Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[xraydaniel]

Yep, I've been saying I was going to reclaim the hay field lost to the Cedar for years. I didn't even know what the big silver leafed bush/trees were There were just a few of them. In the last ten years they are every where now. We snatched out about 20 of them Wed and Thur, on maybe an acre, probably only half that. the big bush is an Autumn Olive. They also have Russian Olive, and it's worse. it's covered in thorns about like the ones on a Locust tree. The big puffs of what look like smoke, was running over almost knee high ant hills.

 

[Honyuk96]

Thats a nice pile, how much do 5 gallon buckets of it sell for .
One thing to consider when working for yourself is the liability/risk, jobs that anyone with a chainsaw can do will typically be much cheaper per hr, much like splitting. If no-one else will touch it, why not, usually means they don't feel confident in their abilities to do it safely or they don't have the proper equipment, if you do then there should be a bit of a premium charged for those jobs.
I usually charge 500 a day per machine/man hr, and more if I have to rent the equipment, obviously if you're hiring a crane, then you should be getting enough to pay for that and you should be making money for the crane being there. My close rate is about 60-70%, much of the work I don't get I didn't want in the first place; then there are the clients I tell that another company can probably do it cheaper because they won't be renting the equipment to do the job, and they say "okay, when can you start", theres a reason I'm there in the first place (references).
While these are all important to consider, as has been said, it doesn't matter how much you think your time or equipment is worth an hr if people can't or won't pay for it. Many companies have been started because there was a high demand and they saw an opportunity to make a bunch of money even while charging reasonable prices, but they must make enough to continue to make enough to pay for their equipment/people/other cost, or why are you doing it.
I will say that I charge enough that I can also afford to help others out, if I'm not making enough to pay our bills and to help others, I see no worth in working.

So how much you charge to remove a treehouse ??

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

No wood scrounging today but I scrounged up a few loppers and a stick saw for $200.

despite the heat... i did give in yesterday and scrounged me up some campwood for camp fire. small scrounge. neighborhood is full of curbed and ready! mostly oak and pecan this was 9 houses down. some nice clean oak. no splitting req'd! just plug n play!!~




perfect for my needs! ~

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

then, despite the heat... (95ish) i fired up a nice camp fire. scrounged paper off curb with weekly grocery ads, couple pages, some pine needles and twig kindling. yard full of it, from recent storms n high winds! doubt any of my mountain-aire pine trees have any needles needing to be dropped... they all are on my lawn! pine cones, rake the needles. before any mowing! pita! but makes for nice camp fires...

start of an all afternoon camp fire

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

then added some stix. fun tending to the fire.... it was hot!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

that got me to H-H! then tossed on a bigger stix i had not cut up. and added couple more small rounds.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

strips and chicken on the menu last nite. i decided to grill my strip over some of those hot oak coals i had... man, what a steak! very tasty! ~



a scotch, a tender, spud and cauliflower, too. side was a nice cucubmer salad... ice cream for dessert...
and a couple of tv naps to follow!

[...no leftovers!]

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Yeah, I think I'm worth that too lol.
You need to have an idea mate. Can't undercut yourself. Just kinda add up a month's worth of bills and divide it by working hours. Gets you a base number for expenses. Then figure out what you want to pay yourself. Don't know how to tell you to quote jobs, but covering basic expenses is a good place to start then add in a reasonable wage for yourself.

and a % for maint/replacement and a profit, too! latter is quite important... but sometimes just keeping the boys busy counts for a lot, too!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Done..
View attachment 1089956
Thirteen loads cut & hauled in 4 stinking long days....View attachment 1089958

sure is quite a load of mesquite.....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

There are some actual arborists on this site. just not on this page. I'd bet some of them would be happy to help with some business advice.
It's good to know where your competitors are pricewise as well.

maybe not! but at least we got some other stuff ~

 

[snobdds]

Do you guys know where the ground goes? Maybe on the open threads of the oil reservoir bolts? Kill switch I’m still working on and I’m still waiting for the 66mm jug ‘n piston to come in the mail.View attachment 1089953

I always wondered where the oil reservoir vent is...now I know.

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

Would this cargo be classified as scrounge-able?



A load of lumber took out a bridge in French River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this morning.

Bonus points to the guy that strapped the load.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Would this cargo be classified as scrounge-able?

View attachment 1090119

A load of lumber took out a bridge in French River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this morning.

Bonus points to the guy that strapped the load.

That's enough to ruin your whole day.

 

[rarefish383]

Thats a nice pile, how much do 5 gallon buckets of it sell for .
One thing to consider when working for yourself is the liability/risk, jobs that anyone with a chainsaw can do will typically be much cheaper per hr, much like splitting. If no-one else will touch it, why not, usually means they don't feel confident in their abilities to do it safely or they don't have the proper equipment, if you do then there should be a bit of a premium charged for those jobs.
I usually charge 500 a day per machine/man hr, and more if I have to rent the equipment, obviously if you're hiring a crane, then you should be getting enough to pay for that and you should be making money for the crane being there. My close rate is about 60-70%, much of the work I don't get I didn't want in the first place; then there are the clients I tell that another company can probably do it cheaper because they won't be renting the equipment to do the job, and they say "okay, when can you start", theres a reason I'm there in the first place (references).
While these are all important to consider, as has been said, it doesn't matter how much you think your time or equipment is worth an hr if people can't or won't pay for it. Many companies have been started because there was a high demand and they saw an opportunity to make a bunch of money even while charging reasonable prices, but they must make enough to continue to make enough to pay for their equipment/people/other cost, or why are you doing it.
I will say that I charge enough that I can also afford to help others out, if I'm not making enough to pay our bills and to help others, I see no worth in working.

This crane cost me $800+, for 4 hours, about 15 years ago. He had all 4 sections on the ground, wrapped up and gone, in under 4 hours. An operator that is used to doing trees is sooo nice. I clipped into his ball and he put me in the top of the tree. He told me exactly where to put the choker, then I came down on my line, and he told me exactly where to cut. When I had about 5-6 inches left in the cut he put up pressure on the top section so the cut didn't pinch. As I cut through the piece lifted up about an inch. he gave me time to relocate out of the way, then lowered the whole top in the side yard. This was a 50 ton crane.

 

[rarefish383]

Would this cargo be classified as scrounge-able?

View attachment 1090119

A load of lumber took out a bridge in French River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this morning.

Bonus points to the guy that strapped the load.

Owwie!

 

[Sawdust Man]

sure is quite a load of mesquite.....

Mesquite?

 

[Sawdust Man]

Would this cargo be classified as scrounge-able?

View attachment 1090119

A load of lumber took out a bridge in French River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this morning.

Bonus points to the guy that strapped the load.

Shoot.....

 

[Lionsfan]

Would this cargo be classified as scrounge-able?

View attachment 1090119

A load of lumber took out a bridge in French River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this morning.

Bonus points to the guy that strapped the load.

Google Maps ain't foolproof, just ask that guy.

 

[MustangMike]

My hunting load for my 338-06 shot well today. Moved the scope up 1/4" after shooting.

Looking forward to finding some game for it this fall!

 

[gumneck]

Yep, I've been saying I was going to reclaim the hay field lost to the Cedar for years. I didn't even know what the big silver leafed bush/trees were There were just a few of them. In the last ten years they are every where now. We snatched out about 20 of them Wed and Thur, on maybe an acre, probably only half that. the big bush is an Autumn Olive. They also have Russian Olive, and it's worse. it's covered in thorns about like the ones on a Locust tree. The big puffs of what look like smoke, was running over almost knee high ant hills.

That's a really nice looking place. I bet the view will improve even more when you clear it out.
I have to say, I felt a tick crawling on me when you went through that brush.