Tree removal/wood burning/community initiative

[Oddiegirl3]

Hi

I thought I would ask the experts and there are always knowledgable people on the East Dulwich forum.

I have an elm tree to get rid of at the back of our garden and I have just had the first of several quotes to come but one thing left me perplexed.

The quote included ?300-400 to get rid of the wood once cut. It is elm wood which I checked and is a burning wood, not the best maybe but it can be used. So, I was wondering whether it would be worth asking if people were interested in cutting off the wood in smaller pieces that can be dried and then used as burning wood.

That shall reduce my quote and surely would provide some free wood ( not labour free I suppose).

We would do it as I hate the idea of paying to dispose it when someone else is going to sell it but we simply have nowhere to store it.

I am French and in France this is the kind of initiate that exists, you get a tree surgeon to do the big job and then you enquire whether neighbours finish the job and take the wood away. Our friends there basically spend a couple of saturdays working on this but then get free wood for a whole season.

Do you think that's something I should explore or is it a lost cause? If it could work, how should I proceed?

Thanks in anticipation

Oddiegirl3

[Annette Curtain]

Trees cut in Autumn will generally season quicker. And Elm is notoriously wet

Spring - sap rising. Autumn - sap falling.

If you get the trunk & branches cut into 10" slices then it's easier to move/roll

Get the branch unions taken away ( where branch joins trunk, or branches spilt into two ) as they're near impossible & dangerous to split by hand. Or leave them in the garden to rot as Stag beetles love this kind of enviroment

Then they'll need until next Summer (at least) on the floor-on their sides, to season

Then they're ready to split by hand, if you know how

Then a further season as splits in a stack

By Jan 2014 they'll be ready to burn

So at best, by next summer, you can have a splitting session !

BUT do learn or ask how to it safely

Canadian splitting tool & a sledge hammer - safe but slow

Or a good sharp splitting axe -fast, but quite lethal in the wrong hands

Have fun- but be safe

Nette

[Marmora Man]

From my Boy Scout days (many years ago):

Logs to Burn, Logs to burn, Logs to burn,

Logs to save the coal a turn,

Here's a word to make you wise,

When you hear the woodman's cries.

Never heed his usual tale,

That he has good logs for sale,

But read these lines and really learn,

The proper kind of logs to burn.

Oak logs will warm you well,

If they're old and dry.

Larch logs of pine will smell,

But the sparks will fly.

Beech logs for Christmas time,

Yew logs heat well.

"Scotch" logs it is a crime,

For anyone to sell.

Birch logs will burn too fast,

Chestnut scarce at all.

Hawthorn logs are good to last,

If you cut them in the fall.

Holly logs will burn like wax,

You should burn them green,

Elm logs like smouldering flax,

No flame to be seen.

Pear logs and apple logs,

They will scent your room,

Cherry logs across the dogs,

Smell like flowers in bloom.

But ash logs, all smooth and grey,

Burn them green or old;

Buy up all that come your way,

They're worth their weight in gold.

[Huguenot]

:)

What's the London law on burning elm?

Froggies won't mind, apart from the fact that they don't have the same authentic smell of burning sheep.

[AbDabs]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> :)

>

> What's the London law on burning elm?

>

> Froggies won't mind, apart from the fact that they

> don't have the same authentic smell of burning

> sheep.

You can burn anything you like as long as you have the right sort of woodburner. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/1992/approved_smokeless_fuels_and_exempted_fireplaces

So that's ?1000 for the new woodburner but yippee, free logs

Probably better to get some friends from the country to come and help

[Oddiegirl3]

Thanks for all the contributions. Got the feeling I will end up leaving this completely outgrown tree where it is and keep enjoying a wet non-sunny garden (!) as I can't justify spending so much money on a tree now and don't have the skills to tackle it or as suggested to get some frogs to help with the project!

[fazer71]

I had my elm cut down best ?1200 I've spent in the garden, makes it a pleasure now feel light and twice the size.

[Michael Palaeologus]

You may find that the quote for tree removal goes up if you keep the timber. The excuse being that the income that they get from selling the logs subsidises the cost of the tree removal. Its codswallop, but has happened.

[LondonLogCo]

I turn down endless wood from tree surgeons. And I know very few that log their wood. It needs to season for a couple of years and that requires storage, which isn't cheap

There are very specific cord wood dealers & its solid in bulk by the cu3, these people aren't tree surgeons, they're usually farmer/landowners

The costs for a log merchant is in buying seasoned cord wood ready to process. Even then, they're very very fussy about what goes through their machinery

Essentially wood that's turned to logs is plantation & coppice crop, contact cut by the acre every summer . I saw 22 acres cut in one go last year.

The wood collected by local tree surgeons is gennerally chipped on-site, this then goes to the biomass generator near Croydon, which in turn powers the street lights

Tree surgeons might save some wood like Ash, in limited volume , but every thing else is virtually worthless in its raw state

What you need is a small crew who'll do the job over a weekend

Try putting a post on the local forums

Though make sure they're PL insured

* Woody