I did a pine last week and I'm still trying to get better at quoting jobs...id like to know ball park what you guys would charge to take this down...home owner cleans up everything...about 25 feet from the house, 3feet at the base, at 15 foot mark it divides into 5 huge vertical limbs that are about a foot and a half across at the base. Definitely needs to be climbed...what's your best quote in your area.
I have a tree stump grinding business. I don't cut trees but I follow up a ton of tree service guys. I often ask my customers what they paid to have a tree cut. The amounts vary wildly. In the OKC area that tree could cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000. I am thinking if you do a job like that (just laying it on the ground in small pieces) for less than $500 you are giving your work away even if the homeowner did all the clean-up. The reason anyone asks to have work like that done is because they don't have the tools, the time, the health, and most importantly the knowledge and experience to do it properly and safely.
A couple of years ago, my friend's mother had a dead 25' Loblolly pine in her back yard. It was leaning toward her house and over a power line. I told him I thought we should be able to take that tree down. I was 65 at the time. I climbed about ten feet up with my Stihl 066 and couldn't crank the thing. So, after sweating profusely, I told John we should rethink that project (Hey, even I have my brighter moments). In the meantime, his mom had a brain tumor and the tree project was put on hold. One day a man, from south of the border, knocked on his mom's door while John was there. He said he saw the dead pine in the back yard and offered to take it down for $500. John said it was a great price but his mom was ill and didn't have the money. The guy offered to do it for $250 and John told him the same thing. The guy finally offered to take it down for $150 and got the job. He kept his kid out of school the next day, cut the tree to nearly ground level, and had his kid stack all the wood in front of the house. I have seen that same scenario over and over. One day, I bid $120 to grind a 30" oak stump. The homeowner balked and said he had the whole tree cut down and hauled off for $100 so he was expecting the stump grinding to be less than that. I told him $120 is what I charge but he could rent a stump grinder from Home Depot for about $100 or call around and someone would surely do it for less. I did get the job and he was very happy when I left. I don't play games with my prices. I am not in business to go out of business.
So, Fireman33, my point in all this is don't ever give your work and experience away. If a job is too technical ... walk away from it and let those who do those things every day and have the right equipment and experience do it. You asked a simple question ... I don't get all the curt comments ... so this has been my simple answer. Be safe, climbing trees with chainsaws is a very dangerous business. Even very experienced guys have been hurt badly. Just look on Youtube for plenty of examples. On the other hand you don't get experience without just doing it.