lets talk $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

hoot gibson

just a quick question . me being the uneducated men i am about tree work it amazes me to read your stories and watch your vids. i had a friend over the other day and was showing him some of the videos , and pictures . he ask. what does it cost to have a tree cut down . i replied, im sure it would depend on the job , so i was just wondering . what was the least you ever made off a tree job and what was the most you ever made off a job . i do understand that each and every one of you have probably done it for free just to help someone . hope im not prying to much .. h

wulkowicz

I had a friend once, but he grew up.


Bob Wulkowicz

Pro Nemus

Hell, I've charged as little as $150 and as much as $10k, depending on many factors.

I try to bid a removal at a rate based upon labor and equipment hours. With the state of our local economy, even the big guys are really bidding low; hence, I don't get as many removal contracts as I used to. However, thats okay if you look at it from a profitability point of view, for we make better profits off of pruning work anyway.

TREEMONKEY

I usually take the amount of man hours, technical difficulty, danger level, and if the tree is a pain in the ass, into consideration.
If i had 2 identical trees but one had a large split in it the price may very 500$-1000$ or more and only take 20 minutes longer.
I also guess what the other companies may estimate and try to stay lower untill i am lined up with work.
I aim to make 150-200 $ per hour for chipper 2 trucks 3 men.

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Therrin

Wulkowicz,

if you're going to bother to reply, you could try adding something *to* the thread, or explaining why you disagree with it. Was kinda amazed that you took the time and went out of your way to say....that?? wth?


Hoot,

I'm on the lower end than these guys.... I don't have a big boom, or lots of machinery. Climb everything (mostly). Rent a chipper if I need one.
Just to answer your question, but stating that it really is difficult to give a realistic answer with such dynamic situations and a somewhat vague way of putting it...

$25 low end
$850 high end

It answers the question, but doesn't say what they were, what factors went into it, etc etc... This is just for ONE tree right? I've made up to $1500 in a day, but I'm sure thats hella cheap compared to what alot of these guys can bring in.

There's alot that goes into this kind of thing. Some of them like Pro Nemus & Treemonkey mentioned, and alot that Wulkowicz could have mentioned, but failed to.

Personally I think of things like,
How long will it take?
How much effort does it take? How much knowledge to do it properly?
How big is it? How dangerous is it? Will I have to rent a chipper? How many groundies do I need? What will it cost in gas to get back and forth, etc etc.

Seeing as how you were right up front saying that you're uneducated about tree work specifics, I can understand where you're coming from by asking it. Afterall, I'm not sooooo old that I can't remember what it was like when I started, and remember that I really didn't know how things like that worked.

Pricing is dynamic, you have to figure it out as you go. Hope that answers your question a little more thoroughly.

TREEMONKEY

Just to clarify my 2 trucks would be a newer pickup and a very old dirty dump truck and chipper paid 5000$for the pair. i try for over a 1000$ which is a good Day but try for 1500$ish. have done much better on occasion but much worse also still new to estimating but learn every time.

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newguy18

I usually charge by the job.the more danger the more cash.

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old schooler

bigshea13

depends on how bad they want the work done and how much the other guy is willing to do it for followed up with your sales pitch. one bit of advice: try not to do it too cheap or else everyone that they tell and the ones they tell and the ones they tell will expect a deal from you. kinda like a crappy chain letter.

Therrin

What Bigshea says is dead on,

but if you work for yourself you've gotta figure it out somehow. The learning curve for the first year, I think, is close to a vertical line, especially if you weren't schooled in it and haven't worked on anyone else's crew.

I've a question of my own to add in here....

Like NG said, I price per project, not an hourly thing usually.
If you give a quote for say...10 trees to be done.... and they ask you how it breaks apart on paper, do you all have it quanitified per tree, for all the things being done to it, that you can tell/show the h.o. to justify your price, or is it just a "thats just how much i need to do it all" kind of thing?

TreeCo

LOL.

I have fishing buddies.

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Pro Nemus

Amen, brother.

quercus

Hoot every tree is different. In the beginning you will make wrong calculations because sometimes a tree looks very different when you are in it, then when you look at it from the ground.

What may seem simple at first, is a death trap once you start on it... but hey... that's what learning is all about huh.
Sometimes environment and surroundings change in time... So start on a tree as fast as you can after putting a price on it.
Say for instance you calculate a price and put that in writing, but two months later you arrive on scene and the HO built a shed under the tree?
That's a totally different situation huh....
or... you calculate your price, and you will take it down using a false rigging crotch in an adjacent tree. One month later you arrive on scene and the adjacent tree is gone, so rigging will be a lot more difficult now...
Ya'll gonna have thoughts now like... yeah then change your price and client must understand. But since I'm a little bit allergic to that kind of practices, I try to complete the job asap and stick to the price. Fast service is real good for your businness...

wulkowicz

Am I really having to write this? My post was in response to Hoot's tag line, and I said, "I had a friend once, but he grew up." It was meant to be a small humorous comment and some apparently even got it.

I agreed with, and enjoyed, your post in another thread:

"Looks like things are going well over here Ekka...
Nice way to capture 165 posts in just a couple days. The input has been amazing, as well as pushing towards some group cohesion. Good job!!
Thanks to everyone for posting so far."

Then I have to read some judgmental drivel about about what I should contribute or that I somehow disagreed with something, but wouldn't say...?

I can't non-write for the non-reader; never have figured it out, and really any attempt to do so would be an insult to those who read. I write carefully, I write with passion, and I go back again and again to help those who have trouble with what I'm saying.

I don't write what you want--or what you expect. I do however understand how important that post is to you and you have many excellent replies, but I had nothing to comment, so I didn't and wandered away.

If you want to criticize what I do or say, go right ahead, just let it have bit of substance. Perhaps out of professional courtesy, but any reason at all would be appreciated.

By the way, I make a disciplined effort to try to think like a child; children are innocent honest observers of the world around them and I envy them. Never once have I heard a child say, "Watersprouts sap the vigor of the tree." But I have heard that ad nauseam when I started in this business and I still hear it today. But then again, what do I know?

The photo is from 1990 or so.



Bob Wulkowicz

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Eric Frei

Oh Bob, stop it my sides are busting ... these young'ns take a bit to cotton on that's all.

Classic's.

He asked for posts, anything, and you supplied. He wanted to flood the server here http://www.treeworld.info/f36/member...osts-1616.html

But I did it here http://www.treeworld.info/f36/you-how-s-going-1722.html

Hence there was the young bull and the old bull .........

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Therrin

Appologies Wulkowicz,

Apparently your small humorous comment could be taken two different ways.

I agree that at times I'm full of spice and during other's that I'm more full of
crap, but I'll be upfront with that. Sometime's I'm so driven to defend my
own way of seeing things that I get overly flowery and wordy and write
lengthly posts that just put people to sleep. As a result, they don't bother
reading much of my stuff till something controversial comes up.

I notice that you posted exactly what I said that you liked, then got pretty vague with the one you didn't like, not allowing me to address it.

You address not being able to non-write for the non-reader, but then somehow suppose that you don't write what I expect or want =)
How would you know that? lol. We're both passionate with what we write, but we approach things from different angles.
When it all comes down to it, we both agree on proper stewardship in the tree care industry, the rest is personal adherance to slightly differing doctrines.

<shrugs> This is all alright though. Apparently there are parts of what we both say that are agreeable as well as disagreeable. Go figure.....


As I understand it, a watersprout is often initiated from overpruning by an untrained tree-worker (hesitant to say "arborist" here) and also often happens as a reaction to severe stresses.
In addition to the sprouting issues, is the initiation of "suckers", which are from the roots.

I liked the picture, thanks. I think that men should all strive to be able to attain the serenity required on occasion to relate to boys.

hoot gibson

wulkowicz , i understood completley . my wife always used to ask me .. when are you going to grow up?? now she is just use to it ..


i understand that there is alot of things to take into concideration . kinda like remodling a home . ekka should understand that , thanks for the responce guys , hoot

osb_mail

Hey hoot I figured out were Loches RD. yesterday If your friend is local and wants a tree removed I could give him a estimate be glad to take a look for him,pricing depends on what you want done .Do you just need a tree put on the ground this is usually the cheapest option .Than you got tree down cut up and nothing moved . Than there brush chipped on site good for country setting ,Then brush chipped removed all wood taken away . Oh yeah there is also stumps . These all depend on how long of travel to job ,where tree is located ,does it all need put down on rope , can the tree be access with equipment price usually range from 200 to 1000 dolars and up

hoot gibson

osb , thanks for the reply . but no tree removal needed . she was just wondering , me also. because we were watching the videos .i can put them on the ground as long as they dont have to fall in any perticular direction stop and give me a hand shake some time . h

Eric Frei

Many of us even years later still make wrong calls on bids.

There's things that happen, and the worst thing that happens is when the terrain or tree/environment changes between the time you bid and return for the job.

You wont see too many contracts with some clause catering for that. You return and there's a friggin garage where you were going to fell the tree or they re landscaped and now have a brand new garden etc.

But in general in your mind you have day rates, half days rates, and hourly rates including travel. If the job is a day job but really intensive and high risk you charge more to cover the Oooops factor or if you run late etc.

I still get it wrong, and when you're there finishing in the dark the customer is different to when you leave at lunch time coz you blitzed it ... such is the name of the game, experience, gear, crew, and environment affect it all. What about if it's windy and you no longer can drop branches out of the 70' bucket?

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treevet

I agree with what Ekka and many have said. One of the nice things about remaining a small entity is you, with more and more years and clients accumulated is you can live in the high range of the quotes. You are in demand so you, supplying your ass to the job is going to cost them more. You have a lot of customers and you don t have droves of crews to dispatch daily and you have padded for oops factors and.....life is good.


Only bad thing, now you have to get your ass out and do the job yourself as nobody else is going to do it. Had a tough one today, so excuse post script.

bigshea13

nice box bob

treevet

Wondered how others felt about this. I generally don t return calls from non productive areas. After showing up and they say nice presentation, I am getting 5 or 6 more bids. Or just spending the gas and time to give a bid and never getting anything in a spec area, I have taken to just not calling back an area.

Seems more appropriate than calling them back and saying I don t ever get any work in your area (abundance of Hacks) so pls feel good about my call back to tell you I don t want to bid there.

arborjockey

About the traveling to a bid. My thoughts are if you are getting calls from area and not closing the deal dont deal with the hole area. Their are many reasons for not getting the job. The people may not know the $ of tree work and be shocked or just want to talk trees what ever. If its not right around the corner Id say forget it. I like the idea of specializing in certain neighborhoods. Not that you dont travel thats in evadable(however you spell it ?). Theirs certain areas I wouldn't recomend so your stuff wont get stolen. I herd of a guy going up a tree with his saw tied to his rope. When he went to pull it up it wasn't there.

treeseer

What really fries my onions to a crisp is the equation of "tree removal" with "tree job".

There are so many jobs for us in tree care--why assume that removal is all arborists do??

newguy18

I kinda agree treeseer,tree job sounds kinda dirty.

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old schooler

hoot gibson

mabey i didnt want to here about trimming some old ladies bushes and planting flowers . i went back and re read my first post , and i guess if you only quote part of the post it might sound a little funny. h