Best way to buy timber?

Triboro

Just wondering the best way to buy timber, is it better by trailer load or in tonne bags as price seems to differ a lot, would an 8x4 trailer be the equivalent of two tonne bags or more? Lastly is 50 euro about an average price for a ton bag of spruce (split ready to go)... Thanks.

fergus1001

Triboro wrote:

Just wondering the best way to buy timber, is it better by trailer load or in tonne bags as price seems to differ a lot, would an 8x4 trailer be the equivalent of two tonne bags or more? Lastly is €50 about an average price for a ton bag of spruce (split ready to go)... Thanks.

8x4x1 trailer heaped is just over a cubic meter (1.2 to 1.4)

A builders bag is about 0.6 to 0.7 m3

It all depends how it's filled really

Triboro

fergus1001 wrote: »

8x4x1 trailer heaped is just over a cubic meter (1.2 to 1.4)

A builders bag is about 0.6 to 0.7 m3

It all depends how it's filled really

Grand, thanks ... Maths was never the best with me.. So 50 euro for the tonne bags of spruce would be fair enough I suppose!

fergus1001

Triboro wrote:

Grand, thanks ... Maths was never the best with me.. So 50 euro for the tonne bags of spruce would be fair enough I suppose!

If I got the 8x4x1 trailer for 100 or less I'd go with the trailer assuming you have somewhere to store it

wayoutwest

The best way to buy firewood is to agree on a cubic metre price and then measure the container/bag on delivery.I recently bought in a 'big 'ole trailer load of split and ready to burn logs'.The seller assured me contained 4 m3 .A quick measure upon delivery revealed that it contained only 3.2 m3 ...and a quick probe of the moisture meter informed me that the moisture content was 28%(will now have to season it for a good six months to get it down to an acceptable 18%).

I like thinking 'in cubic metres',rather than loads/tips/builders tonne bags(which come in different sizes) etc- because i can then work out the value of the offer.For instance I know that I can get 8 or 9 very heaped wheelbarrows out of a m3, and each barrow contains almost three feed bags- so thats at least 25 bags, which, if I bought individually would cost me 25 x €4 =€100.I know that a m3 will give me 10 days of (full on)heating, therefore I like to pay 50 or 60 a cube -which means that its costing me 5 or 6 euro per day.

Triboro

wayoutwest wrote: »

The best way to buy firewood is to agree on a cubic metre price and then measure the container/bag on delivery.I recently bought in a 'big 'ole trailer load of split and ready to burn logs'.The seller assured me contained 4 m3 .A quick measure upon delivery revealed that it contained only 3.2 m3 ...and a quick probe of the moisture meter informed me that the moisture content was 28%(will now have to season it for a good six months to get it down to an acceptable 18%).

I like thinking 'in cubic metres',rather than loads/tips/builders tonne bags(which come in different sizes) etc- because i can then work out the value of the offer.For instance I know that I can get 8 or 9 very heaped wheelbarrows out of a m3, and each barrow contains almost three feed bags- so thats at least 25 bags, which, if I bought individually would cost me 25 x €4 =€100.I know that a m3 will give me 10 days of (full on)heating, therefore I like to pay 50 or 60 a cube -which means that its costing me 5 or 6 euro per day.

Yeah, have seen a few ads for crated cubes of timber for sale alright ,bigger than tonne bags so by about a 1/3 going by last few posts.... Must check em out again!

Jack180570

Triboro wrote: »

Just wondering the best way to buy timber, is it better by trailer load or in tonne bags as price seems to differ a lot, would an 8x4 trailer be the equivalent of two tonne bags or more? Lastly is 50 euro about an average price for a ton bag of spruce (split ready to go)... Thanks.

Best way to buy firewood, according to Pieter Kofman from the Dept of Agriculture COFORD, 'is by weight with certified moisture' because this way you are buying the heat contained in the wood and you overcome the differences between hardwood/softwood and also say 25% moisture and 19% moisture.
Incidentally the majority of woodchip is sold on this basis.

wayoutwest

Most bulk loads of firewood are sold by volume of 'loose thrown' logs-either cubic metre or given volume of trailer/lorry/bag.Kiln dried and imported logs can be bought as a volume of 'tightly packed' logs in a crate.Picture below shows the difference in volume between loose thrown and tightly stacked.Crate-Cage-Coparison.jpg.jpeg.
In America they sell by the 'cord' -which is 128 cubic feet (4'x4'x8') or 3.62 m3 of tightly stacked logs.The problem with that system is that it will be delivered as a loose thrown volume and can only be checked after tightly stacking again.I have heard that a 'tightly stacked' volume is used on the continent-does anyone know what volumes are used there? ie:m3 or multiples of m3's.