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Firewood Business

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Little Butch

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Aug 27, 2015
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Hi, I'm a subby Arborist and fancy my hand at some firewood selling. I sold a few loads last year and a few this year just by posting on Facebook but am looking into scaling up.

I've got a piece of land I can use to store the wood on. Plan is to split the wood into ibc cages and use those to store it while it seasons.

I've been charging £100 for a cubic metre load of dry hardwood, seems about the local going rate. 2 of us can split about 5 cube a day if most of them are rung up to the right length already.

Are any of you firewood customers and how much are you paying? Or do you sell firewood yourself?

I'm currently a sole trader, should I carry on as this or start a LTD company for the firewood side? Best way of advertising? Website?

I'm currently operating in the most basic way but the bigger companies use processors, bigger splitters, loaders to load tipper van etc.
 
We pay £75 per M for kiln dried mixed hardwood (all ash is £85). It comes on a Land rover via a trailer which has multiple 1M caged sections on the back the driver then tips it out, one cage at a time depending upon how much you have ordered. Delivery is normally 2 -3 days after ordering. I don't think they are a big company but they are part of a larger network. Haven't found any cheaper that deliver. Haven't been ordering very long so there probably is cheaper available.
What part of the county do you deliver to?
 
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The area they cover is Lincolnshire, looking at the other areas they cover it is about £100. They do a small discount on larger orders.
 
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In Hampshire we pay £230 for 2.4 m. It’s all seasoned and dry and delivered like most in a cage trailer.

This gets us over 800 logs which lasts us all winter.

The own a farm so this is a side business. And because the fell their own trees costs are minimal.
 
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Update - I've purchased a 22t towable splitter and have moved to a better suited yard. I've setup two cages which will allow me to store and dry around 50 cubic metres of firewood. Just got to get the wood in now, I'm going to hold off on buying in by artic load and gather what I can from jobs.

I need help advertising! I was thinking cheapish website, Facebook page, Instagram? Signs strategically placed along roads etc, magnetic sign on truck, gumtree, eBay, village newsletters.

Is it worth exploring all those avenues do you think?! I also wanted to get in with the pubs thinking they burn plenty of wood due to big fires going all the time through winter. Would it be appropriate to just email a bunch of them? I already supply one local pub.
 
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Before you advertise, you need to think about marketing.
Why should people buy from you rather than your competitors. You won't know what to say in your advertising until you can answer that question.
 
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There's always a demand for good and dry firewood. In winter, our kitchen wood-burning stove is going 24/7 and we get through for or five trees a year. I fell them whenever and let them lie until dry and then cut and split and dry some more.

As for advertising - do the lot! Flyers to pubs and large houses work well. People often keep them pinned up somewhere and when they discover that they are running out of decent wood, they'll call you!

BTW, I've just discovered we have a couple of large dead ash trees (horses ate the bark and they must have then died a while ago) that are totally dry and ready to burn. A nice little Winter present!
 
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I like the idea of flyering pubs and late houses. Literally just push the through? I don’t like the idea of cold calling, knocking etc?

Would you say start advertising now or wait until closer to next winter? Trouble is, I’ve done a few deliveries this year but as I’ve only now decided to scale up I don’t have any dry logs ready to sell this winter.
 
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I honestly do not know when people usually start ordering firewood - I would imagine in mid-to-late Summer.

Many of those aspirant middle-class houses on 'Mortgage Mountain' will have fireplaces, but nowhere to store wood, so they can take one load maximum. They need a flyer to pin to the cork notice board in the kitchen. Selling firewood seems to be that simple! Our local wood supplier (he has a portable sawmill and I use him for 4x2 larch) has a deal with the local independent hardware store. People order at the store and he delivers.
 
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A website optimised for local searches should get you started. Do some adwords and get in contact with all the local wood burner installers and suppliers.

Once you get known you will get repeat orders. But probably only once a year.
 
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Stock shouldn’t be a problem as I’m a Tree Surgeon myself and know plenty of other firms. Some with yards take it back to store themselves but the ones without room are happy for me to collect from site as it saves them the work.

Any idea how much a basic website would cost? How longs a piece of string I guess!

I’ve seen many people suggest getting in touch with local stove installers. Would you say email is best or face to face? Much faster emailing but more personal face to face.

I’ve just tested the new splitter and split about a cube of logs. Ran well!
 
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GlennMiddleton said:
you might struggle for stock,
Click to expand...
In our area, trees are bought 'on the hoof' so to speak, i.e. standing - so supply is never an issue.

Website - our local guy gets about one order a year via a website, but several via Gumtree and many more by just knowing enough people!

Log-splitter - Venom? (They make a 22-ton, towable.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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Little Butch said:
Any idea how much a basic website would cost? How longs a piece of string I guess!
Click to expand...
Our wood guy built a really simple DIY site. Most of his orders come from repeat customers.

But he said to me earlier (because I asked him) most of his business is late Autumn and until around now. He gets some top up work until Feb but after that it's dead until September/October.
 
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With the number of wood fires increasing like no tomorrow, i wonder if the cost of wood will soon put people off, its £120 a cubit metre around here last year under £100
 
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Yeah I’m coming charging £100 a cube at the moment for dry hardwood.

Possibly picking some nice beech up tomorrow that’ll get split.
 
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I've just been splitting wood with an axe (splitter not plugged in, as I just need one or two 15" logs for overnight). It's good exercise, but bad for the shins, as the pieces keep firing off, into my legs! I'll use the splitter tomorrow (unless I can persuade the wife to do it!) and take those trees down for some nice, dry ash.

The path to them, through our woods is looking a bit adventurous and too muddy for taking a trailer.
 
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I hope you know how to use a chainsaw byre and have ppe! Some horrible accidents among us professionals let alone otherwise. Wouldn’t wish it on anybody!
 
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We live in a pretty rural area and there are quite a few signs on road, gates etc etc. Have you thought of selling into local garages and stores. Sign written car/van etc.Offer a good service and you wont need much advertising
 
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My plan was to use advertising at the start to get me a good base of customers who will then be repeat orders. My aim was to sell 20 cubic ,egrets next winter but thinking that's way to low and I should set the bar at more like 50.

Local garages is an idea, would mean netting them up but probably a good makeup, I'll look into it.
 
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Little Butch said:
I hope you know how to use a chainsaw byre and have ppe!
Click to expand...
I've been using the same chainsaw for the past 25 years - and as for PPE, do you mean 'Jokey Jock' - the talking athletic support (strap it on and it tells jokes!)?

P.S. I have never had an accident yet, at least not with a chain saw. I lost a finger nail whilst changing a tractor tyre. Does that count?
 
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Little Butch said:
My plan was to use advertising at the start to get me a good base of customers who will then be repeat orders.
Click to expand...
Yes, but they only repeat once a year. Which means you will sell all your logs in October and then sit around twiddling your thumbs. It's a seasonal business.
 
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I know it’s seasonal, the idea is to keep busy the rest of the year doing what I already do, being a freelance climbing arborist.
 
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Thanks mate! The replies here have been real handy so I’m looking forward to winter. Just got to fill those cages with split logs ready. I’m picking up a truck and trailer load today and have some more beech to pick up possibly on the weekend.

I think I’ll start a Facebook page now and nearer next winter send out flyers. Do you think I should email local pubs this time of year or later?
 
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I'd go round and buy a pint and talk to the landlord.

Facebook is only going to work if people already know about you. Get a website set up and work on ranking that for all local searches. People will find you and that's when FB can be useful.

The bloke who supplies us owns a farm and has big hoardings on a main commuter route. These work well for him.
 
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Boards, locally optimised website and flyers sound a winner then. I’ve just had the pub i supplied with 1 cube about 3 weeks ago call me asking for more... they could be a good customer so I want to keep them happy but I’m completely out this winter. Going to try pick some up elsewhere to deliver purely to keep her happy for next year.
 
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Hi,

I'm not sure if this is useful but in 3 (I think...maybe 4) years of having a log burner we've probably used at least 3 or 4 different suppliers. It's a purchase made once a year, sometime round October or November when I get a spare minute. So it's whoever I've had a leaflet from that week, or seen advertising on Facebook, or my mate with a log burner has had a load delivered from xyz place. For me it's not something where you would get a "loyal" customer base. A load of wood is a load of wood, everywhere is the same price within a few quid and all I'm doing is burning it! :)

So I suppose what I'm trying to say is I think it's down to learning when the busy period is and hammering the advertising then, repeatedly each year. I'm not sure personally that you could reply on repeat business once you've had one good year.

That said (sort of contradicting myself) - you could push for the repeat business by getting customers' phone numbers and giving them a call the next year. "Hi, you had a delivery this time last year, I can honour the same price for you and thought you might need a top up" sort of thing. That I would respond to because I'd probably just go "yeah I do actually and hadn't got round to it...while you've got me on the phone go ahead and book me in".

Just my experience anyway, hope that helps :)
 
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BusterBloodvessel said:
A load of wood is a load of wood, everywhere is the same price within a few quid and all I'm doing is burning it! :)
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Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Ash? Beech? Birch? Sap and water content?

Two pieces of wood can look and feel exactly the same (to someone who does not know about such things!) and one can produce five times as much heat as the other. Just having a few points more of sap and water can have that effect. Compare the heat given out by three year old seasoned beech, to a lump of this year's birch!
 
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BusterBloodvessel said:
Hi,

I'm not sure if this is useful but in 3 (I think...maybe 4) years of having a log burner we've probably used at least 3 or 4 different suppliers. It's a purchase made once a year, sometime round October or November when I get a spare minute. So it's whoever I've had a leaflet from that week, or seen advertising on Facebook, or my mate with a log burner has had a load delivered from xyz place. For me it's not something where you would get a "loyal" customer base. A load of wood is a load of wood, everywhere is the same price within a few quid and all I'm doing is burning it! :)

So I suppose what I'm trying to say is I think it's down to learning when the busy period is and hammering the advertising then, repeatedly each year. I'm not sure personally that you could reply on repeat business once you've had one good year.

That said (sort of contradicting myself) - you could push for the repeat business by getting customers' phone numbers and giving them a call the next year. "Hi, you had a delivery this time last year, I can honour the same price for you and thought you might need a top up" sort of thing. That I would respond to because I'd probably just go "yeah I do actually and hadn't got round to it...while you've got me on the phone go ahead and book me in".

Just my experience anyway, hope that helps :)
Click to expand...


Is probably the best piece of advice so far.
You then have a data base or customer base as I used to call it and it's free business.
 
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It’s nice to see people to understand Byre!! Yes I’ve started to compile a list of customers and their phone numbers. I thought I’d send them all a message/call them at the start of the winter.
 
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