Bid per inch for tree removal

[SkwerI]

$12 an inch is insane cheap. Less than $300 for a 24" DBH tree is stupid. How can anybody afford to buy equipment and hire employees for less than $300 per removal?

Or maybe I'm not understanding. Is this per inch of diameter or per inch of circumference? For circumference it would work just fine.

 

[mek]

Yeah I know. This business can be so frustrating sometimes. But it can be rewarding to in a way.

 

[Jonseredbred]

Depends on the situation Brian, Up here most 24" Silver Maples (our common parkway tree) are scraggly and you can do 5 or 6 a day easy.

 

[OTGBOSTON]

Depends on the situation Brian, Up here most 24" Silver Maples (our common parkway tree) are scraggly and you can do 5 or 6 a day easy.

And a lot of trees have been "pruned" to death, so there isn't much left of them by the time they need to be removed.

 

[TC3]

I've been brainstorming on a way to bid pruning work on a similar system.
It just seems like the co.'s that really make decent $$$ are the ones that come up with a system.
Waste Management didn't get huge by picking up your trash >>> They came up with a pricing system that leans in their favor, based on averages.
I think it's genious.

 

[Canuck]

The city I live in does a spring brush chipping project where home owners can do there own pruning and put the branches in the alley. The city then hires a contractor to go down all the alleys and chip the brush. It is bid on a per unit basis. In this case per tonne. The contract hasn't been officially awarded yet but I was low bidder this year. At my rate of $xxx per tonne I will gross approximately $xxx per load of chips. In the newer areas of the city I'll be lucky to get a full load in a day, but in the older areas I'll be able to get 4 (5 in a couple cherry areas that are close to dump scales and dump sites). I bid low based on averages. Some guys came is as much as $100 per tonne higher than me because of the light areas where they can't get as much tonnage per day. The way I bid it I might even lose money a couple of days but I make out quite well in the end. The contract averages 300 tonne and we'll get it done in a month. Thats $xx,xxx for 3 guys with 2 trucks and one chipper in four weeks. I don't know about you but I'm very happy with that scenario.

 

[Canuck]

And yes they base it on low bid. But there are qualifications that have to be met before you can bid like Jonseredbred said.

 

[sotc]

very cool. let us know how it turns out if you would

 

[arborworks1]

I think I'll bid on that I could stand living in a motel for a month, and chipping everyday for that kind of money.

seriously that is a good contract. especially to start off the season. congrats

 

[Canuck]

You'll have to get a work visa too.

 

[squisher]

Good luck with your bid. That's alot sweeter set-up than around here. Here you list equipment/manpower and bid per hour. I'm still hoping to get on this year though.

 

[arborworks1]

You are correct, I better start working on that now so I have everything in order.

 

[stehansen]

Around here all the cities have their own setups. They usually have a loader that they pick up leaves with with one of those triangle squeeze things and they load the brush/debris into a garbage truck.

 

[Canuck]

very cool. let us know how it turns out if you would

Its turned out great for me in the past. I've always worked as a sub for other guys though. This is the first time I've gone after the whole thing.

 

[arborworks1]

You should sub it out and make the dough without touching a twig.

DO you have to rake and blow the street?

 

[Canuck]

No. We rake but any fines that are left we just give a quick rake to the curb and go. The biggest issue is that alot of the brush is a year old and dry as hell, cut into little pieces and stacked into home owner piles. Think thorny brush cut into two foot lengths, piled every which way and all smashed together so it takes up less space.

 

[Canuck]

Now stop derailing this thread. This is about per unit pricing not chipping.

 

[arborworks1]

Sounds like a grapple loading chipper would be a good match for that. Or the mini loader.

Right on per inch tree removal pricing. you started it!

 

[Canuck]

I'm shopping a conehead for it right now. No grapple but we'll put a winch on it and that will help.

 

[arborworks1]

Well good luck sounds like a great project. Just so you know we were sweating in t shirts today.

Think I actually got a jump start on my farmers tan.

 

[Canuck]

It was below freezing and blowing snow here today. The only type of day that deadwooding spruce is the preferred type of work.