The Best Place to Buy Birch Logs – for Cheap!

the best place to buy birch wood for cheap

Lately, I’ve been loving rustic, natural decor in my home, and swooning over the pictures I see of this style in other people’s homes.  I’ve used birch wood in quite a few of my holiday projects recently, and I got to thinking that I should probably share my secrets for snagging up cheap birch logs.

I gasped the first time I saw birch discs and pillars at JoAnn’ Fabrics – not because I wanted to buy them, but because I couldn’t believe the price.  $2.99 for a 1/2″ thick disc??  Are you kidding me?  Now, I rarely buy anything for full price at a store like this, as they often have sales, and if not, there are always coupons for 40% off of one item.  However, if you planned to do any sort of project with these discs, chances are you’re going to need more than a couple of discs, and I certainly don’t have that many coupons.

Wood Slice Chalkboard Banner
Wood Slice Chalkboard Banner

I just cringe thinking about how expensive this chalkboard banner would have been if I bought them at a store.  Over $40, which is clearly ridiculous.

I should start by saying that if you don’t care about the look of the bark or the inner color of the wood, you can seriously find any log outside and cut it down.  I’m a sucker for the look of birch, so I set out to find a cheaper alternative, especially because I needed over 100 of them for my fireplace screen.

diy fireplace insulation panel
Birch Log Insulating Panel

After some online searching and calling around, I found my answer – a semi-local nursery!  I will admit that I called four other nurseries before finding one that carried birch logs, so you’ll want to be sure to do your research before heading out.  This nursery that I found has birch wood all year long as firewood.  You can buy a bundle of 5-6 logs for $6.95.

birch logs

Let’s do just a little bit of math for a second.  That averages out to $1.40 (at most) per log.  Yes, you can buy one birch disc for double the price of one full log.

When I went to the nursery, I grabbed my firewood and went inside to pay (and to look around at all the Christmas decorations, of course).  Once inside, I found a stack of birch logs, and they looked perfect – the bark was in tact and clean and white.  They were labeled as birch yule logs.  I’m not a wood expert, but my eyes told me these would look even better than the birch firewood in my hand, so I splurged a bit.  I paid $2.99 for each log.

Again, a little math.  $2.99 for one disc or $2.99 for a full log.

Of course, if you buy a full log, it is going to require some work.  You will need to cut the logs down into the size you need, and you may need to dry them out, depending on the type of project you plan to use them for.  If you need to glue or paint them, you’ll definitely want to dry them out.

Last time, I tried to do this, I grew far too impatient, and decided to just use a nail gun to attach them to my fireplace screen panel.  I’d say you will want to cook those discs at low heat overnight.  Or, you can also leave them out for awhile and they will dry out naturally.  I had mine out for 6 months or so and they are now dry and can be painted and glued without any trouble.

Do you want one last bargain tip?  If you happen to find yule logs at your nursery, you might want to head back in after Christmas.  At my nursery, they include the yule logs in their Christmas decor, so in the days after Christmas, they run sales on everything.  I bought 6 more logs at 75% off.  Yep, each log was $0.75.  This is probably why I’ve gone a little birch log project crazy lately.

Birch Log Centerpiece
Birch Log Centerpiece

You’ll probably be seeing a few more DIY projects with birch in the upcoming weeks.  I’m thinking about using the discs as gift tags, creating a rustic wreath for the front door, and maybe some birch pillar decorations.

If you’re thinking about using birch wood for your next holiday project, try calling around or doing a quick online search at your local nurseries.  It’ll be well worth your time!

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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8 Comments

  1. Great tip! Not sure if i’m planning any birch log or plaque crafts any time soon, but if I ever did, my hubby could cut the logs down for me!!

  2. The price of those disks made me gasp when I saw it, too! Money doesn’t grow on trees, but tress grow in my backyard… No way I’d pay that much for a piece of one! But I would pay just a little for a log somebody else already cut. Very smart idea!

  3. I love Birch Wood. I actually rode around in search of birch trees last Christmas hoping that maybe I could figure out who owned the property and possibly get a few logs. Your post is perfect. I’ll be sure to call my local nursery this year. Thanks for sharing on Sunday’s Best Linkup.

  4. Thanks so much for doing research for us. Only place had seen cut disks was Michaels and they sold out way before I was interested, typical of me. So now where do I get birch logs to cut? Since you have so nicely solved that mystery can make some calls tomorrow, hopefully finding some.
    Had to make note about logs for myself since my memory isn’t what it used to be, one of fun facts of getting older, oh my.
    Wish me luck, please.

    Enjoy rest of weekandweekend

  5. Hi! I live in england & a nursery is pretty school so surely you didn’t get the there?