Five great sources of free wood for your wood-burning stove

Wood is already one of the cheapest ways to heat your home. But if you can find a way to secure free wood then it suddenly becomes much cheaper.

In this blog post, we’re going to look at some places you might be able to track down free or very cheap wood for your home.

1. Industrial woodworkers
If you’ve got sawmills, joiners or other woodworkers near to your home, it’s worth a quick telephone call to find out if they ever have off-cuts of wood that they need to get rid of. If one of the staff has a fire or wood-burning stove, you might find that any spare wood has already been spoken for. But you’d be surprised how many places not only have leftover wood but are also paying to dispose of it and are only too glad to give it away for free.

2. Recycling websites
Sites such as Freegle and Freecycle often advertise wood that is free to a good home. This might be because the users have leftover wood from work – such as the examples given above – or perhaps they’ve had a tree cut down in their garden and want to see it put to good use. Whatever the motive, you’ll regularly find people offering free wood if you’re happy to collect it.

3. Skips
Keep your eyes peeled for skips as you go about your business. It’s worth having a look to see if there’s any suitable wood inside and, if there is, asking the owner whether you can take it. Often people with skips are being charged by the volume of rubbish that they’re disposing, so they might be pleased for you to reduce the volume.

4. Pallet suppliers and distribution companies
Wooden pallets are still widely used in retail and distribution. But with lots of heavy loads placed upon them and the strain of being hoisted by forklift trucks, these pallets are prone to getting broken, at which point they’re of no use. You can contact companies that supply and use pallets to see if they have any broken pallets to get rid of, or to ask that they call you when they do. As with all the other options on this list, just make sure the pallets are untreated to avoid damage to your appliance.

5. Tidying up after a storm
If you’re usually fed up when there’s a storm outside, it’s time to change that attitude. Traditionally, there is calm before the storm… but afterwards it’s the perfect opportunity to get busy collecting wood. With fallen trees and branches available, you can clear up your local area and collect some free wood at the same time.

Have you found a great source of free wood? Let us know in the comments section below.