Tree removal?

[Jonz]

Is there anyone in the area that will remove trees for the wood? I have some trees that I want removed, mostly oaks, and when I paid to get the last ones removed, I realized as they were carting away the huge logs that maybe someone would be willing to remove the trees for the wood. Of course that guy got the wood AND got paid to get it, lol.

[DaveO]

All the tree cutters I know, don't do anything with the wood they cut other than dump it somewhere. I have asked several about the value of the logs they remove and I am told that it cost them more to take it to someone who can mill it than haul it to a landfill. Urban timber isn't highly valued, and in the Raleigh area there is a surplus. Your best bet is to find someone willing to work with you on the take downs and leave you the logs to have milled yourself. If you have enough room you can stockpile logs and then have a portable mill come and mill it for you. That is what I plan to do someday. I have 30 some trees, mainly oak, and shortleaf pine that I need taken down, before they fall on the house. When I find some extra funds I will have somebody take them down, offering my labor to reduce the cost and pile them near my road. Then have a portable saw mill come and mill them for me, again offering my assistance to move logs, stack and sticker the boards. I will end up with more wood than I can use, but at around 60-90 cents a board foot. It is a dang shame to see all that wood go to waste, I see it eveyday, but it is a matter of what's more profitable and efficient. My .02 Dave P.S. I think that urban harvests is where the American Woodlot on Hillsborough gets most of its logs and they don't pay much for them.

[Jonz]

Thanks Dave, I thought it was a slim chance. I have always heard stories about people getting trees removed for free but never actually known anyone to have it happen.

Another thing is anyone cutting these would have to be insured, they are too near the house etc.

I imagine urban trees are horrible for milling. These are some OLD oaks, but my house has been here since 68, and that many years near a house can mean many nails.

I had a huge oak cut a few years ago, that was a huge base and then split into 2 about 4 feet off the ground, and when they tied to cut the last of the stump off, he hit concrete. He said evidently someone had poured concrete in a rotting area between the trunks, that it used to be common. All I know is a chainsaw blade went out in a blaze of glory.