mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I am in Iowa. My current rate is 13.91% and it's set to go up to over 14% in May. My rate with the new place would be 9.31% but because of claims history I would basically get a discount to bring it down to 8.94%.
whadja do today?
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I am in Iowa. My current rate is 13.91% and it's set to go up to over 14% in May. My rate with the new place would be 9.31% but because of claims history I would basically get a discount to bring it down to 8.94%.
Good deal!!
The difference in rates by state is astounding. We used to pay close to 50 in California.
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I know a lot of companies have it worse than we do so I try to keep that in mind. It's pretty crazy. I just wish everyone around my area was playing by the same rules. I know with almost 100% certainty that none of the competition in my entire county carries work comp. Most are paying guys cash. We pay the most (as far as I know) and that drives our work comp cost that much higher. There is even a guy around here who has 3 or 4 foster kids who he gets paid to take care of (by the state) and I've seen them working on his jobs plenty of times. I mean.....last fall....we're talking about major storm response with trees all over houses and cars and this guy has his crew of 11-12 year old kids out there working in shorts with no PPE. That is not ok. I bet he has better work comp rates than any of us!
I get a little pissed off thinking about that kind of stuff but then I tell myself......we're the oldest company in our area, we do things the right way, people know that, just worry about us.
Ash wars. Country club style.
You the Man tree MDS !
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I did a tour of recent storm damage at a nearby arboretum today (which was actually pretty sad to see....they lost over 260 mature trees). It was major damage but some trees were still ok. I came across this guy and was surprised that I wasn't sure what kind of tree it was. It's growing in this one spot in our state but I've never seen one anywhere in our state in my entire career. Can anyone guess what it is? It was super cool and I'm going to go back and see it again tomorrow while I am putting our estimate together. I'm sure it's probably common in other parts of the country but not around here.
Hmm... I’ll hazard a guess. Kentucky Coffee tree?
Sweet Gum?
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
Not a Kentucky Coffee or Sweet Gum but those are good guesses. I'll post the answer later today if nobody guesses before that. Just putting my hands on the bark was different than any other tree I've climbed. It looks like it would have a rough, ridged feel like a hackberry but it actually have a soft and kind of smooth feel to it.
Here is another pic.
Here is another pic.
Sort of looks like an alanthus. Need to see some leaves. I have a terrible time IDing trees around here in the winter.
Good luck on the bid. 260 trees sounds like a nice end of winter project.
Did a nice preservation job on a Norway maple yesterday in NY. 5 bolts along main splitting codom, 2 cables going across, and some pruning. Nice to find customers willing to save their trees.
Butternut!!
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
It does kind of look like an alanthus and a Kentucky coffee tree but it's too light of a color to be a Kentucky coffee tree (at least in my state) and it isn't nearly smooth enough bark to be an alanthus. This tree is an Amur Corktree (phellodendron amurense). The bark feels like cork when you touch it. I guessed that it had to be a super soft wood. The arboretum guys said they lost two more of them and some woodturners asked them to save a few pieces for them. The wood was cracked so badly by the next day that it wasn't usable for turning.
As far as the tree job.....they already moved most of the downed trees into large piles but they can't find anyone to chip it all. I went down there yesterday with the idea that our company would do it for free as a donation to the arboretum. But I told them that they really need to just get a tub grinder in there (I'd burn it all but they don't want to for some reason). They have massive piles of brush mixed in and pushed together with logs, mature tree trunks, etc. We aren't untangling all of that. It would take forever. But they do have a separate trail system which is still closed and they asked me to give them a bid to get it safe to reopen as they are expecting hikers to start getting out there this month. I walked all of the trails today and parts of them are just wrecked. I told them we can get it all ready to open in 5-7 days (depending on how far they want us to go) and I can rearrange some things and have a 3 man crew there on Monday. Sounds like we might get that job. I'll post a bunch of pics of the damaged trees if we do.
Pruned and cabled a nice old red oak
Ginko?
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
What is the text on the gate of the chip box? I can see "We will call...." The italics on the word "will" make me think you're working in an area where guys just don't call back or show up for jobs....that happens here all the time. I just don't get that but it's common in my area and not just with tree guys. It's all sorts of contractors. I once hired an electrician because he was the only guy who showed up to give me an estimate out of all the guys I called.
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
Nope. I gave the answer in an above post but Ginko is a good guess too. It's funny because when I was looking at the tree for the first time, I was thinking alanthus, Kentucky coffee tree and ginko but I was standing in front of it and I knew all of those where wrong just based on actually being there and seeing it. And then you guys gave the same answers. Someone also said sweet gum but I'm not familiar with that tree since we don't have them in my area.
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