I have a customer that wants boards for B&B siding. Says that he wants 1"x8" x12' white oak. I have no 12' white oak logs. The local log yard is asking $1 BdFt for WO. I would need four 24" logs to fill this order. Those four logs would cost $1300! Poplar is about half that @$750. I've used Poplar, Sycamore and white Pine for siding with good results if coated with a quality finish.
By the time I go pick-up and saw the logs I'll have 7 or 8 (or more) hours in the job. So $1700 to make 150 boards and 150 battens. That's about $9.50 per board and $1.90 per batten I need to find a cheaper supplier for logs.
Wow Q, since I don't live in your area, I don't know what to tell you.
Paying $1.00 / BF for a log is kinda steep down in S.C.
WO sells for around $250 a thousand / BF down here and sometimes less.
Check with a local Forester and see if he can point you toward a logger or if he has an idea.
Yeah that's about double the highest price around here. Those better be some veneer grade logs!
I resell all my White Oak for $1.00 a bf. Its hard to come by and the wood is the best oak for outside projects. If the customer wants White quote him a price for what he wants, then offer alternatives.In your area the prices will not change much between suppliers,but check other mills just to keep informed. Tim
Quote from: T Welsh on February 13, 2013, 04:58:26 PM
I resell all my White Oak for $1.00 a bf. Its hard to come by and the wood is the best oak for outside projects. If the customer wants White quote him a price for what he wants, then offer alternatives.In your area the prices will not change much between suppliers,but check other mills just to keep informed. Tim
Good post Tim. Qweaver, you could also have the customer buy the logs from the log yard and all you have to do is charge him to saw. That way you don't tie up your $$$.
I totally agree with David. Have the customer purchase the logs from whomever so your cash isn't tied up. Also, as David stated, white oak sells around here for $250-$300/thousand. I can't imagine it would be triple that elsewhere.
-lee
I can kinda see why they are so high, being that big, most likely they can get a verneer price in that range, you should be able to get smaller ones at a lower cost, 1200 bdft of 1x8's I''m thinking in the 15-20 log range, and you should be under 500 for a load, hope you get it, david
The market for good quality butt white oak logs large enough to quartersaw (18'+) is $1.00 + in the Appalachain region. Any particular reason your wanting 24" diamter logs? The yield and price per mbf should be much less for smaller diameter second or third cut logs?
$1.00/bf is not what I'd call "sawlogs". We pay about .25ยข/bf for upper cut white oak logs. Most are plenty good for making siding.
Butt cut post oak logs will work just as well and cost much less. We can also buy burr oak for less than white oak.
We would use logs 12-14" diameter for 8" wide boards.
I'd be a wealthy man if I could get $1 a bf for white oak in the log. Heck I can only get .65 a foot for 5/4 #1 lumber!
i was thinking along the lines of bibbyman too. does the mill have burr oak available? it's in the white oak family and as far as i know has the same rot resistant characteristics.
I have someone in Cinci looking for the same logger quoted me 30 cents but logs not that large.
The last several posts mentioned PO< it is a white oak we know, I have used it plenty for many folks around here, they even ask for it over the WO,(pretty) wood. I have cut in the neighborhood of 10,000bdft alone for one hog farmer, PO is all he wants. It began around 4 years ago, and they are still as good as new, with a few exceptions you would expect with routy boars, ;D This looks like a very doable solution for the fellow who needs his B&B siding. As a side note, I had to tear down our old barn several years back, after sanding and planing many of these, they were all PO, and really had the look! And plenty solid after over 60 years, just the usual end rot from rain splash.
Down here, may not be the best of help, but we pay $200 per cube for top quality sawlogs so thats about $47c/bft personally I don't care how good the log is at more than twice that price it would want to be square and self cutting :o :o :o
I concur that White Pine makes good siding. I can buy that for $400 per thousand delivered (when available). That's mostly what I've been sawing and selling (1 x 8, 1 x10 and 1 x 12). White Oak (or red) can be purchased around here for about $600 per thousand delivered or $500 per thousand picked up. I thought oak around here was expensive!
I just looked at some oak this morning that I am purchasing - white oak from one of my logging friends and red oak from a local farmer. :)
Some of the older folks around here claim that basswood was often used for siding on old barns about 100 years ago. But go with what the customer wants. ;)
That's better than the $2/ft a friend of mine was quoted for white oak logs. ::) He checked another source and is getting the timbers he needs sawn for less than that.I haven't checked local prices lately, but white oak usually doesn't bring much around here.
Is it common to use WO for siding in other parts of the country? It's almost always white pine around here.
Lots of tulip poplar used for siding around here. It won't rot if it's not too close to the ground.
Around here good white Oak goes into Whiskey barrels and is big bucks the rest is as a logger told me 30 to 40 cents.