Price Per Board Foot?

[bandmiller2]

Myself I charge $1.00/BF oak and .50 for pine,I don't encourage folks to bring logs,and don't charge much less if they bring them, its the same work to cut and stack.I work in a log rich envourment A tree service yard,the big pine they would have to pay to dispose of it and the large oak, much labor to cut/split for firewood.I'd have to work double shifts to stay ahead of the incomeing logs. Frank C.

[Peter Drouin]

bandmiller2, is that the selling price or the saw price? and do you have to pay the tree service guys for the wood?

[lyle niemi]

I possibly Have a contract to cut up 6x6x14s and they will bring me the logs. I was thinking about charging 350/1000bdft

[YellowHammer]

Just get a couple strong young backs to help with the off bearing. The first hundred 6x6's will be cake, after that they will start to get a little heavy :D
YH

[darty]

I have a day job and saw on the side.  I've charged from .30 to .50 bd/ft. depending on the number of logs and size. I'm stationary so they have to bring the logs to me.

[Magicman]

At some point the customer can buy new framing lumber cheaper than having it sawed.  Especially when you consider the cost of the logs.  At that point one can simple price himself out of business.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I charge .25 for Pine and .30 for Oak to the customers who bring me their logs.


I sell Pine at .45 and Oak at .80 unless it's quarter sawn, then my price goes to $2.00 and up depending on the grade.
I get all my Pine, Oak, Sycamore, Poplar, Sweet Gum, Walnut and Cedar for free from 8 different tree service companies.

Plus I get lots of "TIPS" for doing extra things. I don't expect tips but most people just feel good about what they get and say, "here.....this is for your hard work. I'll be back."

I also keep a cooler full of bottled water and soft drinks for customers and their kids to drink on hot days when they come to pick up lumber.

I also have a thick and thin pile where a customers can get a few freebies if he has something in mind he wants to build.

All this works for me.  8)

[Peter Drouin]

Postonlt40hd, nice that you get all your logs for free, but what do you do with all the junk logs :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Postonlt40hd, nice that you get all your logs for free, but what do you do with all the junk logs :D

Some of my junk logs can be slabbed and I make benches or I sell them to other woodworkers who like ugly logs like I do.

But I think more of what you are talking about, I just take the dozer and pile and burn them. When I get enough ash from all those logs, and there are a lot of junk logs, I take the ash mixed with soil and put it in the tomato rows. This is a good way to recycle the pot ash and it really helps the MATERS.

[bandmiller2]

Peter,thats the price I sell it for.I don't pay for the logs but cut quite a bit for the tree service no charge.When I cut a trailer deck I charge for what the guy wants to cover say a 7'x20' deck 2"  would be $280.00 I always cut and give them more for repairs or in case one splits. Frank C.

[Peter Drouin]

well thats good you get your logs free too bandmiller2. I have to pay for my logs. so I sell pine starting at .70 and hard wood starts at 1.00 a bf. but they are all good grade. and postonlt40hd I do like the bench you made with the crooked legs :D :D I do have 2 wood lots but it cost to get the logs out. but most times I just tell the logger what I want and he gos out and cut it then I call the trucker to get them home

  but its all fun :D :D 8)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Wow Peter, I wish all my logs looked like the one on your truck. 

[Migal]

Dang wish my truck looked like the one with his logs on if I was going to wish  8)

[YellowHammer]

Do you keep a tally on how much the tree services bring vs how much they get in return based on your standard bdft cost? I must be doing something wrong because when I try to work with tree services they bring junk logs and expect enugh lumber in return to build a barn. 
YH

[bandmiller2]

Hammer,my tree service guy is a good friend,and neither one of us has a tally sheet. Frank C.

[Papa1stuff]

What do you all get for rough saw air dried pine ?

[ellmoe]

What do you all get for rough saw air dried pine ?

$.65- 4&6" (4/4)
.70 - 8"
.75 - 10'
1.00- 12"

[Papa1stuff]

Thanks Ellmoe ,I was thinking around a dollar!

[ellmoe]

   If you can get it, by all means do. I have to move quite a bit, so have to price accordingly. You can always buy mine and sell them for a dollar! Easy money!  :D
Mark

[Papa1stuff]

Thanks Ellmoe ,but I think I will pass on that for now ,but you never know!!
I will just show them how great it looks and then maybe I could charge more ;D

[tkleff]

Hi All,

I'm brand new here.  So, a bit of an introduction is probably in order. 

I'm a "woodworker" -- but, really a zygote woodworker, who really enjoys creating sawdust.  I must admit I thoroughly enjoy the hobby.  I have a regular (fancy) day job -- but, I still love to get my hands dirty (You can take the boy out of Iowa (to Los Angeles), but you can't take the Iowa out of the boy). 

So, a post on another message board pointed me to this board.  I started reading yesterday and I was pretty fascinated.  It's very clear to me that I don't want to buy a portable mill -- at least I don't think I do!  what I'd like to do is find a new best friend with a mill that I could use/borrow/steal. 

I'm sort of a cheapskate at heart.  I like to build things, but expensive wood scares me.  I've always wondered what happened to the wood in urban areas after big storms -- and this message board helped me understand what a mess of a problem it really is.  And, it helped me understand that there is a market for the small mill that can come in and convert that would be thrown away to a usable resource:  Wood.  That's pretty interesting. 

I did a very simple web search today.  I wanted to know:  A) how many board feet of lumber in a typical house; and B) what's a typical price per board feet for lumber.  Here's the answer:  A typical 2,000 square foot home has 16,000 board feet of framing in it (see, http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=5&C=645).  And, the cost per board foot, seems to be about $0.30 (see, http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=527).  Thus, at $0.30 per board foot, a typical home costs about $4,800 in framing lumber. 

My wife and I -- and our new son! -- plan to move to San Diego in the next year or so.  I -- more than her -- really want to rehab a house.  since I'm a self-avowed cheapskate, I love to try to do more with less. 

Anyone have an opinion as to whether one can work with a sawyer and cut the cost of framing lumber for a remodel?  let's say instead of 16,000 board feet, one needed 5,000 board feet -- would any sawyer want to compete against the rough lumber one of the big box retailers has readily available? 

I suppose the other way to come at the problem is to spend several thousand dollars on the mill, find the lumber, and make your own lumber; but that sounds expensive and complicated -- I'd much rather rent or purchase another's labor.  Unless, of course, that ends up costing me more than it would cost to just go to the big box retailer and get it when I need it. 

(of course, for more exotic woods, it sounds like it gets much more interesting -- and the price difference between the retail board foot, and the small-shop-mill/portable mill operation may be easier to justify.) 

Anyone ever sold the framing lumber to someone trying to frame a home or a large addition?  Just curious more than anything.  Really love the message board! 

craig. 

[beenthere]

Welcome tkleff to the Forestry Forum.

You are ambitious. Look forward to hearing more about your plans.

Tough to beat the prices of buying framing lumber found in a local lumber yard like Lowes or Home Depot.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Craig, welcome to the Forestry Forum.....from South Carolina!

You'll love this forum.  8)

David

[wormy]

i live here in east tenn. and i dont saw for a living but i do take a job here and there on the weekend. i charge $200 a thousand bf. and i could probably be covered up at that price. now i figured the gas and blade price and on most days i can saw 1000 bf a day by myself with good logs. at that rate it leaves you with about $165 a day. but that does nof figure in ware on mill and tractor

[Delawhere Jack]

Zygote? Is that the music they play in Nu-orlins?