Q for the tree service guys

[Haywire Haywood]

If a fellow walked into your office and offered to come play groundie for a few hours in exchange for the firewood from a worthwhile takedown, would you take him up on it or would it be too much of a hassle and maybe an insurance risk to have them on your site? I'd have my truck/trailer/saw on site. Not asking for delivery.

I've been thinking that if a tree service had a good sized hardwood takedown in my area, I would be glad to drag brush for a few hours to get the stem. That's usually my offer when asking for places to cut. I'll cut and drag brush to the street or the owner's nearby burn pile in exchange for the usable firewood.

Thought I'd get some opinions before sticking my neck out.
Ian

 

[wkpoor]

H&H, I had a deal for a good while with a local tree company where they would call me around 9 or 10 in the morning and give me the address to where I could pick up the wood from a job site of theirs. The deal was I had to get it within a couple of hrs of the call so my truck and trailer was always hooked and ready each morning for the possible wood mission that came 2-3 mornings a week. They only called when it was good hardwood , never softwood. It was a great thing and I had wood piled over a huge area 6' deep for a couple of years. Couldn't process it as fast as I was bringing it in.
Now I've got a new deal where Mid Ohio Tree Service has agreed to make me a drop off zone for wood taken in my area. They are to just back in the driveway off to the side and dump. Of course I'm going to get some trash in with the better stuff but it is delivered to my door so to speak.
Its a great deal if you can get it. Only thing I didn't like was the way the tree cutters cut there wood. Either just too long or too short. Makes it hard to have split wood thats easy to stack. Some people I know just make a big th rowed pile of that kind of wood rather than try and stack it.

 

[clearance]

You don't have to drag brush. When the company gets paid to take the blocks away, or they don't but the customer wants them gone, you get it. Tree guys usually have list of people. Get on those lists, maybe a bottle of something good so they remember to call you.

 

[hornett224]

i do it all the time with a couple of guys.

if they seem sober and intelligent,i'd say go for it.

 

[pdqdl]

Yes & no

The extra help to shag logs off a job would always be welcome, but comes at some risk to the tree service. If you get hammered by some wood while you are there, they have to pay for fixing you up (or planted). If you aren't worth having around, you are just a pest that's in the way. If they count on you, and don't bring enough help, then they run the risk of being shorthanded on the job.

I would say no...but you can bring your truck and load up as much as you want while we are there. Then I would make sure there was a good understanding about how you would work with the crew.

I would probably insist that you didn't bring your own chainsaw, and I would NOT let you use ours. That might change after we had found out what kind of skill you brought to the job.

 

[Ekka]

I make plans in advance and if the guy was late or let us down it could really bugger up the plans.

Reliability is the key here. I've had firewood people not collect the wood we cut into 15" rounds for a few days and pissed off customers on the phone ... hardly good business, so now a days I get very careful as many of the people who dont make money on the day dont show.

Sure you could come and help but dont ever not show! Of course all PPE including fluro shirts, helmet, steel capped boots etc applies for the day ... but bring your own sunscreen, food and drink though.

Oh, one last thing, take a dump before you leave home not at the customers house!!!

 

[spike60]

Oh, one last thing, take a dump before you leave home not at the customers house!!!

I'll bet there's a real good story behind that statement.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I've been thinking that if a tree service had a good sized hardwood takedown in my area, I would be glad to drag brush for a few hours to get the stem. That's usually my offer when asking for places to cut. I'll cut and drag brush to the street or the owner's nearby burn pile in exchange for the usable firewood.

Ian, I don't know if such a thing exists in your area, but it's worth looking around. I get my wood from a log processor who is HAPPY to load my truck for free. Otherwise he gets to PAY to have the butt ends and crotches hauled to the dump, and gets to PAY to drop them there. I get very nice oak and hickory, and a bit of poplar. All I can haul. If I had a 5 ton dump truck he'd smile even bigger when I showed up.

I pull up, he loads with his grapple, and I drive home.

Sure beats dragging brush for a couple of hours!

Here's a thread with a pic of his current pile:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=66226


For the price of a bit of yellow pages & internet searching, and maybe a few phone calls, if you could strike a gold mine like this you'd be in great shape.

 

[Rookie1]

if they seem sober and intelligent,i'd say go for it.

What if they are drunk and stupid?

 

[ropensaddle]

I make plans in advance and if the guy was late or let us down it could really bugger up the plans.

Reliability is the key here. I've had firewood people not collect the wood we cut into 15" rounds for a few days and pissed off customers on the phone ... hardly good business, so now a days I get very careful as many of the people who dont make money on the day dont show.

Sure you could come and help but dont ever not show! Of course all PPE including fluro shirts, helmet, steel capped boots etc applies for the day ... but bring your own sunscreen, food and drink though.

Oh, one last thing, take a dump before you leave home not at the customers house!!!

Some people are like so regular they can **** when ever, I wish
I was that way. I have had to use a splitdump many times over
the years:hmm3grin2orange:and ya have to be sneaky because
these dern people we call groundy's are a mischievous lot that
will try to dump you while your dumping!

 

[hornett224]

then........................

What if they are drunk and stupid?

i would have to say absolutely not.

 

[drmiller100]

depends on the tree guy.

i've got one guy who won't sell me logs if i come with the skid steer/grapple and pick them up.
another sells them and delivers.

myself, i'd probably hire you as a sub, and loan you a trailer to make some haulage worthwhile.

the little guys think the wood is worth somthing worth messing with. the big dogs look at the wood as dump fees.

 

[Rookie1]

I was kidding about drunk and stupid. I had tree service cut down one and trim two trees on my property.I took the day off to help them and boss said stay out of his mens way. He was paying them to work not me. I always wanted to ask to trade labor for wood but never did. After reading this I might ask next time I see him.

 

[aandabooks]

The one tree guy in the area that I know, would never go for it. He sells firewood and his guys work fast. A guy I know gets some wood from him after he is done but it is never desireable wood. The tree guy takes all the good hardwood with him and splits it for sale.

 

[Geez]

I would never do it unless the guy was on my payroll. Too many workmen's comp and insurance issues. I don't know the guy and then he throws out his back or drops a round on his foot.
Call me a cynic, but in this day and age, think about the guys who purposely slam on the brakes ahead of your car to collect on the insurance...
At work (home improvements) we don't even let the homeowners help carry stuff for that reason. One guy way back started that by dropping something on his foot to get out of paying his bill.

 

[CharlieG]

My tree service guy drops off maple, ash, hickory, and oak right on my parking area (wood processing area ) for free. Like most, he has to pay disposal fees, so he saves cash when he helps me out. And don't forget the envelope around Christmas time.

 

[Blake22]

The one tree guy in the area that I know, would never go for it. He sells firewood and his guys work fast. A guy I know gets some wood from him after he is done but it is never desireable wood. The tree guy takes all the good hardwood with him and splits it for sale.

That's what I do. I can't remember if I'm cleaning up the tree for the wood or if I'm getting the wood for cleaning up the tree.:dunno: I just want to get paid to remove it from your property so someone else can pay me to remove it from my property.
All jokes aside the reason I sell a little firewood is mainly due to the fact that I hated to see all the wood go to waste. I was dumping wood at my farm then piling it and burning it. Not a huge market in Florida but I sell 35-50 face cords every year.

Back to topic, I'd let you drag limbs on my job if you had a big enough trailer for me to load UNSORTED wood on. Better for you to be able to use the wood than let it go to waste. Just a couple of weeks ago I piled at least 2 semi loads of oak that has started to rot so I can burn it to make room for some more.

 

[okietreedude1]

I have a few friends that i dump on. if its wood i dont want, i give em a call ahead. most times its 'bring it on'. I take the wood to them and dump it where i can. Ive got to clean it up one way or the other so why not take it to them. one guy has brought his 16' trailer b4 and we just stacked it on the trailer. didnt have to cut it either, just put the logs on.

I too have had people want the wood and then become a no-show. if someone wants the wood and offers to come-n-get it, it has to be before we leave the site or i take it w/ me.

 

[CharlieG]

If itsa a free, itsa a for me!:agree2: