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

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I got a man that will climb anything and I mean anything, I myself have turned down one tree that had no mechanical (crane, bucket) access and was hanging over a house and been dead for 3 years..other than that nope..
 
i drove down to new haven a couple summers ago. it was going to be a solid little chunk of change i was thinking for what looked like an 8 outta 10 on the treetarded scale.

blah blah blah later

i am looking up at a bunch of work with one guy (met this dude for the first time the night before when i drove in) on the ground with no chipper or truck. a solid amount of tree from each tree over the uncoated wires and traveled road.... good sized trees for sure.

ummm. no.

i called the dude who more or less brought me up into the climbing game when i first saddled up and painted the picture for him. you know, a mentor/friend if you will. after laughing both at me and the situation he said "walk". mentally i already had.


it wasn't the danger factor it was more like the cluster#### the situation was going to be.

lol.

long ride for nothing. oh well.
 
i drove down to new haven a couple summers ago. it was going to be a solid little chunk of change i was thinking for what looked like an 8 outta 10 on the treetarded scale.

blah blah blah later

i am looking up at a bunch of work with one guy (met this dude for the first time the night before when i drove in) on the ground with no chipper or truck. a solid amount of tree from each tree over the uncoated wires and traveled road.... good sized trees for sure.

ummm. no.

i called the dude who more or less brought me up into the climbing game when i first saddled up and painted the picture for him. you know, a mentor/friend if you will. after laughing both at me and the situation he said "walk". mentally i already had.


it wasn't the danger factor it was more like the cluster#### the situation was going to be.

lol.

long ride for nothing. oh well.

I remember that thread. What was that cat's name? Melvin, Martin, or something. Some big shot landscrapin wannabe tree guy. lol That thread was a good laugh though.

I walked from one a few years back, old, dead cherry sandwiched between two fences. Rotten as hell, everything needed to be rigged. I was young and not good at thinking outside the box at that point. If I was approached with the job now I'd just figure in the $225 lift rental for the day and smack it down easy peasy. Or just taken the fences down and bombs away. Many options I wasn't considering back in the day.
 
sounds familiar.

i drove down to new haven a couple summers ago. it was going to be a solid little chunk of change i was thinking for what looked like an 8 outta 10 on the treetarded scale.

blah blah blah later

i am looking up at a bunch of work with one guy (met this dude for the first time the night before when i drove in) on the ground with no chipper or truck. a solid amount of tree from each tree over the uncoated wires and traveled road.... good sized trees for sure.

ummm. no.

i called the dude who more or less brought me up into the climbing game when i first saddled up and painted the picture for him. you know, a mentor/friend if you will. after laughing both at me and the situation he said "walk". mentally i already had.


it wasn't the danger factor it was more like the cluster#### the situation was going to be.

lol.

long ride for nothing. oh well.

were those jammed in walled lots behind apartment buildings bordering a parking lot and Louis Lunch?
If it was those people were nuts.A management company called me from Indiana to look at that job.
 
I sent my buddy over to quote it.

I do a lot of that too, I know a few lowball hacks that are real good at cheap removals. They have a very good work ethic, it you do not take plant health into consideration. So if I know the owner has no money I tell them to call these guys, Or I send out an email blast.

Sometimes backing the bucket in and doing a cut n chuck is all you can do. I had one that i did for a low-cost leader in the region where they rented a 100 ft lift for me to piece the tree out. I hate pushing big meat off 70 ft up near a house.

That cottonwood in the Quad Cities was a doosie! One of those low land trees that used to have the perfect siting, but modern land-use killed. The house was hold, and in a run down area of the city, I would not be surprised if it was a squatters fire that took it all down.
 
I have never refused a job ever, I have refused to do it half ###ed though so I price to be what its worth if its ugly and they want down then there price will reflect it ...
 
You've been like an arboricultural Yoda lately, Jeffers. Try not. Do or do not, there is no try. Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you.

There are trees I won't and haven't removed. Why should I? They scare me. At some point, explosives are a better option.
don't take this the wrong way but if certain trees and lifts scare you then you need to change professions or become a groundie..
 
I have never turned a job down because there is always a way to do it safely. I also understand that you can be beyond safe and freak things happen, those suck.
 
I have actually done a couple that I knew were really dangerous, just because I was afraid someone else would get hurt on it. There are a few numbskull newbies in the area, and though I would rather they not be here, I don't want their lives on my conscense. There is another service in the area that employs a couple of new climbers, and run by a real old-timer that pushes them to climb some really scary crap. Sometimes you can see a safER way of doing things and you have to take the job to avoid passing it to some poor kid that doesn't know any better.
 
don't take this the wrong way but if certain trees and lifts scare you then you need to change professions or become a groundie..

So, knowing my limits makes me a candidate for a career change? I don't have a bucket, have never used a crane, and don't really make much money on giant removals. The graveyard is full of people that didn't know their limits or appreciate the gravity of the situation. I'll stick with what I can handle and profit from.
 
So, knowing my limits makes me a candidate for a career change? I don't have a bucket, have never used a crane, and don't really make much money on giant removals. The graveyard is full of people that didn't know their limits or appreciate the gravity of the situation. I'll stick with what I can handle and profit from.

Good post! Tried to rep ya, but have to spread around.

I like big removals, but I have to say, I just looked at a tree for an acquaintance of mine (big storm damage, not my job), that I might have wanted to walk away from if it were my job. Some things are just too much of a pita/dangerous/not worth the headaches involved! That being said, if it were my job, I might (maybe) have a go at it - after some serious consideration and planning.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.. but the fact that it just might kill ya too is a big catch to ponder indeed!
 
There is always a way to do it. Depends on the customer paying.
Jeff :)

You're right there, El Jeffe. I just don't always know the way to do it. I'll leave it to you cats with more experience while I prune some Malus, Radiants and deadwood a few Fraxinus to cover wages.

Why doesn't spell check software on an arborist forum recognize words like, well, arborist for one?
 
There is always a way to do it. Depends on the customer paying.
Jeff :)

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!
 
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