Forestry, building and selling the trees

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therave

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hi,
i have identified a site which is approx 10 acres and covered in trees,no idea what types of trees they are but the site is for sale as is.i would consider it a forest.
i am thinking seriously about it and would like to know if anybody has a previous experience of the following.
selling the timber from the forest,assuming it's any good to a saw mill, or for firewood.
once cleared,and providing i can get permission,is it possible to vuild on this land or does it need to be left for a number of years after deforestation.

i don't plan on razing the whole place to the ground just maybe 3 acres so i can put a nice house with a paddock and more asking here if i can make a few quid from the sale of the trees that are cut down..
thanks

moderators ,please feel free to move
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

alot of tree removal / tree surgeon companies will charge you for knocking down the trees but will then buy them from you so in most cases you actually do make money on the deal. get a free quotes. It would of course be in your interest to contact your local mill and see if they would buy them
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

Or rent your own machine and clear the lot yourself ? The more steps in the product chain you control the greater your percentage of the end profit.
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

You will probably need a felling licence before any trees can be removed. The Forest Service or any forestry consultant or contractor should be able to advise. It might be wise to use a forestry consultant or valuer to value the trees before negotiating with a sawmill. Otherwise, you can guess what value the sawmill might put on the trees.

In relation to the last post above, for health & safety reasons above, the operation of mechanical tree felling equipment is an activity that might not exactly be suited to amateur beginners.
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

I believe the conversion from forestry back to pasture/grass is a very long /expensive/difficult process and will take many years for obvious reasons...this may throw a spanner in the works re:the paddock. Otherwise you will have pleanty of customers for the trees dependent on what type/species they are...My advice would be aslo to get them valued by a forestry consultant/coillte etc
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

all excellent answer thanks a million.keep them coming.
i'm not a tree surgeon or forestry person,fortunate though to have a relative in the saw mill industry so maybe i can check with them.
good to know that the surgeons will buy the timber though and i would expect i'd have plenty of offers from people to take away a few blocks for the fire.

anybody any idea/experience of building on a plot where there were trees before.Would you need to dig a bit deeper for foundations and how much would you need to clear away from the trees.
 
The land is not likely to be good quality as forestry usually lends itself to poorer land...You should probably have a perculation test done early on and also bear in mind that you may have some years to go before the trees are mature and thinning etc may be required...you may be best to handover management of the forestry until maturity to a professional forestry company that are registered with the irish forestry service.. they will give you a list...thats where you should start with valuation ...probably not best to start with your relative ...you could ask them to verify your findings at a later point
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

ubiquitous said:
You will probably need a felling licence before any trees can be removed. .......
Click to expand...


How easy is it to get a felling licence ?


ubiquitous said:
In relation to the last post above, for health & safety reasons above, the operation of mechanical tree felling equipment is an activity that might not exactly be suited to amateur beginners.
Click to expand...

Maybe rent a man with the machine ?
Before making any decisions you should definitely crunch the numbers and if you are going to be storing felled logs you need to make sure they are stored properly and wont rot.
 
money man said:
The land is not likely to be good quality as forestry usually lends itself to poorer land...
Click to expand...

That's a good point, and one that reminds me of another issue - the tendency in the old days for farmers to plant trees in land areas that otherwise would have needed drainage or even were prone to flooding. Trees soak up water and often the planting of trees in a field would radically improve the drainage of surrounding land. Problems can arise after the removal of trees 20-30 years if there is nowhere for excess water to go.
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

sign said:
Maybe rent a man with the machine ?
Click to expand...

What makes you think this is a good idea? I see it as fraught with problems, including responsibility for health & safety and difficulties in obtaining insurance cover, not to mention the necessity to register for and operate RCT.
 
Re: Forestry,building and sellin the trees

ubiquitous said:
What makes you think this is a good idea? I see it as fraught with problems, including responsibility for health & safety and difficulties in obtaining insurance cover, not to mention the necessity to register for and operate RCT.
Click to expand...

I cant say whether its a good idea or not without further study. I have an open mind and merely intended to suggest the OP looks into it as a possibility and crunches the numbers before he makes a decision.
If the man comes with the machine then maybe hes got his own insurance required to operate it?
Anyway it was just a suggested possibility. If it was me I'd probably do as much of the work as possible myself in my spare time after of course reading up about health and safety and related issues etc
 
Therave

A friend of mine who has bougth and planted a few forests has used a forestry consultant called Dermot Houlihan, whom I also know. You could give him a call:

http://www.timber-land.com/

Dermot Houlihan B.Agr.Sc (Forestry)
TIMBERLAND FORESTRY
Forestry Consultancy and Management
27 Bushypark Lawn, Circular Road, Galway, Ireland

Phone/Fax: 091-527580 Mobile: 086-2687476
 
Brendan,
great stuff.he's even in the right area of the country for this.
i hope to go and look at the forest/site in the next 2 weeks and speak with the auctioneer at length,i have my list of questions ready and the above will help me formulate a few others for him.. i doubt i will get the enaswers i want but hope to make a balanced decision on this,i know the area well already so no concerns on that front
plan after discussions with the mrs is that we may construct a log cabin in a clearing but that all depends on what the professionals think.
it's been on for a while so my suspicions are raised as to why it has not sold already..
for the other posters,thanks for the comments please keep them coming.
capable of using a chainsaw myself so might do a few trees.
 
The management of forestry is not rocket science but at the same time, like any activity, be it house building, accountancy or forestry, you need good professional assistance and someone who knows his way around the rules and regulations. For that reason I would agree with Brendans recommendations. I know the man he mentions and he would be able to give you professional advice. You definitely need a felling licence as it is illegal to fell any tree over ten years of age. You then need certified, insured chain saw operators as the area in question is probably too small for a large (and expensive) harvesting machine. There are further issues which require negotiations with the planning authorities and the Forest Service. Not insurmountable but again, if you use a qualified professional forestry consultant, he can handle this for you. He can also advise on the value of the standing timber, and whether it is saleable or not. You can always use it to heat your home for the next ten years!! There is not space here to outline the required procedures to achieve your aims but a good consultant can assess the site, advise on management, get the needed permissions and qualified people to cut and clear the area for building etc etc. I am currently undertaking a similar project in Co Leitrim and know that you must follow the rules and guidelines. It can be a slow process but in the end, a nice home in the woods is surely worth the effort.
 
brilliant response ,just what i was looking for.
hopefully i will get to look at it next week and see what i can buy the place for.. i have a plan in my head but need to speak to the auctioneer and if serious and a financial agreement is made i will get a professional to look at it and give me a few ideas on the costs
 
I would be concerned that anyone would purchase a woodland property without getting a professional forestry consultant to look at it first.
After all, would you purchase a house without getting a surveyor in?
There may be issues to do with future planning permissions such as the property being within an SAC (special area of conservation) or similar restrictive designations.
Get it checked first by someone in the business that you can trust.
 
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