Charge to do tree work

D

d5md

Location
north augusta sc
I understand that it is different with every job that you do. but is there a rule of thumb on how much to charge a customer to prune dead wood per tree and etc. I see post where some charge by the hour and the job etc but Im trying to get a feel for this so any help you could give me would be appreciated. thanks David M.
 
The way we bid jobs is all a guesstimation. We have an hourly charge that we use when someone says 'just do it and send me the bill'. With that figure, we "guess" how long the job will take from start to finish and then multiply by the hourly rate. If there will be a trip to the dump or back to the shop for different equip, that is figured in as well. Once you get the hang of how long a job will take, it gets easier to make the bid.

To figure how much to charge by the hour, figure in insurance, taxes, and how much you want to pay your self and helpers and then add a little more for maintenence of equip.

It may not hurt either to visit with other comps in your area to see what they charge. If they tell you, charge the same amount - period. Don't undercut them simply to steal business. Thats bullsh*t. If you get answers from more than one and theyre different, average them.

Best of luck!
 
Personally I charge a little more than the norm, when it comes to doing deadwooding, for a variety of reasons.

Dead material is harder to cut with hand saw or chain saw, dulls blades quicker.

If your doing the entire tree crown it is going to mean a lot of limb walking to get dead stuff out on the ends.

Dead wood is hard and stiff, harder to work with than live branches.

Clean-up is nothing but one big mess that doesn't chip good, breaks up more, so you have more to rake and clean-up.

Ther is always more up there than you think there is, if you specefy for example five dead limbs to be cut, the customer sees one more, then another, can you get this one too, it goes on and ond on and the mess gets bigger. You will find out after awhile, what I'm talking about.

The biggest reason I charge more is your doing the more professional type arborist work. Especially if it is coupled with crown cleaning and thinning.

The competition isn't quite as stiff as it is with the removals. The people that request arborist work, have a concern for their trees, and the quality of care they recieve, price isn't a big issue compared to quality of workmanship. You have to get a feel for whose just shopping around and those who aren't.

Remember, your an arborist. not some boff with a chain saw and a ladder. Not everybody does the same quality of work in this business. Don't be afraid to charge the norm,and then some if the work is technical. Just don't get crazy and start charging double, you won't work then.

Another day
Another time

Ax-man
 
charge up for deadwooding.

Boss sent two of us to deadwood a 40' white ash. It had a few major dead branches, a couple storm damaged ones. The bill was for $90.00. The two of us shoulda been in and outta there in about 30 minutes. We start climbing and we're like, man there's a ton of dead up here, more than you notice from the ground. A while later the homeowner comes out and wathces for a while. Well, we were in the tree for 45 minutes (2 of us) and we still had clean up (20 minutes...the chipper didn't wanna start!) We get to the shop, the boss is like, "What took you so long?" Not more than 3 minutes later, the customer calls back and says we didn't take out enough. I think while she was watching us, she got a little better at spotting the dead and became aware of how much there really was. The boss was pretty upset and we had to go back. I told him it was his fault.

love
nick
 
Re: charge up for deadwooding.

When I put together a bid, I divide the tree into concentric spheres. Then, I set a specification for each sphere.

A bid may be something like this:

Outer third of crown: Remove deadwood larger than X" dia [Typically the size is about 1.5 or 2" ]
Inner two thirds of crown: Remove deadwood larger than X" dia [Typically 1 to 1.5" dia ]

I might specify something about the trunk or maybe not even do anything in the outer 1/3 or even 2/3. There might be a spec to take out specific limbs in the spheres too.

By dividing the tree into thirds and then specing the size, it is very definite to the client and climber what will be done. The diameter and height can be measured pretty easy from the ground too. This should settle any disputes about how the spec is followed. When I bid jobs I point out some "marker" limbs to the client and give them an idea of where the spheres are located in the tree. I also let them know what size deadwood that they will expect to see in which sphere.


Nick, it seems that for $90 you would have only been cutting firewood size limbs and large storm damage from the inner third of the ash.
 
Re: charge up for deadwooding.

"Nick, it seems that for $90 you would have only been cutting firewood size limbs and large storm damage from the inner third of the ash. "

Yeah. I ask him how his company stays alive. I just keep telling myself, "It's not my business." However, when he get's stressed and put's pressure on us to get things done too quickly, then it IS my business. I get a bit of a kick out of doing things safely, then telling him that I could have been done faster, but that would have cost him the replacement of a fence and repaving the driveway.

Fun stuff!

love
nick
 
Re: charge up for deadwooding.

Ash trees eat my lunch every time (though I've never tried to prune a 40 footer for $90).

I always double in my mind how much dead wood will come out of ash trees (mostly AZ ash here) and still find myself wondering where all the mess came from. they just pile on layer after layer, and it usually seems to be the middle layers that die, so it can be a pain to get the brush to the ground. There's usually a certain amount of thinning and raising called for, as well. On the bright side, it tends to go therough the chipper pretty easily.

As to the original question, I have no shortcuts to offer. I try to estimate my time in the tree, taking into account the size and quantity of dead wood as well as the obstacles I will have to avoid when dropping branches. I'm better at it now than when I started, but I think everyone bombs a bid now and then. I recently showed up at a job that I had bid awhile back, and I couldn't believe I put in writing the prices I did. I decided I subconsciously wanted to climb the trees and lowballed to be sure I got it. There were two Shumard oaks in excess of 70' tall (about as tall as they get round here) and their combined crowns (along with a 50' pecan) covered the entire front lawn. I did enjoy the climbs, but I took about twice as long as my bid would have suggested. It was still nice to put a check in the bank in the end. You just have to do your best bidding and then be ready to take your lumps when the time comes.

keith
 
Re: charge up for deadwooding.

Here's an interesting secondary question pertaining to the original.

Does anyone give senior citizen discounts? and why?

My boss's theory is that is takes just as long to trim the tree of a 85 yr old cust. as it does a 35yr old cust. We dont give the disc based on that. Not like a restaurant where the 85 is going to eat less.

Just curious. Oh, and I dont trim much of anything over 25 feet for $90.
 
Re: charge up for deadwooding.

Take your lumps like a man when you get them. Don't resent the customer for your mistakes. It stings and hurts - people learn from getting hurt. The memory of that sting will keep you from doing it too many times.

The original question - think, really think - simply opportunity costs - what are yours??
 
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