# Removal Advice and pricing



## Dr. Cornwallis (May 5, 2017)

A little about me first: I'm a career firefighter who currently owns and operates a medium sized lawn care business on the side. I cater to higher end homes in the suburbs and rural areas. A few months ago I decided to add tree care and removal to my lawn business as I've had a lot of customers as well as just random people ask me if I did it. I've added the necessary insurance to my plan and obtained a business license in my county. Yesterday, while mowing one of my best clients yards I noticed an oak that had been struggling last year appears to have thrown in the towel. I'm planning to shoot them an e mail with a quote to remove it, however, I had some questions first. 

I've taken down several trees with my father, however, none have ever had any penalty for failure as far as adjacent structures or hazards. Also, in the past I've never climbed, we have always used a JLG boom lift. I'm new to climbing and have been practicing SRT around my property with equipment borrowed from a friend at work. 

For the real pros, my question is: would you climb this tree or utilize a lift? 

As an amateur, my plan is to use a two man crew, me in the loft with a saw and a ground man to lower stuff. I would use the boom lift to get up there, set rigging to a higher branch and then take the branches apart in sections from the lift until it's down to the stump at which point I'll fell it in sections. 

I haven't measured yet but the tree is approx 20" DBH. It's freshly dead/dying so it shouldn't be rotten. I plan to keep as much of the stump as I can for milling as it's a good long/straight stump, I think I may be able to get two ten foot sections out of it. I'll keep what I can for firewood too. 

I was planning on pricing the job at $1550 without stump grinding. 

$350 for lift rental 
$200 labor for a ground guy for the day.
$1000 for my profit/business expenses. 

With my lawn business I charge $50 an hour, and I figure (based on past experience on my own property) I can have this thing on the ground and cleaned up in well under a day (and I'm slow). So I should be looking at $100/hr. There is no dump fee as I just have to stack it by the street and the homeowner can schedule the county to come pick it up. 








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## greengreer (May 5, 2017)

So you've never done this and you want to charge $200 an hr without cleanup? Apparently I'm in the wrong market.


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 5, 2017)

greengreer said:


> So you've never done this and you want to charge $200 an hr without cleanup? Apparently I'm in the wrong market.



The county here will pick up tree trimmings and stumps up to a certain diameter, you just have to stack them by the street for pickup. So I would be moving them from where they were cut and then stacking them at the street. 

If this price is unfair, then I would like your professional opinion on the matter and let me know what you think a fair price is. I'm not looking to get rich off of tree removal, however, I don't want to cheat the industry either by being the low bidder. The lawn business has pretty much been at rock bottom for the last twenty years because of everyone trying to win a job with the lowest bid. I want to be able to submit a fair bid. 

Me, I'm extremely happy with walking away with $50 an hour in my pocket as that's what I make cutting grass, however, I don't want to come in too low and cheat the industry. 





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## greengreer (May 5, 2017)

Glad you are not low balling, but...
Companies that charge $100 a man hr here are the ones who have lots of expensive equipment (chipper, chip truck, bucket, loader etc) several employees who are covered by workers comp, payroll taxes, so on so forth... you get the idea. Lot's and lots of overhead and time that's not billable.
Guys with gear, saws and experience maybe charge $50-60 a man hr. Guy without experience can charge the same total but its gonna take twice as long so realistically he is making $25-30 per man hr. 
For two guys thats a half day job from looking at the pic, everything gone minus the stump. About $500-$600. Chipper, chiptruck, dump, trailer, dingo. $75/man hr

The tree is easily climbable, but if you had to rent a lift for half a day you might be able to add that on.


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## Tenderfoot (May 5, 2017)

greengreer said:


> So you've never done this and you want to charge $200 an hr without cleanup? Apparently I'm in the wrong market.


$200/hr for a two man crew is about the going rate in my area, at least the ones with equipment.


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 5, 2017)

greengreer said:


> Glad you are not low balling, but...
> Companies that charge $100 a man hr here are the ones who have lots of expensive equipment (chipper, chip truck, bucket, loader etc) several employees who are covered by workers comp, payroll taxes, so on so forth... you get the idea. Lot's and lots of overhead and time that's not billable.
> Guys with gear, saws and experience maybe charge $50-60 a man hr. Guy without experience can charge the same total but its gonna take twice as long so realistically he is making $25-30 per man hr.
> For two guys thats a half day job from looking at the pic, everything gone minus the stump. About $500-$600. Chipper, chiptruck, dump, trailer, dingo. $75/man hr
> ...



Thank you, and honestly, in my opinion, this makes sense. I understand that pricing will vary based on demographics but I feel like unless I'm missing something, $50 a man hour is fair for running a trailer, basic climbing equipment and some chain saws. 


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## pro94lt (May 5, 2017)

What if all the other guys stacked their trees by the road?


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## jefflovstrom (May 5, 2017)

Good luck, 
Jeff


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## Zale (May 5, 2017)

You live in a great county that would take that entire tree. That will be one large brush pile. Price seems fair enough.


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## Oldmaple (May 6, 2017)

One of our local municipalities picks up tree debris if it is the right size and done by the homeowner, not a contractor. How would they know? Neighbors like the service and turn in people that don't follow the rules. I would imagine if all the contractors would stack the brush by the curb the county would be overwhelmed and quit doing it.


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## Ted Jenkins (May 6, 2017)

Just did a tree like it this week by myself. It certainly took more than a day and the clean up is not done. The owner said he was keeping an eye on me until he saw it down. It was mostly done with a sling shot and a rope saw, so what. If you want to do tree work then do tree work and forget the lawn business. It takes practice and creating a backlog of experience to have a safe program. My recent customer found out that that I can weld pretty well. Should I include welding in my phone book yellow page listing? I live breathe cutting wood and weld when some thing needs welding, but not for customers. A lift has never helped me much, but then it looks cheap enough to rent. Using a ladder to access the upper part of the tree is faster than climbing it many times. What difference does it make what the price is it? If you think with out any experience you can start making money for the first effort then we need to elect you for president. Would you still do your tree job if you were told that you would loose $2,500. It should not matter if you make a penny or loose a few thousand. Once you have done a few and you decide that is what you like then go for it. After buying your rigging and other speciality stuff then you will likely break even after several jobs. The branch in the center of your tree with a crotch would work well to lower all your branches with. However some of the branches might have to be cut in half so that not all the weight will be held by your center branch. Yes if you miscalculate the weight there will be a penalty. Thanks


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## greengreer (May 6, 2017)

^^ holy ****!


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## Stgcutter (May 6, 2017)

If I could do trees like that for that price I'd be driving a whole lot nicer vehicle then I am now

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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 6, 2017)

Ted Jenkins said:


> Just did a tree like it this week by myself. It certainly took more than a day and the clean up is not done. The owner said he was keeping an eye on me until he saw it down. It was mostly done with a sling shot and a rope saw, so what. If you want to do tree work then do tree work and forget the lawn business. It takes practice and creating a backlog of experience to have a safe program. My recent customer found out that that I can weld pretty well. Should I include welding in my phone book yellow page listing? I live breathe cutting wood and weld when some thing needs welding, but not for customers. A lift has never helped me much, but then it looks cheap enough to rent. Using a ladder to access the upper part of the tree is faster than climbing it many times. What difference does it make what the price is it? If you think with out any experience you can start making money for the first effort then we need to elect you for president. Would you still do your tree job if you were told that you would loose $2,500. It should not matter if you make a penny or loose a few thousand. Once you have done a few and you decide that is what you like then go for it. After buying your rigging and other speciality stuff then you will likely break even after several jobs. The branch in the center of your tree with a crotch would work well to lower all your branches with. However some of the branches might have to be cut in half so that not all the weight will be held by your center branch. Yes if you miscalculate the weight there will be a penalty. Thanks




I thought I made it quite clear that I wasn't planning on getting rich off the tree business, much less off my "first effort." I'm also not an armature when it comes to running a business. I started my lawn care business in a state where everyone and his brother does lawn care and does it for nothing. I did a few things to make me stand out from the competition and was able to go from $40,000 of nice looking equipment and no clients to an extremely efficient, low waste, highly profitable operation in two years. I formed the LLC and bought all the equipment in September of 2013. I had one client. I went door to door handing out business cards and in a year I had 30 highly profitable clients, in two years I was debt free. 

I bought the best commercial equipment money could buy (new too) from the get go. Obviously it didn't take me one yard or even one year to make back my investment. I was fortunate and I had some help with the financial planning side of the business as well as a great first two years and I broke even in just over two years. 

I also apologize if not being a dedicated tree guy is offensive to you. I have no idea why I would give up cutting grass unless cutting trees proves to be that much more profitable and I'm losing money by cutting grass. I hope to one day stop cutting grass in favor of dedicated tree work but, in the mean time why give up money? I'm also a professional Firefighter, should I give up that too if I want to be successful in the tree business? 

I actually know a local ISA certified tree guy who wants to get into the lawn business. Should I have told him that he's a tree guy and to just cut trees because he doesn't know anything about grass? I actually gave him a lot of advice on the industry and pricing, equipment, techniques etc... multiple sources of income is a good thing. 

I'm also not a stranger to trimming trees or removing them. I have experience, but it was learned on a ranch and it wasn't business, it was another day around the house. I'm looking for some insight on methods and tips to maximize profitability and safety. I've learned over the years with many things that just because you've been doing something the way your dad taught you for ten years and it hasn't killed you yet doesn't necessarily mean it's the best or even the correct way. 

I'm not sure why you think this tree would take more than a day, I would be shocked if it took more than that. I've taken down bigger trees (granted, with no surrounding hazards) in under 5 hours with help from my old man, and I don't consider us fast. By dinner the entire thing was either in a burn pile or stacked for firewood. This tree is not particularly large, does not have that many huge branches, as you pointed out some will have to be taken down in sections but not all, has easy access and can be felled to one side with zero hazards. I would say that with a helper on the ground, I will have ten hours invested if I end up taking the debris to the dump. 


Something I've noticed, though, both in person and here is that pricing can be all over the place. I guess in the tree business it's a bit like the lawn business, it boils down to what prices your market will support and how well you sell your self. 

A few years ago a client had asked me about removing a decent sized oak tree in his back yard, I didn't have interest in it at the time but told him to let me know what it ended up costing him. He got quotes ranging from a low of $900 from some rapy looking dudes in an old van to over $5,000 from a medium sized licensed and insured tree service ran by a guy that didn't look like he would rape and murder your family. 

He went with the expensive guy. 

Now on the flip side, my grandfather lived on a few acres on the Suwannee river and had a bunch of large oaks removed for what boiled down to about $100 a tree. In Alachua county Florida, though, everyone has a truck, tractor, chainsaw, and alcohol problem, so, pretty much anyone will work for beer money or barter.





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## Bwoell14 (May 7, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> I thought I made it quite clear that I wasn't planning on getting rich off the tree business, much less off my "first effort." I'm also not an armature when it comes to running a business. I started my lawn care business in a state where everyone and his brother does lawn care and does it for nothing. I did a few things to make me stand out from the competition and was able to go from $40,000 of nice looking equipment and no clients to an extremely efficient, low waste, highly profitable operation in two years. I formed the LLC and bought all the equipment in September of 2013. I had one client. I went door to door handing out business cards and in a year I had 30 highly profitable clients, in two years I was debt free.
> 
> I bought the best commercial equipment money could buy (new too) from the get go. Obviously it didn't take me one yard or even one year to make back my investment. I was fortunate and I had some help with the financial planning side of the business as well as a great first two years and I broke even in just over two years.
> 
> ...



Good for you, buddy. I'm a LEO in FL and I do tree work on the side too. I'm far from an expert but I don't mind working my ass off and I like cash in my pocket. Plus, it beats getting shot at. 


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## Jakers (May 7, 2017)

In my area your price would get the whole tree down, cleaned up, wood hauled, stump ground, cleaned, and filled with dirt. Might even be a bit high still even with all that. It doesn't matter what equipment you use, the tree costs the same no matter what. Your equipment choice is how you save time so you can get more done in a day.


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 7, 2017)

Bwoell14 said:


> Good for you, buddy. I'm a LEO in FL and I do tree work on the side too. I'm far from an expert but I don't mind working my ass off and I like cash in my pocket. Plus, it beats getting shot at.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks bud! Stay safe out there man. People still seem to like us for the most part. I like working on the side instead of overtime as I can typically make more money and it keeps me from getting burnt out at work.


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## no tree to big (May 7, 2017)

Here is what I see, not knowing entire layout of the property for equipment access. Our co would come in be in and out in 2 hrs tops everything hauled 1000 bucks then prob 250 to grind stump. We are in an expensive market. 
I as a side job would come with 2 or 3 guys. Climb it chip the brush try to sell them on keeping the logs for firewood weather they use it or put an ad on Craigslist... be in and out in 2 or 3 hours with no equipment besides my old chipper n truck and a couple ropes. I'd try to get 700 leaving logs 

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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 7, 2017)

no tree to big said:


> Here is what I see, not knowing entire layout of the property for equipment access. Our co would come in be in and out in 2 hrs tops everything hauled 1000 bucks then prob 250 to grind stump. We are in an expensive market.
> I as a side job would come with 2 or 3 guys. Climb it chip the brush try to sell them on keeping the logs for firewood weather they use it or put an ad on Craigslist... be in and out in 2 or 3 hours with no equipment besides my old chipper n truck and a couple ropes. I'd try to get 700 leaving logs
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk



Thanks man. Equipment access couldn't be much better. Lott size is a little over one acre, no fence and on the north side of the tree (to the left) there is nothing but a dried up retention pond, so the tree could be easily felled to the north with no hazards.


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## ropensaddle (May 7, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> A little about me first: I'm a career firefighter who currently owns and operates a medium sized lawn care business on the side. I cater to higher end homes in the suburbs and rural areas. A few months ago I decided to add tree care and removal to my lawn business as I've had a lot of customers as well as just random people ask me if I did it. I've added the necessary insurance to my plan and obtained a business license in my county. Yesterday, while mowing one of my best clients yards I noticed an oak that had been struggling last year appears to have thrown in the towel. I'm planning to shoot them an e mail with a quote to remove it, however, I had some questions first.
> 
> I've taken down several trees with my father, however, none have ever had any penalty for failure as far as adjacent structures or hazards. Also, in the past I've never climbed, we have always used a JLG boom lift. I'm new to climbing and have been practicing SRT around my property with equipment borrowed from a friend at work.
> 
> ...


That tree is not even tall its brushy a bit though, here my charge would be 600 or 700 stump ground and take me 5 to 7 hours with stump. I would climb it set bull rope at the point it starts branching then winch and drop into the field. 4 to 6 hours it would be chipped and loaded. Then the stump would take 15 mins plus driving easy peasy.


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## ropensaddle (May 7, 2017)

I should move to the short tree areas lol, I'm getting older they would seem like cake n cookies


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## ropensaddle (May 7, 2017)

My winch would be straight behind the lean of that tree and would prefer to fell it that way also .


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## Jeffsaw (May 7, 2017)

That's exactly the way I like to pull down leaners.


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## Jakers (May 7, 2017)

Definitely the safest way to drop a leaner that is going anywhere but with the lean. I always try to do perfectly against the lean whenever possible


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## tree MDS (May 7, 2017)

ropensaddle said:


> That tree is not even tall its brushy a bit though, here my charge would be 600 or 700 stump ground and take me 5 to 7 hours with stump. I would climb it set bull rope at the point it starts branching then winch and drop into the field. 4 to 6 hours it would be chipped and loaded. Then the stump would take 15 mins plus driving easy peasy.



An all day flopper??


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 7, 2017)

ropensaddle said:


> My winch would be straight behind the lean of that tree and would prefer to fell it that way also .



I don't have a winch, however I was planning on using a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage and wedges having my groundsman put tension on the line. Would this also be appropriate?


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## ropensaddle (May 7, 2017)

tree MDS said:


> An all day flopper??


lol, I meant by myself cut n chip n load. haha mds i'm gettin soft markin trees


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## ropensaddle (May 7, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> I don't have a winch, however I was planning on using a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage and wedges having my groundsman put tension on the line. Would this also be appropriate?


I would prefer a bit more pull than a 2 to 1 a 5 to 1 minimum or a redirect and the truck, one thing you cannot afford is not enough pull on a leaner. I prefer it to start moving when i have 1 to 1-1/2 inch of hinge wood left. If it does not move a little by then I apply a bit more pull on my 3/4 stable braid or my winch and if it moves i winch it on over slowly until I know i can horse it! I sometimes ratchet bind the trunk to stop chair as well.


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## Tenderfoot (May 8, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> I don't have a winch, however I was planning on using a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage and wedges having my groundsman put tension on the line. Would this also be appropriate?


Use a 5-1 or a truck.


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## Richard Magargal (May 8, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> A little about me first: I'm a career firefighter who currently owns and operates a medium sized lawn care business on the side. I cater to higher end homes in the suburbs and rural areas. A few months ago I decided to add tree care and removal to my lawn business as I've had a lot of customers as well as just random people ask me if I did it. I've added the necessary insurance to my plan and obtained a business license in my county. Yesterday, while mowing one of my best clients yards I noticed an oak that had been struggling last year appears to have thrown in the towel. I'm planning to shoot them an e mail with a quote to remove it, however, I had some questions first.
> 
> I've taken down several trees with my father, however, none have ever had any penalty for failure as far as adjacent structures or hazards. Also, in the past I've never climbed, we have always used a JLG boom lift. I'm new to climbing and have been practicing SRT around my property with equipment borrowed from a friend at work.
> 
> ...


it appears as if you could fell the tree away from the structures. Using a half inch or larger synthetic rope tie it at the place where the branches fork off the main trunk, about halfway up. If possible attach a truck to the line put a slight pressure on it. Make your face cut, then slowly make the back cut having the truck keeping a good strain on the pull line. Do not cut through your hinge. Wind direction can be a hindrance or a help, be sure to check it's directions. Be sure to Google how to make the felling cut properly. Hopefully you have truck 
access. If not I believe 2-3 men could pull it successfully. A proper felling cut is essential. Be sure you know how to implement it.


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 8, 2017)

Richard Magargal said:


> it appears as if you could fell the tree away from the structures. Using a half inch or larger synthetic rope tie it at the place where the branches fork off the main trunk, about halfway up. If possible attach a truck to the line put a slight pressure on it. Make your face cut, then slowly make the back cut having the truck keeping a good strain on the pull line. Do not cut through your hinge. Wind direction can be a hindrance or a help, be sure to check it's directions. Be sure to Google how to make the felling cut properly. Hopefully you have truck
> access. If not I believe 2-3 men could pull it successfully. A proper felling cut is essential. Be sure you know how to implement it.



I'm familiar with a proper felling cut. I was planning to use a humbolt cut. I have 4x4 Toyota Tacoma so I have a pickup truck as well. It could absolutely be felled away from the structures in one piece, my only concern was the penalty for failure if something went wrong and it fell back into the barns. 


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## no tree to big (May 8, 2017)

A Toyota Tacoma is not much truck to be pulling trees with weight equals traction witch equals pull.. light trucks can be iffy... the higher the better! If you have to put two ropes higher vs one lower do it. I pull with a tandem axle 40k pound truck, haha, I've yet to be pulled backwards. 

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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 8, 2017)

no tree to big said:


> A Toyota Tacoma is not much truck to be pulling trees with weight equals traction witch equals pull.. light trucks can be iffy... the higher the better! If you have to put two ropes higher vs one lower do it. I pull with a tandem axle 40k pound truck, haha, I've yet to be pulled backwards.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk



No, it's not much truck at all lol. The truck has a curb weight of 4,305 lbs, which I would imagine is about what just the stump weighs and no branches. If I had a medium duty truck like an international 7300 I wouldn't even worry. 

If I would have known I'd be doing tree work a year ago when I bought the thing I wouldn't have. It's a great little truck but I'm no doubt a legitimate candidate for a 350/3500 sized diesel truck at a minimum. 


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## jefflovstrom (May 8, 2017)

Richard Magargal said:


> it appears as if you could fell the tree away from the structures. Using a half inch or larger synthetic rope tie it at the place where the branches fork off the main trunk, about halfway up. If possible attach a truck to the line put a slight pressure on it. Make your face cut, then slowly make the back cut having the truck keeping a good strain on the pull line. Do not cut through your hinge. Wind direction can be a hindrance or a help, be sure to check it's directions. Be sure to Google how to make the felling cut properly. Hopefully you have truck
> access. If not I believe 2-3 men could pull it successfully. A proper felling cut is essential. Be sure you know how to implement it.



Welcome Rich!,, San Diego,right?, 
Jeff


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## ropensaddle (May 8, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> I'm familiar with a proper felling cut. I was planning to use a humbolt cut. I have 4x4 Toyota Tacoma so I have a pickup truck as well. It could absolutely be felled away from the structures in one piece, my only concern was the penalty for failure if something went wrong and it fell back into the barns.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The toyota is plenty pull do you have 3/4 rope ? problem with 1/2 is it can snap. What I usually do is get a decent pretension after notching I pull until its moved the top a good bit but not enough to snap the rope then start back cut cut until there's 1 inch of hingewood left it should be moving some by then and the back cut should have a gap. Put the truck in gear not letting off any pull and put a little more on it, if its moving fairly easy just keep it moving a little at a time until its past the point of no return then you can just keep it moving on over. I have pulled many even larger over with less and 2wd.


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 9, 2017)

ropensaddle said:


> The toyota is plenty pull do you have 3/4 rope ? problem with 1/2 is it can snap. What I usually do is get a decent pretension after notching I pull until its moved the top a good bit but not enough to snap the rope then start back cut cut until there's 1 inch of hingewood left it should be moving some by then and the back cut should have a gap. Put the truck in gear not letting off any pull and put a little more on it, if its moving fairly easy just keep it moving a little at a time until its past the point of no return then you can just keep it moving on over. I have pulled many even larger over with less and 2wd.



Biggest I have is 1/2. I think I'll just take it down piece by piece from a lift. I have experience with that method and the most confidence that it can be accomplished safely. If I come across some jobs with less of a penalty for failure, then I'll use it as an opportunity to practice, but being that this job does have a penalty for failure, id rather price it higher and take longer to do it safely than price it lower and get it done quicker and drop the tree on the shed. 


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## greengreer (May 9, 2017)

If you can break a half inch double braid with a tacoma I'll be impressed.


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## Jakers (May 9, 2017)

greengreer said:


> If you can break a half inch double braid with a tacoma I'll be impressed.


I couldn't break 1/2" stablebraid with my bobcat 773 on pavement with a 2k pound log in the grapple for traction. Other end was hooked to a large cottonwood in a lake through a pulley in a tree for lift


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## ropensaddle (May 9, 2017)

Jakers said:


> I couldn't break 1/2" stablebraid with my bobcat 773 on pavement with a 2k pound log in the grapple for traction. Other end was hooked to a large cottonwood in a lake through a pulley in a tree for lift


I could


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## ropensaddle (May 9, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> Biggest I have is 1/2. I think I'll just take it down piece by piece from a lift. I have experience with that method and the most confidence that it can be accomplished safely. If I come across some jobs with less of a penalty for failure, then I'll use it as an opportunity to practice, but being that this job does have a penalty for failure, id rather price it higher and take longer to do it safely than price it lower and get it done quicker and drop the tree on the shed.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I've pulled em with 1/2 but I prefer the extra safety margin. Yes you must do it however your confident. If its on Jakers insurance I'll use 1/2


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## Jakers (May 9, 2017)

To be fair, I wasn't set out to break the rope and if it did fail there was nothing to hurt but my wallet


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 13, 2017)

I appreciate the insight and information I got. The tree ended up going for $900 to another bidder. I ended up bidding $1390. 


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## ropensaddle (May 13, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> I appreciate the insight and information I got. The tree ended up going for $900 to another bidder. I ended up bidding $1390.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Win some, lose some


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 13, 2017)

ropensaddle said:


> Win some, lose some



Yessir. Had I not specd an Articulating Boom Lift into the bid I would have been a lot closer. The lift accounted for $300 of my bid, I just didn't feel comfortable climbing because of the fungus at the top. I'm obviously very new to climbing and was concerned that due to the fungus there may be some rot up there, although I think I was being overly cautious. 


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## Ted Jenkins (May 13, 2017)

A few years I bid a job with about 5-7 trees to be removed, but to leave some of the trunk standing. Soon there after the job was on my schedule a couple weeks later the job was started. After agreeing to all the terms the customer called me to tell me he had changed his mind about some of the work citing reasons that his neighbor wanted some of the wood and they had already hired another contractor. The original bid was about $3,000 so just wanted to get out to another. With all this in mind I sent my help to another lucrative project. After a couple of days of rigging and trimming the the finish was in sight. Then the last tree to go was an fairly large Oak. Soon I realized it was totally over whelmed with fire red ants. After climbing it a couple times it became evident that a different approach was needed. My arms and legs looked like chicken pox or worse. So for the next week I struggled through the process with some strapped ladders so as not to have so much exposure to the ants. Finally it was down and cleaned up. As it turned out several other contractors had given much higher estimates and they did not want to work with the trees next to the power lines. So several lessons learned. Many other contractors leave their customers with a mess that they have to clean up. So not all lost jobs are a loss. Actually some lost jobs are a win win. Thanks


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## Dr. Cornwallis (May 18, 2017)

This lost job actually turned out to be a huge win. The $900 he bid to take down that tree wasn't just to take down that tree, that also included trimming 13 20' + palm trees. I'm going to go out on a limb here (pun intended) and say that guy isn't dumping legally, licensed, insured, carrying workers comp or not a fellon. You could make more money bagging groceries at Publix around here at that price, with benefits and working in the A/C. 


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## ropensaddle (May 19, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> This lost job actually turned out to be a huge win. The $900 he bid to take down that tree wasn't just to take down that tree, that also included trimming 13 20' + palm trees. I'm going to go out on a limb here (pun intended) and say that guy isn't dumping legally, licensed, insured, carrying workers comp or not a fellon. You could make more money bagging groceries at Publix around here at that price, with benefits and working in the A/C.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah it's always amazing how cheap trims get done for when in actuality trimming, especially trimming proper, takes longer. I personally hate trimming here, trying to explain to the ho the 25% per trim cycle and hearing the other guy was cheaper and ,and he was going to take out half the tree Most here do not care about their trees. I can count on ten fingers the customers who were serious enough to actually listen to why topping is bad. I did a job start of this year I completely reduced the canopy on, I ended up giving the work away. I gave it away because; even though I explained 25 % at bidding time I could tell by her attitude she was unhappy and wanted more off etc. I had already spent more time than I wanted on the job. I told her I will not accept payment for the trims and pointed up halfway on the mature elms and said if i had cut everything to there you would have been happy am I right? She of course nodded yes, I figured it better to give her the job rather than risk bad word being spread. People here care only about roofs and won't understand smaller reduction cuts minimize the hazards while preserving their trees. I actually took a job now because it just was not worth the hassle.


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## bck (May 19, 2017)

Dr. Cornwallis said:


> This lost job actually turned out to be a huge win. The $900 he bid to take down that tree wasn't just to take down that tree, that also included trimming 13 20' + palm trees. I'm going to go out on a limb here (pun intended) and say that guy isn't dumping legally, licensed, insured, carrying workers comp or not a fellon. You could make more money bagging groceries at Publix around here at that price, with benefits and working in the A/C.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


you would be surprised at the prices larger companies with the proper equipment bid at. Lower than you, but they are in and out and on to the next one


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## rudydose (May 19, 2017)

Hire a professional before you kill yourself!!!!! Is $2000 worth not going home to your kids???


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