west cork lorry load of timber

jaapbond · 10-02-2020 11:09pm #1

Anybody any idea who to contact to buy a lorry load of logs in west cork ? Also what sort of prices are being payed at the moment ?
Thanks !

accidental forester · 11-02-2020 9:36pm

Hello Mr. Bond,
As no one else has piped up, I'll make a couple of suggestions. Grainger's Sawmills (aka GP Wood) in Enniskeane has been known to put people in touch with hauliers that can organize a load for you. If they're no help, look up timber hauliers and see ifyou can find one that is willing. If no luck there, Coillte might offer some suggestions. They have offices in Macroom and Fermoy.
One further suggestion: demand freshly cut timber. I've seen two occurrences of people being told they were getting "seasoned" logs only to be delivered artic loads that were so far gone they never dried out. If the bark is falling off, I'd be worried.
Good luck!

DukeCaboom · 11-02-2020 9:48pm

Ya Graingers are great. Bought 2 loads off them the last two years. It was for chipping for a woodchip pad. Just ring them.

jaapbond · 13-02-2020 9:01pm

Thank you both for the replies, not having an awful lot of luck just yet, but will keep trying ... is there any chance of finding anything other then sitka spruce ? Also any ideas what prices I should expect to pay ?

893bet · 13-02-2020 11:03pm

How much is a load?

How many tonne/m3?

What diameter logs is the standard?

hoogle · 14-02-2020 8:45am

Try the forest owners coop based in west cork. They sell spruce and ash

jaapbond · 15-02-2020 12:31pm

hoogle wrote: »

Try the forest owners coop based in west cork. They sell spruce and ash

Thank you for that ... any idea who is in charge of harvesting and sales ? Would you happen to have their number ?

august12 · 04-06-2020 4:23pm

accidental forester wrote: »

Hello Mr. Bond,
As no one else has piped up, I'll make a couple of suggestions. Grainger's Sawmills (aka GP Wood) in Enniskeane has been known to put people in touch with hauliers that can organize a load for you. If they're no help, look up timber hauliers and see ifyou can find one that is willing. If no luck there, Coillte might offer some suggestions. They have offices in Macroom and Fermoy.
One further suggestion: demand freshly cut timber. I've seen two occurrences of people being told they were getting "seasoned" logs only to be delivered artic loads that were so far gone they never dried out. If the bark is falling off, I'd be worried.
Good luck!

Would you mind elaborating on what the significance of bark falling is and also so far gone, never dried out. Just interested to know please.

accidental forester · 04-06-2020 11:08pm

Hi August,

I don't know all of the chemistry behind it but from what I understand, fungus starts to grow within downed timber. This will inhibit/prevent seasoning, depending on the severity. I've seen two cases of this, one the father-in-law, the other a neighbour: both received loads of sitka that were fairly well shook on arrival. Both had to deal with massive piles of soggy timber that never really dried out. The neighbour is still trying to get through his pile. You want to see what you're buying before it's loaded, it's hard to argue with the haulier when he's backed in and ready to offload.

There are might suppliers that would properly store logs that would be seasoning, I've not come across any. Most firewood suppliers will process their logs asap and then store the splits under cover.

We go through about 20 cubic meters of mostly sitka a year. I try to get it cut and split within a two or three weeks. We can get it down to ~20% in six months (including a summer) if properly stacked and stored in a dry and drafty lean-to.

august12 · 05-06-2020 12:04am

accidental forester wrote: »

Hi August,

I don't know all of the chemistry behind it but from what I understand, fungus starts to grow within downed timber. This will inhibit/prevent seasoning, depending on the severity. I've seen two cases of this, one the father-in-law, the other a neighbour: both received loads of sitka that were fairly well shook on arrival. Both had to deal with massive piles of soggy timber that never really dried out. The neighbour is still trying to get through his pile. You want to see what you're buying before it's loaded, it's hard to argue with the haulier when he's backed in and ready to offload.

There are might suppliers that would properly store logs that would be seasoning, I've not come across any. Most firewood suppliers will process their logs asap and then store the splits under cover.

We go through about 20 cubic meters of mostly sitka a year. I try to get it cut and split within a two or three weeks. We can get it down to ~20% in six months (including a summer) if properly stacked and stored in a dry and drafty lean-to.

Thanks for info, didn't realise the importance of storing it under cover within such a short time of cutting, reason I asked, we have a sizeable amount of fallen timber on land which remained there for a number of years, I had noticed the poor heat quality, even after storing under cover for a year or so.

accidental forester · 05-06-2020 10:07pm

August,

You say you have a lot of fallen timber, do you have standing dead or wind thrown trees? Both of these are usually salvageable. Depending on conditions, standing dead can be viable even after a couple of years. (Once again, bark falling off would indicate it's too far gone.) These can be processed and ready for the fire in a very short time. My feeling is that the heat output may be a bit reduced. We burn it over the summer when you want a quick fire but not worried about optimum output.
Wind throws are quite often still alive to some degree even if largely down. They make up 95% of what we burn. I'm still cleaning up after Darwin and Ophelia.
Keep in mind that I'm talking about my own experience with a commercial Sitka plantation. If you've got a mixed woodland, you're situation may be different.

august12 · 06-06-2020 12:00am

accidental forester wrote: »

August,

You say you have a lot of fallen timber, do you have standing dead or wind thrown trees? Both of these are usually salvageable. Depending on conditions, standing dead can be viable even after a couple of years. (Once again, bark falling off would indicate it's too far gone.) These can be processed and ready for the fire in a very short time. My feeling is that the heat output may be a bit reduced. We burn it over the summer when you want a quick fire but not worried about optimum output.
Wind throws are quite often still alive to some degree even if largely down. They make up 95% of what we burn. I'm still cleaning up after Darwin and Ophelia.
Keep in mind that I'm talking about my own experience with a commercial Sitka plantation. If you've got a mixed woodland, you're situation may be different.

Windblown and some roadside cuttings by esb/telephone, mixed woodland and knocked some considerable years, was interested when I read about the bark falling off as this has happened some, a lot just needs a good drying out I think.
Edit, sorry I mean for firewood only, is this timber still ok.

forgottenhills · 09-06-2020 2:15pm

august12 wrote: »

Windblown and some roadside cuttings by esb/telephone, mixed woodland and knocked some considerable years, was interested when I read about the bark falling off as this has happened some, a lot just needs a good drying out I think.
Edit, sorry I mean for firewood only, is this timber still ok.

It depends a lot on the wood type. I don't deal with soft woods/conifers as they are full of resin and are not of great burning value IMO when compared with hard woods. So i don't really know how long it takes fallen conifers to rot.

But fallen ash or beech trees or something with hard wood such as hawthorn will last for a few years on the ground and still make good firewood in the right circumstances. Now this would have to be large branches or trunks as the light stuff will rot on the ground quickly enough. Sycamore is more prone to rotting also.

But good size ash or similar that has been on the ground for a few years should still be ok. Cut it up in dry conditions and store under cover in a well ventilated area for a couple of years and it should be good to go. If the wood is any way spongy, soft or black when you are cutting it up then it is useless. The wood should still be hard to the touch even though there can be an unusual smell off it at times before it dries out.

west cork lorry load of timber

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