I NEED HELP! in more ways than one

[Slyder]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to the board and have a few questions.
I received a few prices on dropping 2 trees and nearly had a heart attack.
Well I found this sight through searches and said to myself.....Self nice place to start. I live in North Central Massachusetts and figured before posting I would look around and check the site out for potential professionals near me.
Well I thought I found one, but when I sent a private message to him. He answered, asked a few question of me, then shut me off. NICE.

Well as you read in the Title (I NEED HELP)

I have a couple of pine trees between 60 and 70' tall.

I went out and purchased some used but in really nice shape spikes (gaffs) and a nice belt with a cheesy lanyard.

I'm going to buy a nice light small saw, a steel cored lanyard, and around a 150' rope to drop these babies myself.

I need pointers on what else I need besides the nutts I already have.

I would ultimately like to have someone close to me give me the opportunity to see a professional at work the ropes and drop a tree.
Kinda like hands on experience.

All comments, pointers and suggestions will be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks
Slyder

 

[Newfie]

How did I shut you off? I'm still waiting for replys to the two PM's I sent you.

I'm a little confused.

 

[rbtree]

Not a good idea to do the trees yourself with no experience.

Are they out in the open? How close is the nearest valuable structure--building, fence, expensive plant/tree?
Pines that size can normally be dropped by a pro in 15-60 minutes each. If you're doing the cleanup, you should be able to find a reputable arborist to do the job for $300-500. More if they're not simple.

Post some pics if you can.

 

[computeruser]

I wonder how much the quote was for. By the time you buy climbing gear, rope, a saw, etc., that's quite a chunk of change!

I never had a chance to learn to climb trees, so I can appreciate your situation. In a situation like this my inclination would be to pay to have the trees put on the ground and then handle the cleanup myself. If your goal is to learn how to do this, then by all means learn it, but that seems a separate issue from getting your trees removed.

 

[Slyder]

How did I shut you off? I'm still waiting for replys to the two PM's I sent you.

I'm a little confused


I took the time to explaine myself, went to send it to you and this box popped up saying this person is not accepting private messages. Then I tried to sent it via email and was rejected again.

Sorry
If I came off the wrong way, but I have a hard time trying to word things properly.

 

[Slyder]

Thanks for your comment TreeCo.
I'm glad you read my message too.

 

[Slyder]

rbtree and computeruser

My trees are about 25' form my house on one side and about 25' from powerlines on the other.

My cheapest quote was 2200.00 dollars. Gulp

Do you think this is reasonable or were these go away prices?

I'm not hear to offened anyone just meet some new people and have a beer.
or two or three........

 

[alanarbor]

rbtree and computeruser

My trees are about 25' form my house on one side and about 25' from powerlines on the other.

My cheapest quote was 2200.00 dollars. Gulp

Do you think this is reasonable or were these go away prices?

I'm not hear to offened anyone just meet some new people and have a beer.
or two or three........

It's really almost impossible to guess from your description. 2 60-70' tall trees around here removed, chipped, and hauled could easily be that. Almost any time an electrical hazard comes into play the price goes up.

If you got 3 prices in the 2200.00 ball park from reputable local companies, than I would say yes, the price is reasonable.

I respect your bravado, but I would sincerely ask that you not attempt this project on your own. I belive your life and limbs are worth more than $2200.00, never mind the potential for damage to your property.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Timber? Is that you again?


:notrolls2:

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Try going to certifiedtreeandlawn.org. It is a listing of all certified Arborists and Landscrapers in Mass. Get at least three quotes (they are free anyway). You may meet someone who will explain as they remove the trees so you could learn something.
I wouldn't recommend trying this on your own
Worse case scenario you mess up real bad and end up in the hospital, best case scenario you end up drinking beer from a tube.

For those not from around here: Treework in Mass. costs big bucks.

 

[Ax-man]

Here we go again, another cheap skate homeowner that thinks pro arborists that earn a living in this business should work for next to nothing and the homeowner thinks he is going to cut a fat hog in the ass by buying all the tools, to save a few bucks, just because it is a tree right, nothing to it, how hard can it be, how can it cost so much to cut down a tree is a common question. I just don't understand why people think we are robbing them when it comes to tree work, when it comes down to it we aren't that much more expensive than any other service type business like plumbers , mechanics, but I guess we should work for less because it doesn't take brains or skills or equipment to cut down a tree.

Buying the tools is one thing, knowing how to use them in a tree is another.

You remind me of the guy I ran into yesterday in the parking lot of the farm store. This gent had one arm, yes one arm, had a tree ready to fall over, got quoted a grand to do the job. He decided it was just too much to pay, started looking for gear on the internet, found out it was going to cost almost as much for the gear as the tree was going to cost. The one armed man asked me after seeing my truck with our logo if I would sell him any used spare gear, cheap of course, I wasn't about to do that, guy gets hurt that makes me an enabler, don't want any part of that.

Do a search here on the site, all the info you need is right here. If you can wade through all the nonsense posting that goes on, you will find what you need to know.

Larry

 

[diltree]

Who gave you the Price

If you tell me what outfits gave you the price, I can tell you if they are low or competitive just by their reputation and bidding against them....I am pretty familiar with our competition in central mass. I would be glad to give you a price on the work personally, but i must warn you we may be even higher, as many companies in central mass are fly by night operations, we are a professional company, fully insured, with 48 years of experience. The difference: with us you know you will get what you pay for, with some others your rolling the dice....but probably not as serious of a wager as doing the job yourself.


www.dillontree.com

 

[beowulf343]

Ax-man, I agree with you 100 percent. I am so tired of getting done with a tree and the homeowner telling me,"that looked easy-I should have done it myself instead of paying you guys to do it." People seem to think we are a bunch of overpaid laborers instead of highly skilled professionals!
Sorry-just venting.

 

[rbtree]

We need pics. I assume those quotes for for cleanup, maybe wood removal as well. If you only want them dropped, maybe bucked up, that is much less work.

But, if these are pines, which often are not brushy, and have never been topped, then I stand by my guess that it would take no more than one hour to put each on the ground. My price would be about $180 per hr for a two man crew, minimum $200. Figure 1/2 hour travel, so under $500. As I said, more if they require branch lowering. And maybe $50 to buck each into firewood. 25 feet from the house and pwr lines is plenty if they're really only 70 feet tall. What diameter are they at a foot above ground level?

If these companies are reputable, then they must be complex, dense, multi leadered trees. Then, that price would be fair if it included cleanup and maybe stump grinding. Also, my guess is, prices may be higher there than here, where most reputable companies charge about 70-90 per manhour.

 

[Jack Green]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to the board and have a few questions.
I received a few prices on dropping 2 trees and nearly had a heart attack.
Well I found this sight through searches and said to myself.....Self nice place to start. I live in North Central Massachusetts and figured before posting I would look around and check the site out for potential professionals near me.
Well I thought I found one, but when I sent a private message to him. He answered, asked a few question of me, then shut me off. NICE.

Well as you read in the Title (I NEED HELP)

I have a couple of pine trees between 60 and 70' tall.

I went out and purchased some used but in really nice shape spikes (gaffs) and a nice belt with a cheesy lanyard.

I'm going to buy a nice light small saw, a steel cored lanyard, and around a 150' rope to drop these babies myself.

I need pointers on what else I need besides the nutts I already have.

I would ultimately like to have someone close to me give me the opportunity to see a professional at work the ropes and drop a tree.
Kinda like hands on experience.

All comments, pointers and suggestions will be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks
Slyder

Dear Slyder If you insist on "dropping these babies" yourself , first make sure all your affairs are in order then eat a hearty breakfast , any thing you fancy it could be your last ! . Then fill your pockets full of rabbits feet four leafed clovers or any thing at all that you might consider a "lucky charm" because your going to need all the luck you can get . Say a silent prayer to who ever is your god , clench yer butt cheek's strap on them second hand spikes and boogie till you puke ! . Have fun umpkin2:

 

[Slyder]

May I ask how everyone started?
Noboby starts out knowing how to do everything.
When I received prices like this of course I said I'll do it myself.
I am a homeowner that wants to cut my own trees because I have a family to support as well I'm sure some of you have also.
That amount of money I could use for paying my fuel bill for this coming winter.

 

[Slyder]

I would like to post a couple of pictures.
Is it easy?

 

[rbtree]

I started 32 years ago, when training opportunities weren't as good as today. I probably started climbing too soon, but had already done lots of pruning with the landscape firm I was with, for a few years before I worked for a tree service, and rock and mt climbed and skiied. Not all are naturals as I was. But if i had it to do over, I'd take a proper training course, or learn on the ground working for a company with qualified trained arborists. No one who has never worked with saws should run one aloft. First, you need to learn to climb with rope and saddle, get comfortable, then use a handsaw...much later, strap on climbing gaffs, and operate a saw. Saw experience needs to be learned on the ground. The only way to learn how to make cuts, how wood reacts, how to judge which way a tree part being cut will fall, etc, etc, is to learn from watching trained arborists doing the work.

I repeat, post some pics. If these are simple single trunked trees, no taller than you say, never topped, and all you want is them dropped, those prices are way out of line.

 

[Jack Green]

Dear Slyder i mean no disrespect to you but beleive me if you've got trees that close to both power lines and your property it really is a job for a profesional . you say you have a family to support , i can relate to that but to support them you got to be there don't take such a blatant risk . regards

 

[rbtree]

I would like to post a couple of pictures.
Is it easy?

Yep, just resize them 60-200 kb, and click on manage attachments. Find them on your computer, and click on them. You can post 3-4 at a time. If they're bigger, go ahead, I'll resize them for ya. Make sure they're focused....

I just did two pines for a good customer. We were in and out in 40 minutes. One was a 12" dbh60 feet tall stone dead, 25 feet from the house, but near another tree. so we suspended it off another tree, setting our lines from the ground, and butt cut it. The other was also 60-70 feet, and 18-20 inch dbh. both young, easy western white pine. $200. 5 minutes travel time from my other jobs. no haul, no buck. Most are not that quick and easy. Plus I don't need to make a special trip to give estimates for good customers. Would have charged $300 otherwise. That would still be $130 per hr, for 3 of us....