How much should a climber make an hour on average?

[bitzer]

I don't know any climbers and don't really know what the commercial costs of tree removal are, but I was curious what a guy would get paid for climbing, topping, and removing a 30' tall 16" wide silver maple. I mean a a single guy on a crew getting paid by the owner. I have cut lots of firewood in the last five years and was asked by my father in law to give a qoute for some tree removals in his condo complex. The maple is by far the biggest of four trees and it could be felled without climbing. One company with a crew of four guys came in with a low bid and I thought how could they make any money especially when they said they would climb, top, remove, and stump grind. My father in law thought that a climber would only get paid $12/hour. I thought that was low. I won't be getting the job because I am not insured, but I was wondering what would a climber get paid that worked for a company? Thanks.

 

[TreEmergencyB]

depends on the area i make more than that and im not the primary climber...

 

[bitzer]

I am in southeastern Wisconsin. $12/hr seems low to me especially when climbing a tree I would think. I don't know what methods they are using whether spur or srt. I would guess spur or a combination, but I really don't know that much about it. Thanks.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

how much should a climber make per hour

10 years I was doing $16.00+ just south in Mt. Prospect IL, Lake & Cook countys. We have climbers starting $14.00 in SF CA.$13.00 in Washington DC. Here in Arkansas $10 to 12

 

[Hddnis]

A good climber around here starts at $17.00 from what I've seen. Most of the climbers I know are making $30.00 to $70.00 an hour. These are guys that are closer to the top of their game; they have proven they can take a difficult tree down safe.



Mr. HE

 

[Hddnis]

I should mention that you can get people who will climb for minimum wage or less. I've never known of a case where the person who hired them didn't pay the difference replacing broken fences, houses, cars, and whatever else got in the way of bombing the tree down.

One recent case was a guy who hired the neighbors out of work son-in-law. The guy bought a Wild Thing for the "climber" to use. He went to work for the day and came home to the tree on the ground, no power to his or the neighbors house, a hole in his roof, a large branch in his pool, a smashed fence, a stump six feet high, not to mention brush everywhere. Basically the "climber" started at the top of each branch and just started hacking off "small pieces, so it won't damage anything.".

This "climber" insisted he be paid for "Doing the hard part, you know, getting it on the ground." The guy gave him a $100 and the saw and hired a real tree company to come clean up the mess. His homeowners insurance covered all the repairs, but not the tree clean up.



Mr. HE

 

[bitzer]

Thanks for the info everyone! Good to know. Maybe their qoute wasn't that far off the mark, but with complete removal and stump grinding they must be running it pretty thin. I told my father in law to take a look at their operation and give me the low down on how these guys do. It will be interesting to see. Myself and two other companies quoted about $200 more than these guys. It might be interesting. The tree is between two condo buildings about 25ft from one and 30ft from the other. It is on the edge of these buildings and there is about a 150 degree radius it could be safely felled into and I felt confident in doing it, but I am not insured for that so they will not accept my bid for this reason. I'm just a guy with a saw that knows how to use it. Thanks again!

 

[Hddnis]

Sometimes a guy with a saw who knows how to use it is all you really need. People like to mitigate risk, and lawyers like to write rules for everyone else to follow, so that today having a saw and knowing how to use it will rarely get you work.

Can you get the insurance you need?



Mr. HE

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I wouldn't work for less than $25/hr. if I was subbing out to another company. Climbers down here, in Austin, make $12-25/hr. from what I've seen and heard. Of course those of "shaky citizenship status" will loop an HD rope around their waists and climb a tree for $8-10/hr.

 

[Blakesmaster]

I'm at 17 an hour which is low in my opinion but about the max for this area. There are very few local companies that would hire a climber on a full time basis for more than that. The only way to get more around here is if you contract climb or start your own biz. I don't really want to contract climb so i started my own biz.

 

[treemandan]

I'm at 17 an hour which is low in my opinion but about the max for this area. There are very few local companies that would hire a climber on a full time basis for more than that. The only way to get more around here is if you contract climb or start your own biz. I don't really want to contract climb so i started my own biz.

I am trying to figure you out. You have your OWN business so you should have your OWN ins, tools, etc. Right?

 

[treemandan]

I should mention that you can get people who will climb for minimum wage or less. I've never known of a case where the person who hired them didn't pay the difference replacing broken fences, houses, cars, and whatever else got in the way of bombing the tree down.

One recent case was a guy who hired the neighbors out of work son-in-law. The guy bought a Wild Thing for the "climber" to use. He went to work for the day and came home to the tree on the ground, no power to his or the neighbors house, a hole in his roof, a large branch in his pool, a smashed fence, a stump six feet high, not to mention brush everywhere. Basically the "climber" started at the top of each branch and just started hacking off "small pieces, so it won't damage anything.".

This "climber" insisted he be paid for "Doing the hard part, you know, getting it on the ground." The guy gave him a $100 and the saw and hired a real tree company to come clean up the mess. His homeowners insurance covered all the repairs, but not the tree clean up.



Mr. HE

Its funny cause its true.

 

[treeseer]

$95/hour :jawdrop:




but that's with all the overhead.

That goes up if the owner wants them cut down for no good reason--why are these being felled?

 

[treemandan]

$95/hour :jawdrop:




but that's with all the overhead.

That goes up if the owner wants them cut down for no good reason--why are these being felled?

Are you telling us your rate as a just a climber?

 

[treemandan]

I don't know any climbers and don't really know what the commercial costs of tree removal are, but I was curious what a guy would get paid for climbing, topping, and removing a 30' tall 16" wide silver maple. I mean a a single guy on a crew getting paid by the owner. I have cut lots of firewood in the last five years and was asked by my father in law to give a qoute for some tree removals in his condo complex. The maple is by far the biggest of four trees and it could be felled without climbing. One company with a crew of four guys came in with a low bid and I thought how could they make any money especially when they said they would climb, top, remove, and stump grind. My father in law thought that a climber would only get paid $12/hour. I thought that was low. I won't be getting the job because I am not insured, but I was wondering what would a climber get paid that worked for a company? Thanks.

Its not a question to ask in hopes of getting a reply that suits you or makes sense. Sure, I know guys been doing this for 20 years making like 18 and I know guys been in it for a few years making much more. It depends how much you put into it.

If you want to ask me how much I make I would probably lie anyway.

 

[DK_stihl]

Money

I make 15 an hour whether I climb, cut, chip, grind stumps, drive truck, run bobcat, landscape, etc. Climbing is just something you do when you work for a tree company, it is not the be all, end all IMO.

 

[Blakesmaster]

I am trying to figure you out. You have your OWN business so you should have your OWN ins, tools, etc. Right?

Everything in my sig is owned by me, my brother and our other partner but none of that gets used at my full-ish-time gig. Yes, I bring my own saddle, rope, and climbing gear but I run their saws, bucket, skidsteers, grapples etc. My insurance and company equipment only gets used for MY jobs. Sorry, dano, thought everyone new that. If I'm using ANY of my company's equipment on a job, ( saws, running lines, blocks, etc. ) I look at it as a "contract climb" and my rate goes from 17 to 30 per hour and I kick some upstairs to our little kitty.

 

[treemandan]

Everything in my sig is owned by me, my brother and our other partner but none of that gets used at my full-ish-time gig. Yes, I bring my own saddle, rope, and climbing gear but I run their saws, bucket, skidsteers, grapples etc. My insurance and company equipment only gets used for MY jobs. Sorry, dano, thought everyone new that. If I'm using ANY of my company's equipment on a job, ( saws, running lines, blocks, etc. ) I look at it as a "contract climb" and my rate goes from 17 to 30 per hour and I kick some upstairs to our little kitty.

Sounds good and you are an honest guy.

 

[bitzer]

Its not a question to ask in hopes of getting a reply that suits you or makes sense. Sure, I know guys been doing this for 20 years making like 18 and I know guys been in it for a few years making much more. It depends how much you put into it.

If you want to ask me how much I make I would probably lie anyway.

I was not looking for anything that suits me and I know some guys would not want to tell what they get paid. Thats fine with me. I don't tell many people what I get paid, I was just curious as to what an average rate would be. I don't climb and I will not be getting the job. I just was wondering. No harm intended, I just wanted to know on average what a guy would get paid, not what any individual would get paid.

 

[Koa Man]

I know of 2 climbers working for 2 different companies in Hawaii making $37.50 an hour plus benefits like full medical insurance, vacation and holidays. The owners of the companies they work for are my personal friends and we help each other out. I have used them on some of my bigger jobs and they are worth every penny.