I don't know if this is a reasonable question to ask or not but I'm going to anyways.
What should I expect to pay for white oak saw logs delivered? I figure I need about 3000 bd/ft in the logs to make sure that I'm able to cover my 2000 sq/ft of floor. I'm going to quarter saw it all. Anybody have an idea of what I should expect to pay?
Thanks again for all of the help.
In Illinois for sawlog quality .50-1.00 a bdft. :)
In my area quality oak can run up to a dollar a bd ft delivered if it is big enough to quarter saw. Since you are going to make flooring from it, you might get a better deal on some lesser than prime logs, expecting to cut out the knots and flaws when you make the lumber into flooring.
I have had good success getting logs from trees with metal in them for very low price. This can make for some slow sawing what with scanning for metal and then removing it. Or, finding the metal with the expensive detector, the blade. Any part of an oak that was near the metal will have a stain that so far I have not found a way to remove. But often I get some real nice lumber from these logs.
I just talked to my buddy in excavating. He has some white oak, not enough to do my whole house but a good deal non-the less. He's going to give me those logs (1600bdft) if I saw up the 950-1000 bdft of pine and hemlock that he has on the same load.... I figure a safe 4 or 5 days sawing total for him and myself and I walk away with 1600 bd ft of sawn white oak.
It will be the first lumber I get stacked up in front of the mill... everyother job I've been dragging everything I cut up to the mill :-).
Rex rember you may saw out more than your scale rule says 8)
Around here if you don't mind some minor defects you can buy white oak sawlogs for 500-750 per mbf. When you start getting what they call veneer quality ones they want 1000 per mbf. Since your going to make flooring out of it go with the cheaper grades. I actually like the look of q-sawn white oak flooring with the so called defects left in.
Something to keep in mind is that white oak is hands down the fussiest wood to dry properly. Don't dry it too quickly at first.
Are you going to machine the flooring yourself or contract it out?? Just curious, as I am thinking about doing my floor myself, just not sure what equipment to use for the machining...
I think you may be right, Norm. I've had white oak surface check after just a couple days of air drying without direct sunlight >:( But I think this was also in August ::)
I have several local tree surgens that I get logs from. Some bring them to me for free so that they don't have to pay the tonage at the land fill. Most times I have to go and pick them up and pay them $20.00-$25.00 per log but like with puppies if I pay I get pick of the litter
In central Va I'm paying $250 / k International stick for tie grade oak, from $400 to $650 for grade stuff. Red and White Oak bring the same. This is delivered to my yard.
Good luck on the floor, I'm planning to do the same next year. To replace nasty old carpet.
do not let any oak dry in direct sunlight even if the checks that form look small they will ruin any finish look.
oak flooring
My process for air dried flooring james mills
1. air dry outside to 11- 14 %
2. cross cut to produce clears if desired
3. joint one edge and rip to size or produce clears
4. joint other edge
5. skip plane to constant thickness
6. sticker inside in place to be used if possible
7. dry for at least 1 month, 3 months or longer is better
8. finish plane
9. tounge and groove with back relief if desired
I have done 8 rooms of flooring with 4 for customers and four for myself. On my own floors the first was one month inside with noticeable gaps appearing between boards, but no cracked boards. The second two were 3 months drying inside with very slight change in gap size over summer winter change. The fourth was allowed to stay on stickers behind the living room couch for 2+ years, and this kitchen installation doesn't show any appreciable movement, and is as tight as the day I laid it. Looks like jointed and glued furniture. The customer floors were 3 to six months inside drying before I sold the wood and they rave about their floors. I have done whole house molding orders using similar methods with no complaints
Is the time of year important when putting down a wood floor ??? I'm guessing anytime other than heating season?
We are in the $350/mbf range here. The firewood guys are getting $16 a ton for "pulp grade" I try to stick with the tree services for sourcing timber.
In NY have you checked with the local commercial sawmills? You may find it equitable to buy a cpl thousand feet of lumber already dry random width and length very reasonably.
Eric
I know it may not seem reasonable, but part of doing this is less the economics and more the pride. You know that pride that comes from a start to finish product in your own home. The guy from LB Excavating has already dropped off a load at the house so now I guess I'm more or less committed.
You might also try the local comercial mills for big logs that might be to big for the way that there production mill is set up sometimes down here you can get them nice big logs pretty cheap. Just a thought should of thought of it last night.
Rex, have you checked with any tree services? That's where I get all of my logs from. The yard is covered with oak logs right now, and I gotta go out and pick up some more tomorrow...and they're all free 8)
If You plan to quarter saw the logs you are going to need large logs 14" tip and better in white oak to get away from the check and shake and not be wasting your time *( been there done that)*. Your yeild and time in small tip logs is going to cost you more than it's worth if your truly quarter sawing
White oak starts At $300.00 per 1000 pallet, up to $1600 per 1000 for *( #1 - veneer)*..... 14" tip's and over....
Good luck....
I took the advice of someone that posted on the forum about contacting a local tree service and letting them know I was interested in any logs they were going to throw away and many months later which ended up being a week before the forum pig roast party they called me and said that from the big storm they needed a easy place to dump brush and they pay 25 dollars a truck load and I said sure , so 35 loads later they finished and left me 2 piles of logs and 1 big pile of brush but I looked and there is more logs in the brush pile than to the side ,you name it ,oak ,ash , basswood,elm,cottonwood,maple ,pine, some are short but a alot of sawable 8 to 12 foot . I am glad I told them I burn wood but it sure was a good idea to have called them just because someone else suggested it on the forum (https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/woodpile.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/woodpile.jpg)