How to fiqure price of free wood ?

[LadyToysDream]

Just got the OWB this summer, and we bought our wood, seasoned, split and delivered for this heating season. Next year the hubby will have to get serious about the wood pile, because our tight budget will probably be even tighter than it is now.
His parents bought the next size bigger furnace than ours after seeing our setup. Dad has woods on his land. Hubby spent some time this summer helping Dad cut his wood. Which makes his wood pile all green, right now.

Now I hear people say, *our wood is free because it's on our land. *
I scratch my head over this, because there are costs involved.
Cost of what the land cost you, and taxes every year.
Then the cost of your saw, oil, gas, maintence of saws, etc.
Is there a way to put a value on a cord of wood in these circumstances.
And the value of one's time per hour. How much time to put out a full cord, or a face cord ?

Thanks

Patti

 

[mimilkman1]

If you use the land solely for the production of firewood then it wouldn't make as much sense, but I look at it like this. If my house is on the land, then it is part of my home, if I farm the land, it is part of my livelihood, if I hunt and walk in the woods on the land, then it is recreation, so having trees on my property for the sole purpose of saving money on heat, then it doesn't add up as much, but if you see the land in different ways, then it's a little different. I also enjoy the fact that I am helping myself be more dependent on my own abilities and skill rather than paying someone else to supply heat for my house.

Kyle

 

[Mike Van]

Patti, I think you could crunch numbers on this till the cows come home - The land, if you own it and pay taxes on it, it's there already. Unless you are cutting valuable sawlogs for firewood, what are you losing? Just cutting the dead or sickly trees will actually improve the land, make it worth more. If you had to go buy a truck, a chainsaw & splitter just for your own wood, yes, thats an expence to factor in. But, many "country" people already own these things [or should] Gas, oil, repairs, ? I never keep track of stuff like that - I do my own repair work, and when you figure the ammount of wood you can cut on a gallon of gas, it's not a lot of money spent. If you had to haul the wood any distance, then you bet - thats $$$$$$. Your time - what else would you be doing? Something that made more than you're saving? It would have to be a lot as the wood is off-setting 4.00 fuel oil.

 

[LadyToysDream]

I know if we had our own woods, then yes we would have our wood at a better price per cord. But knowing my hubby, he would be wanting more and bigger equipment to get the wood out of the woods.

I don't think Dad understands costs. He fiqures his wood is free.
He has a very small chainsaw. My hubby had to put money into both our used saws to get them ready for some serious tree cutting. Then he had to buy gas, oil, and bar oil for the saws. Then gas in his truck to get him there and back home again, probably 30 miles round trip. Then he took our 4 wheeler up there in the enclosed trailer. Used the atv to bring wood out of the woods.
Hubby is helping his parents, so of course, he does not charge them anything. He spent some serious time there this summer when not working at his regular full time job. Which is 100 % fine with me.
I just have a hard time understanding what is *free*

 

[A. Stanton]

Lady,
The way I look at it is this. First, all the equipment you buy is basically costing you only half. If you take care of most stuff, you should be able to get at least half back when you want to sell it. The land and taxes, you are paying it regardless and it only goes up in value. Your time is something else. If you could be working in another job, then deduct the time away from the job. But understand what a gym costs and the good excercise you get from work. And finally look at the price of wood. Cords are selling in some places for $300 and it will only go up. Best off, when you burn, you are beating the arabs.

 

[gink595]

There is nothing for free, wether it's in the form of physical labor or trading labor. But there is "sorta free", the kind that comes in doing hard work for money saved. If you don't like cutting wood and all the extra BS that goes with it like the mess the time it takes, than you should work overtime at the day job to curve the costs of gas, the gas spent for firewood is cheap, i can cut a heaping truck load with 2 tanks, I used 10 gallon of gas for a rough estimate of 29 cords of wood this spring and I still have more logs that need to be bucked up in the woods. If you factor in the price of the saw the wood unit for heat whatever it might be, you probably won't see the savings in the first few years. I think the people that are on here are more, how do you say "passionate" about cutting, splitting and hauling their firewood, it's not really looked at as a free enterprise but a cheaper alternative that is fun and rewarding. At least it is for me, and I have come out ahead in the pocket book.

 

[Mike Van]

But knowing my hubby, he would be wanting more and bigger equipment to get the wood out of the woods.

QUOTE]
Your hubby sounds like a 'regular guy' ! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[LadyToysDream]

Yes my hubby is a *regular guy*.....a good man, and a very hardworker........and he has to be outside as much as possible.
His regular job is driving a big truck that he has to have a class B for.
Not much the man is afraid of....... but let me say.......sit down a minute dear, so I can explain our budget this week to you.....and the man has 100 excuses to run outside...........
I then get to pull my hair out over the budget.........

 

[husky455rancher]

well i look at it this way, if your going to burn then you need that equipment anyway. if the wood is free then what it really boils down to is cost of gas in the truck per load. 30 mile round trip im gonna say 1/2 a cord per load. 10 mpg 4$ a gallon i figure it to be $24 a cord of wood. im my book thats a damn fine way to go. ill take all the wood i can get at that price!

i dont count saw gas or oil cuse i just heat my home. now if i had a business doing wood then sure i would count it. equipment lasts a long time assuming you dont destroy it. this will be my 3rd year heating 100% from wood and i bet everythings more then payed for itself by now.

 

[Scootermsp]

Your time

Assuming oil at $4.00/Gal. and hours spent outdoors cutting, splitting, stacking. I figure $85-$100 per hour under the table is my pay for not buying oil and cutting my own wood. I'll take that anytime! Saw gas, bar oil, splitter and tractor fuel are under $50 to process the 11 FULL cords I've done thus far. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[KsWoodsMan]

The cost of the time for the great workout can be counted against paying for a gym membership. People go to the gym a few times a week. Some cut/split/stack wood for their exersize in the evenings or on the weekends. So the cost of the time depends on, if you are spending money for that time or could be making money in that time.

Even if I didn't burn wood for heat, as a homeowner, I would still own one or more saws and tools. I'm lost without a PU or something to pull a decent trailer. And having these I also keep several lengths of chain, cable and ropes. Cutting wood goes along with my lifestyle.

There is the cost of fuel, premix and bar oil for the saw(s), plus the cost of fuel for the transportation. I count my cutting time/expences in my entertainment budget. I enjoy it and the good feeling I get from being directly responcible for heating my home instead of turning up a thermostat connected to the gas companies billing center.

I guess my wood could be counted as free. There are a LOT of worse things than wood, bigger saws and tools that I could be spending money on. Besides, by providing my own 'free' heat I end up with a surplus that can be sold for at least 2X what I would have in it if I was counting expences and time.

I look at it like I get paid for doing something I already enjoy. Not just saving money.

 

[Nacho82]

Like said above nothing is free. Just compare the cost of heating oil, electric, or natural gas/propane cost to what you spend processing wood. Chances are the wood is cheaper, but more labor intensive. Now some people say they would rather have the easy stuff, or buy it delivered. Some say that their time is worth more (maybe if they work 16 hours a day making $80 per hour) so they buy the electric or gas. But to me the cheapest way is the best. I do things cheap.

 

[olyman]

agree with lots--if already have house on land--and farm it, etc--the wood cost if near zilch--as the other expenses are there anyway--and its excellent exercise----

 

[Joshlaugh]

It seems to be getting cheaper by the year for me. I made contact with my village service director and they are willing to drop logs off to my house now. I still get calls to cut trees down around the county(from friends and relatives) but the fuel savings by having wood dropped off to me adds up.

I might try to figure out total saving at the end of this burning season to "prove" to my wife how spending my free time with a saw and maul benefits our family

 

[Nailsbeats]

My firewood operation pays me and I have a 40+ hour a week job. Not only do I heat my house on it, I sell some to buy all my gear with and still put money in the bank. I work to buy more stuff to do more work. I get 90% of it somewhere other than my land, but I aint your average cat. It comes down to realizing your freetime isn't worth a dime. You could sit on the couch and think about how much your time is worth or you could shut the TV off, set some goals and get at it.
Everybody talks about what there time is worth, NEWSFLASH: it aint worth nothin'.

PS, never think an old man doesn't understand something.