Southern PA. (Adams Co.) Eastern Red Cedar trees

[retlaw]

I just discovered this site and was wondering If you good folks could answer a question for me.
I have a few dozen Cedar trees (about 30' tall and 8" in diameter) that I'd like removed, the stumps ground, and the mulch left.
If I call someone in to do this - who would pay who?

[beenthere]

Welcome to the forum.
Probably you would pay someone to have it done.

Probably you were thinking otherwise?

[Ron Scott]

Yes, you would pay someone to do this. You will probably need to hire a tree service that does stump grinding.

[retlaw]

Thank you for the warm welcome and your taking the time to respond to my question.  Please keep in mind that I am new to all of this and you folks are my first contact. That being said; I thought at the very least that the tree removal would/could be an even trade. Something along the lines of -The trees removed and stumps ground in exchange for the wood. But what I'm hearing (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that Eastern Red Cedar is not a marketable product. If so, than so be it.
But I can't help but wonder - where do they get the Cedar that they use for all products I see (the little plaques, chests, and banks, etc.) on the nick nack shelves in every tourist town I've ever been to.
Along with saving some of my retirement money I didn't want to have the trees removed and they go to waste. I can cut them down and burn them myself. Just takes a lot of work on my part.
Or could it be, if I hire a company to remove them will put them to good use? Could you again take a moment to enlighten me.
Thank you,
Retlaw

[ronwood]

Retlaw,

I recently obtained some Eastern Red Cedar. I cut the trees down, trim them, and received the logs for my effort.  The owner took care of the limbs and left the stumps. It all depends what arrangements you can make.

The cedar is worth something. Cedarman is the man to talk to.

Welcome to the site.

Ron

[metalspinner]

In general, you will need to hire somebody to remove your yard trees.  As you mentioned, lots of real work,as well as expensive equipment , and expertise is involved, so finding a free trade will be difficult.   Some tree services dump or chip everything, some sell good logs, some put the debris on the curb to be picked up.  It's just a mixed bag.  If you have enough to be "logged", then that is a different story.

There are plenty of people around that can put your logs to good use.  Maybe someone will show up here.   If not, I sometimes find logs (not trees) on "Craiglist.com".  I never pay for them, however.  Just too much time and work involved to make it into a useful item to have $$$ tied up on the front end.  A local woodworking club might be another door to knock on.  Maybe you can hire a local sawyer to mill your logs, then you can have a nice pile of boards for some fun projects down the road.



Good Luck, and welcome aboard!

[beenthere]

Okay people, since everyone else wants to sugar coat the truth, I'll volunteer to be the jerk.  YOUR 8" DIA CEDARS ARE WORTHLESS.  you need to quit being so cheap, and dig into your "retirement" for the $500 or so it will likely cost to have the trees removed and stumps ground. 

And to forum members:  Could we please for the love of god form a pact to ignore anyone making first post wanting something for less than nothing?   Pretty please, with sugar on top.

urbanlumberinc
I think we told him the same thing in a much more "forum friendly" way. Hope you feel better the way you told him. 

retlaw
Stick around, as we don't treat members, especially new ones, that way. Usually use the PM (personal message) to be rude. I thought it was a perfectly good assumption, for someone who thought there was worth (value) to their personal property.  Hang in there.

[DR_Buck]

Welcome retlaw.

My ERC trees are shallow root and I've pushed them over with the tractor and the rootball came out of the ground.  Nothing to grind     You might try finding someone with a big tractor or dozer and just knock them down if you have the room.   It makes it easier to give them away once they're on the ground.

I'm going to cut down some 10" - 12" cedars in the next month or so.  Just for the taking if I cut them down.


I've also milled quite a number of 8" cedar tree.   Mostly though on trees that size I make fence post or barn/shed posts.

[urbanlumberinc]

Sorry bout the post earlier(which I see was deleted, not sure why), I was just a bit fired up after a day spent cutting down a huge American elm at a bargain basement rate.  At some point during the job the cust. asked what would be done with the wood, and one of the help told the guy it would be sawmilled into lumber.  Once the tree was down, log loaded, and hauled to the yard, the guy decides he oughta get paid for the log since I'll be getting "thousands of dollars" worth of lumber as he put it, and refused to pay for the removal, saying I tried to "swindle" him out of a valuable log.  To make a long story short, right after I'm done filing a lawsuit in small claims court, and a mechanics lien on the guys house, I'm gonna return the 12,000 lb log to his driveway, nail the lawsuit and lien papers, along with a copy of the contract to his front door, and leave it at that.  What really burned me the most was the fact that this guy was all grins and smiles at the price he got for the removal (a full third less than the lowest bid he had), at which time I explained I was giving him a huge discount because I wanted the log.  Oh, and this was anything but a routine removal, right next to the house, every single piece had to be rigged and lowered, and with tipping fees, labor, fuel and overhead, I'm in the hole to the tune of about $900 for the day.  I think we can all agree that situations like this are a bunch of b.s.  The irony of it all is that if anyone in town but me had done the job, he'd have paid more, and his log would have gone to the tub grinder.  The point I'm trying to make, is that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone on here, and that we need to (as a group) agree to nip this stuff in the bud from the outset

[Roxie]

As a group, one thing we agree on is being kind, helpful, and courteous. 

I'm sorry that you had a problem of that magnitude, but sometimes, that's the price of doing business, and I don't see the comparison in retlaw asking the question that he asked, and what happened to you.  This is a website devoted to forestry, and where else would he ask and get a better answer?  I certainly hope that after his initial question is answered, he'll join us in posting and helping others.  I'd really like to know how he decides to handle trimming out the cedar trees. 

[urbanlumberinc]

Wasn't trying to compare the two situations, simply shed some light on why I was in such a foul mood.  And, yes I agree with the need to maintain civility, but IMHO, I think such things are best handled by the membership, not censorship - hey that rhymes.  Anyhow, the look on the guys face when I dropped the log in his driveway and handed him his summons made it all worthwhile - wished I'd had the camera though.  The guy calls up four hours later and sez he'll "let me have the log if I'll come and get it"  To which I responded "what about the $1400 bucks you owe me"  he shot back "I'm not gonna pay you and let you have the log"  I told him he could keep the log, and that I'd see him in court.  Since then the guy's called probably 20 more times, all of which went unanswered.  The really funny part is, I'm the only guy in town with a loader that'll pick that log up.  I'll let hem stew a bit and see if hit tune doesn't change.  Oh, and BTW Roxie, things like fuel, labor, insurance etc. are the cost of doing business.  Getting ripped off is not, it's called at the very least breach of contract, at worst, theft or fraud.

[Tom]

When the reputation of the Forum is at stake, sometimes censorship is the correct action.  Poor old retlaw didn't deserve a blasting like that, nor probably understood why he had been singled out. Subjects like that have sometimes been accepted here when they were their own stand alone thread, but directing that ire toward an innocent bystander isn't "The Forestry Forum Way". 

[ARKANSAWYER]

   Well I will throw in my two bits.
 
  If retlaw has 15 logs that are 8" dib 8' 4" long I would say that he has 285 bdft of ERC and I would pay $114.00 for them delivered here at the yard.  Now the guy who does most of my logging would pay the land owner 1/3rd of the tally and leave all the tops and mess at site.  So retlaw would get a whopping $38 bucks and just have the trees cut down.
  I have not seen the trees and if they are really 30' tall here they would be a bit larger then 8" dib and thus he would have more money.  But in no case would he earn enough to be able to have the mess cleaned up and the stumps ground.  Even here in the Ozarks it would cost over $3 grand to have it done. (now remember I have not seen the site or trees)
  I must also say that it would be a shame for the logs to go to waste when they could be used.  Cedarman and I both saw lots of 8 inch logs and in this day and time we should not waste any thing.  It is a great thing retlaw has done is asking and I hope he does try to use the logs from the trees.

 

[DR_Buck]

   

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

Arky,

Nice looking bench.  What do you use for a finish on them?   How does it hold up in the sunlight?  DOes it keep the "red" from fading out at all?

[retlaw]

You don't know how much I appreciate your warm and welcome and responces. Coming from your "real world experience", I now know the true value of the 15 or so cedar trees I want taken out. Thanks to all of you, that takes all the surprise out of the bids I'll receive. 
If you have another moment, you can view my property (33 acres - 1000' driveway off Bullfrog Rd.) by going to Yahoo Maps, Driving Directions. I'm at 1046 Bullfrog Rd, Fairfield, PA 17320. That will give you a better lay of the land.  That's retlaw's home and barn.
Again-thank you and God Bless.     

[Cedarman]

retlaw, I'm a little late to the party, but finally got all slicked up and made it.  Arky pretty much summed it up.  I am getting ready to send a semi load of 2", 3", 4", 5" and a few 10" x 8' cut in 1/2 to central Pa.  The price is nice and they pay shipping too.  It is all about finding markets for your cedar.  Arky's and my price are close for what loggers bring in.  But the people we sell too pay retail.

Your logs will make nice porch posts for someone building a cabin.  The logs can be split into rails for a fence.   the list goes on.

I sell about 3 loads of logs a year into Pa.  The biggest market by far is the Amish that make peeled post furniture.

Cut the cedar limbs into firewood length and let dry.  They make great wiener roast fires.

Glad you found the forum.

[footer]

   Well I will throw in my two bits.
 
  If retlaw has 15 logs that are 8" dib 8' 4" long I would say that he has 285 bdft of ERC and I would pay $114.00 for them delivered here at the yard. 

ARKANSAWYER,

Do you realy pay $2.50 a bd ft for ERC Logs? That seems unreal that they are worth that much. The best I ever got for ERC lumber was $2.00 a Bd Ft and that was all 1X8 X 8' in a qty of 2000 BD FT. I must have gotten screwed eh?


Disregard this stupid comment! I had a rough day!

[Gary_C]

footer, $114 for 285 bd ft is $0.40 per bd ft. Looks like you got the best deal. 

[footer]

OK..........I feel stupid now It must have been a long day! So....its probably to late to delete my stupid reply!  .40 a Ft sounds more like it!

[Polly]

 8)ad in the local paper wanting to buy cedar logs anything over 4 inch another ad wanting to buy standing cedar logs both adds posted by omish last price i heard was 55cents bd ft for cants local store selling cedar chips about 25 lb bag 7.00 dollars good grade 1 cants being shipped to china over 1.00 bd ft  omish people all over pa cedar chips placed around trees will repell the deer  sounds to me like they are worth more than firewood price wal mart selling cedar bird houses assembled in china cedar shipped from us and on and on 

[beenthere]

OK..........I feel stupid now It must have been a long day! So....its probably to late to delete my stupid reply!  .40 a Ft sounds more like it!

footer
You can delete it...and then Gary_C's post will look a bit strange...
Go to your post and modify or delete it. 

[okie]

Retlaw, Welcome to the forum. You couldCut the trees, trim and buck to the log length you would like. Burn the limbs ( they will go up quick) and here you can rent a grinder for $90 per weekend. Have a portable mill come to you or take the logs to a mill and have alot less invested than having someone do it for you, even if you were to keep the lumber and pay the mill. Having someone do this is usually big $$$.

[Toolman]

Welcome to forum Retlaw. Okie has a good point. I rented a grinder for $ 75.00 for 24hrs. I have a hunting camp not far from you near Caledonia State Park. I know an Amish guy that lives near Fayetteville on Black Gap Rd. who builds cedar chests. I will be seeing him next Wed. I'll mention this to him. I've cut cedar for him with my bandmill in the past. I'll get back to you to see if he is interested and take it from there. Like Okie said, if you limb them out and let them sit for about a month on a pile, they will burn quick.

[footer]

OK..........I feel stupid now It must have been a long day! So....its probably to late to delete my stupid reply!  .40 a Ft sounds more like it!

footer
You can delete it...and then Gary_C's post will look a bit strange...
Go to your post and modify or delete it. 

I didnt want to delete it altogether.........I just modified it

[ARKANSAWYER]

  Footer that's ok I have had a day or two like that.

 



  I try to keep a whack of cedar logs on hand all the time.  I could go though 30 to 50 tons a week if I had it.

 



  You can make post and all kinds of stuff out of it.

 



 It even makes pretty signs.

 



  I use it as split rails, mulch and to even hold my sawblade and tell folks what I got.

[Toolman]

Arkansawyer that's cool!!