# Pecan Takedown



## mikewhite85 (Aug 23, 2010)

I've got two 100' pecans in a backyard I am estimating. They are covered in ivy and will definitely be a beast to take down if I win the bid. DBH of both is probably about 4' (notice pic 3 with my sneaker at the base). A lot of wood will need to be lowered on account of a garage, powerlines, and a fence. A crane is out of the question because the nearer tree is still 75-80 ft away from the front yard where the crane would be. A 70 ton runs over 3000 per day and I don't think the owner wants to pay for two days of crane work.

Would it be necessary to remove all the ivy before I dice up the trunks? I think the main spars will not need to be rigged because there is a decent sized drop zone between the trees. 

With me as a climber and two groundmen, I think it's possible it could take 3 days but as much as 6. Because of this, I am obviously not going to try and lowball it. I haven't climbed many trees this big before so I am uncertain on how I should price it. I will need to rent at least 1 40 yd bin ($350) because I don't have a chipper and my dump truck isn't big enough. Plus I may rent a bobcat (250 including delivery) on the final day to move around the big wood. Pricewise, I was thinking 6400. Do you guys think that's reasonable? 

Sorry about the shoddy pics. All I had on me was my cell phone. Thanks so much for your help!


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## ropensaddle (Aug 23, 2010)

mikewhite85 said:


> I've got two 100' pecans in a backyard I am estimating. They are covered in ivy and will definitely be a beast to take down if I win the bid. DBH of both is probably about 4' (notice pic 3 with my sneaker at the base). A lot of wood will need to be lowered on account of a garage, powerlines, and a fence. A crane is out of the question because the nearer tree is still 75-80 ft away from the front yard where the crane would be. A 70 ton runs over 3000 per day and I don't think the owner wants to pay for two days of crane work.
> 
> Would it be necessary to remove all the ivy before I dice up the trunks? I think the main spars will not need to be rigged because there is a decent sized drop zone between the trees.
> 
> ...



Hmmmmmm I think that if your not very experienced you may want to get help with this tree not just price wise. Pecan are very hard to dismantle. Long limbs with weak wood and potential for rigging point failure why do they want them cut? Anyway prices here you would be high by 3500 but prices do vary and we are low end here. good luck.


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## mikewhite85 (Aug 23, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Hmmmmmm I think that if your not very experienced you may want to get help with this tree not just price wise. Pecan are very hard to dismantle. Long limbs with weak wood and potential for rigging point failure why do they want them cut? Anyway prices here you would be high by 3500 but prices do vary and we are low end here. good luck.



Thanks, Rope. This job may be a little bit above me. Still thinking about it.

I think if I rented an 80' lift (about 700-800), I could get at least the crowns out in a day without much rigging. This would leave a day to clean up and dismantle the spar, and another day to grind the stumps. In this case, I could do it for about 4300, which includes dumpster and lift rentals. 1000 bucks a day for a three man crew is pretty reasonable I think.

But then again, maybe I should pass it up. Thanks again for the advice.


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## Blakesmaster (Aug 23, 2010)

Seems you'll need much more than 1 40 yard bin for those ####ers. Why not rent a chipper? Working without one is a sure way to lose money fast.


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## mikewhite85 (Aug 23, 2010)

Blakesmaster said:


> Seems you'll need much more than 1 40 yard bin for those ####ers. Why not rent a chipper? Working without one is a sure way to lose money fast.



I can't seem to find anything besides a 6" vermeer. I have rented them a few times in the past but they seem to be more of a hassle than just throwing the branches in a bin. Then I could get rid of all the firewood on craigslist. If I have to rent 2 40yds, it wont be the end of the world. We'll see how it goes... 

Been trying to save up for a chipper for a long time. Can't wait to get one!


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## pdqdl (Aug 23, 2010)

This really sounds like an ideal opportunity for a subcontractor. Why not get a quote from a removal specialist that already has a lift, grapple truck, or other toys as needed?

I hired a sub recently just because I didn't want to do the work myself, my ground crew lacked expertise, and the local removal service could do it all much faster and cheaper than me with their grapple truck. When it comes to removals that they can reach with a bucket, nobody in our area beats them. 

Problems that I am hearing that indicate you might not be ready for this job: 
1. You can't get a crane closer, but you can get to it with an 80' lift? Why not get a lighter crane that goes into the same footprint?
2. Power lines should not be a problem. Either get them lowered (service lines only), insulated (seldom done in our area), or get the tops taken out by the Power Utility line clearance.
3. Nothing sounds like too much trouble for a skilled climber. Two trees to remove in good health that are relatively close to each other are usually pretty easy to rig for removal.


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## tree md (Aug 25, 2010)

I can't see why the trees can't be done with a crane... Our local 65 ton goes for $1650 for the day. You pay 2 hours travel and setup time though and if you go over 8 hours you are paying time and a half for overtime. With 180' of boom there isn't much you can't reach with it. I imagine if you got out there, pulled tape and talked to the crane service you would probably be pleasantly surprised... However if you have no crane experience or experience with trees of this size in general it's real easy to shoot yourself in the foot.

I would think that in Hollywood Californy two trees of that size in a hard to access area would rate at least $9000...


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## ropensaddle (Aug 25, 2010)

mikewhite85 said:


> Thanks, Rope. This job may be a little bit above me. Still thinking about it.
> 
> I think if I rented an 80' lift (about 700-800), I could get at least the crowns out in a day without much rigging. This would leave a day to clean up and dismantle the spar, and another day to grind the stumps. In this case, I could do it for about 4300, which includes dumpster and lift rentals. 1000 bucks a day for a three man crew is pretty reasonable I think.
> 
> But then again, maybe I should pass it up. Thanks again for the advice.



1000 a day ain't bad at all. Just make sure you bid enough to get it done without rushing. Pecans are sometimes peta was all I meant so be safe.


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## TrillPhil (Aug 25, 2010)

Here we'd get 4-5 grand per tree in Indiana. Depending on how many other companies were bidding on the job and how much work everyone had. Did a huge bastard for 2400 the other day (and a half). Easily 5k tree. Took out an elm today 625, if everyone had work easily coulda got 1k of out it so I understand where you might have to bid lower.


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## mikewhite85 (Aug 26, 2010)

tree md said:


> I can't see why the trees can't be done with a crane... Our local 65 ton goes for $1650 for the day. You pay 2 hours travel and setup time though and if you go over 8 hours you are paying time and a half for overtime. With 180' of boom there isn't much you can't reach with it. I imagine if you got out there, pulled tape and talked to the crane service you would probably be pleasantly surprised... However if you have no crane experience or experience with trees of this size in general it's real easy to shoot yourself in the foot.
> 
> I would think that in Hollywood Californy two trees of that size in a hard to access area would rate at least $9000...



1650 a day? I am not sure about a 65 but a 70 ton I can get runs around 3000 per day, then there is the 500 rigging truck along with it. Welcome to Hollywood. 

At the initial estimate I told him it would be around 6000. His jaw about dropped to the floor. He later told me that he was demolishing the house and garage so I foolishly suggested felling the trees on the house would be a lot cheaper (and probably a lot more fun!). NOT a good idea. This is one job I am pretty sure I am not going to get. 

All in all, I am probably not ready for it anyway. I wonder how much it will ultimately go for. Thanks for the advice, guys.


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## pdqdl (Aug 26, 2010)

Why not drop the tree on the house to be demolished? Contractors do it all the time around here.

I occasionally do tree work for a demolition contractor in KC. He has no problem ripping out a tree and crunching the house, then throwing it into his dump truck with the excavator and hauling it off.

He only calls me when there is no house to drop it onto, or it is too close to powerlines to push over with his excavator.


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## mikewhite85 (Aug 26, 2010)

pdqdl said:


> Why not drop the tree on the house to be demolished? Contractors do it all the time around here.
> 
> I occasionally do tree work for a demolition contractor in KC. He has no problem ripping out a tree and crunching the house, then throwing it into his dump truck with the excavator and hauling it off.
> 
> He only calls me when there is no house to drop it onto, or it is too close to powerlines to push over with his excavator.



I suggested that but the guy flipped out. He wants to leave one wall standing so he can consider it a remodel rather than a brand new house. 

It would be a lot of fun to fell a tree on a house though! I would totally put it on youtube.


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## pdqdl (Aug 26, 2010)

Counter offer with a greatly reduced price if you are allowed to hit the roof occasionally, with the promise that you won't damage whatever wall he specifies.


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## ropensaddle (Aug 26, 2010)

pdqdl said:


> Counter offer with a greatly reduced price if you are allowed to hit the roof occasionally, with the promise that you won't damage whatever wall he specifies.



Lmfao I don't know if I could do it. I would definitely have it in writing and check to make sure he really owned the property lol. I don't know if I could even then lol never hit a house yet I would be afraid if I started I couldn't stop:hmm3grin2orange:


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## pbtree (Aug 27, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Lmfao I don't know if I could do it. I would definitely have it in writing and check to make sure he really owned the property lol. I don't know if I could even then lol never hit a house yet I would be afraid if I started I couldn't stop:hmm3grin2orange:


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## pdqdl (Aug 27, 2010)

if the owner was planning on calling the demo a remodeling job in order to fulfill some tax rule or municipal code, then surely goofing up a tree removal and squooshing the house would accelerate the process.

Offer to show the guy exactly how to cut the tree so that it "accidentaly" falls on the house, then hand him the saw.


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## himiler (Aug 29, 2010)

mikewhite85 said:


> At the initial estimate I told him it would be around 6000. His jaw about dropped to the floor. He later told me that he was demolishing the house and garage so I foolishly suggested felling the trees on the house would be a lot cheaper (and probably a lot more fun!). QUOTE]
> 
> That's the wierd thing about California. When I was in the Navy at Camp Pendleton I remember watching a house being demolished except for one tiny restroom. Like you, I was told it was a remodel.
> Seems to me if the guy can afford to remodel his house at some unreasonalby astronomical price, the tree removal isn't that much in the scheme of things. You may be glad you didn't get this bid for what you don't know. If you do get a chance to talk to the successful bidder after the job, I for one would be curious as to how it all turned out.
> Steve W


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## mikewhite85 (Aug 29, 2010)

himiler said:


> mikewhite85 said:
> 
> 
> > At the initial estimate I told him it would be around 6000. His jaw about dropped to the floor. He later told me that he was demolishing the house and garage so I foolishly suggested felling the trees on the house would be a lot cheaper (and probably a lot more fun!). QUOTE]
> ...


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 29, 2010)

mikewhite85 said:


> himiler said:
> 
> 
> > I am really curious!
> ...


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