What was one mistake that you won't do again?

[treeman82]

I just squashed my problem. I kept getting referrals through this one group of Albanian immigrants. Some of them have lots of $$$, but they are all insultingly cheap. So tonight I called up the main guy I get referrals from and told him that "I appreciate the kind gestures, but please don't refer me to anymore of your friends, family, or whomever, because it just never works out."

 

[Sprig]

Smokechase, GAH. That, and maybe go up the tree next to it and cut the hung-up branches off before getting to the job? Absolutely no offense man, that had ta suck and I feel for ya and am glad everything worked out ok, hmmmm, could you post a pic or two of the restored cabin please?

 

[smokechase II]

cabin photo

Most of the restoration was 2-5 years ago.

A whole bunch of people were involved.
Volunteers, FS folks replaced the bottom logs, new roof, inmates did the rock work for the chimney. I don't know but would guess that its construction was pre 1930.
Has a very neat one large piece of wood around the sink. Someone did a nice job back in the day by chiseling then sanding a beveled very gentle drain into the sink from the dish drying area.

This photo was taken about the middle of July this year.

The trees in question are not in the photo, but the porch was what I could have hit.

So much for my resolution not to hi jack a thread,
Maybe we need to start a photos of neat cabins thread.

 

[Sprig]

That's a beautiful little cabin, thankyou, a lot of skill and love went into that and it shows well.

Thanks again!

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at. To explain: I bid a three take-down gig, medium hackberries, at $650. When I got to the site, the homeowner had tilled the yard the trees were in, put in friggin' new grass seed and erected a fairly large storage shed under one of the drop zones! This was maddening. Why the heck couldn't she wait a few days to do this stuff? I bid her a week before I started the job and she rushed out in the interim to do the grass and shed. Make sense to anyone? The job was a muddy, sink-into-the-dirt and get it on my equipment mess, and the shed got in the way of dropping and hauling. What a darn hassle! I should have told her, "Hey, things have changed here. This is not the same site I bid on, therefore I need to change my bid by adding in costs that will reflect the changes." Oh, and did I mention that the "Take down hackberry by the fence," was actually, "Take down hackberry by the other fence that is three times the size of the one by the fence I thought we were talking about," change? Man. I guess I was just not wanting to lose the job so I just decided to grin and bear it. Today I go back to load the brush and wood. I must say that the client was OK. She did give me a pass on part of the bid that included taking down a large limb overhanging a neighbor's yard to partially compensate me for the hassle. If this ever happens again though I'll add on another $200 or so. I am going to put a clause in my bid sheets that address this situation. I suppose some of you already have that.

 

[TreemanFJR]

I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at. To explain: I bid a three take-down gig, medium hackberries, at $650. When I got to the site, the homeowner had tilled the yard the trees were in, put in friggin' new grass seed and erected a fairly large storage shed under one of the drop zones! This was maddening. Why the heck couldn't she wait a few days to do this stuff? I bid her a week before I started the job and she rushed out in the interim to do the grass and shed. Make sense to anyone? The job was a muddy, sink-into-the-dirt and get it on my equipment mess, and the shed got in the way of dropping and hauling. What a darn hassle! I should have told her, "Hey, things have changed here. This is not the same site I bid on, therefore I need to change my bid by adding in costs that will reflect the changes." Oh, and did I mention that the "Take down hackberry by the fence," was actually, "Take down hackberry by the other fence that is three times the size of the one by the fence I thought we were talking about," change? Man. I guess I was just not wanting to lose the job so I just decided to grin and bear it. Today I go back to load the brush and wood. I must say that the client was OK. She did give me a pass on part of the bid that included taking down a large limb overhanging a neighbor's yard to partially compensate me for the hassle. If this ever happens again though I'll add on another $200 or so. I am going to put a clause in my bid sheets that address this situation. I suppose some of you already have that.

I know the feeling well! We had some trees that had to come down in a backyard and dragged through the fence. Well when we came to do the job there was a new pool right square in the middle of everything!
We scheduled them for two weeks after the bid and that's what we got! We didn't end up increasing the price, but next time may be a different story.:fart:

 

[beowulf343]

Never let another climber borrow your saw. I've lost four saws over the years from other guys dropping them. (Sure, I've dropped my fair share, but when I'm using someone else's saw, I try to be extremely careful.)

 

[inztrees]

never work for a family owned business, of which, you are not a member.

I hear that!
:angry2:

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at.....

Agreed.

It's happened to me a couple of times, and better than 50% of the time, things get complicated if everything in writing is not set in order first, before starting.

In most cases, when things are squared away, everything works out. Sometimes it's people's good intentions and someone meddles, thinking they are helping out.

 

[teamtree]

have enough rope in the system when pulling a tree

tip of the tree landing 10' from the pulling tractor

the tree knocked out a limb in another tree

did not come close to hitting employee

but it opened my eyes to the mistake i made

i was too lazy to add a rope or get a longer one

 

[rebelman]

I'm with 12edneck, stay off the juice. I was bitten once about ten years ago, before that just a couple nibbles. Reached up to grab a super long sucker I had trimmed to jet it down. I was toast if I hadn't vibrated off a stub and broke contact. Never again I hope.

 

[smokechase II]

oh boy

You guys are going to love this one.

Concerning having enough rope.

In La Grande Oregon at the smokejumper base there about 1975. We had taken down the old Flat Lake lookout nearby and were re-erecting a 45 foot section to serve as a jumper exit training shock tower etc.

We had put together two opposite sides on the ground.

Using a Bell 212 rappeller helicopter we lifted one side that had a rope tied to the top that went to a FS 6-pak PU. For some reason none of us had ever learned that the hypotenuse side of a right angle triangle is longer than the base leg.

The truck ended up right at a fence and we got away with it without having to set that side of the tower back down and start again. Mark C and I then placed the cross beams, (nuts finger tight to start with), between the two sides as the helicopter held up the second side.
We were very safe in what surely was an OSHA approved operation because we were wearing goggles and hard hats with chin straps.

Concerning staying away from the juice. A couple years later we were on that same tower practicing let downs, (parachutists getting out of tree stuff), when a small thunder storm came over and guess what? The bolt that hit the tower was mostly dispersed into the ground by all the guy wires. Jack W got hit by some remnant of that bolt and said it was like a 110 volt. Jack was our electrical expert as he had shocked himself at home with both 110 and 220 and knew the difference.

Then a decade later a bunch of drunken hotshots got involved with a police officer who wanted them to come down off that tower and a retardant aircraft. Sad story there. A few guys got fired.

So my resolution is to not go near places that are jinxed.

Bad Juju that tower has Young Skywalker.

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

I will try to never take a job that I can't do again. One lady wanted me to directionally fall a very tall fir right through a 4 foot gate in her fence so she wouldn't have to pay for chunking it out. I wasn't sure I could do it, but I needed the money. Well, after smashing her fence and having to buy supplies and repair the fence on my own time, I definately didn't make money on the job. Knowing your limits keeps you safe and keeps you making money.

 

[stihlatit]

Believe the homeowner when they say: "I THINK the septic tank is over here ?"

Did you get into poop.........LOL.

 

[John Ellison]

I had the back half of a 1300 lb. mule dissapear in a plywood covered septic tank. Homeowner didnt know where it was and I didnt have enough sense to pay attencion to the mule. He hopped right out though.
They are pretty good septic tank pointers if you know them.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

It wasn't a mistake on my part as much as ignorance, but I got into a small to medium size white birch once, that was near power lines.

I had heard about power line danger in the past, but thought it referred to cutting or breaking the lines, since most ads on TV showed storm-broken ends popping on the ground.

So this birch was topped years back, and had grown up with multiple leaders from lower limbs. I cut one or two - about 4" in diameter at the base, and maybe 25' long.

One of them leaned onto a small upper electric line, and I didn't realize it. So as I repositioned my feet on the aluminumn orchard ladder, I placed my hand (damp leather glove) over the top of the fresh moist cut I made.

I felt a strange electrical current like putting a tongue on a 9 volt battery on a grander scale. Then I put 2 + 2 together and basically just jumped off the ladder to the ground.

Then I looked up, and the leader top was sparking and smoking against the power line, and actually "fried" and broke off about 2 minutes after the power company truck arrived.

I won't repeat that one again. Apparently, some people couldn't repeat that one if they tried.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Beleive I can earn a good living out of tree work,for a start!

 

[Blinky]

It didn't happen to me but years ago I watched a guy clearing residential distribution lines from a bucket... young guy, sort of a hot shot. Against the leadman's suggestion he tried to swing a branch and dropped it instead... a fork caught squarely on the top two lines. You shoulda heard the zapping sound from the huge blue arcs that spread across the lines each time they came close together... about four times. The arcs were spectacular but it's the sound I remember most. It was incredibly loud.

I'm sure he soiled himself. Nobody got hurt but he was instantly back on ground crew and stayed there as long as I can remember.

 

[lync]

I will never, not even for a second hold a climbing line with my teeth. Fumbled a pair of ascenders and a small coil of rope, the shock load broke my lower jaw and dislocated 3 lower teeth.
Stainless steel wire and soft food for two months taught me a lesson.

Corey

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I will never, not even for a second hold a climbing line with my teeth. Corey

Wow! that reminds me of the pic/vid posted a while back of the fock climber who was pulling slack and holding it in his teeth.

No safety, slipped off and ripped all the front teeth out of his mouth.

What i will never do is a risky rig or pull without going over the game plan with all involved. Big tree on house, ~8k in damage, $500 deductible for me.