Quoted a big red oak today.

[Al Smith]

Lots of people think this work is easy. Evening with a big saw that still isn't enough to get the job done.


Sent from somewhere

The novelty of a big saw is rather short lived .

 

[fearofpavement]

The novelty of a big saw is rather short lived .

Ha! sorta like running heavy equipment. Running a crawler looks fun and is for about the first two hours. After that it's just getting beat around and monotonous.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Ha! sorta like running heavy equipment. Running a crawler looks fun and is for about the first two hours. After that it's just getting beat around and monotonous.

As with a saw, having the right piece of equipment for the job makes all the difference in the world. Nothing is worse than nibbling at a job with an undersized piece of equipment.

 

[KenJax Tree]

Heard back from the tree quote today, the guy wants the tree cut into firewood and for me to load it into his truck and trailer. Wanted to know how much that would cost. I told him the same price. Then he started talking about how he would maybe just cut it up himself. Ok, whatever. I may hear back from him yet....

At this point I would just move on. $1300 is way cheap but obviously not cheap enough for this guy. if i quoted that job at $1300 i'd lose my job[emoji3]

 

[junkman]

How long does it take to clean up a tree like that ? seems like with a hot saw it could be cut up in under an hour ?

 

[fearofpavement]

How long does it take to clean up a tree like that ? seems like with a hot saw it could be cut up in under an hour ?

To cut it into firewood? Seeing that it's all mixed in with building debris it would take me 3 long days. (with the two of us)
An hour wouldn't even be enough to cut the brush off the firewood portions. The pics don't really show what a mess this is.

 

[Guido Salvage]

How long does it take to clean up a tree like that ? seems like with a hot saw it could be cut up in under an hour ?

If you can process that in an hour, I will hire you to cut all my wood. Your "hot saw" would need to be a light saber...

 

[MustangMike]

It took me just over an hour to drop & cut a 24" White Oak into fire wood, was able to drop in in a clear area, had 2 guys hauling the limbs clear, did not have to deal with any obstructions or root ball, and it was a much smaller tree that this one w/o a whole lot of top (it was dying). And the homeowners, who had hired real professionals previously for other jobs, were amazed how fast I got it done, so Brian, I think you are vastly underestimating this thing.

Also, I did not chip any of the branhces, they were going to do that later.

 

[junkman]

If you can process that in an hour, I will hire you to cut all my wood. Your "hot saw" would need to be a light saber...

With a bobcat and forks ,i would cut the trunk at 8foot .9 inches for milling lengths buck the limbs off first of course ,pile all the limbs up with the machine and burn them ,i must not be seeing all of it from the couple pictures ,takes about 15 min on my hour meter to drop a fir tree , limb it and buck into 8 or 12 foot lengths for my mill ,softwoods cut easy though .

 

[MustangMike]

Brian, on a hardwood tree a lot of the limbs become useful firewood, so it takes a lot more time. Whenever I can, I cut it to length right off of the tree, may as well let the tree hold it for me.

 

[fearofpavement]

There's probably about 3+ cords of wood in this tree. (guess)
The time consuming part of it isn't making the actual cuts (although there will be hundreds of them) but in moving stuff out of the way as it gets cut. Having metal roofing and lumber mixed in with it just complicates things. (and adds time due to the additional care required to not get hurt or hit metal with the saw.)
I may try to get an aerial photo of the tree on the buildings. Be useful info for all involved...

 

[fearofpavement]

 

[fearofpavement]

 

[rburg]

Can you tell how large the diameter is at the base of the tree?

 

[Jon1212]

Herman,

What a mess, and $1300 seems very reasonable to me. If it was out in the middle of wide open property it would definitely reduce the difficulty, but it isn't, and I think the homeowner very well may be calling you sooner, rather than later

 

[Barneyrb]

When you are talking about the time involved are you allowing for changing chains due to nails and other foreign objects?

 

[fearofpavement]

Here's a pic I took from the airplane this afternoon. It gives a better perspective of how the tree and building have interacted.

 

[fearofpavement]

Can you tell how large the diameter is at the base of the tree?

I didn't measure it but probably 40 something inches. It's not the largest diameter tree I've encountered but it has a lot of branches on it. In the pic of me standing by the tree, I'm probably 15 feet up the trunk so that gives an idea of size.

 

[Four Paws]

Heard back from the tree quote today, the guy wants the tree cut into firewood and for me to load it into his truck and trailer. Wanted to know how much that would cost. I told him the same price. Then he started talking about how he would maybe just cut it up himself. Ok, whatever. I may hear back from him yet....

Hahaha. With his MS290 Farm Boss!

 

[junkman]

maybe have the next genuis fest there and start a bonfire