Have you guys heard this one?

[TomSawyer]

I had a lady call me today wanting me to buy her walnut trees hanging over her house ruining her roof. Supposedly this timber is so valuable that I should have paid her to do the job. I politely explained that we do not buy timber, and my foreman and I laughed our asses off once she got off the phone.

Have you guys gotten this one?

 

[Mikecutstrees]

Oh yeah heard that one a million times. Every black walnut in a backyard is veneer quali ty and worth thousands. In reality noone is going to come out for one log, backyard trees are filled with tramp metal and very very few trees are veneer quality. Let people think what they want, try to explain to them, but usually they will not listen...... Mike

 

[treeman82]

Last winter some lady called me up about a cherry tree behind / over the house. Good sized tree, crappy wood, and you couldn't take anything bigger than 4' out of there anyways due to hillsides, gates, lines, etc. etc. "Can you do it for the wood? I heard that cherry is rather valuable."

 

[JShaw]

We cut alot of 40ft. to 70ft. pine and spruce. Many homeowners ask if we sell it to a mill or if they could sell it but none of the mills around here take them. Too afraid of nails and other foreign objects. And yes the homeowners think the wood one their property is high quality and nail free. We know a guy with a portable mill and we recommend him if the homeowner really wants to do something with the wood. More often than not we just dump it at the waste transfer station.

 

[DDM]

Ive had people want me to remove difficult trees for the firewood.And several having 2-3 pines that think we should come remove them and clean them up for the logs.Mills around here wont even buy pine.

 

[dafunk]

we havent been asked to do a job for the wood but a strange request was when a lady wanted to know the price to remove all the walnuts of a massive black walnut because she didnt like having to rake them up.

 

[treeman82]

we havent been asked to do a job for the wood but a strange request was when a lady wanted to know the price to remove all the walnuts of a massive black walnut because she didnt like having to rake them up.

I've had to do that before, only with hickory... the dogs eat them, or the kid is allergic... PITA job.

 

[treemandan]

Keep it down, you don't want people finding out the millions of dollars we make on walnut.

 

[treemandan]

Oh and I doubt I will ever have to buy another 2x4. 4x4, 6x6 or any other lumber, pressure treated or not, ever again. It not exactly free to me but...

 

[pdqdl]

I have a standard answer for those "work for the tree" jobs: I'll cut down the tree for $XXX, and I'll haul it to the veneer mill for $XXX. You can keep the revenue off the log, if you like.

So far, nobody has paid me to haul a log yet. It seems they are not willing to take the same risk they asked me to take.

 

[booboo]

yup...

Doing a job in an older residential neighborhood, neighbor comes over and says he's got a big black walnut in the back yard that he would like removed for nothing but I can sell the logs (of course they're veneer). Thinking I still might be able to pick up a job out of it, we go look. It's a minefield. Fence, ornamentals, gates etc... And he wants no vehicles on the lawn, no lawn damage. It gets better...It's not black walnut, it's a butternut. The owner insists it's black walnut, I try to explain that "well sir, it's actually butternut" to no avail. He gets annoyed, and says if I don't want the tree he's going to advertise in the local classified ads. I told him I certainly wasn't interested in his "black walnut" but he probably wouldn't have too much trouble finding someone who was. Sure enough, next time we were back through there a couple of months later, the tree was gone!

 

[TDunk]

I have a standard answer for those "work for the tree" jobs: I'll cut down the tree for $XXX, and I'll haul it to the veneer mill for $XXX. You can keep the revenue off the log, if you like.

So far, nobody has paid me to haul a log yet. It seems they are not willing to take the same risk they asked me to take.

yup!

 

[scottbaker]

Out here in Seattle the wood salvage market has changed...there is actually some demand for wood for artisan wood workers...especially any kind of hardwood or unusual wood. They love decay as long as its early stage.

One of my several contacts who buys or scavenges this kind of wood has told me recently that perfectly good trees are getting targeted and that there are folks wanting to turn their trees into cash...ugh!

I saw a trailer load of maple burl the other day...big...from live trees...I really don;t want to know where they came from.

I think that the value of a nice tree on a property here is way higher than the value as raw wood....especially if the tree removal requires any skill.

Although I hear about a veneer log occaisionally I've not seen one.

Of course there have always been tree services smart enough to make some money and save labor by having logs hauled. Rbtree just sent me some pics of big cottonwood removals and he said he got a good price for the logs.

Scott

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Maybe if it was a premium tree, not just limbs, a trade could be a consideration.

In that case, if the homeowner is so darn confident that the wood is valuable, have them put their signature on a contract "Certifying" the quality of the wood - otherwise they pay for the removal if it's of poor quality.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Oh, man, I'm not even in the business and I got hit with this today!

Fella came by to pick something up that I had posted on Craigslist, and noticed my firewood. Asked if I knew how to fell trees. I said yes, and he offered me 10 free trees for the wood if I would fell them!

Unreal.

 

[Kate Butler]

A man called me just a couple of days ago about taking out 2 dozen 30'-40' cedars; "very straight, great long poles, y'know for a pole barn or teepee."

He wanted them taken out for free for the sticks and when I asked about proximity to existing wired services (I was going to recommend my usual certified line guys to him), he said, "Oh yeah, the power runs right through 'em."

I politely explained to him that he should not allow anyone without the proper certifications AND insurance to touch the trees or HE would be liable for any resulting damages. He was shocked and said "Does that mean you're not interested?" I just said no, thank you and hung up. Sometimes, you just gotta laugh.

 

[glov3r]

"Urban Walnut Trees: Their Value as Timber"

Check out "Urban Walnut Trees: Their Value as Timber" from Ohio State. Has anyone made any profit from urban harvesting? Seems like to much time, unless contracted in some way?

 

[hornett224]

i reply no problem!

as soon as the dealers for my equipment ,the gas station,the tire store, the insurance company and the state and town take firewood as payment i'll do it.