Arborist, Tree Service, or 25 or more takedown for free?

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tfsiii

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
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Location
NH
Homeowner in NH, house surrounded by huge eastern white pines. Same old story , should have taken care of these long ago. Need to take trees closest to house and pool area down. There are at least 20 of these, 100 + ft tall, with multiple trees growing out of huge butts. Saw a sign up in a tree down the road for free tree removal, I believe this is also advertised in craigs list. I am even considering trying to do it myself, though zero climbing experience. I have been falling trees in woodlot for years. Some of these pines are bigger/taller than anything I have ever taken down. I understand fully these are 2 very different tasks, this very challenging job has great exposure to collateral damage. No such thing in woodlot. I always wanted to try climbing. Years ago I had my property logged, and that was not a very good experience for many reasons. I do not want to repeat that. Any recommendations on selecting a company? As for me doing it myself, I would take my time, do as much research as possible, get the right gear, and give it a try. I know I will get flamed for this idea, but I consider this part of my research. Regards,
 
Flamed nah, I would think a do it yourselfer should be able to handle those.
They are only 100 foot tall and how risky could it be, no climbing experiance.
It is just another obituary no big deal,your choice do or die is all I can say.
I would recommend hiring it done but no sense trying to talk someone out
of suicide if their mind is set. Good luck and hire someone to take pics and
post them for us so we can see before and after!
 
White Pines are a nasty tree. And i don't just meen the sap either. I've had a number of large white pines snap the hinge when you try to swing them any other way than the tree is leaning. Best of luck to ya but i'd hire a Co. to do it with out a doubt.
 
Free?

Everything costs something. Time is money, not even counting your material investment.

What you are really thinking about is minimizing the cost.

Well, you get what you pay for.

Now then...

If you're wanting to get into this industry, then the time(research included), effort, and materials....might....pay for themselves on this gig alone if things go off without a hitch.

That is a huge IF, sometimes even for professionals, not to mention someone on their first real outing such as this without at least a qualified mentor.

The biggest hitch might very well be your life, or serious injury running a distant second. Not to mention property damage as you've noted.

At least you are willing to sacrifice your own home on this endeavor before someone else's.

But, if you are set on doing it then I'd quit your job and spend a couple of years with a full blown residential service before you decide to set in on the overgrown homestead.

Whatever you do...do not go with someone willing to do it for free! That is a flashing beacon for disaster.

For your sake in all regards, I'd hire it done, some at a time, by the best outfit you can find...and that doesn't mean the lowest bidder. Make sure they are reputable and with insurance.

If what they do doesn’t blow your mind and persuade you to get more saw chips running through you’re veins than you can find in any woodlot, then you’ve made the very best choice in hiring them.

If you are too stoked to sit still any longer, go get a job with a good service, maybe even the outfit that you hired, and work from the ground up until you can finish the job for yourself with total confidence.

Then when you crash the house in you will at least know what you did wrong.:)

If you heed no advice given and find yourself in need of a good surgeon, call me, I perform all manner of surgery for free.

If you totally blow it, I'm also a fully unlicensed funeral director; I do complete funerals for free.

No need to waste good money on professionals. :popcorn:

Good Luck. ;)
 
White Pines are a nasty tree. And i don't just meen the sap either. I've had a number of large white pines snap the hinge when you try to swing them any other way than the tree is leaning. Best of luck to ya but i'd hire a Co. to do it with out a doubt.

White Pine has gotta be one of the worst woods as far as the hinge goes with relation to it breaking on you and top not going any where near where you wanted it to, pull too hard or soon and (mechanically) the hinge breaks, not enough, it can break and go opposite way or snap sideways if theres a side lean. S#!@ trees really though I dont mind them as a hedge and they're fun to shape/nice income. The butt log usually seems to hinge better than the tops-buy maybe thats just because yer in the air and looking down at that house or two hopeing that it goes where you planned and the wind don't take it even if the hinge does work. Just not trustworthy enough trees to want to do big drop hitches in at this age. Maybe the newer wood at the tops is weaker and just hinges more poorly, I dont know. Just some observations. MDS.
 
We have people over here who take trees down for free. They drive around in smart brand spanking new vans and 4x4s, they have the gift of the gab, and they live in nice big caravans on any piece of land until they get evicted. What they do is knock on doors, offer to cut the trees down for free....homeowner says, "ooh, yes please"....so these nice gentlemen come along and cut the trees down. They then walk off the job leaving them there. The homeowner asks them to take the trees away....the nice gentlemen give in and say "ok, but it'll cost £XXX". Homeowner pays up, nice gentlemen take away the trees, then tip them off the truck around the corner!
 
Try to take those trees down with no damage to yourself or property, I dare ya. Not a chance, not even close. And I am a big promoter of do-it-yourself.

As for something costructive, I got nothing.
 
That really doesn't sound like a good plan.

The obvious risk's aside, don't you make better money doing what you do for a living? Why do you think it is a good idea to try to learn a new career for just a few grand?
 
There are very few do-it-yourself jobs that go 100% correctly - simply because even well-seasoned pros make mistakes or misjudge things sometimes - so amateurs are bound to run into problems. There are also very few jobs that if done less that 100% correctly will destroy your home, injure you, or kill you. Mess up bathroom tile? Re-do it. Try to change your own oil and make a mess on the driveway? Clean it up. Hang a light fixture in the bathroom and it's crooked? Straighten it out. Try to take down a tree and anything goes a little bit wrong? You destroy a home, injure someone, or kill someone. There are no do-overs in tree work - it's all or nothing. Often times life or death. Think long-term and take pride in your ability to know your limits and make smart judgements. Stay away from those trees. It's insane to consider otherwise. You wanna climb? Start low and slow. This job is not the place to dabble with your curiousity of climbing. Take pride in your reasoning abilities and don't fear walking away alive and safe.

Best of luck.
 
When was the last time you took too big of a bite of thick steak and wish you had not?

Biting off more then you can chew here. I've known some tough guys freeze up after gaffing 20 feet up.

The way to go about it is to find a climber who wants some cash and get them down one or two at a time.

May cost $70-100/tree and the cheapash HO's will still tell y'all to take a hike.

I've bid big storm jobs at $100/tree and it adds up to $10k with very fast.
 
When was the last time you took too big of a bite of thick steak and wish you had not?

Biting off more then you can chew here. I've known some tough guys freeze up after gaffing 20 feet up.

The way to go about it is to find a climber who wants some cash and get them down one or two at a time.

May cost $70-100/tree and the cheapash HO's will still tell y'all to take a hike.

I've bid big storm jobs at $100/tree and it adds up to $10k with very fast.


sentence 3 says it all.
 

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