Have you ever refused a job because you think its too dangerous?!

[treevet]

I just did a tree last week for $4500.. and I tell you this thing I saw yesterday was bad ass!

I went to look at it thinking "yeah right, I gotta see this, scoff, scoff". When we got there, there was another older guy looking at it, he says "its about as bad as you're ever gonna see". He might be right.

sounds like a real bad bad ass.

 

[tree md]

This was a semi-hairy one I looked at last year. Insurance job. The tree itself was not so hairy, just no access for equipment unless you wanted to bring in a monster crane to reach over the house which would not have been cost effective at all. The whole tree was to be removed along with the 6+ foot stump to be ground. I think I put a price of 42 or 43 on it. Didn't get it.

 

[Abbershay]

It s never to dnagerous its whether they have enough money to pay to have it done.

 

[TreeClimber57]

This was a semi-hairy one I looked at last year. Insurance job. The tree itself was not so hairy, just no access for equipment unless you wanted to bring in a monster crane to reach over the house which would not have been cost effective at all. The whole tree was to be removed along with the 6+ foot stump to be ground. I think I put a price of 42 or 43 on it. Didn't get it.

Be interesting to see what price it went for. Frankly no point in working for nothing and much less point in putting yourself and crew at risk for nothing. Can go do easier job or a few smaller ones for small $ if that is what you are after.

 

[TreeClimber57]

It s never to dnagerous its whether they have enough money to pay to have it done.

Agreed!! Unfortunately some simply either do not have enough money, or somebody is willing to do it for a lot less.

 

[Rftreeman]

It s never to dnagerous its whether they have enough money to pay to have it done.

as well as the people that are looking at it have the balls or not to do it...as I said before, I got a guy that will climb anything........

 

[treevet]

Agreed!! Unfortunately some simply either do not have enough money, or somebody is willing to do it for a lot less.

sometimes, too, they are just willing to bid less. When it comes time to do the job (if the dumb ascs gets it) they are all "well, I got to finish some other stuff" or I have seen them do all kinds of other parts of the job and then collect and skip the nasty.

 

[tree md]

sometimes, too, they are just willing to bid less. When it comes time to do the job (if the dumb ascs gets it) they are all "well, I got to finish some other stuff" or I have seen them do all kinds of other parts of the job and then collect and skip the nasty.

Around here they usually call reputable companies on the really bad ones. Sometimes they will get the street walkers but for the most part they look up pros on the big nasties here. I usually end up bidding against the same three or four guys on the bad ones here and we have all learned how each other bid. It gets interesting sometimes.

Where I really see them underbid is during storm work when you have everybody who owns a chainsaw and their brother out combing the streets. I have had countless encounters with people who have been told ridiculously low prices on their trees by fly by nighters and amateurs. That's when I tell them to make sure they are insured, leave them a card and tell them to call me if things don't work out. And they have called me on more than a few occasions when they either couldn't find the low ballers or they couldn't finish the job because they had bitten off more than they could chew.

 

[voxac30dude]

i once turned down a 60 foot hawaiian keawe tree removal becuase it was too close to the power lines and had a big crack right down the center of the trunk. better to have a crane for that job.

 

[mckeetree]

This was a semi-hairy one I looked at last year. Insurance job. The tree itself was not so hairy, just no access for equipment unless you wanted to bring in a monster crane to reach over the house which would not have been cost effective at all. The whole tree was to be removed along with the 6+ foot stump to be ground. I think I put a price of 42 or 43 on it. Didn't get it.

I bid on one today that looked a lot like that in Kerens Texas. I bid 5500 and the old house wasn't worth much more than that.

 

[treevet]

Around here they usually call reputable companies on the really bad ones. Sometimes they will get the street walkers but for the most part they look up pros on the big nasties here. I usually end up bidding against the same three or four guys on the bad ones here and we have all learned how each other bid. It gets interesting sometimes.

Where I really see them underbid is during storm work when you have everybody who owns a chainsaw and their brother out combing the streets. I have had countless encounters with people who have been told ridiculously low prices on their trees by fly by nighters and amateurs. That's when I tell them to make sure they are insured, leave them a card and tell them to call me if things don't work out. And they have called me on more than a few occasions when they either couldn't find the low ballers or they couldn't finish the job because they had bitten off more than they could chew.

I agree md, it is 3 companies in my town that are capable of the most advanced removals. I am the only one that is just 2 employees. Couple of months ago a lady came out and said "everyone knows that just blank, and blank and you can handle this tree removal".

When I get the phone ringing non stop on storm stuff they think they are shopping for tree companies but with me the reality is that "I" am out shopping for jobs. I invariably get the 3 or 4 fattest jobs (big danger, big price tag, high (high) profile client, quick pay) and I will start them, do a make safe and start another. Then we gonna move down the chain in a triage fashion.

Partial performance is evidence of a contract.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I did turn down a job because they got another bid lower but said they want to use us if we could meet their bid, Nope, Turned it down, my bid is my bid.
Jeff

 

[treevet]

I did turn down a job because they got another bid lower but said they want to use us if we could meet their bid, Nope, Turned it down, my bid is my bid.
Jeff

Yeah ya can't change to their bid cause the ho may be making it up. Also you will get the rep you can be talked down.

 

[tree md]

On the big nasty ones I get a price in my head of what it's worth to me and don't come off of that. First thing I do is think to myself that I am not touching this tree unless I net this much money. After that I figure what it's going to cost to get the job done and go with that. If someone else wants to do it for less then they can have it.

 

[treevet]

Almost exclusively the top jobs I contract are the ones that a lot more damage could be caused by removing the tree than already done by the tree burrying its ass into the building.

They also don't want some dumb ass hee hawing around on it for a week. Presto its gone and another notch on the rep.

 

[gwiley]

A friend tried to get me to take a large red oak that was leaning over his rental house. I explained that it was out of my league which sent us into the twilight zone...."can I borrow your saws and rope and do it myself?" NO

I suspect that this is usually the result of genuine ignorance regarding the weight, how to manage that weight and the power of said weight falling under the influence of gravity.

There is no shame in refusing a high risk job.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

On the big nasty ones I get a price in my head of what it's worth to me and don't come off of that. First thing I do is think to myself that I am not touching this tree unless I net this much money. After that I figure what it's going to cost to get the job done and go with that. If someone else wants to do it for less then they can have it.

I'm pretty much the same way, though I will negotiate on deferring work to the property owner; the usual things like- leaving the wood, not cutting it up, them doing coarse cleanup...

I'll want them to pay for my liability (eg deductible + some) and a comfortable profit afterward if something does go wrong.

On occasion I even included damage waivers when there are is large deadwood and pockets of decay over structures.

On the rare occasion the job is way to involved to waste time on formulating the work cost, like I have no idea on how to price in scaffolding, or properly installed deadman anchors. Then I may bid it as "Not to exceed $12,500" or whatnot. Then i will tell the HO to check insurance of anyone who has a very low bid...

 

[tree MDS]

I suppose you are right jeffers.. I will be waiting to hear how this one gets done, as someone is gonna have to do it. It'll be interesting to hear how, that's for sure. It's definitely gonna involve someone donning the ole man suit!

It sounds like this dude is gonna skirt out on this tree maybe.. he is an "Arborist" after all. Lol.

The one guy was talking about getting a crane big enough to pick the whole tree - which I guessed at about 45k using the green log chart. Thats just the one half of this twin oak that can be reached with a crane. It's hung up in another big oak dead center behind the house, and partially uprooted/split at the twin.

Anyone ever heard of taking a pick that big.. I mean I guess it's possible providing you have a spot to put it down. I would take the day off to spec that scene out for sure!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Anyone ever heard of taking a pick that big.. I mean I guess it's possible providing you have a spot to put it down. I would take the day off to spec that scene out for sure!

I've heard of people doing the estimates on it, and the rental cost is prohibitive, and it would destroy the driveway too. They would have had to bring in a crane that would need assembly which would cost $8K alone, involving two smaller cranes.

 

[tree MDS]

I've heard of people doing the estimates on it, and the rental cost is prohibitive, and it would destroy the driveway too. They would have had to bring in a crane that would need assembly which would cost $8K alone, involving two smaller cranes.

We were thinking you could use a smaller crane that is still tall enough to go over the other oak that the one is hung up in, tie into the crane, dismantle/make the final relief cut like that. The log would land on the bank (if it even goes over all the way) and shouldnt hurt the septic system thats on top. The other half of it is hung up sideways in some smaller trees, out of crane reach. That would most likely have to be 3120/cut and hope material. lol. Interesting job this one.. one of the bigger twin oaks I've ever seem too.