Going in on cost to fell...ever done it?

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muncybob

muncybob

Minister of Fire
Apr 8, 2008
2,158
Near Williamsport, PA
I answered a response to one of my CL ads to remove hardwood trees. Place is less than 10 miles from my house and they have some HUGE ash trees they want out. I'm guessing(and truly a guess) that I could probably come away with enough wood for the next 6 years! Nice thing about this is I can drive my truck/trailer right into the area to load. I decided that due to my limited experience with tall trees and lack of climbing abilities that these are beyond my scope...then one of the 2 neighbors in this stated that somebody nearby said he would drop them for around $400, but even at that price they were still not sure about doing this....so I say that I would be willing to go in on the cost and split the cost 3 ways. So for a lot of work(one of the homeowners said he would even help me when he could) and less than $150 cash out of my pocket up front I could have some nice ash seasoning soon.

Seems like a good deal to me.....ever done something like this? Any pitfalls? There are around 12 trees involved and I was thinking about paying the guy taking them down on a per tree basis and only felling 3 at a time that way the people don't have a lot of trees in their backyards for the next 2 months or so and I have some room to work. These trees are around 24+" and at least 70' tall.
 
The only pitfall I see is you paying to have them dropped and having the owner deciding he will take it from there. People get real funny about wood the closer it comes to being able to keep them warm. I once went back for a second load only to find the owner arguing with the tree guy and threatening to not pay him if I didn't bring the first load back. I think it started when his wife texted him a picture of me driving away with a cord and a third of bucked rounds in the trailer. Made me laugh as there was still another 3 or 4 cord there and all he had in his 4 or 5 hundred thousand dollar house (very nice house around here) was an open fireplace.
 
S&W is right people get funny about things...but maybe if you explain to the owners your concern, you may be better able to feel them out if they would deviate from the original agreement. It definitely is a lot of work especially if you have to haul the limbs and debris. If you can handle that side of it, then I would likely do it assuming I got a good feeling from the owners (as in they were not going to try and screw you).

If the guy will take them down piece meal...that is a good way to go, but if he is only charging $400 I suspect he will not want to make multiple trips. He would be looking to make his $400 in an afternoon, taking them all down at once.

Again, if the folks seem honest, I would go for it. If you can take a couple days off mid week, then I would have the guy take the trees down on one day, and then have two weekday days to start the project. This serves two purposes - on those two days you should be able to haul a couple cords easy back home. Then, you have two more days on the upcoming weekend. Doing this lets you score at least say 8 cords (two each day) before they "change their mind." Also, I would limb the trees, and then take the easy to carry and load sections first. Leave the bases and all the debris.

There is much less an incentive for them to change the agreement when they realize they have a yard full of waste to dispose. Also, large rounds are much harder to sell/split/move...even if they changed their mind, you may get a call the following week or so when they realize they are stuck with the rest.

When I scrounge, it never fails the stuff that an average person can load into a pick up is gone quickly....rounds that need to be rolled or split on site can stay up on CL for a long time. At $150...even if you only got five cords of easily removed (not back breaking rounds) off the property...you are looking at $30 a cord for ash right down the road.
 
If these will fall with no danger to property etc, toss a rope into the tree as high as you can with a weight on it & get a slip not on it. Have someone pull on the rope(100 ft) as you cut it. You can then take down the trees at your leisure 1 at a time. No cash outlay, put this toward a good gas pole saw(these can save your hide) & no worries about someone taking your wood, Randy
 
Walk away!
 
Ask them to get a price for what it would be to have all of those trees removed on top of paying the 400 to have them dropped. You are doing them a favor cleaning them up since they don't want any of the wood. I wouldn't pay a dime to help get them dropped.

pen
 
smokinjay said:
Walk away!
Click to expand...

+1 There is no way i would pay for someone else's tree job just to scrounge the wood. Just my $.02
 
Yeah, walk away or at least get it all in writing w/ signatures from all...
 
How much wood would you get spending the same amount on scrounging? I vote for walking away.
 
at the rate ash trees are being cut try to find one down already. im looking for one at the moment and like in the past it always shows up. pete
 
quercus_kelloggii said:
Yeah, walk away or at least get it all in writing w/ signatures from all...
Click to expand...

+1 on written agreements. They really help keep things straight. No need for fancy lawyering; just simply "I will do this. xyz, you will do this zyx, with some concept of time and expenses.

That said, I would NOT pay someone to drop them, if there were no close obstacles to avoid damaging like powerlines, fences or buildings.

You might really enjoy learning to SAFELY fell them yourself. The book "How to Fell a Tree" http://www.amazon.com/Fell-Tree-Jef...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288667669&sr=8-1

is a fantastic reference, should you decide to go that route.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!
 
Writing up a work order is good advise. Also have in there that the signer is the only interested party, other wise you might find that his brother/sister/aunt owned half the house & wanted the trees. If the trees will drop easily I would not walk away from this much wood, Randy
 
I undestand the just walk away comments...a little more background though: Neither of these families burns wood, they want the trees gone to reduce leaf clean up(last time I was there one of them was on their roof blowing leaves out of his gutters...apparently a regular event for him). We began talking about these trees last winter but due to life getting in the way I was not able to get back to them until about a month ago. We can drag any limbs into the wooded area behind their backyards so this makes for fairly easy clean up. These treees are really tall and there is a lot of good straight trunk to be had. There are 2 small structures nearby which is the main reason I won't be felling the trees and the person they may approach to do this lives just down the road from them. Currently I am limited to just Sundays to work the woods near my home due to hunting season so the fact that I can do this work at their place anytime appeals to me along with the idea that I can stock up a lot of wood quickly.
So, if indeed they do get this other person to fell the trees I think a written agreement definatley will be drawn up and signed by both neighbors involved in this...but, since I have not heard back from him this may all be a mute point. Thanks for all the input!
 
do a little reading and learn how to drop the trees yourself. With a little common sense and thinking things through dropping trees is not really a big deal if there is nothing in the way, buildings, power lines, roads,ect.
 
Yep, done some reading here, other web sites and watched some You Tube. But as Clint said..."a man's gotta know his limitations" and in this case the nearby structures are outside of my own limitations. I have dropped a few trees...some large ones too but they have been either in open areas with nothing around or in the woods. I wish I could do these as I must admit that cutting wood has become a bit of an addiction! :)
 
I've "shared" downed trees with relatives.

I've been left with the job of carrying the branches into the woods and also further into the woods.
I've been left with the crappy wood. I've been left with the top halves of trees. I've been left with the whole project.
I work faster / slower than you. You work harder / faster/ slower than me.
Then I've had to listen to how I got the better end of the deal.

It might be cheaper to have a guy come once rather than several times.
But you might want to mark whose trees are whose to deal with before / after they are down.

Sometimes these kind of shared projects go very well and everyone involved has a grand time.
They can also go very wrong.
I like to be prepared for both before I start.
 
i would tell the guy to hire a pro,but you,d do the clean up for the fire wood....
 
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