liability of walking from a job??????

[kf_tree]

my boss bid 9500.00 to remove a storm damaged tree where one big lead is laying on a house. the part standing is riddled with cavities where you could see light right through the tree. we figured it for a crane job..........but the crane wants 10 g's to set up. as part of the estimate we figured 2g's for the crane. the home owner will never go for the 8g bump up in price.

on monday we're just going after the lead on the house for 5g's and forgetting about removing the rest of the tree. no one else in the area would even price the job. if we walked from the job altogether after giving a price what is the liability if the rest of the tree falls?

 

[MasterBlaster]

It sounds like you need the advice of a lawer.
And that allways sucks.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I don't know too much about it, but it seems to me that without any signed contract theres not a lot anyone on either side could do. But I could very well be wrong.
My main concern would be that upon removing the limb on the house any future tree failure would be blamed on something you did during that removal that predisposed the tree to fail.

If the crane is the ONLY way to do the job, and the customer doesn't want to pay for it, I would walk away.

 

[SilverBlue]

Get another crane company to quote. That has to be one hell of a job to quote that much either that or it’s price gouging to the extreme. Also if you don’t have a defined contract you’re risking too much.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That IS a huge difference in what you thought it would cost VS what that crane is actually charging!
Something smells fishy.....

 

[kf_tree]

it's the class of crane needed to do the job. there are steps to get up to the property, the base of the tree even with the power lines. we thought a 110ft crane would dop it but we were wrong. the big crane would be 10 g's a smaller crane would be 6000.00 but he would want the power lines down, also he usually gets 3000,00 a day but to travel to brooklyn he wants 2 days pay for a one day job.

 

[kf_tree]

i usually use a guy out of new jersey. he would come out for 1500.00 but he's the guy with 110 ft boom.

 

[monkeypuzzle]

I would climb all day everyday till it was finished for 9,500$,''

It must be a mother.

 

[City climber]

removal

in this situation I would normally remove as much of the top of the tree as possible to compensate for the excessive load the tree will have to carry,when we lower the lead that is on the roof. I dont think the tree will hold under the load that it will have to carry ,think it will fail above the cavity .boss has decided to go ahead with job anyway will let u know monday night if all goes well. Kenny

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel


Be a man and suck it up for the entire job, or walk away.

WTF does being a 'man' have to do with it?

 

[MasterBlaster]

The boss bid the job, not k_f tree. Thats what had me stymied.

 

[City climber]

removal

plus the roof is terra cotta another problem to deal with

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by kf_tree
if we walked from the job altogether after giving a price what is the liability if the rest of the tree falls?

Unless your actions CAUSE failure (ie you made cuts tha weakened the tree, then left), your liability would be zero. You simply submitted a quote to do the work for a particular price, not a contract to have the work done for "X" amount and by "X" date.


Having said that, if the tree is so bad that they're willing to pay that kind of money, I'd drive the crane you can afford right on the lawn and suck up a couple hundred for a landscaper to fix the damage. Then again, if the tree's THAT bad, they shouldn't have a problem with you doing it anyways. There has to be a way to get a crane in closer somewhere, isn't there?

 

[kf_tree]

it's just not possible to get closer to the tree with a crane. right off the side walk is the garage's and a staircase up. the actual lawn is almost at the height of the power lines. i'll post some pics on monday so it makes more sense. it's hard to picture.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by MasterBlaster

My main concern would be that upon removing the limb on the house any future tree failure would be blamed on something you did during that removal that predisposed the tree to fail.

Thas' whut I'm talking about!

 

[Franz]

Under NY law, liability attaches to a contractor very early in the negotiating process of contracting a job. I learned that long ago from a lawyer who was well worth the $$$$$$$ I paid him, and also learned I was better off not even looking at some jobs. In NY, the instant you tell a potential customer what a problem is, and what can be done to eliminate the problem, you incurr liability, even if you don't get or take the job. It's insane, but it keeps ambulance chasers drinking good Skotch.

There also seems to be a very interesting situation developing relative to cranes and tree work. 2 weeks ago, after spending a couple hours on the phone calling every crane outfit in the Rochester area, they all had the same answwer, NO CRANES AVAILABLE for tree work. Nobody was even willing to discuss crane rental when they heard the word TREE.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Franz
In NY, the instant you tell a potential customer what a problem is, and what can be done to eliminate the problem, you incurr liability, even if you don't get or take the job.

It's the same everywhere, to varying degrees.
This is another good reason to get out of the "Free Estimate" gig when you can. You are out on a limb whenever you as a professional profess what you know--or even guess at what you might know a little about. You are exposed to all kinds of misinterpretations, ramifications, so each time before you say anything you should take the time to carefully look at the whole thing.
Who has the time for all that unless paid?
And of course a Limiting Conditions, CYA form shoud be part of any estimate or opinion professionally rendered. Even if a guy knows squat, if he advertises he is posing as a pro and therefore liable.
One joker I know of is getting sued because he posed as a tree man, topped 7 maples which died. His ins. co. is looking at about $100,000 due the tree owner.

 

[kf_tree]

here's how it played out..........since the lead fell on the nieghbors house we're getting paid directly from the ins co. since the nieghbor and the tree owner have the same ins co they told the tree owner he better do something about the rest of the tree or they will not cover any damage if it falls since it's a known hazzard. so my boss gave him a price to do the tree climbing it.

 

[kf_tree]

this shows the access problems for a crane

 

[kf_tree]

light through the tree