firewood business

[litefoot]

As others have stated, you really need to "run the numbers" to see if this is something you can make work. There is a big difference between personal firewood gathering and running a firewood business. Hauling wood and running a saw is enjoyable and good exercise and I can do it at my leisure when I feel like it. I'm sure that adding customer demands/complaints, payments on equipment, broken equipment and keeping an eye on margins would, for me, ruin one of my favorite outdoor pursuits.

 

[etc]

Firewood is exorbitantly expensive here in DC area, in the season, hardwood can easily hit 300-350/cord. All these prices quoted above, I don't know what planet you people are on. I have not seen these prices in years. They sell a car trunk load here for around 40 - and I think it's actually selling.

I think location is more important. In tobacoville, Kentucky, I don't think you can get more than 50-60 for a pickup truck.

People in big metro areas got some tokens. You can get tokens here whether you are a pencil-pusher or wood stacker.

I think the whole thing is automating as much as possible, get a nice splitter, etc.

 

[avalancher]

I have to agree with Zogger, either go real big, or stay small. And the biggest reason, the permits, license, insurance, etc will eat you up. And there really isnt a lot of difference for all these insurance and license costs between a big operation and a medium operation. Trust me, I know.

Six years ago, I was right there in the middle. Hired a guy who did nothing but split and pile while I hustled the tree jobs and dropped the wood off at the lot. Made good money removing trees, but after running the numbers for two years I realized that I wasn't hardly paying for my time keeping the books. I cut way back on production after investigating into some more serious equipment like a processor and skid steer.

I keep it small now, split and deliver less than 50 cords a year, take only cash, and I keep quiet about my operation with the tax man. I do okay, make some pretty good pocket money, and gives me a way to get rid of the debris from tree jobs. But there is little profit to be made if you buy your wood in log form or off the stump. One thing goes wrong and you got a spendy repair to make, and you may find yourself paying for the privilege of working.

To be honest with you, I dont know if I would even fool with firewood except for the cash money and its a great way to pick up tree jobs. Every delivery to a new customer gets a fridge magnet and I have had great success in picking up jobs that way.

 

[haveawoody]

Best thing you can do is send an email to every tree service in your area telling them you want to remove wood from jobs they do, no cost to them and you are willing to do this fulltime should they need.
As long as you follow them around and do a good job whenever they need you then you will have a good supply of free wood.
Well free as in your time and hauling gas $.
Get a big trailor for this, 1 trip VS 2 is a no brainer.

Then you will make some money from wood sales, learn the tree service work as you watch, and sometimes the tree guys will even throw a few $ your way for letting them take on 10 jobs a day instead of 4.

That IMO is a good place to start.

 

[stihl362]

Seems to me that you should consider taking slow steps to get into the business. Don't throw all your money into real nice equipment yet, i would start off small and work your way up. Figure out exactly if you want to do all the work it takes to commit to a big operation. I am 18 right now started selling when i was twelve splitting with an axe and selling it at my firewood stand off the road i live on. The first few years with the axe was pretty bad i probably sold only 6 cords but now its really picked up. I eventually bought a truck got splitter saw trailer etc... and started doing deliveries as well. It took a few years to get it going but now its all worth it. If i had to go out and purchase all the equipment (All of my equipment was free except my truck and saw) i would think that it might not be worth it. Its good money for a college kid but i don't think i could make a living off it. So i would say start out selling a few cords next year and see if its worthwhile. Keep record of what your making/spending and you will be able to figure it out from there.

 

[jrider]

Seems to me that you should consider taking slow steps to get into the business. Don't throw all your money into real nice equipment yet, i would start off small and work your way up. Figure out exactly if you want to do all the work it takes to commit to a big operation. I am 18 right now started selling when i was twelve splitting with an axe and selling it at my firewood stand off the road i live on. The first few years with the axe was pretty bad i probably sold only 6 cords but now its really picked up. I eventually bought a truck got splitter saw trailer etc... and started doing deliveries as well. It took a few years to get it going but now its all worth it. If i had to go out and purchase all the equipment (All of my equipment was free except my truck and saw) i would think that it might not be worth it. Its good money for a college kid but i don't think i could make a living off it. So i would say start out selling a few cords next year and see if its worthwhile. Keep record of what your making/spending and you will be able to figure it out from there.

This is very sound advice. I started out similiar to you but I was 19 when I started. My first year I sold about 10 and now sell 60-70 a year and thats all the bigger I want to get. Any more and I feel I would have to make an investment in a bigger/faster splitter, a conveyor, and more time overall. I am happy with the money I make staying at this level and it gives me something to do in the summer (teacher here). Kudos to you for getting started at such a young age. There aren't enough kids around these parts with that kind of ambition. BTW, where in NJ are you located?

 

[stihl362]

This is very sound advice. I started out similiar to you but I was 19 when I started. My first year I sold about 10 and now sell 60-70 a year and thats all the bigger I want to get. Any more and I feel I would have to make an investment in a bigger/faster splitter, a conveyor, and more time overall. I am happy with the money I make staying at this level and it gives me something to do in the summer (teacher here). Kudos to you for getting started at such a young age. There aren't enough kids around these parts with that kind of ambition. BTW, where in NJ are you located?

Yeah I was kinda put into a situation where it was necessary for me to work. We had our land farmland assessed and as a requirement we were supposed to cut firewood. It is basically my younger brother and i who run everything after we got started so it was great work experience for us. Now we are doing everything, cutting trees, splitting wood for people, cutting lawns, scrap metal, moving furniture, just about anything i can move with my truck or figure out how to do... Im located in morris county, specifically mendham twp. We're just about the only kids doing this type of work.

 

[Cage116]

anyone have any experience with stump grinding?

 

[tomtrees58]

anyone have any experience with stump grinding?

here we go tree guys all grind stumps

 

[Rockland Farm]

Most Tree companies that I know of own a stump grinder and the small guys just rent a machine when they need one . I know one guy that tried to start a business just grinding stumps and he failed . Just wasn't enough work to keep him going .

 

[haveawoody]

No better way to break your body and soul than grinding stumps for a living.
If your intention is to look like the terminator then go ahead.LOL

Pretty much all tree services do stump grinding and even they don't love it.
Most don't even offer it unless a customer asks them about the stump, so that is a pretty good clue that it's a nasty job.

 

[tomtrees58]

we do it for free to get the removals

 

[LAH]

Run the numbers & see if it adds up for you. I have a nice splitter, 2 saws, conveyor, dump truck, & 12' trailer, worth $20,000. These costs are partly offset by the fact I burn a bunch of firewood in two locations.

Also I had a commercial building with 2 lots which was rental property. When the last renter moved out I begin processing my firewood there. The logs are given me by my employer & mostly I'm on the payroll when I dump them there. Another plus for me is the fact I haul VERY little firewood & I mean very little. The customers load & haul the wood they purchase. AND the person beside me owns a small greenhouse/produce business. I give him wood for his greenhouse & in exchange he opens my gate for the customer & when they have their wood loaded he collects the money & locks the gate. In short I need not be there to make a sell.

If I didn't have the "deal" I have I wouldn't be selling firewood.

 

[haveawoody]

tomtrees58,

Well that is a nice include in your service.

I've ground a few up for the guys but not my idea of fun LOL
Like having a wild wife with big teeth and just when you think it's going well it's buckaroo time

 

[Arbonaut]

When I see prices ranging from 260-350 for full cords of wood, if that is accurate, you can make a profit. If you had an opportunity to buy logs delivered, that could be a plus. You aren't the one doing the worst of the logistics that way. And your insurance concerns are minimized. I think the advice given to hook up with a tree service is good. Doing tree removals, I've seen more harvestable firewood go through the cracks than I'd like.

 

[Gjt1980]

I am looking for some one in or close to Livingston county Mi that delivers logs by the semi.
Thanks

 

[huntindog1]

You might approach your firewood business more like a way to just make some extra cash, cut extra and sell a few ricks to help pay your cutting expenses or just some extra cash here or there. See it as a supplement and over time you might grow a customer base. Then grow bigger.

 

[discounthunter]

make sure you get GOOD health insurance(which will be very expensive) as you will hurt your back,you will cut, break,crush various parts of your body.

i would just find a place to cut for free and play around on the weekends, maybe even sell a couple loads of wood to pay for some beer.

 

[Circle B MN]

When I see prices ranging from 260-350 for full cords of wood, if that is accurate, you can make a profit. If you had an opportunity to buy logs delivered, that could be a plus. You aren't the one doing the worst of the logistics that way. And your insurance concerns are minimized. I think the advice given to hook up with a tree service is good. Doing tree removals, I've seen more harvestable firewood go through the cracks than I'd like.

Last year in these parts I made a killing selling wood into the city at $320 a cord.....this year it's selling for what I paid for logs...delivered and stacked. Wood is a commodity, just like anything else. If you want to invest in it, be sure to have a pocket deep enough to absorb the loss. The sun does not shine every day.






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