I NEED HELP! in more ways than one

[db_010]

Sure looks like they could both be dropped whole behond the house if the shed & propane tank were moved. The drop zone is obviously not wide open there for a rookie, but hopefully is plenty big enough in the eyes of a pro. Maybe you move the shed & propane, hire a pro to drop the two trees behind the house, then he goes home and you take it from there. I would think that would drop the price low enough to make it worth avoiding the risk all together. You might even get a pretty cheap price by moving the shed, propane, and dog cage, then hiring the pro to climb and take them down. Eliminating the need to rig anything and hiring him only to get it to the ground should be pretty cheap.
It's worth exploring those options to see where they get you.

 

[rbtree]

Here's a fir we did today, total manhours from the time we left the shop was barely 4...$490= means I'm happy camper. It was 90 feet tall, but only 20 inches at 10 feet up. Next to a fence, and 10 feet to the garage. But, small branches meant Ian hand dropped them all. We only had to lower the top. 4 yards of chips or so...slam dunk. I'm mighty happy with $125 per manhr....diltree, I'd say that 20 foot top was 225 lb max, I handled it with a 3/4 trunk wrap, and fired 3 shots with the my new motor driven Canon 1DMark2 as it was starting over.....I was playing around with slow shutter speeds to blur the action.....

My guess is, slyder's pines have at most 8-10 yards of chips. They're very sparse.. an easy job even if the shed is not moved. (Shed offers some shielding for the propane tank, which might be hard to move.) But he's already said he'll do the cleanup and buck the wood.

 

[rbtree]

Here's the top going over.

 

[rbtree]

Here's what's was left of a 80 foot pine on our thrid job today...it was close to 36 inches at the butt, but, even though the service lines were right next to it on one side( we tied them back a bit), I still had it limbed and topped in maybe an hour.. it produced a good 8 yards of chips. It was low at $400 (cash) but we;re doing two more for two neighbors for another $1225, so this guy wanted $100 off as the referrer. I had no problem with that.

Travis ready to be the pancake filling?

Notice Ian is now on the other side. He'd left a hunk of holding wood on one side, so it stopped in mid fall...That can happen if the bar is too short to go alo the way thru, and the faller doesn't do a precise job. It is also good to bore out some of the center hinge width, as when falling shorter sticks, not much hinge is needed.

The woods modded Dolmar PS7900 can sure throw a roostertail, eh?

 

[rbtree]

aye...and, contrary to popular opinion in these parts, I'll still kiss ehp's assssss.

He builds some awesome woods saws....

(that dolmar was done by SlozerDan)

 

[Trinity Honoria]

aye...and, contrary to popular opinion in these parts, I'll still kiss ehp's assssss.

as always, post pictures!!!

 

[Slyder]

Well I think it's great to see all these pictures. It's quite helpful, I kind of a get perspective of what I may be getting myself into.
I did a lot of searching yesterday on purchasing the Tree Climbers Companion.
I did it, I found it at the Gear Merchant, I believe in Georgia. It was the cheapest I could find it. I think I may try and put it up on a website I will be putting together in the future. This way whoever could download it for reference. If anyone is objective to this please let me know. I don't want to start any crap. Ahhh just a thought anyway.
Trinity I not sure if I have nutz, or am nutz, friends tell me both.
They tell me all the time.......If anyone is crazy enough to do it...... it be you.
This has been a awesome Site and I really have taken in all the insight. I really would like to see someone local in action.
I'm still trying to figure out the rope hanging all the way to the ground.
I have an idea, but when I get the book it should become clear.

 

[rbtree]

He's not a troll, Dan. C'mon, be nice, ya hear. He asked if anyone objected. And you are right. That wouldn't be cool, slyder....

 

[Slyder]

Thanks TreeCo
I never thought of that. Your right.
I'm not to good with all these what you can and can't do laws.
See that's what I was hoping to hear.

I'm not sure what the comment of a Troll is....
Would you please explain?

 

[Slyder]

Sorry TreeCo
I grew up on a Pig farm and Slottered them until I was 15, and I was lucky enough to finish HighSchool.
I didn't go to any College or fancy school.
I swung a hammer most of my life and work on cars both mechanical and bodywork.
Sorry if you think I'm hear for attention, but you are mistaken.
I've worked hard for everything I have and I am willing to do what ever it takes to save money so my kids get more than I had.

 

[diltree]

Slyder

hmmm...it is strange that you went from asking if the price is ok and switched to "Do it yourself", and have maintained that standpoint regardless of the knowledgeable folks that have advised against you and you never did contact me for advice on the companies that quoted you nor did you take up on my offer for a third estimate. I guess topping trees really is pretty easy; people with now experience take down 90' pines all the time. Still it is nice to see a poor farm boy with little education going into web site design, you can do anything if you set your mind to it!!!

GoodLuck Slyder!!!



www.dillontree.com

 

[arboristman]

my 2 cents:
those are nice white pine trees.first off i see no reason to remove them.something i missed in the pics?i would not recomened removeing them.
they have lived for awile,why not let them continue to grow? big nice trees add value to property.and provide shade.

second,like everyone has told you,not to do them,i can tell you right now that you cant! get the gear,go on up.IF you even happen to make it to the top,there is no way in hell you would dare to start cutting.
these are NOT trees to "start" out on. you would want at LEAST a years worth of climbing full time to even atempt this.they look easy looking up,its a whole diff ball game when your up there looking down.

more info is needed,but with info i have,i say DONT remove them.
and DONT try it yourself.
based on the pics.i find the price right on myself.

 

[Slyder]

TreeCo.
---------
Not a problem, I'm by far no professional writer I use spell check all the time.
I usually write whats on my mind period.
Believe me I'll keep asking questions, if you'll keep answering.



diltree.
---------
I had received some prices that nearly gave me a heart attack.
If you re-read my first post I already had intentions in doing this myself because of this.
I bought spikes, belt and cheesy lanyard.
Yes, I'm a stubborn growing old bald guy who thinks there's nothing he can't do.
I haven't called you yet because I was hoping that Newfie the first person I talked to was going to get back to me and we'd set up an appointment.
I like doing business with the small guys who are trying to make ends meet not thinking about the next new Harley, or new Truck there going to buy.
If I get in a bind I'll call in my own time. Besides if I had that much money in my hand the trees would be down by now.
Website...................?
I never said I was designing it, a friend is going to put a link off his website offering pictures of some of the work I do in the construction field. This way I can earn a few extra bucks to make ends meet.


arboristman
----------
The pine thats to the left of the shed as you face the doors, the roots are exposed. I am going to be building a retaining wall there and tar my driveway.
I didn't want the roots of the tree pushing the retaining wall over in time.
The other one is right next to the propane tank and the gas line that runs to the house is right on top of some roots.

 

[diltree]

well if saving money is the priority, perhaps we could barter.......Your a contractor Im an arborist.....I own two older homes that need work in some areas, maybe we could work something out, one hand washing the other.



www.dillontree.com

 

[Dadatwins]

well if saving money is the priority, perhaps we could barter.......Your a contractor Im an arborist.....I own two older homes that need work in some areas, maybe we could work something out, one hand washing the other.



www.dillontree.com

Wonder if he will squeak on the $$$ when the shoe is on the other foot
You are probably an OK guy slyder and I don't mean to hammer you but it drives me crazy when folks get prices for jobs, think they are ridiculus and then come on a site like this and ask for advice on how to do-it-yourself-to save-a-buck. I have gone back to a few jobs over the years that I priced and found cut ropes still hanging in the tree, broken ladders, ripped extension cords, even had a guy in crutches meet me at the door for the second estimate, which was higher than the first since he cut out all the main tie-in crotches before he fell from the ladder. You are a contractor, stick to it, get a few estimates from reputable companies, have them price it as a cut and leave and pay the price.

 

[Newfie]

Slyder,

Like I said in my PM I'll get in touch with you some time toward the end of next week and then we can set up a time to look at the trees. I have previous customer obligations to consider first. Patience my friend, the trees ain't going anywhere.

 

[woodchux]

Well I am a liscensed Contractor for New Construction and Remodeling.
This is my part time job on the side.
I have a full time job to pay the bills and keep my family happy.
I'm hoping he'll come over and give me a good price.
I have a tools that might come in handy.
We'll see.

just wondering...
What is your part time job?
And what is your full time job?

 

[pigwot]

This evening I borrowed a truck from a friend still active in the business to get a load of mulch. He was a bit rattled. He had given a couple a $1200 estimate for a removal and several prunings; never heard back until today when the 72 year old fellow's wife called to ask if he could come finish the work. Turns out her husband decided to do the work himself. He is in the hospital with just about every major bone in his body broken. Lucky to be alive.

Whatever you decide to do, be careful, be safe. The unknown will come back to bite you. When I was learning to ride a motorcycle in 1972 my friend would say, "the moment you stop riding the motorcycle, it starts riding you". His point was 'constant vigilance', a point well-taken. After more than 30 years in trees I still have a healthy fear of chainsaws, gravity, and heck, for that matter even the Silky
...and that is the point

 

[clearance]

Slyder, you have been told, and told good, by people who know and care. If you persist in this foolishness of trying it yourself, give someone your password to this site so we can read about you in the injuries columm, thanks, Jim.

 

[trevmcrev]

Slyder,
Price might not be so relevent for me to comment on being on the other side of the world but that would easy be a $3000 job for me.

They are not trees i would have my novice climber tackle, they are for a pro, with at least a few years experience, but youve heard that already.

Another hazard youve just mentioned now is the pipe for thre propane in on the surface, above the roots. What happens when you drop a branch or block of wood from 70' up on that? Or on the shed?

Have you ever watched start to finish a tree service professional go about a job of this size? Have you got any idea how complex it is?

We make it look easy because we are pros.

As a building contractor(even only part time), what would you think about me deciding to build my self a new house after asking a couple of questions and buying a hammer, chisel and tool belt? The quote i got from the builders was a lot of money, how hard can it be?

If your dead set on doing this yourself (think about the word dead there too),
an idea might be to get someone to get the first, hardest tree down on the ground for you. Take note of everything they did and all the other bits of specialzed gear they used. Then ask yourself if you seriously think you can do the same first try, remembering that they've done it thousands of times before.

When giving estimates i often hear the same old "i'd do it myself but..." line.
When we come and do the job and they see how its actually done they tend to have an embarrassed look on their face that says "theres no way i couldve done that"

If your tight on for the $$$, best bet is get a pro company with insurance to put them on the ground and no more cutting than needed to do so and you take it from there.

Trev.
http://www.totaltreecare.com.au