Talk about a small world

[ragdump]

Awhile back there was a post about cheap logs on craigs list "70 truck loads of lodge pole" this weekend I was up at my place in Northern California checking on my place ,it's surounded by fire's I was up on the fire line talking to a guy with a large John Deer brush cutter that was taking a break and I mentioned I was going to build a log cabin and he told me he had 70 truck loads of lodge pole for sale,it was the same guy that ran the add I saw on the forum

[Timber]

so they are still for sale?

[ragdump]

Ragdump He said he still has lotts of logs

[LoggerDon]

I chimed in on that thread, thanking RodneyG for the find. I am building a 35x35 in Southern California.

To make a long story short, they don't have logs for me to build a 35x35.

I contacted Kelly who works with his father in this family business. I flew up to Reno with my father and drove three hours east to their company. Both Kelly and his dad seem like great guys. We saw a giant stack of logs and put in an order for 108 straight logs, 38' long, 12" at the tops, 1" of taper per 10' of lodgepole pine. He accepted and I put down a $2,000 deposit. This was about six weeks ago.

Kelly called back and said they only had about 40 logs that would fit the description. He could fill it, he said, if I downsized the house to 32'x32'. Also asked me to change to 10' tops. I refused and requested my money back which they returned quickly.

The stack of logs looked good to me but I've never seen a stack of logs before and couldn't properly evaluate it. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he said he made a mistake.

After buying the logs I had buyers remorse anyway. I was paying $2.50 a ft, which seems fair (around $10,000). But the delivery was going to hurt. It would be three truckloads (using Kelly's family trucks) traveling 550 miles to Banning in Southern California. This would be an additonal $7,500 or so. A total of $17,500 for the whole deal, delivered and unloaded on my lawn.

I now have a line on some potentially FREE logs burned in a fire in AZ last year (thanks to Noblenight!). It hasn't happened yet but I'm supposed to call the ranger later this week to set things up for mid-to-late July. It appears I'll be paying only to cut them down and deliver them (?). I'll post by the end of the week all pertinent info on this.

I should've posted my "70 truckloads of logs" update but never got around to it. My bad.

[piker]

Is that $7,500 for all three loads? If so that is a bargin. My drivers charged me $5 per mile (430 miles) I still need two loads! Where are your drivers from? You think they might make a run to sierraville for me? I'm building in Sequoia National Monument. I plan on trying to get some logs on the wall before winter. Let me know

thanks
piker

[LoggerDon]

$7,500 was for all three loads.

He's a couple hours from you in Lake Almanor, CA. $7,500 was the price to deliver his OWN logs to me. Also talked about a surcharge if the price of gas went up again.

Cost me transportation for two to Reno and back but that's the way it goes. As I said, he seemed like a good guy and I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he said he made a mistake.

Kelly Holt
"Holt Logging"
530.375.7711