ever heard this before?

[treeman82]

I had gone to look at a tree removal job this past Friday before it started snowing. On the way over to the house, the homeowner told me that he just wanted the trees put on the ground, he would drop the sticks himself. I asked what he was going to do with the wood and brush... the wood he said he would burn... no shock there. As for the brush though, he plans to cut it into 4' lengths, tie it up and haul it off to the dump in the back of his minivan. Get to the house, 4 big red oaks over all kinds of stuff. The smallest was 20" DBH, the biggest, was a little bit over 36" DBH. No major pruning cuts made in the past, so this guy would have had a LOT of brush to deal with.
Do you guys ever hear whacky stuff like this?

 

[rumination]

my landlord does that kind of stuff. prunes his own trees (tops em) and then hauls the brush off to the dump in the back of his minivan. drives me up the wall every time I look at the trees.





fortunately I'll be moving at the end of the month into a friend's house where I did all the tree pruning :angel:

 

[Scars2prove-it]

I get that occasionally. What a tangled mess. I even ask them if they know how much brush there will be, then I tell them that it will be a huge amount. I give them a price for chipping it anyway since it is usually easier for us to work without tripping over it. I then give them a much larger price if we have to come back and chip it. I have seen people take a machete and chop EVERY piece into kindling.

 

[topnotchtree]

Just wait till you do a job like this and have the customer come out when you are done and say" wow, this is more of a mess than I thought, how much to clean it up?" You got wood piled on brush and $hit scattered everywhere and you gotta charge a lot more than if you would have cleaned up as you go! Been there and done that!

 

[Bradley]

I cut 6 red oaks in a guys back yard last year. He said he had a saw and would cut them up after I got them down. After I got them down he had no idea that his entire backyard would be covered in brush and wood like that. I came back the next day and bucked up all of the logs (20-36" dbh) because I felt bad for one, and two, a coke bottle size stub bounced and traveled sideways for about 30' and hit the bottom piece of vinyl siding on the back of his house and put a 1" chip in it in the 35 degree weather. I was going to replace the piece but he was a construction guy and said he'd do it, besides, I would have spent as much time running around trying to find a match for the siding and who doesn't like sawing wood.

 

[FBerkel]

It depends on how far they are dragging. Another thing to consider is how much extra time is spent cutting branches to loadable sizes, and then handling all those extra pieces, rather than just chipping larger sections of tree.

I guess the whole thing comes down to what your (the homeowner's) time is worth.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by KarlP
I'm at the point where I've taken down all the trees that I don't want except for a eight trees that are 50' tall and leaning towards my house (30' away) or the power lines (25' away). Does that sound about right to you guys?

Sounds dead wrong. Just because a tree has a lean does not mean it's a hazard. they may have considerable value to the next buyer; hwy cut them down? Got a Paul Bunyan complex or something?:alien:
If you stop hacking everything you own your home may be cooler and more valuable. Stop and think about it!

 

[NeTree]

Frankly, I won't do work like that. Just as well, because usually it's "chip the brush, I'll keep the wood" anyways. I'd rather see the brush dragged right to a chipper than into a pile that's going to be in my way sooner or later.


KarlP, kust because a tree leans doesn't necessarily make it a hazard. Spend a few bucks and have an arborist give you an evaluation.

And why have anyone drag brush "out of the way"- just chip it on-the-spot, it will be out of the way and done with.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I HATE killing perfectly good trees at the whim of idiot.

I WISH I could walk away.

 

[NeTree]

but hey, he's not spending $50,000 for a lift or $24,000 for a chipper....

Wonder why those pesky tree guys charge so much....

 

[Abbershay]

i like tree jobs like this . I have seen many of leaning trees do damage to the house in many ways. If i can just go in there and cut the stuff the guy can surely fight with the brush ... his pleasure is my number one consern... i dont care if he wants a tree cut, it is done.

I am not in love with trees i like them they are nice to look at but i will take a customer over a tree anyday of the week.

I would never tell him he doesnt have to worry about tree damage when he can see that it is a consern. You surely dont have to be certified to see a hazard and to see damage.

 

[MasterBlaster]

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by KarlP
Is every home owner supposed to get the "permission" of a professional arborist to take down trees they don't like that are close to their house?

Of course not. If I want to renovate my house, I'm totally free to tear out walls to my heart's content. And I have.
But if I don't want to regret rash acts, I'll ask someone who knows about houses before I start swinging the sledge.
A pro will most likely go along with your decision to whack silver maples to free up oaks, but it pays to get them all looked at before you plan your yard around a tree that won't live up to your expectations, or remove trees that just look wrong to you.

A competent pruner can change a scary-looking tree into a beautiful specimen.

Abbershay:"... i dont care if he wants a tree cut, it is done. "
Trees were created by the same force of nature that created you and the savior you promote in your posts. I'm not saying their life is as precious as a human's, but they do have more value than every whim of every arborphobe who may be able to pay you for cutting them down.
If you respect your creator, respect the benefits His/Her trees deliver and consider that beforethoughtlessly cutting on demand.
My one cent's worth on that.

 

[Toddppm]

The day after this was posted I got a call to look at a tree that uprooted and wouldn't you know the first thing he says is just leave everything over there. 30 ft. 2 trunk White Pine, hung up in some other trees, simple job. Told him my min. is $350, he says he's not working right now can I help him out?(approx. $400k house for sale) OK, he said he was referred and I let him talk me down $50.
Next morning we knock it out in about 20 min., and I add a Leyland that got knocked over for free, then he wants another small pine down too, another$20, he argues but says OK.
Great, going to get paid and leave, got a bunch of jobs to do. Now he says his wife wants to know if I'll take the brush for another $30
Sorry bud, no-can-do, I'd have to charge you another $300! I purposely didn't bring the chipper, cause I had a feeling he would do this and we wouldn't need it the rest of the day.

 

[Abbershay]

Pleasing the customer is the first rule in business . I admire nature but i surely dont worship it. Its only a tree.... You can grow another.. It is pretty funny it really doesnt take that long either.. i have cut many pretty good size trees that the homeowner said they planted.

In fact we just cut down most of the trees on about a 100acre patch... best thing we ever did... should have been done a longtime ago .... the regrowth has to be about 30/1.

Manytimes i will tell people that they should prepare to lose some of these big elms .. they listen and plant another tree and few years later they are very glad most times people are glad to be rid of those dirty trees , To messy.

 

[MasterBlaster]

To reiterate...

 

[Abbershay]

i really like the color of my stihl chainsaw .. put a fresh blade on and i am one happy camper. It cuts the wood so fast the tree is blocked up before it even knows what happened...

 

[treeman82]

Not to get into geographical arguements here... however.

Karl, depending on where in Mass you are, you might need permits to be cutting down all those trees. My town is not very strict, they say only problems if you cut in wet lands, or if you effect more than 5,000 sq ft. If you go into another town around here and start removing trees without permits... well... I can send you a copy of the 10+ page excerpt on tree removals in the town.

Guy, if you are doing enough work to your house up here, you need to have permits. I had a guy who last year tore his 130 year old house apart and rebuilt it almost completely from scratch. He had a heck of a time getting the permits from the town.

 

[Abbershay]

chain and a blade are the same to me... i guess i am not pc.

i may be literal tree hugger but im not on the pc end there either.

 

[Lumberjack]

Abbreshay what is PC?


On the old growth forrest, it is true that the 30/1 regrowth puts out many times more oxygen than old growth, but after loosing 1000 old growth trees at my home, I would give anything to have them back. A hundred 30 foot mixed wood new growth, or a mix of 70-90 footers with a lean towards hardwoods, and a high canopy so you can see the lake? I loved my big trees, and it crushed my father to loose them.


Carl