Logs for fire.

[ABitConfused123]

We cut down some trees a few years ago and so haven't really ever had to go and buy logs. However, our woodpile now is very low and I'm thinking ahead to this coming autumn and winter.

I was considering adding a small bag of logs or two to my supermarket shop each week. Tesco are selling them for £5.50 for a 16 litre bag, which is a handy way to spread the cost, but I'm guessing isn't the most cost effective way to gather up logs.

What's everyone else do for logs? What's the cheapest way of getting some assuming you don't own a chainsaw or know anyone giving away any free logs?

Buying from a supermarket is the least cost effective way of buying logs!

I suspected so. What is the most cost effective?

Ordering a tonne of logs - we literally had a tonne of logs delivered for £120 from an independent provider close to where we live.

Something similar to this - rainfords.co.uk/products/tonbagofkilndriedbirch

We had a tonne delivered and it lasted us all winter. Great if you can find the space.

If you have space, getting a tonne delivered is definitely best value. DPs and DMIL both do that and have covered space to store it.

We don't have that much space, but there is a wood merchant near us and we buy 10 bags at a time so get a 1.5 bag discount buying that small amount of bulk. I can fit all 10 in the car, putting about 7 bags stacked into the log shelter (old coal bunker) and the other 3 can go into the shed for a few weeks until there is space. If I could buy 20 bags, he gives a 2.5 bag discount, and can also deliver a half tonne pallet for even better value - but we don't have the space for those.

We are already getting organised to buy a batch in the early summer this year rather than waiting until autumn. And telling DPs/DMIL to make sure to buy early. Because I know that we are going to have energy supply issues this winter (and even worse in 2023/24) as a result of the Ukraine situation and its global impacts.

So while we have gas CH and DPs/DMIL have oil-fired central heating, all 3 houses can be heated by stoves/open fires as an alternative. I think that may be necessary this year.

We have a local supplier. Definitely get a large amount now if you can afford it/have the space.

Order a ton at a time. Either local supplier (coal and wood) or tree surgeon or farmer.

Buying in bulk will be better value. But it sounds like you have the space to store a few years worth? I would look to get a bulk quantity of seasoned (dry) wood for next winter but also check if there are cheaper unseasoned logs available. You can then store those while they dry ready for winter 2023. We use eco logs and I order a pallet at a time for best value.

Definitely buy them in larger quantities. Round here (kent) the usual size is 1/2 cubic metre. You can get un-seasoned logs for cheaper if you've the space to let them air properly.

We get a flatbed truckload delivered every 12-15 months from managed woods about 15 miles away.

It's a good idea to get them at this time of you so they get a chance to dry out (the woodman we use seasons them for a couple of years, rather than kiln-drying them.

Buy a moisture probe to check they are ready to burn.

Don't know if it still runs but a few years ago there was a scheme called Logs for Labour, where someone who owns woodland and wants work done offers firewood in exchange for two or three hours of work. We did that after seeing an ad in the local press and were lucky enough to be given paid work and access to wood.

Before then we used to go to wood yards and buy cheap off cuts. They weren't pretty for stacking but they burned fine.

This might be worth checking out: freefirewood.co.uk

Something I did years ago was to find areas where felling had been done and go out with a backpack and pick up wood myself.

Yep we bought a tonne in autumn 2020 and still have some left, though i get too hot with the Woodburner going so it has to be really cold for us to use it.

Thank you. Yes, we have old sheds that can take a lot of wood.

Contact a local tree surgeon/landscaper who will likely be able to drop a load off to you.

We pick up sticks at the park in a bag each week, sometimes twice a week, and store them in the garden.

What is the most cost effective?

To cut and season them yourself. However, there is a bit of a payback period involved as the equipment needed is expensive and the logs won’t be ready for burning for two years or so.

Supermarket or petrol station logs must be the most expensive form of heating there is, short of burning five pound notes.

Supermarket or petrol station logs must be the most expensive form of heating there is, short of burning five pound notes.

Agree with that.

There is still a fair bit of fallen wood around from those storms a while back. I see a lot of it along the roadside when we're out and about. I've also seen trees blown over in the storms that have been cut up and logged for people to take.

You can get un-seasoned logs for cheaper if you've the space to let them air properly.

Be aware that you can only buy unseasoned firewood in quantities of two cubic metres or more.

Local tree surgeon offering unseasoned processed logs for £100 per 1m3.

Is this a good price? How long would you expect this to last you with frequent use (I appreciate this is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question).

That seems expensive. Round here (rural SW England) a half load of split seasoned logs costs around £80. That’s about 1m3, or slightly more than one tightly packed builder’s dumpy bag. A full load is around £140. And that’s seasoned, so ready to burn next winter. Unseasoned you’d have to store for at least a year before they’re ready to use.

Thanks. I will continue to see what's about.

Local tree surgeon offering unseasoned processed logs for £100 per 1m3

They must be unaware of the new regulations controlling the sale of firewood if they will sell you less than two.

www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-wood-for-domestic-use-in-england

As somebody else said, that seems expensive for unseasoned, although it would depend on what you are actually buying. Weight for weight, all wood has more or less the same calorific value, so there is a lot more heat in a cubic metre of oak, for example, than a cubic metre of pine. The size of the logs also plays a part. Big logs take less than half the time to make than small ones. Somebody I know charges more for what he calls “granny logs”.

We are in NI, not sure if that changes anything with rules.

In Scotland near us it's about £75 a big bag for unseasoned softwood, delivered (bit cheaper if you get a truckload no bag). Seasoned hardwood about £120.

There is LOADS of fallen wood from Storm Arwen, which you can probably negotiate free for the labour of processing & lifting it if you know the landowner.