A couple of weeks ago I posted an ad on Craigslist...
"Firewood Wanted.....Local home owner trying to beat the rising cost of home heating. Will cut and haul most anything."
Simple and to the point. Not mention of cost, shares, etc.
Got a pretty good response from the ad. Several callers were from 60+ miles away...with branches and tree trimmings... But I did manage to get three very good sources.
First was an older farmer a few miles down the road. 40 acre parcel, half open, half wooded. Twenty or better standing dead oak, and a bunch on the ground. Man tells me "Son, if you're willing to do the work to get it out of there, you deserve to have it for free." I've taken a half dozen so far, and cleaned up a fallen tree in his yard after a storm. He wanted to pay me for than one, but I surely wasn't going to accept.
Second was another older gentleman with 80 acres fo oak. Lots of standing dead. he keeps the ground fairly clean and burns himself. We decided I'd cut here for shares. I take all the trunk, he wants to tops so he doesn't have to split. I just cut it up and leave it in a pile by the stump. Nice man, but he wants to be home everytime you cut. Understandable, but the farmer lets me come and go as I please.
Third good response was a from a man my age that purchased a lot near the old farmer. Pure coincidence to have met him from CL. He's cutting an area to build his house on. Again all oak. His ad was make offer for large downed tree cut in firewood lengths. I try VERY hard not to pay for wood, but I called to see what it was going for. After I found out how close he was, I decided to meet him and take a look at what he had. Met him this morning. He had a good half acre or better already cleared, and a long driveway. The trees were right where they fell, all cut to length, brush piled away from it all to burn later. Very clean site. I talked with him for a bit about building, and some of the local businesses as he was not from the area. Ended up offering $150 for it all. He was pleased with the offer and agreed. Said it would be a big help for him to have it all out of the way so he can cut more. I'll take the skidsteer over tomorrow and scoop it all up.
Sorry for the long post, but it goes to show that with a bit of digging, etc. you can still find "Free Wood".
ETA: I reposted my ad this morning on CL just to see what else I could find. It got flagged and deleted inside of an hour. I think the local firewood sellers had something to do with it, but that's just my theory.
"Firewood Wanted.....Local home owner trying to beat the rising cost of home heating. Will cut and haul most anything."
Simple and to the point. Not mention of cost, shares, etc.
Got a pretty good response from the ad. Several callers were from 60+ miles away...with branches and tree trimmings... But I did manage to get three very good sources.
First was an older farmer a few miles down the road. 40 acre parcel, half open, half wooded. Twenty or better standing dead oak, and a bunch on the ground. Man tells me "Son, if you're willing to do the work to get it out of there, you deserve to have it for free." I've taken a half dozen so far, and cleaned up a fallen tree in his yard after a storm. He wanted to pay me for than one, but I surely wasn't going to accept.
Second was another older gentleman with 80 acres fo oak. Lots of standing dead. he keeps the ground fairly clean and burns himself. We decided I'd cut here for shares. I take all the trunk, he wants to tops so he doesn't have to split. I just cut it up and leave it in a pile by the stump. Nice man, but he wants to be home everytime you cut. Understandable, but the farmer lets me come and go as I please.
Third good response was a from a man my age that purchased a lot near the old farmer. Pure coincidence to have met him from CL. He's cutting an area to build his house on. Again all oak. His ad was make offer for large downed tree cut in firewood lengths. I try VERY hard not to pay for wood, but I called to see what it was going for. After I found out how close he was, I decided to meet him and take a look at what he had. Met him this morning. He had a good half acre or better already cleared, and a long driveway. The trees were right where they fell, all cut to length, brush piled away from it all to burn later. Very clean site. I talked with him for a bit about building, and some of the local businesses as he was not from the area. Ended up offering $150 for it all. He was pleased with the offer and agreed. Said it would be a big help for him to have it all out of the way so he can cut more. I'll take the skidsteer over tomorrow and scoop it all up.
Sorry for the long post, but it goes to show that with a bit of digging, etc. you can still find "Free Wood".
ETA: I reposted my ad this morning on CL just to see what else I could find. It got flagged and deleted inside of an hour. I think the local firewood sellers had something to do with it, but that's just my theory.
Last edited: