Wood delivery

[Clair]

We had a wood delivery from our local woodyard today.

Because I didn't know how to post the picture, it's shown in another post below!!!

They're called "croûtes" (crusts) and are from a variety of trees, mainly oak, a bit of beech and chestnut where we are.

They're about 2.6m long and when cut (electric chainsaw user visible in the picture, checking for any planks worth keeping), when cut, they provide starter wood as well as long-burning wood.

This lot of 21 rolls cost us €500 and based on our last delivery, should last 2 to 3 winters.

[Dick Smith]

We can't view the picture because it is in your flickr account and we would need your username and password to get access.

Instead, open an account at Photobucket.com and upload the picture there. When it has uploaded it will appear in your album with three addresses beneath it. Highlight, and copy the bottom one - starts with [img]. Make sure you cope the whole thing, then past that into your post and the picture will appear, comme voila et ça.

[Clair]

thank you Dick...

here's hoping...

[IMG]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q296/clair46/Boisdechauffage002Small.jpg[/IMG]

PS: YEAHHH!!!

xxx from me to Dick

[shimble]

21 rolls at 500 euros ouch! last time i bought it i paid half that, has wood doubled in price the in the last 6 months?

[Afy]

I paid 37 Euros a Cubic Meter, cut to 30 cms, Delivered and stacked... Seems like a lot more than what you paid...

[Clair]

[quote user="shimble"]21 rolls at 500 euros ouch! last time i bought it i paid half that, has wood doubled in price the in the last 6 months?[/quote]

I suppose it depends which area you live in.

Where we are, wood is as sought after as ceps these days!

We think there's a minimum of 40 m³ in that lot...(the pile is 10m long, 2.3m high and the cuts are 2.6m long)

We paid €400 in Feb 05 for smaller lengths (2m) and we still have about ¼ left after using our Jotul every day between Nov 05 and April 06, with some overnight temperatures of -15°...

[Dick Smith]

That's a lot of wood. A lot of wood.

Glad the Photobucket thing worked.

[Chris Head]

Mmmm, that's an awful alot of sapwood for the money, especially if there is a high proportion of softwood. The deal seems somewhat unfair to me, but you were willing to pay what they were asking, so if you're happy then that's a good deal for both parties.

[suzy2]

Sounds like a good deal to me we paid 55 a ster last year, delivered, cut to 30, not stacked.  Checked out loads of suppliers and that's the going rate here, the French neighbours paid the same so it's not our bad communication skills!

Sue

[Clair]

This is the wood we'll be using this winter, as well as the leftovers from our previous "crust" delivery.

[IMG]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q296/clair46/Bois003Medium2.jpg[/IMG]

This is "proper" wood, mainly oak, with a little beech and birch, from a farmer's... There's about 16m³ (or 16 stères).

I have to say I prefer burning the crusts

• as they have no bark, they dry very well over the year

• they burn very hot (no smouldering) and clean (blue flames in the Jotul)

• there is no residue in the flue, despite burning them everyday through last winter
• they provide cutting wood from the thin end and slabs that can be chopped from the thicker end

[Clair]

[quote user="Chris Head"]Mmmm, that's an awful alot of sapwood for the money, especially if there is a high proportion of softwood. The deal seems somewhat unfair to me, but you were willing to pay what they were asking, so if you're happy then that's a good deal for both parties.[/quote]

No softwood: the resident chainsaw operator (seen on the picture) has asked me to say "it's all oak down there...!

[Cassis]

There is a huge regional variation in log wood.  In these parts it is available at 38 euros per stère for oak and chestnut cut to 50cm and delivered - a couple of hours away it is 10 euros a stere more.

[Clair]

[quote user="Cassis"]There is a huge regional variation in log wood.  In these parts it is available at 38 euros per stère for oak and chestnut cut to 50cm and delivered - a couple of hours away it is 10 euros a stere more.[/quote]

The 16 stères shown above cost us €39 each in Oct 05, including truck rental  for a week-end & diesel, as our usual collection arrangement could not be met.

Previously it had cost €30/stère delivered and stacked, courtesy of a neighbour with a tractor and trailer, provided we did the same for him! (fair enough!)

This wood is now 3 years old (2 years at the farmer's and 1 year in situ) and ready to use, although we plan to keep it longer, provided the top stays covered to prevent water penetration.

The "crusts" shown in the first picture will be set aside to dry and used in 2008/2009.

The plan is to have 2 to 3 years worth in advance to avoid having to pay desperate prices...

We also have fuel central heating, but the fuel price has gone up so much we rely mainly on wood for heating. Wood prices have gone up accordingly over the last couple of years.

[Cassis]

Do different regions recommend different lengths of time for drying out before use - round here, oop north, the sellers say to keep newly cut wood a minimum of 4 years before it's ready to use.  Possibly a climate thing?  Or just local custom?

[Chris Head]

Alot depends on the time of year the timber is felled, there can be a difference in moisture content of 20% -30% between timber that is winter and summer felled, probably a year or more of drying time.

If the timber is winter felled and stored properly then after two years it will be quite useable, I store for three years. I currently have about 45m3...3 winters worth , of Oak and Beech stored and will be taking down maybe 80- 100m3 this winter on a 2/3 - 1/3 basis, much of that I'll keep for convertion.

I'm convinced that wood heating is the way to go as other fuel sources rise in price, but I guess it depends how available the timber is in an area and the demand there is as to whether it's expensive or not. I'm pretty sure you will all see significant price rises over the next 5 years, a good reason to find a reliable source now and hang onto it.

[Gabe]

Chris,

Assuming that you are using 15m3 per winter, what does this fuel ? Is it all your heating and water, just heating, or some of your heating requirements ? Also what sort of area are you heating ? Interested on thoughts of others on rough usage per winter.

Thanks...........Gabe

[Cassis]

Last winter we switched our dual-fuel central heating boiler from oil (which we had used the previous winter) to wood and we got through 12 stères.  We would have got through 13 if we had had more wood, but we only had 12 to burn.  It was an unusually long winter and we had not expected to use so much.  We have not repeated that mistake this year - we bought in 20 stères, so we hope to have a good bit left at the end of winter.  That is for a house of 240msq, though the central heating is only used for 180msq (two guest rooms have electric heating) and we switch it off upstairs if there are no guests in, taking it down to about 120msq for quite a lot of the winter.  So approximately 1 stère for 10msq for heating purposes.  Does that make sense or have I screwed up somewhere?  Oh, ceilings are about 2.80m high downstairs.

[Chris Head]

To be honest I don't really measure it, I'm sort of guesstimating. It's a wood fired Godin which heats 5 radiators, it easily heats the 'open plan' downstairs and three bedrooms, our insulation isn't good so it'll be much more economical when that's sorted. Water is heated electrically.

Hope that helps.

[Gabe]

ThanksCassis/Chris,

Info very helpful. At the moment I have a good supply of wood as a huge oak came down in the garden last spring, so want to make best use of the free source. Only problem is it will take me many years to cut the whole thing up, so for now will have to try to source some seasoned wood to get through the next couple of winters.I like the idea of the crouts and will investigate further locally.

Thanks.....Gabe

[Chris Head]

Be careful of the crouts/flitches Gabe, essentially they're waste, they contain a high proportion of sapwood which degenerates and burns quickly, I'll put a piccy up later.

[Cassis]

[quote user="Chris Head"]

Be careful of the crouts/flitches ...

[/quote]

You're talking a whole new language to me.  Are these similar to crabs?

Apologies - back on topic, please.

[Chris Head]

A flitch or crust is simply an offcut from the mill....this is a crossection of a mill offcut, I don't pay for it and there's as much as I want but only so much I want if you know what I mean?

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/chrishead/DSC01119.jpg[/IMG]

the proportion of heartwood to sapwood and bark is often really minimal, if the sawyer is doing his job right...essentially it's just waste to the sawyers and of no real value, unless you can flog it!

 

[Cassis]

Cheers - that's clear now. [:)]

[powerdesal]

That looks very much like the 'slab-wood' we used to get from a saw mill in Wales. We used it to make 'rustic' fencing, it looked quite nice that way.

[Clair]

[quote user="powerdesal"]That looks very much like the 'slab-wood' we used to get from a saw mill in Wales. We used it to make 'rustic' fencing, it looked quite nice that way.[/quote]

That sounds just right for the outside of my planters! Hadn't thought of that! Cheers!

Our lot has no bark and is rather more chunky, sometimes one piece is enough for the whole evening if on a good bed of ambers...