Pricing this job. Need some input please.

[A. Stanton]

Home owner down the street from me had a 100 ft oak dropped, leaving everything. Some other limbs pruned and the stump for the oak grinded. He paid $1,200, Connecticut price.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

thats cheap. i just quoted a 65 foot oak removal for $750 lay and leave. and that was a friend of the family price.... of course same old same old though, wires, buildings, hollow, possesed by ancient vikings with a blood lust.........

 

[ClimbinArbor]

i personally like doing lay and leaves sometimes. mostly because i can do them myself, or with one groundy, for the most part.

 

[ropensaddle]

i personally like doing lay and leaves sometimes. mostly because i can do them myself, or with one groundy, for the most part.

Now don't tell me you are scared of clean-up You have to
get where you like it to master tree work. I have liked it for some time!

 

[ClimbinArbor]

Now don't tell me you are scared of clean-up You have to
get where you like it to master tree work. I have liked it for some time!

well some of us still havent gotten our grapple trucks yet lol......

like it? when i found out people ran chainsaws all day and made money for it, i did a backflip with joy lol. i had worked a couple diff jobs before i got into tree care. now i dont think i could ever be couped up in an office or assembly line again.

rope is right though. you have to love this job. no matter what field you are in. if you dont, then you will get burned out real quick or get yourself dead real quick.

 

[ropensaddle]

well some of us still havent gotten our grapple trucks yet lol......

like it? when i found out people ran chainsaws all day and made money for it, i did a backflip with joy lol. i had worked a couple diff jobs before i got into tree care. now i dont think i could ever be couped up in an office or assembly line again.

rope is right though. you have to love this job. no matter what field you are in. if you dont, then you will get burned out real quick or get yourself dead real quick.

The grapple is fun but I was not speaking of it. I come home and chip
with my whisper until dark cleaning up my forty acres trying to get some
browse regenerating. It is 95 degrees so it is about time to go sweat some
more I love getting toxin build up outta me:monkey:

 

[custom8726]

$800.00 cut and leave $1,400.00 cleaned up with stumps cut flush 4-6 hrs.

 

[(WLL)]

$800.00 3 men 4 hrs tops. thats an easy one! lol

 

[ccrider2240]

i know people who would do that for 600 and i cuss them all the time

 

[Aaction]

Looks like about 4 hrs work for 4 guys to me.
$1600 cut and haul.

 

[booboo]

$1,400.00 cleaned up with stumps cut flush 4-6 hrs.

That's exactly what I calculated for our market here.

 

[loggerbydesign]

Alabama's Cheap

Yeah, here in Alabama that job would never pay more than $1,800. In fact, you could probably find someone willing to do it for less than $600, and the bad thing is—they'd do a half-decent job too.

There are just too many "good-ole-boys" in this state that have the know how to pull it off. Granted, they aren't professional—and you'd get a better job done from a professional charging the $1,800—but with the economy the way it is, the professionals are loosing out to the "good-ole-boys" all day long.

 

[Lumberjack2277]

Yeah, here in Alabama that job would never pay more than $1,800. In fact, you could probably find someone willing to do it for less than $600, and the bad thing is—they'd do a half-decent job too.

There are just too many "good-ole-boys" in this state that have the know how to pull it off. Granted, they aren't professional—and you'd get a better job done from a professional charging the $1,800—but with the economy the way it is, the professionals are loosing out to the "good-ole-boys" all day long.

He's 100% right!! I priced a job today that would be $1100, and thats a decent price, and the homeowner said "Well one guy said he'd do it for $250!" I told him he'd better hope it doesn't hit his house... and good luck with that!! :greenchainsaw:

 

[reachtreeservi]

Sometimes you see just the opposite with the good old boys.
I looked at a small pine tree today , no more than 18 DBH and 40 ft. tall.
20 ft from the house .

A landscaper buddy called me and said his customer had a price on it from a guy with a chainsaw and a pickup, 1000.00 lay and leave it.

I went and looked at it, bid 300.00 , everything goes.
Climb it, blow the top, block and bomb it down
Figure 2 hrs. by myself will do it.

 

[Lumberjack2277]

Good deal!! Its one of those things that goes great... IF you price the job at YOUR own expense and profit!!

 

[rbtree]

That job looks relatively easy. We don't haul firewood....give it away...

$1200-1600, 4=-5 hours 3 men. Stumps extra.

I bid a large, very dense ponderosa today for $2000..STP was $3000....another co, which had 14 employees, now down to 6-bought way too much fancy equipment when business was good, bid less than me. my price was low as it was...This tree has close to 35 yards of chips....and 4 cord of wood to cut and drop in a tight spot...it is right next tot he road....

Then on another site for same customer, they were $900 on a 22 inch alder, ivy covered, with two long limbs over a house..and a long steep downhill drag...I was $1200, which also should have been $1400.

They are hurting..but, with their 1/2 page print YP ads which cost a small fortune, and get few results of late, and major financed equipment, they are prolly desparate

 

[ClimbinArbor]

yeah, and going low like that aint going to help either. sounds like they wont be around to much longer though.

 

[rbtree]

yeah, and going low like that aint going to help either. sounds like they wont be around to much longer though.

I'd hope so....but....they do half decent work, but since Dave left, they prolly have no one that can prune worth a damn...and, of course, they don't really know what good pruning is...they spur climb everything they can't get the bucket to , etc etc.

But they are nice guys, been around for many years, and will probably manage to keep going.

STP just hired Dave away from me....dang it. We're not busy enough to have needed him full time.....and STP asked him what he needed, he said $30 per hr..plus they pay full benefits. They're a good company, with a bucket and a 17 ton boom truck, and with a few other very good workers, most are certified. So, he likes working there. But, he's been the nicest guy and best worker I've ever had. If i had the work, I'd offer him $40-45 per hr to come back. I was paying him nearly that much anyhow.

 

[ropensaddle]

I feel the pain but got blessed today one client told me to add
a little that he wanted me to do good on his work and he was willing
to pay extra for me to climb it instead of bucket. I have been busy
and hope it stays that way this year, I extended credit more than I
wanted to but partly was not my fault. I mentioned it back a while
my new superduty broke down twice in under 50000 and I got mad
and traded for a new Dodge. You pay 45000 for a vehicle you expect
something ya know!

 

[mckeetree]

Sometimes you see just the opposite with the good old boys.
I looked at a small pine tree today , no more than 18 DBH and 40 ft. tall.
20 ft from the house .

A landscaper buddy called me and said his customer had a price on it from a guy with a chainsaw and a pickup, 1000.00 lay and leave it.

I went and looked at it, bid 300.00 , everything goes.
Climb it, blow the top, block and bomb it down
Figure 2 hrs. by myself will do it.

I am a little closer to the price the good ole boy wanted. With our overhead we really can't fool with anything for $300.00. I am leaving the cheap stuff to the illegal aliens.