235 year old Elm to come down

Sad story.... Can any one explain why its costing so much to remove? I really like the idea of the auction for the trust.

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Hopkins and a committee of townspeople have made sure Herbie will not be forgotten. More than 60 professional woodworkers plan to take parts of the downed tree and turn them into bowls, cutting boards, and bookmarks, among other objects, which will then be auctioned off to benefit the new tree trust. The town is also raising $20,000 for the cost of Herbie’s removal."

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I know the photo isn't the most detailed but even with a crane I cannot imagine why it would be soo much...??
 
A few things come to mind that might rack up some dollar for removal, but I can't account for 20K.

It wouldn't suprise me if the wood has to be destroyed and burned.

The expense may be including a replacement street tree: grinding, tree, etc..

A modest fee for flaggers and traffic control.
 
20' dia trunk means a lot of climb time cutting quarters or they are planning on breaking something and replacing it. the person cutting it down probably tried to bid themselves out of the job. who really wants to f with a twenty foot dbh elm? hell the stump would cost $2000 or $3000 here probably a whole yard of roots hell then they have to pay all 60 woodworkers to process the thing. then a days crane time probably a 100t crane $175 ph so $1400. then they aren't letting some nickel and dime outfit do it so they run about $400 an hour so $3200 so $8000 for the tree service with the small dump fees, $12000 for the wood workers or $200 a man. i think $20000 is right on.
 
I imagine that Herbie is in Maine's Big Tree Register. Gonna take a look when I get to the office... See what's in there about the old fella.

Update to the update: This IS the State champion. The register has the information on the facing page. "Nominated by Frank Knight, location, Yarmouth"

-Tom
 
6.3' DBH

I doubt the woodworkers are being paid. It's probably just good advertising for them to be a part of the project.

$20,000 seems ridiculous. Even for 2-3 full days of crane work with disposal and log hauling, it wouldn't even be close to that. That guy did probably try to price himself out of it, but got the job anyway.
 
20' is about 6.25' diameter. A big tree but $20,000 seems crazy for it. If somebody bid that high just for the removal, I think that would make them seems crazy if other bids came on much lower, which they should have just for a normal takedown. It looks like there are wires on 1 side of it. With a crane, I would think that tree should be down and out in 2 days MAX maybe not the stump, figure if the DBH is @ 6.25', its probably got a 7-8' stump. Maybe the 20k is for milling the wood and what not. I am pretty damn sure the company I work for could have that tree down, ground, seeded, and milled for 20k(and probably kiln dried).

Anyway you look at it, it's a shame to lose such a large tree. We took down the fattest pin oak I have ever seen a few months ago, it was a shame but it was dying hard. Just last month we were gonna put a lightning protection set up in a state champ red oak, it's started dying hard this summer and we decided not to, it was too far gone.

http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9eXAueWFua2...TUuODM4MzU2MDE4

click on aerial and birdeye then zoom in, it at the corner of Yankee and East Main.
 
The last $7000 removal I saw on treebuzz I said I'd chew down like a beaver if it was in my market. This one looks a little big even for a real beaver but I would take it down with hand saws and dig the roots with hand tools for $20,000. Bring it. Not saying it's over priced just I'm under priced.
 
Just heard back from my buddy in Maine, this is apparently the largest Elm in NE. He is planning on collecting some scion wood to clone Herbie this coming Spring.

-Tom
 
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Just heard back from my buddy in Maine, this is apparently the largest Elm in NE. He is planning on collecting some scion wood to clone Herbie this coming Spring.

-Tom

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That's a good deal.
 
It looks like they'll need to close 2 streets along with probably calling in the utility to deal with the lines under it. Figuring in those two elements tacks on a good chunk of change to any price. The desire to extract usable material for the woodworkers adds time to the dismantling.

Nothing wrong with the price. Someone assessed the job, proposed to the client who in turn made a decision to go forward with the job as put forth.

Nobody had there eyes closed or lacked the sophistication to seek a cheaper price. Given the scrutiny and likely press coverage the removal will have the company is going the extra mile to ensure nothing goes wrong. Everything can be done above board with a good profit margin to boot.

Why do we have such a problem when someone actually gets paid what this work is worth? Most times this would be priced ridiculously low and we'd be complaining that it undermines us.
 
20K-30k is the highest I've heard of around here, and that was involving a sea crane on a barge removing a large dead tree in one pick. The majority of the cost would have gone to the crane, and only when they happen to be passing through. Don't know if the guy got it or not.

Of course we dont know all the specs on the job, and in no way was I complaining about a high bid. Just wondering what I was missing as if it were just a simple removal.
 
That's the point. Simple or not the price is appropriate because the value proposition makes sense to the buyer. It may be a easy removal but no matter.

What we need to be doing is asking the person who bid it to come and tell us their approach!
 
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Just heard back from my buddy in Maine, this is apparently the largest Elm in NE. He is planning on collecting some scion wood to clone Herbie this coming Spring.

-Tom

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the largest Ulmus americana in the ne probably has a 20' dbh. we memphians have Quercus nigra that get 12' dbh, they are kinda common here; my dad has a Ulmus americana that is two trees grafted together over time that is 7.5' dbh and 85' tall, it is beautiful. all the epicormic growth was left alone and makes a really nice scaffold branch structure. it's a great alternate lanyard tree. i'll take some pics tomorrow after work when i pic up my son.
 
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