tree work for neighbor

[Woodchuck71]

Have the dude help you like others have said.Surely people are smart enough to stay away when someone is dropping trees.Now,renting a chipper,I wouldn't want ANYONE close to it while it's running. Pros get hurt by those.
That being said,several years ago I dropped a tree on my property,close to the dividing fence between 1 of our neighbors.
I PUT THE FENCE IN,I REPAIR THE FENCE,HE HAS NOT A PENNY IN THE FENCE ,OR ANIMALS TO KEEP BEHIND SAID FENCE(1400'OR SO).
Anyway,the tree twisted on us,and took down (had to fix and re stretch and splice in around 100'of fence),woven wire,plus hot wire on top and bottom.
Muddy,hilly and it took me a couple days to get back to it.
Neighbor brought a couple horses in from somewhere and let them loose just so he could have an argument about me fixing MY fence,and his horses got out.He called the law,it was a mess. Deputies knew him well,and put their hands on their sidearm as he started yelling and cussing ME for destroying MY fence.
But,he always was a ****, between his drug running and stealing,good ridance
I went and fixed the fence a couple days later,he stood there watching us.
Haven't spoken to the tweeker in several years

 

[Streblerm]

I’m not trying to tell you what to do or what to charge. you’re a grown man so do as you see fit. I personally don’t cut trees down for the wood or money as I know my personal limitations. I wouldn’t hesitate to help with the cleanup in exchange for the wood. That’s where most of my wood comes from. I’ve heard liability thrown around as a reason to pass and I just wanted to speak as to how that might play out should something go wrong. It isn’t the OP and his neighbor as much as their insurance companies that could potentially cause a problem.

Should something go wrong, god forbid, and property or people are hurt then insurance is on the hook for the damage. These days damage especially bodily injury can easily be in the hundreds of thousands. Now despite what the commercials say insurance companies aren’t like some benevolent friend looking to help in your time of need. They are a business and they make money, a lot of it. They have adjusters, lawyers, and investigators who will use any excuse to pay less for a claim or ideally not at all.

So let’s say you do some property damage which is unlikely in this situation. Tree falls on guys house. The insurance investigates and finds out someone was paid to do the work. They will instantly say: go after that guy, we aren’t paying. Let’s say your neighbor forget the part about paying for the work and says a friend was helping. They will investigate that. Any excuse not to pay. Legitimate or not. Sometimes they deny claims just because to see if they can get away with it.

Even worse let’s say you get hurt and have to go to the hospital. Your insurance may deny to pay because you were “employed” at the time you were hurt or the insurance company may elect to sue your neighbor to recover the medical cost since he was your employer. The hospital may then go after either you or your neighbor if they don’t get theirs. It’s a mess.

Think you and your neighbor can come up with a story to cover what happened, I wouldn’t count on it. They will keep investigating and asking questions until they come up with a reason not to pay, legitimate or not. They’ve got a list of disqualifications longer than this post.

My point isn’t to say don’t do the work but rather that there are risks and rewards to everything and it’s good to understand those risks. Also that insurance, healthcare, and court systems are ****ed up.

 

[NSMaple1]

I hate handling brush. If that was part of the deal, I think I would pass.

 

[Wood Hound]

No,don`t worry,he is buying a chipper and truck to chip into...

 

[sirbuildalot]

Go ahead,chop it down,bet it just a bush...

No,don`t worry,he is buying a chipper and truck to chip into...

Helpful as always.....

That reminds me, time to order some more troll food, cause you seem hungry old timer

 

[Wood Hound]

Where is your picture of said tree???

 

[sirbuildalot]

I sent it to your cell phone

 

[Wood Hound]

Not here yet..

 

[unclemoustache]

I don't know who he got prices from. Even if I got hurt, I wouldn't sue my neighbor. That's not how I am. I've cut down hundreds of trees, including widow makers, 48" diameter specimens, and in reality am probably more experienced than a lot of the guys on any given tree company crew. Whether you believe that or not doesn't really matter to me. I've been cutting trees for over 20 years. We used to clear our own house lots.

Out of curiosity, you guys only have licensed and insured people work on your stuff and at your house? You always pull proper permits and notify your insurance companies of any changes? Roofing, siding, windows, doors, decks, interior remodels, any of those that you hire out is done by insured individuals, and inspected, correct? How about lawn mowing, driveway plowing, if you don't do it yourself the person who does is insured, right?

Money talks, and I'm curious how quick you guys are to open your own wallets, cause your pretty quick spending other peoples money. I understand your point, I do, I just hope your practicing what your preaching. I was a contractor, and had jobs go to lower bidders with no credentials or insurance, and always said that to the homeowner, "What if they get hurt......", at the end of the day convincing people to spend extra money is something I've realized is about impossible. I lost sleep losing jobs back them, I bet the guy working for cash that outbid me never did.

Go for it. It sounds like a very fair offer on your part. You can also advise him to rent a chipper himself and have fun with the brush.

And don't worry about those who always whine "Don't try this at home - only a licensed professional is able to handle this." Don't feed the trolls.

 

[Little Al]

It's amazing how quickly a "hale & hearty best friend type neighbor "can change if something gets damaged or god forbid some one gets hurt or worse. The more the # of jobs you do the greater "Sods Law stands a chance of catching you with your pants around your ankles"Don't rely on "It'll never happen to me syndrome even if you are not the instigator of the problem if you are on the job you are stuck in the "clag" with the rest.

 

[Streblerm]

If you are helping out a friend that’s one thing, things can still go south in all the ways people have mentioned, but not as likely. When it is an acquaintance and money changes hands the dynamic is completely different. The person being paid assumes much more liability.

Most all of the nicest work that I’ve done or had done around my house was the result of working with friends, not professionals.

I had some work done on my house (roof, siding , a few windows) and against better judgement I let my neighbor be the “GC” for the project. I was very specific about my expectations and I warned him that I was very particular and there was a good chance that we would not be friends when it was all over. Without going into great detail nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged but there were definitely hard feelings when it was all over. Some of that was my insistence that substandard work was redone and some of it was my neighbor blowing up a relationship with his subcontractor. Anyway when it was all over the work was done mostly to my satisfaction, or at least to the best of their ability, and everything was paid according to the contract. About a month later my GC neighbor stops by asking for more money. I guess he had worked out a deal with the sub in place of payment where the sub was to provide the labor (crew) to replace the GC neighbor’s roof. Well that deal disintegrated just like their relationship. I kindly told him that I felt bad for him but that agreement was between him and his sub and had nothing to do with me. This next part was a little unnecessary but he caught me off guard and I was still a little salty. I said furthermore as a GC he failed to communicate my concerns to the sub and if anything he complicated the whole process and contributed to work that I wasn’t really happy with. Needless to say that didn’t go over well and we didn’t speak for several years until I went over and pushed his wife out of their icy driveway one winter day.

On the other hand my other neighbor had a one man fence company and when I first moved in he worked with me and charged a very competitive price to install about 400’ of residential chainlink. I provided labor and the job was done in two days.

 

[SamT1]

Yea roofing is total bull crap. Some clean suave dude comes and bids and then hires some random crew to do it. That’s so messed up. I bought a house with a new roof and made the guy come back 4 times and fix leaks he was reputable enough to show up, after that I quit jacking with him and have pretty well got it fixed. It’s rediculous that anytime we have a 40mph wind I can expect to do repairs on a roof now 5 years old. (Most my issues were when it was less than a year old) Praying for a hailstorm so I can justify pulling it off and roofing it myself when it’s good and hot outside!

 

[Natster]

Hey, ya got it done yet?
Post pic of your nice Woodville?
Oops... That is woodpile.

 

[bowtechmadman]

I say go for it...I've done some side jobs over the years both for pay and for free (friends). I'm probably not the brightest brick in the pile so I never let worries of lawsuits etc... dissuade me.
Who knows might make a good friend/neighbor if you have the time tell him you will help him with the job in exchange for the firewood.

 

[Marine5068]

There are 4 houses on the common driveway I live on. I'm the last house. At the opposite end closest to the road, the neighbor (about 900 ft. away) wants to build a 30x40 garage. In talking to him this past weekend, the area he wants to clear has approx. a dozen trees of varying diameters. Ranging from 8" to 18". All except a couple of the small ones are hardwood, mostly red oak. The small ones are poplars.

Anyways, he got prices from a few local "tree guys" and he was quoted $2,500 to cut the trees and chip the brush. No stump grinding or removal included.

I'm thinking of telling him I'll down the trees, and keep the wood (the brush, I'd pile in the corner of his yard for him to burn), and charge $500 cash. The stump removal is not included.

My debate is what would you charge him, if at all. I'm thinking there may be 2 cords max of wood, so $500 worth of logs at the most. None of the trees are near his house or lines or anything like that. I could drop them, bring the logs to my house, and brush piled in 4ish hours with my tractor. Is keeping the wood and him paying $500 a fair deal for both? I think it is. I get a little money and some free wood, he saves some money.

I haven't asked him yet, waiting to hear others opinions.

I would make him the offer if you've already done some work for him.
Just do it safely, clean up and make him happy.
Great score and good luck.