Help Pricing First Job

[offshoretreeze]

First off, a big thanks to the members of this forum for sharing their knowledge. It's really been a huge help.

I've been climbing for about a year now, mostly working on trees in my yard. At some point, I'd love the opportunity to work for a local tree crew, but until my boss starts preschool, my time is very limited.

Last week, my ex-landlord asked for a quote to trim six trees & open up a view. I told him that while I was comfortable with climbing & cutting, I wasn't sure what a fair price was.

I'm hoping you guys might be able to give me some guidance pricing the job, along with any suggestions to help things go smoothly.

The trees:

View attachment 281759

Relevant details:

- The trees are located just south of San Francisco, CA.
- The trees are on an easement and not the property of the home owner.
- There's a good amount of Poison Oak on the ground and in some of the trees.
- All of the trees are located on a steepish hill.
- I'll be the only person doing the work.
- No structures are in the way.
- Disposal not necessary--trimmings can be left at the job site.

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[2treeornot2tree]

opcorn:

 

[jefflovstrom]

So you are going to trim trees that do not belong to the HO and you are going to leave the debris as a fire hazard?
Jeff

 

[mellonhs]

If it was me.... The first thing I would do is tell your ex landlord that you can not touch the trees unless you have the proper paperwork signed by the owner stating its ok the "trim" the trees on his/her property. And assure him you would do it but you can't because of some legal issues. Unless he contacts the property owner and you meet the property owner face to face and have paperwork signed.

But that's just me.

On what to charge... It's a trim job... So around here I would figure out how many hrs its going to take and charge what you want to make an hr.

Also what you could do is have him have a good tree service in that area come give him a free estimate so you can see how much big companies charge. But you shouldn't charge anywhere near what they charge because you should feel a fair price to be way cheaper considering you don't have the overhead they have.

Be careful man. And be prepared for these guys to bend you over on here. You asked for it with the op... Lol but that's not my style so I just told you what I would do.

Oh and nvr underbid a person just to get the job. Do work for what you feel is a good price and for what you want to make off the job. If that happens to be a quarter of what Joe blows tree service was going to charge... It's not your fault...

 

[offshoretreeze]

So you are going to trim trees that do not belong to the HO and you are going to leave the debris as a fire hazard?
Jeff

Yeah, that would be a bad idea.

Absolutely won't take the job without proper permission--last thing I want is to be sued by whomever owns the trees. Guessing they probably belong to PG&E...lots of gas pipelines in the area.

Is getting permission from a local utility standard practice in this industry? Just wondering what to expect.

Trimmings would be dragged to the home owner's property, not trying to create any fire hazards, just saying removal isn't required.

 

[offshoretreeze]

If it was me.... The first thing I would do is tell your ex landlord that you can not touch the trees unless you have the proper paperwork signed by the owner stating its ok the "trim" the trees on his/her property. And assure him you would do it but you can't because of some legal issues. Unless he contacts the property owner and you meet the property owner face to face and have paperwork signed.

But that's just me.

On what to charge... It's a trim job... So around here I would figure out how many hrs its going to take and charge what you want to make an hr.

Also what you could do is have him have a good tree service in that area come give him a free estimate so you can see how much big companies charge. But you shouldn't charge anywhere near what they charge because you should feel a fair price to be way cheaper considering you don't have the overhead they have.

Be careful man. And be prepared for these guys to bend you over on here. You asked for it with the op... Lol but that's not my style so I just told you what I would do.

Oh and nvr underbid a person just to get the job. Do work for what you feel is a good price and for what you want to make off the job. If that happens to be a quarter of what Joe blows tree service was going to charge... It's not your fault...

Haha...yeah, I was doing everything in my power NOT to be "that guy"--the one who just returned from Harbor Freight with some rope & a chainsaw. So much for that!

Thanks for suggestions, I was thinking an hourly rate, but as I told the homeowner, this is my 1st job and I'd be doing it slowly & methodically. With that in mind, charging x$/hr might end up costing him more due to my snail's pace.

Thought about contacting a local tree co. to get an idea of cost, but don't want to waste anyone's time with a job they're not going to get.

Another thought was to see if a a local tree company would be willing to do the job while taking me on as a groundie for the day. I liked this idea, but that means they'd have to do the job on a weekend and not sure anyone would be willing to take someone with zero experience on a crew.

Not looking to undercut anyone--see this as an opportunity to get more practical experience while charging the going rate.

Going rate is $12-13/hr right?:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Zale]

Don't take the job. This will not end well for you. Your landlord is going to take advantage of you. I know you don't know me, but trust me on this one. There is nothing wrong with admitting it might be beyond your current skill level. There are many rules in this industry but one of the biggest is NEVER WORK ALONE. If you do it, you will be sorry.

 

[offshoretreeze]

Don't take the job. This will not end well for you. Your landlord is going to take advantage of you. I know you don't know me, but trust me on this one. There is nothing wrong with admitting it might be beyond your current skill level. There are many rules in this industry but one of the biggest is NEVER WORK ALONE. If you do it, you will be sorry.

I see your point. I do carry a whistle & phone, though if I was unconscious or badly injured, those wouldn't be much help.

The homeowner's a good guy. I'm sure he'd be willing to stand guard while I'm in the tree. I could climb SRT or with DdRT anchored to the ground with an F8 or GriGri in case I need to be lowered.

Hate to miss this opportunity, but I don't want be stupid about it. That's why I'm here.

If there isn't a way to do it by myself with a decent degree of safety, can you suggest any other avenues for gaining real-world experience?

I've read Tree Climber's Companion, Tree Climbers' Guide and have watched Working Climber 1 & 2....just need to put all those concepts to work on some trees.

Any ideas?

 

[mellonhs]

Haha...yeah, I was doing everything in my power NOT to be "that guy"--the one who just returned from Harbor Freight with some rope & a chainsaw. So much for that!

Thanks for suggestions, I was thinking an hourly rate, but as I told the homeowner, this is my 1st job and I'd be doing it slowly & methodically. With that in mind, charging x$/hr might end up costing him more due to my snail's pace.

Thought about contacting a local tree co. to get an idea of cost, but don't want to waste anyone's time with a job they're not going to get.

Another thought was to see if a a local tree company would be willing to do the job while taking me on as a groundie for the day. I liked this idea, but that means they'd have to do the job on a weekend and not sure anyone would be willing to take someone with zero experience on a crew.

Not looking to undercut anyone--see this as an opportunity to get more practical experience while charging the going rate.

Going rate is $12-13/hr right?:hmm3grin2orange:

Hmmm bro... Nothing you have stated in this reply is a good business practice... I would go into detail but I'm driving lol

But don't tell your client your hourly rate.. just estimate how long you think its gonna take and multiply it by what u wanna make an hr...

But Idt you should do the job at all now... Let the pros handle it if you are this inexperienced to be asking these types of questions...

 

[mellonhs]

I see your point. I do carry a whistle & phone, though if I was unconscious or badly injured, those wouldn't be much help.

The homeowner's a good guy. I'm sure he'd be willing to stand guard while I'm in the tree. I could climb SRT or with DdRT anchored to the ground with an F8 or GriGri in case I need to be lowered.

Hate to miss this opportunity, but I don't want be stupid about it. That's why I'm here.

If there isn't a way to do it by myself with a decent degree of safety, can you suggest any other avenues for gaining real-world experience?

I've read Tree Climber's Companion, Tree Climbers' Guide and have watched Working Climber 1 & 2....just need to put all those concepts to work on some trees.

Any ideas?

This is starting to sound like bait...

Don't do the job if this is serious.

 

[offshoretreeze]

This is starting to sound like bait...

Don't do the job if this is serious.

Not trolling.

I'm looking for experience & at a loss where to find it.

I've safely trimmed larger trees without incident. Not sure why this backyard would be different than my own.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Not trolling.

I'm looking for experience & at a loss where to find it.

I've safely trimmed larger trees without incident. Not sure why this backyard would be different than my own.

Because you would be trespassing. Do you prune to standards?,,,if not, then trespassing and vandalism.
Jeff,,, btw,,, more like $75 an hour.

 

[offshoretreeze]

​

Because you would be trespassing. Do you prune to standards?,,,if not, then trespassing and vandalism.
Jeff,,, btw,,, more like $75 an hour.

I wouldn't do the job without permission.

 

[StrataTree]

Well, I'll bite. I'm curious where you learned your SRT and DdRT skills. It's great to work with and learn from more experienced climbers. Perhaps you could find a local climber that would pick up the job and you could groundie for him. Just watching a pro can be a real hoot! And educational too. Or...instead of taking this job, if you want to climb for a living go get some industry training. It will increase your chances of getting on with a local crew....just my 2 cents tho. Oh and 2 person minimum is more than a good idea! Especially so for you, being a rookie and all.
Maybe you can charge by the tree.:msp_blink:Good luck! Safety first!

 

[Zale]

You said your landlord wants to "open" them up to improve the view. Does this mean topping them out to get your views? Judging from your picture, your going to need to open up a fair amount to get the view from the deck. P.S. you might want to nail up some railings if you have kids running around.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Also what you could do is have him have a good tree service in that area come give him a free estimate so you can see how much big companies charge. But you shouldn't charge anywhere near what they charge because you should feel a fair price to be way cheaper considering you don't have the overhead they have.

I can't say that I agree with wasting an hour or two of a fellow professional's day on a bid he has no chance of doing.

 

[offshoretreeze]

Well, I'll bite. I'm curious where you learned your SRT and DdRT skills. It's great to work with and learn from more experienced climbers. Perhaps you could find a local climber that would pick up the job and you could groundie for him. Just watching a pro can be a real hoot! And educational too. Or...instead of taking this job, if you want to climb for a living go get some industry training. It will increase your chances of getting on with a local crew....just my 2 cents tho. Oh and 2 person minimum is more than a good idea! Especially so for you, being a rookie and all.
Maybe you can charge by the tree.:msp_blink:Good luck! Safety first!

Thanks for the info!

What I've learned so far has come from books, videos, forums and from watching a few jobs in progress. I would love to learn from a seasoned vet and should probably focus on that. It's just tough with my schedule these days.

Watching the pros--this is exactly what gave me the climbing bug. I hired a tree service for two removals, took lots of photos and had a blast trying to understand why they did what they did. They spiked up one tree, topped it, set a block and used that tree to rig down a neighboring tree. I recall being pretty blown away when it all clicked in my head.

During the process I met the city arborist. Maybe see if he knows of any opportunities in the area.

Thanks again.

Aaron

 

[offshoretreeze]

You said your landlord wants to "open" them up to improve the view. Does this mean topping them out to get your views? Judging from your picture, your going to need to open up a fair amount to get the view from the deck. P.S. you might want to nail up some railings if you have kids running around.

The view he's looking for is actually on the 2nd floor of the home, above the deck I was standing on. Either way, I think he'll be looking through, rather than over the trees.

He initially dropped the "T" bomb & I told him I wouldn't do it--that it's frowned upon, looks ugly & undermines the strength of the tree.

Had my 2 y/o with me while I was there...on a short leash!

 

[Mike-M]

Even if you properly trim them enough to see through them, they'll fill in again in a year or so.

 

[offshoretreeze]

Even if you properly trim them enough to see through them, they'll fill in again in a year or so.

Thanks, I'll be sure to mention that. Be nice if it became an annual job, though I've yet to hear back from the guy regarding the status of the easement/tree ownership.

Perhaps I've dodged a bullet.