To harvest or not to harvest, that is the question...

[2012 Hopeful]

I am hoping to harvest my own trees when the time comes. Don't ask what type of trees, as I do not own the property yet. But, when I decide on a patch of land, it will be heavily wooded. I was wondering if it would be worth doing the harvesting of my trees or just to purchase them from a supplier.

What are the advantages of getting them from the supplier (other than saving on the work)? Is it cheaper in the long run? How much does transporting them by rail or truck cost? I am under the impression that we are to try to save as much ($) as we can on building our own home.

Looking forward to your input and help.

[panderson03]

you're probably getting really tired of hearing this but 'it depends'.

using your own trees is probably cheeper but I guess it depends on if you'll be hiring felling them to some third party. and if you don't hire it out to a professional safety is definitely an issue

transport by rail or truck are both an option. costs depend on what kind of deals you find. we paid $3 per loaded mile

yeah, most folks operate under the same impression (not many billionares here); trying to save as much $ as we can.

[Timberwolf]

Harvesting your own trees, if you are not experienced, is incredibly slow, dangerous work. It can also be some of the most rewarding work (assuming you don't die in the process) caping off the building of your house from start (short of planting the trees) right to driving the last nail.

I compromised, found a local landowner who harvests his own forest, he let me walk the woods, choose the trees. He cut them down, limbed, skidded them out, etc. Takes him 5 mintues to do what would have took me an hour.

So much depends on the terrain you are working in, the equipment you have access too, etc.

I'd wait to decide, once you have the land, and have gotten quotes from local loggers on what it would cost to have them come and do it for you.

[loghousenut]

Hey Hopefull,

I know you want to get ahead of the game but, trust me, the game starts somewhere late in the first day of class. Yes you can log you own trees. My Son and I did. Most students seem to be smart enough to let an expert be the logger. Yes they can come from your own property but many students seem to wind up with land that doesn't have the right trees or enough of them. There are myriad answers to this one pair of questions and most of them are answered by yourself during or shortly after class.

I can't wait til you get back to the USA and take the class with your Son. It will be a real treat seeing how you answer these same questions from our newest victims. You'll be saying "TAKE THE CLASS!".

Don't get impatient with us. "IT" will happen and you'll enjoy "IT".

[2012 Hopeful]

LHN,
I do want to harvest my own trees when the time comes. I worked for the DNR for a year and that's all I did, cut trees and cleared land. I don't see that being a problem. I was only thinking that the process is a long one and after I'm half way into it I might be questioning my decision to harvest the trees myself. Only because the time that it will take. Perhaps it will be better "overall" to purchase from a supplier. Like you said, after I "take the class" (that must be on everyones cut and paste button) I will have a much clearer picture. Thanks again.

[panderson03]

I agree with LHN AND I agree with you Mr Hopeful. LHN because if/WHEN you've taken the class and all the other newcomers are asking similar questions (JUST as we did when we were new....) YOU WILL no doubt be the one cutting/pasting 'take the class'.
and I agree with YOU Mr. Hopeful because after you've taken the class you will also have 'take the class' on your cut and paste button.

in all seriousness though, Mr H. the class is SO FULL of helpful/unexpected/much needed information that 'take the class' is really the only reasonable answer.

[rocklock]

If you have the tools and skill, why not make your own logs. A good estimate is that each log will cost about 100-200 bucks... The time to cut a tree is about 5 minutes, and then trim it up, another 5. The big problem is stacking and organizing the property. Stumps here, tops there house logs and fire wood... all need a place. It really helps the find a monster ridge pole and show it off...

If you buy logs, it's not the same thing...

If you need to clear the land, and it has large enough trees, I say go for it...:cool:

[RPM]

I'm with Rocklock! Cut your own trees! If you can afford it, buy land with the trees you need because you'll need to clear it anyway! And if the trees aren't where you want to build, so what. Log them from another part of the property. And, if you don't want to fell them yourself, experienced loggers are cheap! Especially right now. A lot of hungry loggers out there. Since we were logging anyway on our property, I paid our logger to fell, limb, buck, transport and stack the logs I picked out for our home. 240+ logs cost me $3200.00 (about $13.00 per log). Now granted, we had a logging operation going on on the ranch already, but depending upon the topography of your property, and what equipment you might end up with, you can pay them just to fell the trees (Timberwolf is right, logging is VERY DANGEROUS!!!) Did I tell you logging is VERY DANGEROUS? and you can do the limbing and bucking the logs into the lengths you want. Or do whatever part you feel comfortable with. You could even move the logs where you want them, again depending if you'll have a tractor or other equipment. Some people have built beautiful homes on property that doesn't have many trees, so then of course, you'll have to buy them. Anyway, my two cents worth.

[pinewood]

Hi guys. Will be in Vegas in two weeks for the class. Rocklock, I am taking in every detail of your home build. Awesome! Is that a garage in the basement or just a large entry door? Anyway, I expect at class I will be told there are 100 beautiful logs loaded up and ready to be delivered to my property on Monday after the class at no charge.:) However, if that doesn't happen, I better have a backup plan. I have a friend whose family owns 130 heavily treed acres ten minutes away from my property the way the crow flies. However, about 1 1/2 hours around the mountain by logging truck. I have been told I am welcome to take all the trees I want to build my log home and garage at no charge. They are 16" to 24" base ponderosa pine. They are thinning them to reduce the damage from beetle kill which has not yet hit them. This sounds like a no-brainer to me if those 100 free logs from LHBA don't arrive.:( You have told me this is VERY DANGEROUS! I can imagine the danger, but can someone please maybe be a little more specific to dangers that I can't imagine. Thanks!

~Dane~

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Falling, limbing, bucking, & skidding?
I'm not one to spend any excess money, but that's a job I'm not able to do for $13.

G'pa

[Mosseyme]

You might take in consideration that in the yearly list of 100 most dangerous professions, I believe that Logging is always #1 or #2. We are hoping that is because there are to many people in the woods with professional loggers so if it is just us two old people---.

[RPM]

G'pa, I agree with you! We were fortunate enough to have the logging operation going on. As you probably know, when you have all the equipment in place, ie feller-buncher, delimber, skidder, logging crew, etc....it goes fast and processing trees into logs doesn't take long. I paid the logger what he was getting at the mill for my trees, that way, when he bid the job, he wasn't losing money on the "job" because I pulled out 6 loads of logs. It just so happens, that when we "cruised" the logs (estimating grade, length, size, etc) I paid him what the mill would have. It came to $3200. approx. I didn't make any money on those logs, but I got the logs for my home! (and cheap!). My overall point was, if you have the trees, hire a professional logger, unless you're really experienced. Some of the work can be done yourself like limbing and bucking if you have experience with a chainsaw (or want to learn). It's dangerous work, and felling 16"+ diameter trees is not like taking a tree down in your front yard. Right now, I can hire an experienced logger (side job, on the weekends kinda of a thing) for about $25-30/hour. Sometimes less. Certainly two of them for around $40. It's amazing what they can do in one day. I'm sure it varies around the country, but it's my two cents worth! I'm not an expert, just passing on what I know and have learned from my experiences so far.

[JeffandSara]

Hopeful--

I'd also really think through if logging your own property is your best option for both aesthetics and potential re-sale. Especially if you end up with a smaller acreage, you might want to keep the trees you have. It might need to be a balance between saving money on logs and turning your property into an empty lot.

Sara

[jpw]

If the trees are right, selective logging of your own property works well. But you have to make sure you understand what you are doing. Felling trees can be quite dangerous. There are a number of ways to learn, but make sure you do before you start whacking down trees. I sort of like the Game of Logging (GOL) instruction course. I'm sure there are others.

If you don't understand plunge cutting and the use of wedges, probably need to learn some before you take to the woods with a chainsaw.

But if you log your own property, you can select specific trees for the application you are looking for. I normally cut about 6 trees at time for outbuilding or sawmill work I don't want to peel 50 logs at a time.