Seems like quiet times!

arbdog

Hows everybodys work load? For the first time in 6 years our work has really slacked off. Last few years weve even been working christmas eve and straight back on it few days later, but this year its been more than poor. We do a lot of work for the local authority, a lage construction firm and vast amounts of home owners. Our work is to the highes standards in arboriculture (as it is a set standard and should be adeared too) but things have just gone too slack. Weve had a good year but the last 5 weeks seems like weve been rationed, every one says "its always slack this time of year" but maybee we aint ever been hit this hard before. Hows everyone else?

shaggs

Obviously we're in a different neck of the woods but quiet here after chrissy.
We had the mega mad rush before that majic deadline of christmas day.

treevet

Couple or three days around the holidays and glad about it or I probably would be too tired to enjoy being here yacking it up with you guys and telling war stories.

mdvaden

No heavy workload, but have some stuff scheduled.

Could do more, but snow came a while ago, now a bunch of rain and snow, so I'm just picking-away at it, little by little.

Other than it feeling a bit slow, I enjoy hearing the rain fall on the roof, and watching the snow fall outside, and cap the hills.

At least its happening close to the holiday season.

TreeDimensional

Like mdvaden, we are plugging away at the work thats been scheduled for a while. We have a few jobs that will take a few days each, they are in regional parks, and this time of year they are deserted.

We also have to work around the weather, which has been at both extremes this winter. The last few days its been windy, but WAY above the seasonal average temperature. A couple of years ago we decided that if the temp, with or without the sindchill was colder than -15C, we stay home. Kind of funny how the cold seizes me up, I guess if I had of known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself.

Therrin

Eh, I got nothing right now. Looks like maybe some stuff for next week. Couple TD's. I'm hoping that the wild storms we've been having will drive business back up.

I'm having some trouble with advertising. I need to get my name out there more. Gonna look into posting in the pennysaver and maybe some newspapers tonight.


Talked to my uncle. He lives up in Washington state, said I should come up there. Apparently there's trees down all over the state, and not enough people to cut them up. Sounded like an interesting idea.

JohN Dee

We worked right til Christmas Eve. The phone was calling til Christmas Eve and picked back up on Boxing day and hasn't stopped. On holidays now and loving it. Doing the od Stump job here and there, and scheduling quotes. Other then that I cbf, I waited all year long for these Holi's and I'm sucking up every last second of em. Going up to the Holiday house at the end of Jan for the long weekend to go fishing & jet skiing.

P.S Oh yeah I can get my greens in 18 days now! No more gay curfue

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quercus

We're doing allright here. It's winter here and everybody thinks that all trees should be pruned in winter. We do go out for estimates but delay the work to a more proper pruning period and put them on a long term planning so they are sure that pruning will take place in the right time of year for that tree. Winter holidays are usually calm for us because people tend to delay work due to christmas and newyear's related costs for gifts and party's etc...
Planning is quite loaded though and work is still pouring in, but we also work around the weather. The type of work has had a severe change in the last few years. More people cut their trees down for firewood as oil prices are high now. We try to sell them firewood from trees who are already been felled for a price wich is less then the price for cutting their own trees down so we can save as many trees as we can...

treefeller

I agree with arbdog, ive noticed that work seems to have slacked off quite abit, must be an English thing

Eric Frei

You guys are smack bang in the middle of winter though.

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treefeller

True but it is normally alot busier than this, mind you they did say that the economy was going to slow down this year and spending was going to be tight

newguy18

I worked right up until the week before christmas and it slacked off and I start another land clearing project on monday.After that some overhangs over a roof nothing special.

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Quintrex

It's a bit quiet here too, with a lot of people on holidays, but we've got a few things coming up in the next few weeks.

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treevet

I got a call late last night that I got underbid by a thousand dollars. I think that broke my record as far as I know by people calling me back. Guy sound kind of pissed off, too. Wasn t that bad of a bid either, I didn t think. I try to live in the upper extents of the bidding, but a thousand dollars! Sub contracted crane, l00 foot oak, 2 houses, a drive (right under) and a fence running against the tree. Maybe kill it in one day with one truck to be emptied the next day with chips. 2 other l8 foot flat dumps filled with red oak that would have to be cut and split......$2600.00. Not complaining about losing job, just bad rep it puts on me for that difference in price.

Quintrex

If the winning bidder is doing jobs like that for $1600, I wouldn't imagine he'd be around for long.
I'd sooner go broke fishin' than workin'!

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treevet

I agree, and although I have never tried ice fishing it looks like fun. You guys are in summer aren't you?

bigshea13

this winter has been dead. a few smaller things. had to travel to work. ive done more electrical work than anything else. a little wrenchin/little nail bangin whatever it takes. on the good side ive done alota huntin and fishin and the dog loves me for it so its ok.

newguy18

Thats a hell of an underbid on the other guys part.I'll bet he doesn't bring a crane.

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treevet

4 to 5 days w out a crane newguy. no drop area, no rig landing area, all tag line stuff. huge stem pieces to butt hitch and drop into a block. speaking of blocks, only a stupid, block head would do job without crane. I could do job with my 12 ton 67 (jib not good for real big stuff) footer but that size tree i usually sub out. it s more fun than work (if you get that big check at the end)

quercus

We get sereously underbid by hacks all the time. Usually the clients end up calling me back after a year, because the tree is still standing and the hack realized it's not so simple...

In the last year I had three cases of clients calling me back to finish the job because others did something wrong or something went totally wrong. Big limbs on roofs, chimney's broken, porches destroyed... stuff like that. One guy really freaked out on the phone... He shouted: "You're a fraud, trying to take advantage of people like that. Do you know there's a guy in my street who also owns a ladder and a chainsaw? He's only charging 150 euro's while you are charging 1200... I didn't hear anything from him anymore untille two weeks later... He called me back on a sunday morning at 06.00 am. He didn't shout anymore but was really nice actually... He said:" Do you have time to come and finish the job? Something went really bad here, and the guy who was working just packed up his gear and left..."
I said: "Do you realize it's sunday morning? I'll come and take a look..."
He said: "You have to come and do it imidiatly, the roofing guy is also coming somewhere in the afternoon...And I don't care anymore what you are charging..."
When I arrived I laughed my ass off... One of the big limbs from the beech tree was on the roof, but the impact destroyed the chimney, about 50 % of the roof, and the porch... The roof was severely damaged, not only from the limb, but also due to the collapsed chimney as bricks went flying everywhere... Branches where through the roof and the attic... His wife was crying, and shouting at him: "You're cheap, why didn't you hire a professional, you idiot..."
We ended up doing it that sunday, but I doubled the price. That should teach him.The roof guy told me that this would cost about 6000 euro's to repair everything.

Quintrex

Yep, we're in summer here, about 27 to 30 deg Celcius most days, with an occasional hot one at 34 deg. That's between 75 and 90 Farenhiet I think. Nor east wind blows every arvo, but not too strong. Nice time of the year, beats the hell out of winter for mine.
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Eric Frei

Quercus

That was a good read, honestly WTF industry are we in where no idea no hopers are bidding against us. And when the shit hits the fan why aren't those no hopers dealt with?

Need a BSA licence around here to erect a stupid fence but cut some tree down, any ole door knocking hack is welcome.

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treevet

They sure can make us look like geniuses sometimes, though!

pomme

Same as that. I ve been in this job 20years and not known it like this before.i have work from long established clients but new work is hard to come by. I think the press talking about falling house prices and fuel going through the roof has made people wary of spending any cash. That said the wasters are fewer and the calls are genuinely interested in have their trees done and understand that quality is what counts. fingers crossed for an interest rate cut that might spur a revival

arbdog

where you from in the uk pomme? Theres a lad round here thats just finished college and got a brand new tranny a brand new 7.5 lorry and a brand wolf! Not a good time to start out in my eyes! specialy if you got all of that on the knock and no work.

Therrin

Well whatever I said about not having much work, is no longer the case. I'm booked solid for the next 2-3 weeks. WOOHOO!!!

So if ya don't see me on here much, don't immediately assume that I blew my dang self up... I'm probably sleeping or working.

pomme

live in Hampshire but work in West London. You?

arbdog

Daventry, Northamptonshire. Its about 12 miles from Northampton, mainly work in Rugby tho.

TreeDimensional

Well, yesterday I got to play lumberjack (nice chance to drop trees without having a bunch of buildings to worry about, not to mention it was a good opportunity to review persision felling) the temp was +7C, and no wind, this was the second time in the last 4 years I have got to work in January in my shirt sleeves. Well today that changed, it will be a day for surfin'. I wouldn't call it quiet time as the eavetroughs are viberating with the wind and snow hitting them. Like I mentioned before you have to be either tough or stupid to live in this part of the world. Check out the attachment, and let me know if any of you Southerners would like to swap!

Attached Files

WJAN15.doc (83.5 KB, 34 views)

treevet

Tough is my guess in your case.