Incomplete
ArboristSite Guru
Let me see if I can head the flamers and the insecure off:
I am 33 years old, married with 4 kids, and have been a carpenter for 18 years, the last eight as my own Boss (He's a jerk. Makes me work to long for to little. Fires me on Friday only to call me at the BCOD Monday morning to demand where I am at). In 2009, after the elections and the depression, my business virtually died, and so did every one else's (in construction) here in Illinoisistan, unless you provided Service or worked for the government. And then to make matters worse, the big boys fired all their guys and moved down into my work bracket, and with their 50 years of name recognition and advertising budget, they pushed me out.
I've been climbing trees since I could walk, and have been pruning trees, for friends and family and our former church, as a hobby for the last five years or more. The house we are in has an open wood burning fireplace and I discovered that I am going to burn at least 5 cord a year to supplement the furnace. So in March, I got some climbing gear to do two things: help me in my hobby and feed the fire. Then it dawned on me: the service industry still has some work. Why not turn my hobby into a revenue stream? (I don't know why it took me so long) So I have been gearing up and studying (the more I read the more I want to read). I am just a couple pieces of gear from being able to handle big take downs.
I am too old and have too many dependents to take a job as a laborer from an arborist in order to learn the trade, and even if I did, I very much doubt, in this current climate, that he would share with me what he was billing and charging customers. Add to that, I have not met or seen or even heard of any tree service in my area that does In-canopy rope and saddle; they are all Bucket Drivers (no insult intended).
With the following questions, please keep in mind that I am not asking for quotable specifics, just the general rule of thumb for average work; not special situations, or repeat contract work. (that will come later
) And I also believe in the Two Year Rule: it generally takes two years of hands on experience before the novice begins to make his employer any money.
I think I have a handle on Take Downs (thanks to all the input, helpful and otherwise, on my post about the hickory). What I am not so sure of is how to effectively bid prune jobs.
What usually costs more? Preservation/Prune work? Or Take Downs?
I'm not looking to get rich quick, but I can't afford to be loosing my shirt every time I put my saddle on. I am seriously considering phasing out of construction (at least during the summer) and into full tree service: from planting and tending to take down and stump grinding, but this will only work if I can provide for my family.
To this extent, could you please look at the following pictures and give me your honest assessment of what it would cost to prune this Siberian Elm? She is 70 feet tall by 60 feet wide. I don't care if you are a Bucket Driver (that would have been great on this one) or a Cowboy.
I KNOW that it is impossible to give an exact bid on a job via email/internet, but give me your best professional instinct on what you see, imagining that everything is as straight forward as it seems.
View attachment 248221
View attachment 248222
View attachment 248225
That is an 8 foot ladder in the foreground of number three
That is a six foot ladder by the brush pile of 99.9% dead, for reference, so you get an idea of the work in the canopy
View attachment 248226
View attachment 248227
P.S. I have my insurance and I am seriously thinking of contacting someone local-ish about working as a groundie one day a week to get hands on experience with lowering devices and rigging tackle, but everyone I have seen uses hardware store rope, trunk wraps, and their bucket as a block, so we'll see how that goes.
I am 33 years old, married with 4 kids, and have been a carpenter for 18 years, the last eight as my own Boss (He's a jerk. Makes me work to long for to little. Fires me on Friday only to call me at the BCOD Monday morning to demand where I am at). In 2009, after the elections and the depression, my business virtually died, and so did every one else's (in construction) here in Illinoisistan, unless you provided Service or worked for the government. And then to make matters worse, the big boys fired all their guys and moved down into my work bracket, and with their 50 years of name recognition and advertising budget, they pushed me out.
I've been climbing trees since I could walk, and have been pruning trees, for friends and family and our former church, as a hobby for the last five years or more. The house we are in has an open wood burning fireplace and I discovered that I am going to burn at least 5 cord a year to supplement the furnace. So in March, I got some climbing gear to do two things: help me in my hobby and feed the fire. Then it dawned on me: the service industry still has some work. Why not turn my hobby into a revenue stream? (I don't know why it took me so long) So I have been gearing up and studying (the more I read the more I want to read). I am just a couple pieces of gear from being able to handle big take downs.
I am too old and have too many dependents to take a job as a laborer from an arborist in order to learn the trade, and even if I did, I very much doubt, in this current climate, that he would share with me what he was billing and charging customers. Add to that, I have not met or seen or even heard of any tree service in my area that does In-canopy rope and saddle; they are all Bucket Drivers (no insult intended).
With the following questions, please keep in mind that I am not asking for quotable specifics, just the general rule of thumb for average work; not special situations, or repeat contract work. (that will come later
) And I also believe in the Two Year Rule: it generally takes two years of hands on experience before the novice begins to make his employer any money. I think I have a handle on Take Downs (thanks to all the input, helpful and otherwise, on my post about the hickory). What I am not so sure of is how to effectively bid prune jobs.
What usually costs more? Preservation/Prune work? Or Take Downs?
I'm not looking to get rich quick, but I can't afford to be loosing my shirt every time I put my saddle on. I am seriously considering phasing out of construction (at least during the summer) and into full tree service: from planting and tending to take down and stump grinding, but this will only work if I can provide for my family.
To this extent, could you please look at the following pictures and give me your honest assessment of what it would cost to prune this Siberian Elm? She is 70 feet tall by 60 feet wide. I don't care if you are a Bucket Driver (that would have been great on this one) or a Cowboy.
I KNOW that it is impossible to give an exact bid on a job via email/internet, but give me your best professional instinct on what you see, imagining that everything is as straight forward as it seems.
View attachment 248221
View attachment 248222
View attachment 248225
That is an 8 foot ladder in the foreground of number three
That is a six foot ladder by the brush pile of 99.9% dead, for reference, so you get an idea of the work in the canopy
View attachment 248226
View attachment 248227
P.S. I have my insurance and I am seriously thinking of contacting someone local-ish about working as a groundie one day a week to get hands on experience with lowering devices and rigging tackle, but everyone I have seen uses hardware store rope, trunk wraps, and their bucket as a block, so we'll see how that goes.
