Figuring the cost of lumber

[Qweaver]

Since I'm cutting lumber off of my own land to build my Timber Frame, the only cost that I can assign to my wood is the actual cost of felling and sawing.  I would like to know how much I'm saving tho'.  Is there a reasonable way to figure how much it would cost to buy the wood.  I can't go to a lumber yard (Lowes) and buy the same size wood that I'm using so getting a price comparison is hard.  How do I do this?

[mark davidson]

Talk to a sawyer, a stationary or protable mill operator will know general wood prices in your  area. What species are you using?

[Qweaver]

I'm primarily sawing yellow poplar plus any other type that I happen to damage as I fell the poplar or that is in the way of my construction.  So I do have some cherry, oak, sassafras, hickory and pine that I'll use for interior paneling and flooring.  All of the framing and sheathing will be done with poplar.
Quinton

[ARKANSAWYER]

   Cost is log + sawing.   Here in Arkansas you can buy poplar and oak logs for around $300 mbdft.  Cherry and walnut logs for $800 mbdft.   My sawing cost is $0.20 bdft so your poplar would cost $0.50 bdft and your cherry $1.00 bdft.   A 2x4x8 at Lowes here runs about $0.55 bdft.
  Now when you price timbers from suppliers it can get expensive quick.   Most of the time you can triple the cost of what it would cost you to produce your own.

[Tim]

You can be assured Qweaver that you are saving yourself a mit full. If nothing else you are saving the magins that would be charged by each person that puts their fingerprints on the wood ( and the margins of some that don't).

For an idea:

White pine sawlogs standing $100 - $200 / Mfbm
Felling, bucking, sorting etc. $200 / Mfbm
Transport $50 / Mfbm
Scale $5 / Mfbm
Sawing $140 - $200 / Mfbm low end would be your own mill
Air dry $35 / Mfbm or Kiln dry $100 - $150 / Mfbm
Transportation if you don't have your own kiln $30/Mfbm x2
Dressing $65 / Mfbm for square edge dimensional to $120/ Mfbm for patterns
Transportation if you don't have your own planer $30 / Mfbm there $25 / Mfbm back
Marketing of the material will be 5 to 10% of the gross
Grading $45 / Mfbm

So roughly $1100 per Mfbm in Canadian funds cost

Home Depot and other chains around here are selling pine between $2000 and $2500 / Mfbm for stuff that wouldn't be good enough to drive over.

[srjones]

White pine sawlogs standing $100 - $200 / Mfbm
Felling, bucking, sorting etc. $200 / Mfbm
Transport $50 / Mfbm
Scale $5 / Mfbm
Sawing $140 - $200 / Mfbm low end would be your own mill
Air dry $35 / Mfbm or Kiln dry $100 - $150 / Mfbm
Transportation if you don't have your own kiln $30/Mfbm x2
Dressing $65 / Mfbm for square edge dimensional to $120/ Mfbm for patterns
Transportation if you don't have your own planer $30 / Mfbm there $25 / Mfbm back
Marketing of the material will be 5 to 10% of the gross
Grading $45 / Mfbm

For the pride and satisfaction that you did it yourself:  Priceless   :D

[Tim]

Decent looking timber frame there Mr. Davidson... only thing missing are my cedar shingles for the roof.