whadja do today?

[ropensaddle]

3 Gums?
glad to hear the ROPE has enough work for December.

and all that good firewood..........

how ya been Wayne?

Can't complain, wouldn't do no good no how lol. I just got in; the job was over an hour away got 80% of it on my trailer and truck heavy load friggin trailer lights quit kept getting air horned on freeway, pulled over dern six way plugs are crap anymore had to pull the prongs back out then all was good! Lol I may take a pic if have time in the Am, I prolly got a little over 10000 on my homemade trailer and maybe a ton in the dump box. The wife thought I was wasting time hoisting the 16 foot logs and lowering them on the trailer until we had all the heaviest stuff up and started loading the smaller logs in chunks she then seen the wisdom lmfao I like the logs loaded long less chance of losing anything and way easier to bind down. I guess she is spoiled as we usually use grapple but I don't care to bounce around in the Mack longer than 30 minutes!:monkey:

 

[treeman82]

Well, it's certainly not a great pic of the tree, but with all the rain today I'm not sure how much better I could have got anyway. From roughly 200' away it's the stick behind the far house...

 

[ropensaddle]

Well, it's certainly not a great pic of the tree, but with all the rain today I'm not sure how much better I could have got anyway. From roughly 200' away it's the stick behind the far house...

Looks like a sweet gig I was ankle deep in swamp gumbo on a new construction site. I will have my hip boots tomorrow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was icy muddy wet and too deep fer my boots today

 

[Blakesmaster]

Well, it's certainly not a great pic of the tree, but with all the rain today I'm not sure how much better I could have got anyway. From roughly 200' away it's the stick behind the far house...

Nice size stick Treeman. You get it craned out today?

 

[ropensaddle]

Nice size stick Treeman. You get it craned out today?

Damn no one work now days, hell I am waiting for the day I hear of someone using a crane for a dead dogwood:monkey:

 

[GLOBOTREE]

The Woodsman

Can not disagree there. However, sometimes it is hard to know in an interview or with references.. and people can change when working long hours or under stress.. so somebody who did seem fine can loose it now and again. Even the coolest temper person does have their limits.

But you are right on in not hiring anybody who you think may cause issues.. just not worth it .. painful to jobsite.. potential customers.. and even the process to let them go can be painful itself.

i guess picky pickers get slim pickins~seems to me like there are definetely two sides to every story~foreman~or man with most experience~ shows safety as the leader must be reasonable~ and tolerate nothing short of professional standards from all persons on site. Now my opinion is this~ if the guys have a squabble off site~ say at the shop or out on the boulevard basically in the truck or On the truck not moving of course~sounds like a good start for policy on nit pickin nose pickin~ painful? where is the pain? let the men sort out their ranks when their givin it to the dog~ when theres work to be done ~ they should get er done and look after everything~ no nubs:yoyo:

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Sorry guys! already done! He took it like a man, knew that I was right and accepted it. Left it good with the opp of rehire.
Told him that all the skill in the world dont mean jack when you loose your cool.
SOMEONE WILL GET HURT when tempers pop.
I had the intent on not stopping this winter, working all the way thru.
I 1099 the climbers, they bring all their own gear, so I leave them as a sub. No unemployment for them, as they are free to climb for whoever. As for the ground guy, yep he would fall into that category, but like I said, I have every intention of not shutting down this year, maybe a couple slow weeks and dealing with the weather, but other than that I think I will be good.

Make sure you have you dot your eye's and cross your tee's with the subs. If they do not have more then one primary contractor you can get into trouble.

Here is the list off the WDWD Website

An individual must satisfy at least 7 of the following 10 criteria to be considered an independent contractor.

1. The individual must either have or have applied for a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
2. The individual must have filed federal self-employment or business tax returns in the previous year based on the type of service they’re providing to the employing unit or, in the case of a new business, in the year in which such services were first performed.
3. The individual must maintain a separate business with his/her own office, equipment, materials and other facilities. Does the worker have what is needed or essential to do their job or are essentials provided by the employing unit? Consider the type of business when determining what business assets are reasonable to expect the individual to have. For instance, it would be reasonable to expect that a machinist would have tools and equipment and a facility other than his/her home from which to work. It would not be as likely that a computer consultant would have a facility other than an office in his/her home but a computer, modem, and fax would be essential.
4. The individual must operate under contracts to perform specific services for specific amounts of money and under which the individual controls the means and method of performing the services. An agreement between the worker and the employing unit is a contract, whether that agreement is oral, written, or limited to the practices followed.
   An employing unit may direct what should be done by an independent contractor, but the individual should determine how to accomplish the job.
5. The individual should incur the main expenses related to the services being performed. If expenses are reimbursed by the employing unit, it is unlikely that the individual will meet this criterion.
6. satisfactory completion of the services and is liable for failure to satisfactorily complete the services. If rework is necessary, will the worker be required to perform the work at no additional cost to the employing unit? If the work is not completed according to contract, can the employing unit sue for breach of contract? An independent contractor is most likely responsible for completing the job to the satisfaction of the employing unit.
7. The individual receives compensation for services performed on a commission or per job or competitive bid basis and not on any other basis. An individual paid strictly by the hour would not meet this requirement unless the hourly rate is part of a bid or per job agreement.
8. The individual must be able to realize a profit or suffer a loss under contracts to perform services. If the worker has expenses that may exceed income, this criterion would be met. This would be true, for example, if an individual underbid and material costs exceeded money received for the job.
9. The individual has recurring business liabilities or obligations. If the worker has liabilities that continue whether or not he/she has customers, this item would be met. Some examples of liabilities are lease payments, insurance, advertising, professional fees, rent, and interest.
10. The success or failure of the individual’s business depends on the relationship of business receipts to expenditures. If success or failure of the worker’s business depends on something else, such as a single source supplier or a single employing unit’s sales license, this requirement is not met.

Under current law, it is incumbent on the employing unit to satisfy the Department that at least 7 of the 10 items are met in order to consider the worker an independent contractor. The Department will work with both the employing unit and the individual to gather the necessary information. However, it is ultimately the employing unit’s responsibility to respond to the Department.
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/ui201/t2201.htm

 

[TreeAce]

Ya sgreenbean..watch it alittle with that 1099 . I personally will never pay 1099 to anyone who doesn't CLEARLY meet the criteria . I have alittle experience with this . Its all good until Dept. of Job n Family serv starts nosen around .

 

[treeman82]

Craning it out tomorrow. Saw almost 2" of rainfall today. While it was raining I took the chipper back to the shop, dropped off my trailer for any overflow of logs at the end of the day tomorrow, cleaned up the driveway, and hauled off a descent load of pignut hickory that we piled up the other day.

 

[ropensaddle]

Craning it out tomorrow. Saw almost 2" of rainfall today. While it was raining I took the chipper back to the shop, dropped off my trailer for any overflow of logs at the end of the day tomorrow, cleaned up the driveway, and hauled off a descent load of pignut hickory that we piled up the other day.

Lol I would feel rested all the time using them cranes. Oh well I already am gettin thicker from the bucket days when its used, may turn to jello if I pulled out a crane as much as many here do

 

[TreeAce]

Craning it out tomorrow. Saw almost 2" of rainfall today. While it was raining I took the chipper back to the shop, dropped off my trailer for any overflow of logs at the end of the day tomorrow, cleaned up the driveway, and hauled off a descent load of pignut hickory that we piled up the other day.

Craning it out...that just sounds sweet. Like you KNOW some works GONNA get done! Hope u stay dry tomorrow , B safe and Have fun!!

 

[TreeAce]

Lol I would feel rested all the time using them cranes. Oh well I already am gettin thicker from the bucket days when its used, may turn to jello if I pulled out a crane as much as many here do

The way things have been goin in the area I work in is ....if a tree can be gotten with a crane ...U pretty much need to use one or u really can't compete . They are just SO fast . Except when you start talkn 40 ton work like reachn over houses into back yards . That a climber crew can sometimes still compete with cuz 40 ton rental is so high and I know of only one tree company who actually owns one .

 

[ropensaddle]

The way things have been goin in the area I work in is ....if a tree can be gotten with a crane ...U pretty much need to use one or u really can't compete . They are just SO fast . Except when you start talkn 40 ton work like reachn over houses into back yards . That a climber crew can sometimes still compete with cuz 40 ton rental is so high and I know of only one tree company who actually owns one .

I would have to be backed up three months to see the value in using a crane as I need all my income. If I were that busy you bet I would use one

 

[jefflovstrom]

i guess picky pickers get slim pickins~seems to me

Dang straight! Pick from the slim picken's! I stopped you at ' seems to me' for a reason.
Jeff

 

[Damon]

well i managed to get my little power turbine out today the scales on the crane outside read 7148 pounds which is a pretty good pick by any means with a chainfall had to use 2 chainfalls to get enough height and pick it from both sides really low, ill post pics in the next couple days.

do any of you guys do other rigging work on the side? ive always figured since i have the gear i might as well use it once in a while.

 

[jefflovstrom]

well i managed to get my little power turbine out today the scales on the crane outside read 7148 pounds which is a pretty good pick by any means with a chainfall had to use 2 chainfalls to get enough height and pick it from both sides really low, ill post pics in the next couple days.

do any of you guys do other rigging work on the side? ive always figured since i have the gear i might as well use it once in a while.

This is 7500lbs. of euc.
Jeff

 

[treevet]

Lol I would feel rested all the time using them cranes. Oh well I already am gettin thicker from the bucket days when its used, may turn to jello if I pulled out a crane as much as many here do

isn't that grapple truck a crane lol?

 

[sgreanbeans]

Make sure you have you dot your eye's and cross your tee's with the subs. If they do not have more then one primary contractor you can get into trouble.

Here is the list off the WDWD Website

Thanks guys for the warning. I did make sure I am ok, he will have several 1099 from others. I looked into it, I also have a pretty deep understanding of this, as my family have been general contractor/custom home builders for 4-5 generations (Yes, I am the odd ball!) So I have dealt with this a long time, also I have a bigwig accountant, and I mean BIGWIG! She is the boss of the big dog firm here, my bro used to date her when I was a kid, she always has soft spot for me, I don't pay her, she just does them and checks all Dana's work on the book's, she don't pay for tree work either! So, although you never know with the IRS, I have done everything possible to make sure that I am legit with them.

As far as BM, ur comment on how you don't know how I would let that happen on one of my jobs, I didn't, this spanned 2 big jobs and 1 little, within in a week, Thought I handled it pretty quickly. So I guess what I am saying is, how would of you handled it any quicker? It happened on Tuesday,fired him Wednesday mourning! That information about him yelling and screaming at the other job I received same day as the fight. I understand the "control freak" and I agree with you. However, I cannot be in two different places at once. I am at every job, just not there for whole thing, out doing bids and other jobs, check on them often and they can call me at an instant to get whatever they need.This is why I hired a guy to run the crew, did I see the Temper Tantrums coming, hell no! If I had, I would not have hired him. Freaking GREAT CLIMBER, I had very little issues with his work, just need to tighten him up a little. As I said before, all the skill in the world don't mean jack if all your doing is running your mouth and showing your arse in front of clients.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Sounds to me like your (if memory serves me right) guy is just a young tree climber is all. Tough and wild breed.. not the easiest thing to handle.
..

He is young, 25. Very wild. 600HP Nitrous Mustang, a few 4x4 fords with 44" tires, rebel flag, the whole deal!
If he can control his temp, and leave his baggage at home, he will be great in this industry, he just needs to mature and I don't have time to raise another kid.
I agree with most above.
When I interviewed him, he did not tell me he was gonna snap and loose his mind!
I had not a clue! Everything was going great, crew got along fine till that day. I am sure that he had something going on in his personal life that he brought to work (I put that on his age) and they both feel horrible bout it. Both apologizing to me for firing them, both feel they let me down, which they did. As they settled down, I think they realized what they did, and how it effected everybody.
I do think it has something to do with his mom and step dad, ur right, step-dad runs a tree service,tree topping hack and a major A-HOLE, and the divorce is UGLY, He has been getting stuck in the middle. I feel bad for him, went threw a nasty one with my parents, but you leave that stuff at the door when you get to work

 

[treevet]

You have a point there. How old is this guy, beaner? A lead climber under 25 is gonna have a serious attitude. I've definitely mellowed out over the last 5 years. I wasn't exactly a lead climber back then but I sure as hell thought I was a bad ass mofo. Maybe he deserves another chance.

Either way, seems you need to tighten the reigns on your crew quite a bit. They are your main advertisement for more work. The last guy I worked for ran a 5 man crew with over a mil in equipment, every day for at least 9 mos a year, and we didn't #### around. He was bringing in at least 3K daily and he still managed to be on 95% of the jobs start to finish. The tight leash was annoying, but we were the most organized crew on the local scene and we knew it.

Isn't that Eric guy some kinda partner of yours? Do you have or have you had any employees ever in the huge span of ONE year you have been in your own business? As usual you giving advice when you have little or no experience.

Again....tree guys are gonna fight sometimes....they shouldn't fight sometimes but the reality is they will fight sometimes. The gm doesn't lower the piece enough, almost causing the climber to get squashed for example or the climber is a tyrant with an inferiority complex .......or both (or both are on a bad hangover....etc etc). If the boss is on the job he or someone intervenes hopefully to preserve appearance to the ho.

The guy you were employeed by in the other 4 ? years you have been in biz has a (MILLION$) dollars worth of equipment? Is that new value or current? What's he got worth a million dollars with his 5 man crew?