Anyone climb for firewood?
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If you got the skills and ambition, do it. I know a lot of tree guys do side work, this is the same kind of stuff. You guys don't charge as much as the tree company you work for do you? I doubt it, you have very little or no overhead.
Blakesmaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
It's pretty hard to hurt yourself mowing a lawn. It's very easy to hurt yourself cutting down a tree, especially if you have to climb. That danger is factored into each one of my quotes. Someone who doesn't know what they are doing has a hard time assessing that danger and bidding appropriately for it. When it comes to tree work, I've begun to stop offering discounts to let the wood stay but there's no way in h3ll I'd risk my neck for a few sticks of wood.
oldirty
Addicted to ArboristSite
my bid will probably come in a couple bucks lower. bout it. and that is because i dont have to pay anyone else to work. i dont work for little money any more. ive kinda learned to bid my work out.
if the wood stays, sticks and all, you'll get a deal. i am still going for my rate per hour though.
but if i gotta get rid of everything, i'll be right in the ball park of what the next guy bids at it. smack dab in the middle of it.
anything less than what i want and it becomes not worth my while to do, right?
oldirty
Addicted to ArboristSite
i could not even begin to imagine me living in a city like that. i dont really like people all that much, i have a hard enough time living in the burbs.
Well, I guess you are a little different than the climbers I know that do side work. They don't charge near as close as the company we work for. Low overhead is the biggest reason. The one guy bids jobs cheaper than a lot of companies because he has the skills to get the job done a lot faster. He knows all the tricks and takes calculated risks. He is not afraid to blow a top out in a tight spot, etc.
Back to the original topic, if you got the skills and want to do the work, go for it. Just don't over extend yourself like using ladders, etc. The guy I was talking about earlier has done more than one job where the ladder was still in the tree and the tree hack in the hosiptal. Trust your senses and judgement.
wdanforth
ArboristSite Operative
Climb tree with saw for firewood? No way. I have a oak tree in my yard that needs a 14" LARGE branch cut off about 12 feet up. Could I do it and just bomb the drive way? Sure. It's 30-40' long and too heavy to mess with. I will pay my Davey Tree friend to safely remove the branch.
Now I have done a blow down removal off a neighbor's house after Ike. A large oak about 24" dbh about 70' of tree landed on the back roof. A local tree guy wanted $1,850 to remove tree and another $600 for cleanup. It was oak, the lady is 80 some years old, so 3.5 hours later it was off the house, cleaned up and 2 big truck loads of firewood at my house. No charge. It was the right thing to do.
So I will climb on a house but not up a tree for firewood.
Now I have done a blow down removal off a neighbor's house after Ike. A large oak about 24" dbh about 70' of tree landed on the back roof. A local tree guy wanted $1,850 to remove tree and another $600 for cleanup. It was oak, the lady is 80 some years old, so 3.5 hours later it was off the house, cleaned up and 2 big truck loads of firewood at my house. No charge. It was the right thing to do.
So I will climb on a house but not up a tree for firewood.
Wet1
Addicted to ArboristSite
As I mentioned earlier, climbing just to get free firewood is silly, but I see nothing wrong with it if you have the skills, equipment, and you're getting paid for your efforts and risk.
iowawoodcutter
ArboristSite Operative
I may take some heat on this and maybe some negative rep, but if I can find a demand and provide my supply for cheaper than the other guy, that is capitalism baby! I don't like Walmart and Home Depot much and personally support the local guy, but I fully support their position. They found a way to do it better and cheaper, and if the local guy can't figure out a way to make up for it, then he is going out and it is total BS for him to complain about it.
If all people in the US were truely worried about crap from China they would buy local and pay the extra money to the local guy. But if people have that change of heart, I promise you the big box stores will be the first to follow that trend and raise prices and sell made in the USA.
I got a little off tangent, but hopefully my point is taken. So Avalancher, climb away, make your money, buck the system, you are a capitalist american providing a service for cheaper than someone else, and I fully support it.
danrclem
Addicted to ArboristSite
I agree 100%
arborworks1
ArboristSite Operative
Let me put this a little more boldly. If dude kills or injures someone or something. You can kiss everything you have goodbye, with no insurance. You were working for money and caused an accident. The legal system will take it all, guaranteed.
I've done it, but it's a tough way to get firewood. It's way easier to drive to a construction site with a pickup truck and ask the guys if you can cut up all the wood laying on the ground that they pushed over with a dozer.
I just read that a wood-fired electrical generating plant is going to be built nearby and it will use 80 tons of chips per day, so maybe any tree that gets cut down within a 100 mile radius will go to feed that beast.
I just read that a wood-fired electrical generating plant is going to be built nearby and it will use 80 tons of chips per day, so maybe any tree that gets cut down within a 100 mile radius will go to feed that beast.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
I guess my point is this. I try very very hard not to tread on the toes of the pros that do this for a living. I have said in many posts that I have the highest regards for the pros. They have one of the most dangerous jobs there is.
With that being said, I chose my jobs very carefully. I get 95 percent of my tree jobs from word of mouth, and generally I find I follow on the heels of pros that want a ton of money from folks that simply do not have the money to have the tree removed. There is a huge difference between not wanting to pay and not being able to afford to pay, and a ten minute conversation will show which is which.
I personally love the little old ladies living by themselves on a fixed income. I charge them a couple of hundred to take a tree that you simply can not just drop in their yard. The leaves fill their gutters, and they have a terrible time trying to keep their yard clean. I show up, climb up the tree and do my limbing, and they watch. Lunch is always a home cooked meal, a hot delicious lunch instead of the measly fare that i threw in my cooler. I load my trailer while they chat away, and then I have to follow them around while they show me their flowers, their little dogs grave. then often it comes about some rusty old rotiller is leaning on an old tool shed.
"Oh, that rusty old thing, i wish I had someone to haul it off"
then the "Junk" in the tool shed that they wish someone had taken away years ago. Tons of tools, etc.
"Would you like to haul some of this stuff off for me?I dont need it."
In goes the rototiller, complete with a nice little Briggs that with some cleaning will work wonders for something.
Late that day I drive off, a little tired, a basket of cookies for my children, a check for two hundred bucks, a rusty old rototiller, and a new friend that has my card for firewood this winter.
Those are the kinds of jobs that I look for, and the jobs that spurred me on to learn how to climb.
Would you pros really want a day like that?
With that being said, I chose my jobs very carefully. I get 95 percent of my tree jobs from word of mouth, and generally I find I follow on the heels of pros that want a ton of money from folks that simply do not have the money to have the tree removed. There is a huge difference between not wanting to pay and not being able to afford to pay, and a ten minute conversation will show which is which.
I personally love the little old ladies living by themselves on a fixed income. I charge them a couple of hundred to take a tree that you simply can not just drop in their yard. The leaves fill their gutters, and they have a terrible time trying to keep their yard clean. I show up, climb up the tree and do my limbing, and they watch. Lunch is always a home cooked meal, a hot delicious lunch instead of the measly fare that i threw in my cooler. I load my trailer while they chat away, and then I have to follow them around while they show me their flowers, their little dogs grave. then often it comes about some rusty old rotiller is leaning on an old tool shed.
"Oh, that rusty old thing, i wish I had someone to haul it off"
then the "Junk" in the tool shed that they wish someone had taken away years ago. Tons of tools, etc.
"Would you like to haul some of this stuff off for me?I dont need it."
In goes the rototiller, complete with a nice little Briggs that with some cleaning will work wonders for something.
Late that day I drive off, a little tired, a basket of cookies for my children, a check for two hundred bucks, a rusty old rototiller, and a new friend that has my card for firewood this winter.
Those are the kinds of jobs that I look for, and the jobs that spurred me on to learn how to climb.
Would you pros really want a day like that?
iowawoodcutter
ArboristSite Operative
I guess I have a leg up on Avalancher on that one then. I do everything for free. Took down a tree for a neighbor the other day that the tree service wanted 1600$ for. What did I get? Some wood and the satisfaction of helping a neighbor that I like. Before I started I told him 99% of the time, I will be able to drop this tree where I want it, and as long as you are willing to accept the consequence of that 1%, I am happy to do it for you. We both agreed and down it went, right where I wanted it, actually it fell a degree or two off, but I had a planned error margin of 45 degees one way and about 30 the other.
So am I stealing work from a pro? Hell no!!! Just as much as I stole the work from a painter, when i stained my own deck, the deere dealership when i fixed my own tractor, the plumber when I drilled out my sewer, ad nasea....
I love hard work and if I like you, you get my services for zipo....
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Lets face it. Every occupation there are those that will charge what ever they think they can get away with. I have never taken a job when the folks got an estimate from a reputable arborist that gave them an honest bid. Have I taken jobs where the guy tried to stroke the people?Yep, sure have. And in all honesty, I am doing the reputable pros a service. i am putting those rascals out of business that think they can charge a guy 1500 bucks for a two hour job.A low risk job at that.
For the rest of my jobs as I have said before, i take jobs that the real pros wouldnt want to fool with anyway. With overhead, payroll, and equipement costs, most cant afford to give some senior citizen a cheap price just because they feel sorry for them.
I started this post for one reason. I have taken a lot of heat on other posts because I like to explore my capablilities, learn new tasks, and like the feeling that I can be self reliant. The biggest reason that I learned how to climb was because I had a tree in my yard that needed the top taken out, and three outfits wanted over a thousand bucks to take just the top out. I couldnt afford it, so I invested 400 in gear and did it myself. There are many like me, cant afford something but really need the help and that is where I come in. I am not a hero or a saint, but 9 times out of 10 I get more back than what I invested in when I go to help someone. I took trees just for the opportunity to practise. I know doggone well nobody is going to hire me so that I can learn a new skill.
For the rest of my jobs as I have said before, i take jobs that the real pros wouldnt want to fool with anyway. With overhead, payroll, and equipement costs, most cant afford to give some senior citizen a cheap price just because they feel sorry for them.
I started this post for one reason. I have taken a lot of heat on other posts because I like to explore my capablilities, learn new tasks, and like the feeling that I can be self reliant. The biggest reason that I learned how to climb was because I had a tree in my yard that needed the top taken out, and three outfits wanted over a thousand bucks to take just the top out. I couldnt afford it, so I invested 400 in gear and did it myself. There are many like me, cant afford something but really need the help and that is where I come in. I am not a hero or a saint, but 9 times out of 10 I get more back than what I invested in when I go to help someone. I took trees just for the opportunity to practise. I know doggone well nobody is going to hire me so that I can learn a new skill.
Marc
Addicted to ArboristSite
If I was doing work like this for anyone but my closest of family and friends, I'd hire a lawyer to draft a contract absolving me of any property/personal damage which occurs as a result of the work I do. And I would include a stipulation that goes both ways, I hurt myself, it's not on them.
Otherwise, it sounds like you're just begging for a lawsuit. Maybe I'm just not trusting of other people. Even little old ladies who can't clean their gutters.
iowawoodcutter
ArboristSite Operative
I don't like lawyers. If I were to do that I would draft it myself. Which I have also done in the past, sold and bought houses that way. Saved a ton of money not paying realtors.
I believe wholeheartedly in not using a lawyer whenever possible. Sure maybe someone will sue me someday, but they won't get much, and they don't frighten me anyway.
Lawyers are the scurge of society and I will not partake in anything to do with them.
RENNIE
ArboristSite Member
Amen Iowawoodcutter.
Actually it's exactly the same thing, he just substituted landscaper for arborist. No difference at all.
As a teen, I was working for a guy that had me schlock some paint on a concrete wall. A painter came in while I was working just to tell him that I didn't know what I was doing (which I didn't) and that he would do it for X dollars. He didn't get the gig and I finished schlocking the paint on that wall.
anyway, back on topic...
Climbing trees with power tools is not in my skill set. I doubt it ever will be. I told a guy that wanted a big oak taken down on his rental property that if he got a pro to drop it, I'd haul it off. It's still standing there, all 2 or 3 cord of it.
Ian
Marc
Addicted to ArboristSite
Well, I know of some pretty scummy layers, and a know a lot that are honest and hardworking. And fair.
The point is, if you're ever sued you'd have the plaintiff's lawyer picking overy the contract looking for any flaw that can be found, which might be grammatical or otherwise (including the state of mind of the signor at the time of signing... 'your honor, I was in duress, I had a tree ready to fall on my house,' etc. etc.).
If it's worth the risk in financial stability to you, that's obviously up to you. I wouldn't risk it myself, civil suit damages can be astronomical these days. I wouldn't risk my well being or my family's (if I had one) all because of a desire to avoid lawyers and pay one a couple hundred bucks.
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