely split it by hand. Or he will not cut it up, he will put a sign in his front yard and someone will be there and have that tree gone within the hour. Then if the homeowner wants wood to burn in his fire pit he will buy it at the gas station.

Or if anyone has any amount of wood around here they already have a splitter.

 

[indiansprings]

We offer a similar service aside from our "normal" firewood business.
We charge a flat rate of $20.00 per rick plus 2.00 a mile from our residence to the customer's location for the equipment move.
With our normal crew we average cutting, splitting and stacking a face cord or rick between 32 and 35 minutes. We usually will only do this when a customer has bought a ten wheeler load and has all the wood in one location.
Do we get rich, hell no, but it pays the bills. Wood will be selling here this year for 35.00 a face cord (Again) a few cutters are trying to raise their price to 40.00 but every hack with a saw seems to be on CL this year.

We are doing this service for a guy who heats his chicken houses (broiler houses) with a couple of the biggest central boiler owb they make, like a 800 gallon water jacket, they will hold an entire rick of wood in the wood box.
If it is like last year we'll do 70 to 80 cords for this one customer.

We don't have any fancy wood processors just a troy bilt and huskee wood splitters and hard workers.

Go for it, try it and see how you do, make sure you charge enough to cover expenses and put a little in your pocket for your area, make sure you go look at the job before accepting it. We've turned down a couple due to the unrealistic expectations (clean up) splitting wood virtually down to kindling size, etc.

I guess if you look at it by the hour we would be charging just under 40.00 and hour per machine, based on our production.

 

[STLfirewood]

Indian with the amount of wood you move you need a super spitter. I see that big green trator and know you can swing one.:hmm3grin2orange: You'll be glad you did.

Scott

 

[indiansprings]

+1 on the need of a super splitter. Anyone considering this type of business needs to consider cycle time of their splitter. Normal hydraulic splitter's just don't cut it. We've been looking at our options and the super split prolly will be our best bet. This year we've already replaced the engine on our Troy-Bilt splitter and it looks like the second stage just left the pump yesterday.
It's had a hard life the last two years, I definetly know it has split close to 475-500 cord the last two years.

As a homeowner that is considering doing the custom processing business, you need to consider the wear and tear on your equipment and the reduced longevity that will result for your personal use. Wear and tear on your own personal equipment is a cost that you'll need to factor in. After last year we definetly have budgeted in a splitter engine in our business plan for this year.

If your equipment uses one of the low end Honda GV engines, just plan on replacing it if you split very much wood.

 

[Marc]

But he has to pay for a larger piece of equipment operating cost.

Splitter and chainsaw? I mean, gas and oil, ok.

My carpenter comes with a compressor, three nail guns, screw gun, drills, sawzall, table saw, compound miter saw, hand tools, palm sander, orbital sander, belt sander, hilti... well you get the idea. He has a lot of money into his tools.

 

[Circle B MN]

We offer a similar service aside from our "normal" firewood business.
We charge a flat rate of $20.00 per rick plus 2.00 a mile from our residence to the customer's location for the equipment move.
With our normal crew we average cutting, splitting and stacking a face cord or rick between 32 and 35 minutes. We usually will only do this when a customer has bought a ten wheeler load and has all the wood in one location.
Do we get rich, hell no, but it pays the bills. Wood will be selling here this year for 35.00 a face cord (Again) a few cutters are trying to raise their price to 40.00 but every hack with a saw seems to be on CL this year.

We are doing this service for a guy who heats his chicken houses (broiler houses) with a couple of the biggest central boiler owb they make, like a 800 gallon water jacket, they will hold an entire rick of wood in the wood box.
If it is like last year we'll do 70 to 80 cords for this one customer.

We don't have any fancy wood processors just a troy bilt and huskee wood splitters and hard workers.

Go for it, try it and see how you do, make sure you charge enough to cover expenses and put a little in your pocket for your area, make sure you go look at the job before accepting it. We've turned down a couple due to the unrealistic expectations (clean up) splitting wood virtually down to kindling size, etc.

I guess if you look at it by the hour we would be charging just under 40.00 and hour per machine, based on our production.

Please quote shipping to area code 55371...

 

[wdchuck]

Please quote shipping to area code 55371...

:agree2:

Semi load price?

 

[indiansprings]

We offered semi load deals on here last year. Same price, you arrange for the semi to either drop a trailer or sit while we load it. We'll do it for the same price, split red or white oak cut to your length $35.00 a face cord up to 20" wood. Anything above 20" up to 23.5" will be forty a face cord and we will guarantee once you stack it the average face cord will be width of wood ordered x 8 feet by an average of 52" high. Our location is about 25 miles se of Joplin, Missouri.

It's sad but the market around here is 35.00 to 40.00 delivered. Last year we did it for 35.00 delivered and stacked. This year we put a dump under our one ton flat bed so ty it's 35.00 delivered and dumped within a ten mile radius.

We're not afraid of any volume as wood is plentiful. We did right at 375-385 cords last year. We have plenty of guys that have offered to work for us this year as the economy is tanked in this agricultural area.

I think it would be possible to get around 20-22 face cord on a semi.

We have loaded two ton trucks with grain racks before and have stacked 10 face cord on them several times.

 

[BPS. LLC]

Not at $20-$30 an hour. I pay my carpenter that much, and he does good work. Firewood processing involves much less skill.

I would keep your carpenter at those rates. I charge $40 an hour for myself and my TW-5. My labor rate for my 2 finish carpenters/handymen is $60 an hour.

Its not all about skill, its about having a business mind. I have an $8,000 splitter. If I wanted to split wood for minimum wage, I could use someone else's equipment or a maul. When you are legitimate, or at least semi legitimate, you have expenses; equipment, maintenance, insurance, fuel. In this economic climate many forget that. I wouldn't load my splitter on my trailer for less than $100 cash. After all, its my equipment, my risk, and my weekend.

Last year I split approximately 220 cords of wood for people. 112 cords were for one person that sold firewood. I charged $35 an hour for him because they were 10 hour clips and I gave my 19 year old nephew $15 for running the machine. Everybody won, a college student with a $15 an hour part time job, I paid for my splitter and a retired neighbor was able to deliver 112 cords of oak @ $200 a cord.

 

[willsaw4beer]

IMO if you're doing wood you either do it all by hand with a 1 - 1.5 ton dump or get a fast cycle 4 way hooked to your tractor with a conveyor to your Cdl highway truck. Stay small or do the go big or go home, the middle ground is more effort than it's worth.

 

[Mr. Firewood]

It's sad but the market around here is 35.00 to 40.00 delivered. Last year we did it for 35.00 delivered and stacked. This year we put a dump under our one ton flat bed so ty it's 35.00 delivered and dumped within a ten mile radius.

Jesus Christ $35 a rick delivered? where do you get your free fuel from? at those prices I wouldnt even mess with firewood, I get $85 delivered $110 delivered and stacked
:jawdrop::jawdrop:

 

[indiansprings]

Different market here boys. Farm communities on average 125 population to the largest aroound 3000, most people own at least five acres if they are not in town, most have 30 to a 100. Oak is abundant, tons of sawmills and a couple of pallet mills. The main stay of the economy around here is raising chickens or beef cattle there are a few dairies left but a dying breed.
Everyone who owns a saw is in the wood business in the fall, it just depends to what degree, most peter out after they have cut and split 20 to 30 rick.
Our business has been built on customer service and value.
Here we can hire a guys all day long to help cut and split for 8.00 a rick.
We pay zero for the wood, mostly cleaning up property that has been logged, cutting up seasoned tops and cull logs. Property owners are just glad to see it get cleaned up.
It's cheaper here to hire a guy that will work his hiney off for 8.00 a rick than to buy a 8k wood splitter, if it gets slow we don't have an expensive piece of machinery sitting idle. With a one ton dump than will easily haul 3 face cords at a time if needed, its just back up dump and be gone. When people see the dump we get quite a few hauling jobs, mulch, gravel, etc which we make quiet a bit more money on. Having a small dump 8' wide x 9' long has been a real labor saver to the business. Having a farm operation allows us to pretty much fab anything we need. We buy our chain and mix from Baileys to cut cost and do all our own saw maint., my high school age boys pretty much run the business. They grossed over 30k this summer in their own lawn service, made a extra couple of thousand hauling hay and will gross 10-12k this winter with wood. They keep and maintain books and both have bought their own nice trucks, the rest goes in their college fund.

Even in this tough economy anybody with a will to work, a good saw, splitting maul and truck can eek out a existence. Most think they are worth too much or just too damn lazy to work.

Trust me if the local market would bear some of the prices I've seen quoted on here, we'd own a small processor.

 

[Dalmatian90]

One guy I've seen advertising on Craigslist consistently for a few years is $35/hour with is TW-5 w/ six-way.

He estimates 2-1/2 hours/cord by himself, 1 hour/cord if customer provides two good helpers.

 

[D&B Mack]

Splitter and chainsaw? I mean, gas and oil, ok.

My carpenter comes with a compressor, three nail guns, screw gun, drills, sawzall, table saw, compound miter saw, hand tools, palm sander, orbital sander, belt sander, hilti... well you get the idea. He has a lot of money into his tools.

I agree, all I am saying is, he has wear and tear and operating cost on a $2000 item for a day that he has to take into consideration.