How much would you charge?

Aj ginger

G'day,
I don't usually do palms so I need your advice. I have been asked to quote a cut down price on these palms. I plan to climb them and the owner will dispose of the trees once cut.
How much would you charge?

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Eric Frei

4 x Cuban royals eh.

Real hard to tell from pics, cant see distances. Can you bang the heads out whole or do you have to cut each frond and block down etc? Can you fell any of them etc?

Time is money so how many people how long?

2 people 1/2 day?

4 people 2 hours?

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Aj ginger

I have to cut the frongs on most of them ( There are another 4 out the Back ) I plan to block down to a certain Hight then fell some. 2 will Have to be blocked most of the way. A Couple will be able to knock the top straight out Then Block down.

The owner has a earth- moving Buisness and said he wants to have a couple of guys there to take everything away so I will only have 1 groundy there to work some ropes.

Aj ginger

Sorry to be a pain but up till now I havn't had much to do with palms of this size.:signs101

Eric Frei

Sharpen your climbing spurs coz their crust is hard.

So there is 8 to do, all that size?

You're gonna be busted.

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Jeff Darby

So you will only have one man on the ground that understands treework?....mmmm... If they do all the grunt work ? make it worth your time cause your going to earn it..

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Aj ginger

A couple are a bit smaller but between a shed and fence with about 2 foot either side.

So how much do you reckon? What is a ballpark Figure.

I have watched all your vids on these and can tell its going to be a mongrel climb.

They are safe to climb aren't they? Don't have a habit of falling over?

I usually don't do Palms so haven't done the bigger stuff. I guess I'l have a go at these just to say I have done some.

Eric Frei

Forget it being palms, what would you charge for the two of you for a day?

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redmower

AJ
very rough ball park assuming you climb all OK I'd be thinking day and half and work your rate out from there.

not real much room for chunking down. I'd try to dump 1/2mtr blocks if I could control the bounce. If I wasn't sure of the bounce I'd halve the blocks 300mm tall, they dont bounce well if not round, and land them on a bunch of criss-crossed fronds

how is your technique climbing fronds? do you use a safety lanyard with cinch. above the flipline. if you haven;t had a spike break out on a palm like these then you will be in for a fright/surprise. We use 2 cinched lanyards, set in opposite directions. That way we always have two points of attachments when moving up or down. Slow and annoying but life is too special ....

Maybe get your insteps bruised a little in a long day aloft. The spikes can do that if you don't have stiffened sole plates in your boots. Palms mean a lot of time standing, not sitting in the harness.

Tell us the story afterwards If you will.

RM

Brent Ferris

I have never worked on palms -- they don't grow well in Canada -- but from what you say, and the way the front palms look, I would guess 1 1/2 days. And try to get the extra help a bit later so some of the fronds can stay on the ground to minimize bounce. People not in the field think they are doing you a favour to cleanup early, when you really want them there on the 2nd or 3rd day, and out of the way of things falling and bouncing. You could prob sell that line, by saying you only like your own people on the job when you are climbing. And then humbly ask the owner to have his crew come later for cleanup when he doesn't have to worry about liability of falling trees for his crew.

It sounds like your spurs need to good and sharp, and long hours on spurs means you need steel plated boots, or you'll have trouble walking at the end of the day(s).

You said you wanted to be able to say you have done palms? From what many of the people say, I don't know why you would -- other than to be able to honestly say, they are not your favourite tree, and you usually charge a premium for them.

Just my thoughts from half a world away. Let us know how the job goes, and whatever you do, don't go cheap. If you haven't done them before, they will likely take longer, and cost you more. Just how bad do you need this job?

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Rob Chace

worth every cent of $2000.00 gst inclusive.

ArbTrain

can i make a suggestion??.. stop concentrating on the $$ mate- u say u havent had much to do with palms- these things can be like trying to gaff into concrete.. be REAL careful mate.. i have seen guys with plenty of hours under their harness come unstuck on cubans,, all the best

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Rob Chace

ahhhh, mmmm. I think you have a valid point there. I'm trying to remember what it was like in the begining, i'm sure it was more stressful and much "more' dangerous (based on experience can make it safer).

Take your time, treat it as a learning experience and not a $ making excercise. Thats generally how i viewed "new" aspects of work when i hadnt come across them before. Think twice, cut once.

Just did 2 (and half way through the third) sugar gums today. Been a few months since doing a big tree (well bigger than 20m) and there is still times when i triple check before cutting.

Be SAFE! - you cant collect the coin if you're DEAD!

Aj ginger

Considering everything you've all said to me, I have put a quote in that is more than enough to cover being slower at this job seeing it's a first.

Don't Know whether I've got it or nor not yet. By the sound of these things I'm not worried if I dont get them.

Thanks heaps for all your feedback. I'l let you Know how it goes If I do get the Job.

Eric Frei

Thanks for that. Keep us informed.

Old rule for business, "turnover is vanity and profit is sanity".

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