With winter right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about stock piling wood for all of those long cold days ahead. While I love the sound of a crackling fire on a cold night, I am not a huge fan of paying for a cord of wood. I know lots of people head to the mountains, permit in hand, to cut their yearly firewood, but if that’s not for you, there are a couple of ways to score free {or cheap} wood.
First, craigslist is the Mecca for firewood. You have to be right on top of it, though, and willing to scavenge all year long. It’s usually someone looking to get rid of a tree that a storm took out, or something like that. Look under “free” in the listings. You’ll probably have to do some chopping, but even “free” comes at a price. On that same token, sites like freecycle also have wood from time to time. Again, the key is to check it daily.
Call around to your local tree services. A lot of times, they have a wood chipper and just send the wood through anyway. You may be able to negotiate a deal where you pick up the wood and haul it off.
Keep an eye out for new construction sites. A lot of times, the crew will come in and clear the lot, including trees, before building. With a little smile and a plate of cupcakes, you might be able to talk them into letting you haul off the wood.
If you are brave enough, dumpster diving {with permission} at construction sites can yield quite a bit of burnable wood. Just make sure to watch out for nails and other scraps of metal that could be a potential diving hazard. Also, don’t burn treated wood–unless your interested in gassing yourself in the months to come.
Contact local sawmills, cabinet makers, etc. You might be able to arrange to come pick up their end cuts–especially if you are saving them disposal fees.
Word of mouth is pretty powerful too. Make sure to let friends and family know you are willing to come do a little manual labor to haul off unwanted wood. People will call when they see or hear of fallen trees.
How do you get your firewood?
~Mavis
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Practical Parsimony says
I have never used firewood, but my friend only heated with wood. One day, I found a man who had wood. He was cutting trees and clearing an area for a neighborhood expansion by a builder. My friend brought her truck and he and another guy helped load the long trees. She got the smaller stuff. He was going to have to haul it off and was behind. He offered it all to her. So, she actually saved him time and money. Her son unloaded it and cut it up for her. She had a fireplace, huge, that opened to two rooms, so she could use quite large pieces.
Betty D says
Growing up we had a pot belly stove in the living room and that how we heated the house. In fact our chores when we got home school was to cut/chop wood for the stove…..Id sure love to have one now….esp when the power goes out…We burned anything in them….but now know its not recommended…..Hard wood is what they mostly use now…./oak/ maple/walnut/etc…..not pine type woods…except a few small pieces to get the fire started. Pine type trees burn more intense….and can get very hot on those pipes letting the smoke etc out……..Our bed rooms werent heated….and with lots of blankets/each other/and pets…we kept warm…those were hard times…but good times also….I do try and find people that need wood taken away for my daughter who has a fire place…. For those that use the wood chips around there hedges etc…..sometimes they give it away….so call and check places that do that type stuff…..
gss says
I believe the pretty flowering bush is a Moon plant….. 🙂
Lisa Millar says
Once we get better tools it would be good to source our own wood…. nothing better than a wood fire in winter!
We actually get a lot of pallets from local businesses who usually throw them out… if we can’t repurpose them for things around our property, they make excellent kindling. My husband splits them up. Usually they are not treated as they are generally only used once only.
We can also go down into the paddocks behind us and collect whatever pine cones we like, which also help get the fire roaring along.
Free is good!
🙂
SK Agee says
I get some extra firewood in campgrounds from people that have left it behind as well as whenever I see down trees and branches and the trees branches that are cut down in my own yard.
Diana says
Had a wood stove installed a couple of years ago and absolutely LOVE it. I use it to supplement my heat and try to cut down on my electricity bill. Also have a fireplace that I use to heat up a couple of rooms if that’s all that’s needed.
Found a tree guy that is inexpensive that I’ve used to bring down a dozen or so trees in my yard – he cuts them into the length I need and I split them with the electric splitter I bought. It’s a blast splitting it myself. He’s also offered to bring me a tree whenever I need one.
One of my brothers lives about 5 hours from me and has 40 acres of trees. He chops the tree down AND splits it and says I can have all I want if I just come to get it. Works for me! Go for a visit and come home with an SUV full of wood!
Mavis says
That’s awesome. Brothers who share are the best!
Deborah says
We have so many downed trees due to the tornado we had earlier this year. A lot of hard wood was uprooted. No one seemed to want it, so most of it was just left. There are two hickory trees that are just sitting. Sad. We don’t heat with wood, but do have a wood heater that we will install as soon as we get the room built where it is going.
I do wish someone would get the wood to use. All that is needed is to have a chain saw and something to load it in. Wish I knew how to do it. Oh, and I live in the East
Texas area
Mavis says
Sorry to hear about the tornado damage. Not a good way to get free wood. 🙁
Les Godwin says
A few things I would mention just to cover all the basis. Construction wood that is treated can be spotted by color (pink, green, yellow or anything that doesn’t look natural) and should be completely avoided. Additionally be weary using ANY plywood because of the chemicals/glue that is used in processing. One other thing, too much pine can soot your chimney quickly and become a fire hazard, then you’ll be hearing a lot of crackle and pop as the chimney actually catches fire.
Jen says
Mavis–I am a wood shop teacher in our high school–we are ALWAYS looking to get rid of our cuts/scraps. None of it treated but it is kiln dried and most of it is hard wood! (And yes–I am a female wood shop teacher
Mavis Butterfield says
Go Jen!!! 🙂 Woodshop is an AWESOME class.