Clear cutting in exchange for the wood?

[rx7145]

I think walking is the right idea. I know it sucks but who can you trust??

 

[MotorSeven]

You are thinking right. If her handshake didn't mean anything, then walk away. One thing that cannot ever be compromised is "word of honor".....when you come down to it, it's all you have. Re-negotiating would end up being a frustrating experience....not worth it.
White oak up here in Hancock County was selling at a premium 6 months ago. My neighbor was hooked up with a whiskey barrel making Co & they were buying everything at above mill price. He told me the other day that they had called him & said that they were going to start buying again since fuel was down.

RD

 

[Crofter]

If you just had to drop everything besides what you took for wood.......maybe,
but to flush cut all the stumps and move the brush seems like way too much labor, at least without seeing what the ratio of wood to slash is. If it is to widen an existing road you would likely find a lot of it leaning to the road and lots of limb wood. Usually if you have doubts, dont. It will be educational for the future to see how long it takes the fellow who gets the job and you will know for the future.

 

[skid row]

Well, after an overnight think, I decided to bail on this job for several reasons. The first and foremost is; we shook hands on the deal, then she wanted to change the terms. Not only does that make me nervous about what may come later, I just cant abide with someone who doesnt value their honor.
I was raised with the idea that when a bargain is struck and sealed with a handshake, then its a done deal. I know in my heart that every minute I spend moving brush and not getting what was agreed with to begin with I will feel like the landowner is not only taking advantage of me, but has no honor as well. Cant live with that myself. A bunch of wood just aint worth it to me.

Second of coarse is the time frame. I have until the 10th to get it done, which means working there during the day, and spending most of the night working in my shop to keep things going here. I have one overhaul that I am working on right now, and promised the job complete by Saturday. Double shifts dont bother me unless I aint getting paid for one of em. Not to mention the loss of firewood sales which are booming right now.
Anyone in East TN wanting some good white oak PM me and I will put you in touch with the landowner.

:agree2: :agree2: :agree2:

 

[spike60]

I think you made the right move by walking away. In one way you could have just looked at it as an oportunity to get wood from someones' property. But with that short time frame in which you had to do it, you would have to hustle and that is more in line with a clearing job for which you should get paid beyond just getting the wood.

And like you said, you had a deal, and she broke the agreement. I wouldn't want anything to do with her either. A deal is a deal, and it's unethical to keep shopping after you have an agreement with someone.

 

[avalancher]

If you just had to drop everything besides what you took for wood.......maybe,
but to flush cut all the stumps and move the brush seems like way too much labor, at least without seeing what the ratio of wood to slash is. If it is to widen an existing road you would likely find a lot of it leaning to the road and lots of limb wood. Usually if you have doubts, dont. It will be educational for the future to see how long it takes the fellow who gets the job and you will know for the future.

I didnt have to flush cut the stumps, its all being removed by a cat first of next week, stumps and all. The cat operator just didnt want any big wood coming down on him, so anything less than 6 inches could stay put.
If it wasnt for the time constraint and the lack of honesty on the deal, i wouldnt have had a problem with it.

 

[Crofter]

Sorry, my mistake, I latched onto something from WoodChucks post. "Since I want the wood, and he wants to maintain it with a boom mower afterwards, I"m flush cutting the stumps to an inch or less, that goes for the brush and saplings too"

 

[SpiralAcacia]

Yup, a handshake is priceless...

Seems to be getting way too cheap with some folks, eh?

Best to politly back off and see what happens:

Will that homeowner get the job done or will she need to pay someone when the nice oaks are gone and the scrub remains?

Good luck.

 

[avalancher]

Yup, a handshake is priceless...

Seems to be getting way too cheap with some folks, eh?

Best to politly back off and see what happens:

Will that homeowner get the job done or will she need to pay someone when the nice oaks are gone and the scrub remains?

Good luck.

What I figure will happen is she is going to get some beer money guys in there that will start at the top of the hill where all the nice oaks are at, clean out the big stuff and haul butt. I know the guy that I bumped into while marking the boundary was interested in the job, but didnt have a clue as to how to go about dropping those oak by the creek without having them drop in the drink. He started in about the "pull em away with a truck" and I lost interest in talking with him. I asked him how much he figured those oaks weighed, and he figured around a two tons each. The ones by the creek are big, one is 42 across, the other slightly smaller. From what I gathered, he planned on getting that leaner to go the other way by climbing up a ladder as far as he could reach, and then tie the end to his truck while his buddy cut the stump.
I figured I would probably read about it in the paper later if he went for it after I bugged out on the job.
I had figured to wedge the ####ens out of it and at least get it to land parralel to the creek.

 

[bullseye13]

avalancher, if it were me in your shoes, when i told her i will decline on the job, i would have told her just what you said in post 19 about her word meaning nothing and what a handshake means to you. It is not supposed to be said as a guilt trip but telling them that you dont want to work for someone who cannot respect a handshake deal. Those people are the ones who would try to screw you.

 

[avalancher]

avalancher, if it were me in your shoes, when i told her i will decline on the job, i would have told her just what you said in post 19 about her word meaning nothing and what a handshake means to you. It is not supposed to be said as a guilt trip but telling them that you dont want to work for someone who cannot respect a handshake deal. Those people are the ones who would try to screw you.

Well, I figured that there was no sense in ruffling some feathers unless its necessary. In reality i think she has no idea how much work it is to cut trees,move brush, etc. She was clearing this road so that she could sell it to some folks that wanted access with a motor home, and I think she underestimated what it would take to get a cat in, wood cleared, gravel the road, etc.
She also had some real bum advise from the real estate agent, he figured that there was enough cash to be had in the oaks that she might MAKE some money on the deal. Problem is the mills arent taking any logs right now, and after measuring what was there and estimating the cost of transport to a mill that is open in Morristown, over 50 miles away, she would be lucky to break even. The trees are very poor quality for lumber, the large ones by the creek have bad splits down from the nearest crotch,making them useless for timber.

I just told her that I really didnt have the time to devote to her project, couldnt take the time off from work to get it done in the time frame that she needed it done in. She called me a little over an hour ago, left a voice mail, so I guess I will give her a call and see whats up.

 

[Vincent]

Sounds good
But make a litle contract and take in your calulation your consulting service.

 

[wdchuck]

Well, I figured that there was no sense in ruffling some feathers unless its necessary. In reality i think she has no idea how much work it is to cut trees,move brush, etc. She was clearing this road so that she could sell it to some folks that wanted access with a motor home, and I think she underestimated what it would take to get a cat in, wood cleared, gravel the road, etc.
She also had some real bum advise from the real estate agent, he figured that there was enough cash to be had in the oaks that she might MAKE some money on the deal. Problem is the mills arent taking any logs right now, and after measuring what was there and estimating the cost of transport to a mill that is open in Morristown, over 50 miles away, she would be lucky to break even. The trees are very poor quality for lumber, the large ones by the creek have bad splits down from the nearest crotch,making them useless for timber.

I just told her that I really didnt have the time to devote to her project, couldnt take the time off from work to get it done in the time frame that she needed it done in. She called me a little over an hour ago, left a voice mail, so I guess I will give her a call and see whats up.

Maybe its finally sinking in, the value you represented, competence and cost.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

It sounds like she has talked to the dozer operator and he really doesn't want the big stuff falling on his head. He might pull out too if they are still there. This could work in your favor.

Put in extra time on that rebuild you mentioned while waiting to hear back from her. Time lost can never be regained.

 

[avalancher]

Well, i called the old gal and we finally came to the agreement that she would get someone else to do it. The cat operator is already there, and like I explained to her, its pouring rain today and the cat is going to tear things up considerably, making it impossible to get anything done with a foot of mud everywhere. Maybe someone is a little more determined or hungry than I am, but in the end, it turned out to be a real blessing for me to bug out on this one.
today I had to run my daughter in to school, she goes to the same school that my wife teaches at, a little over 20 miles away. My wife had mentioned that they were tearing down the KFC by the school, and as I drove past I saw a big pile of branches in the back.
After dropping her off at school, I went and investigated, and low and behold there was a pretty good sized hickory, cut up and in a pile. Nobody was around there to ask.
Went back there later this morning, and talked to the head guy, he said sure, take all you want. Two hours later and a sore back I had taken as much as my trailer would hold. Went to thank the guy and to let him know that i would be back tomorrow for the rest.
He then pointed to the houses behind where KFC stood, and asked me if I wanted all those trees. Two poplar, an ash, some pine, and a number of hickory.
you bet!
Seems that they are tearing down KFC to build a Walgreens, and taking out the houses around it. all told there are 11 trees coming down. Then he asked me how much wood I could handle. i told him lay it on. In the spring he is starting on a strip mall further on in town, the area is heavily wooded, and he said it would help him out if I went anytime and knocked out what i wanted. Even offered to build me a road through the place.
I know that i dont bow my head often enough to thank the good lord for my blessings, but this couldnt have come at a better time.

 

[wdchuck]

I know that i dont bow my head often enough to thank the good lord for my blessings, but this couldnt have come at a better time.

Probably goes for most of us.

Getting to work on your timeline is the best. Pace yourself bigguy.

 

[SpiralAcacia]

Well, i called the old gal and we finally came to the agreement that she would get someone else to do it. The cat operator is already there, and like I explained to her, its pouring rain today and the cat is going to tear things up considerably, making it impossible to get anything done with a foot of mud everywhere. Maybe someone is a little more determined or hungry than I am, but in the end, it turned out to be a real blessing for me to bug out on this one.
today I had to run my daughter in to school, she goes to the same school that my wife teaches at, a little over 20 miles away. My wife had mentioned that they were tearing down the KFC by the school, and as I drove past I saw a big pile of branches in the back.
After dropping her off at school, I went and investigated, and low and behold there was a pretty good sized hickory, cut up and in a pile. Nobody was around there to ask.
Went back there later this morning, and talked to the head guy, he said sure, take all you want. Two hours later and a sore back I had taken as much as my trailer would hold. Went to thank the guy and to let him know that i would be back tomorrow for the rest.
He then pointed to the houses behind where KFC stood, and asked me if I wanted all those trees. Two poplar, an ash, some pine, and a number of hickory.
you bet!
Seems that they are tearing down KFC to build a Walgreens, and taking out the houses around it. all told there are 11 trees coming down. Then he asked me how much wood I could handle. i told him lay it on. In the spring he is starting on a strip mall further on in town, the area is heavily wooded, and he said it would help him out if I went anytime and knocked out what i wanted. Even offered to build me a road through the place.
I know that i dont bow my head often enough to thank the good lord for my blessings, but this couldnt have come at a better time.

Yay!!!
Go hickory!

 

[chainsaway]

turning point

this is awesome! it never fails to blow my mind how to every bad situation comes a turning point for the better. the trick is to try to accurately pin-point it.. Trust your instinct Avalancher, if anything, anything feels wrong after a deal is done then i clear it up , if that fails, i won't waste energy in arguments, i simply pack up and go, end of story. word goes around pretty quickly that you don't mess around the bush. just be careful about feeling kinda invincible to take on major stuff , i learned the hard way with a permanent sore back.. anyway i think your the type who sleeps very well at night...the world would be a much better place if we all strived to do just that! congrats for the score and God Bless ya. alain

 

[avalancher]

this is awesome! it never fails to blow my mind how to every bad situation comes a turning point for the better. the trick is to try to accurately pin-point it.. Trust your instinct Avalancher, if anything, anything feels wrong after a deal is done then i clear it up , if that fails, i won't waste energy in arguments, i simply pack up and go, end of story. word goes around pretty quickly that you don't mess around the bush. just be careful about feeling kinda invincible to take on major stuff , i learned the hard way with a permanent sore back.. anyway i think your the type who sleeps very well at night...the world would be a much better place if we all strived to do just that! congrats for the score and God Bless ya. alain

Thanks for the kind words. Was kinda bummed out this morning, I had been looking forward to putting the saws back to work after over a week of no chips raining on the chaps.But I guess it all worked out okay.
Couldnt ask for anything more!