Free Wood!

When we first bought this little place here and began building it from a bare farm field and 10 acres of woods into a homestead, we considered putting in an outdoor wood boiler.  We had all that wood, so why not?

Well, because if we heated solely with wood, we would have to never go away for a weekend during the winter or our plumbing would freeze!  Either that, or we'd have to have two heating systems: the wood one and another (oil, propane, or electric) that would be a back-up for when we were out of town.  The construction budget was rather tight, so putting it two systems was not feasible at that point in time.

We went with a propane boiler instead, and used that exclusively until we got a great deal on a used wood boiler about four years ago.  So now, if we want to go away in the winter, we can let the fire in the wood boiler go out, and just flip the switch to turn the propane boiler on.  The propane boiler also heats all our domestic water in the 'non-heating season' (During the heating season, that is done by the wood boiler--'free' hot showers!).  For the last three winters, we haven't paid hardly a cent to heat our home.  And we haven't needed to cut down any of the trees in our woods, either!

How have we done that?  Well, it took a little time and some talking to people, but now we are known as people who will come with chainsaws and haul off any downed limbs or dead trees you have.

At first, DH talked to one of the neighbors who had had some oaks lumbered off a few years prior.  The tops of the oaks were still laying in this neighbor's woods, and DH asked him if he was going to use them.  The neighbor said no, and generously offered us all the tops we wanted to cut and haul away.  For the last four winters, we have spent a few weeks each January cutting tops in the neighbor's woods.  We still haven't cut up half of what is out there.  And, being oak, the wood is still solid even after about six years of laying on the ground.

Then, in October of 2007, a tornado went through the town 8 miles north of us.  We knew several families who lived there and had trees fall in the storm.  The day after the tornado, DH showed up with his chainsaw, offering to help.  He not only cut up and removed trees for those families, but also from dozens of their neighbors.  Many of those people gave him the wood for his assistance in cleaning up the downed trees, saving them the expense of hiring a tree service to do it.

A few of the people he met during that time have contacted us now and again about removing trees for them after other storms.  Some of the people DH works with have heard him talk about cutting wood, and have offered him their own unwanted trees.  Friends of ours who had too shady lawns call us up when they are contemplating removing a few trees to let more light into their yard.

DH has also answered ads on Craigslist about hauling off wood when people have had land cleared of trees for landscaping or building purposes.  Last year he got 8 trailer loads (16' utility trailer) of oak from one person that way.

This spring, there have been several rounds of strong storms go through our part of Michigan, and again, we have sprung into charitable clean-up.  Most people don't have a use for the wood, so offer it to us in exchange for our assistance in getting their yards back to normal.

At this rate, we'll never have to cut down a living tree (or useful dead snag) in our own woods.