Free Wood

Bevster_2

Hi All,

We have just installed our new wood burner hoping it will save us money in the long run as the gas prices continually hike up!

Does anyone have any advice on wood, i understand from a previous thread that damp or soft wood is a no go. What about treated wood from the garden, is that ok as the fumes will go uo with the smoke ?

Does anyone know the legalitys of collecting wood from public paths, woods, side of the road etc ?

Thanks ... can't wait till winter, never thought i'd say that!

John_3:16

Hi Bevster
Our Wood burner will be in, in a few days. Regarding wood If I see a fallen branch in the ditch I take the saw and put it on the wood pile. I have found there is alot of free wood around just keep your eyes open. Listen for the chain saw and go and ask if you can have the tree. Alot of tree cutters and more than happy to let you have it. Regarding softwood if its bone dry like all wood should be and if the chimney is swept regular I think you will be ok. Mix your wood up burn a little sftwood with hard wood. Get the chimney warm quickly to reduce condensation.

If you see a broken branch and you can contact the farmer just ask all they can say is no.

I found alot of helpful advice here

http://www.the-tree.org.uk/TreeCultivation&Uses/Firewood/burningwood.htm#Understanding%20the%20burning%20process%20helps%20to%20make%20better%20uses%20of%20the%20wood

gamston

depends on what you are like,
i used to get old window frames from these guys who put in upvc windows.
they burnt well, and they were free, i just had to tidy up the area where i had them dropped (get a lot of glass).
i live down an old farm track so their was no one maoning about the mess, other then the love of my life

Elixir

I look out for small adds in my local paper from people who cut down trees from the side of train tracks for instance. I usualy get a shedful for £50.

Chell

You cold ask on freecycle for wood. My DP works for a builders merchants, they would let you raid their skip. It might be worth asking a builders merchants where you live.

jonnyw_2

My brother used to go to areas of woodlend which had been commercially felled and collect the bits which had been left behind. He used to pay so much an acre for scavaging rights and ended up with tons, literally.

montrose5

One of the best places I have found is the beach.Take a look after a good storm especially near the mouth of a river,not unusual to find a whole tree!Needs a couple of months to dry out but worth waiting.Careful with treated/painted wood fumes can get a bit much and if it spits it's a pig to clean off the stove.

Debt_Free_Chick

Bevster wrote:

Does anyone know the legalitys of collecting wood from public paths, woods, side of the road etc ?

Wood on a public footpath or from woodland belongs to the landowner, so technically you're stealing :eek: Some landowners might not mind, but you should really ask permission. You can only go into woodland with the owner's permission or via a public footpath. If the path doesn't go through woodland and you have no permission, that would be tresspass as you would be on someone else's land.

From the side of the road is probably OK, but you would have to be sure that you were taking wood from the public highway and not from a landowner.

Woodland is particularly tricky as many are managed for the purpose of providing wood to burn. As Jonnyw says, the landowner may well allow you the right to scavange, but in any event, you would need permission to go into the wood if there's no public footpath.

Skiduck

My wife's ancestor got locked up in the bad old days for scavanging for wood - they have a small matyr festival for it in that area. I always start calling her family criminals when it looks like I'm losing an argument. :rotfl:

workingwoodlands

DFC has infromed you well - the majority of private woodland owners do not allow public access to their woodlands for various reasons not least insurance, so you would be trespassing if you did not ask the owners permission. With the closure of the St Regis mill at Sudbrook (a very important market for small sized hardwood roundwood) there is a glut of this material on the market at the moment - this sort of size is the size you need for your wood burners. PLEASE support your local firewood merchant, a typical load will cost you £40 - 50/tonne. My only other advice is to buy a year in advance and get it stacked and stored so it air dries for the next winter, this way you will get the optimum burn and in the long run save you money!

Brightonmum_3

We have an open fire about to become a wood burner and we pay very little for wood. We do this in 3 ways.
1. make friends with a local builder He would rather dump his wood in my front garden than pay to dump it
2. Make freind with a local gardener same as above but the wood is in smaller bits and is usually good as starter wood
3. If you are going to buy wood buy it from a tree surgeon he gets the wood for free at the end of a job so sells it cheaper than the other wood guys also if you buy regularly ( as in twice a year) he may give you abetter deal or even a call when he is on a particular job. Ours has even given us other garden materials left over from jobs.
oh yeah we have also had wood when we have contacted salvage guys who are demolishing old houses and they will give us stuff if we collect it or sell if we want them to drop it off, got numbers from yellow pages.