Quote to Prune

[treelooker]

YES!

Send an email back and give an houly price for the 2 of you

This is what i did with the quote; i figured 3.5-6 hours depending on level of detail. Drive time itemized o heck no free estimates unless convenient or prequalified.

"It seems like her concern is that although seen as a necessity, she doesn't know what she will getting as a result of her pruning job. Perhaps supplying a drawing of what you think the finish job will closely resemble, can alleviate her fears to some extent...maybe a large extent. It might help you as well to formulate a plan, so to speak. I know it is a bit unconventional to do that. I think I would ask for some payment to supply that, and then if you get hired, reduce that from the overall costs. That isn't uncommon with work where people are unclear about what the design will be. Some jobs are worth the extra effort to get them, and it can walk the talk for the lady, to show just how serious she is about preserving her beautiful tree and paying well for a good job. If maybe a hundred bucks or so isn't worth it to her to get clear on the approach and to help settle her worry, I think it kind of shows where she is really at about the project as a whole. I guess some better pictures would be needed in order to create a working plan. I'd ask her for them."

Done! Drawing lines with Paint is pretty quick; I do it fairly often. Not unusual at all--the UK standards recommend illustrations in job specs. Have any Californians here seen Jacks Oak lately?

 

[NickfromWI]

Funny. That looks like one that I just sent out 2 days ago.


love
nick

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm agog and agape.

 

[Pelorus]

I'm relieved to learn that pruning limbs back to those painted lines will mitigate the potential occurrence of structural damage and / or personal injury.

 

[woodworkingboy]

In the second photo, to the extent that the red lines show how much removal is planned, I could easily be missing something, but it looks like in a fairly short time that the tree would be back to pretty much the same situation as before the pruning took place.

 

[Mick!]

In the second photo, to the extent that the red lines show how much removal is planned, I could easily be missing something, but it looks like in a fairly short time that the tree would be back to pretty much the same situation as before the pruning took place.

Well I'm glad you said it! What would be the point of struggling up there to take off one years growth?

 

[Pelorus]

In the second photo, to the extent that the red lines show how much removal is planned, I could easily be missing something, but it looks like in a fairly short time that the tree would be back to pretty much the same situation as before the pruning took place.

Bingo!
You get to periodically return and re-bill the client for more pruning back to the paint-by-numbers prescribed growth limits.

 

[treelooker]

Well I'm glad you said it! What would be the point of struggling up there to take off one years growth?

The point of those reduction cuts would be to get response growth inside the crown. aka retrenchment. There would not be much if any sprouting at the cuts. This is a very old tree so 9% is the spec, to avoid shocking the system. it's like 95% hollow. Others also were looking to take more off, but this is the consensus.

agog and agape? surely you jest.

Nick, does blue show first phase and red final? The question is, are the clients that patient? Hope you get the job. That'd make a nice b&a.

Pel, periodically returning is the whole idea. bongo! It's called tree care.

 

[Tucker943]

Pel, periodically returning is the whole idea. bongo! It's called tree care.

Id hold off on saying that to a customer. Tree care and periodically returning aren't synonymous. Sometimes, yes.

 

[Pelorus]

Id hold off on saying that to a customer. Tree care and periodically returning aren't synonymous. Sometimes, yes.

Agree.
I totally see providing value to the client with the removal of dead, diseased, dying, rubbing, etc. limbs. Reduction pruning of healthy limbs seems more subjective (to me). Ie. is the haircut really warranted, or just a cosmetic beauty treatment / revenue generating scam, er, scheme?

 

[Pelorus]

........it's similar to promoting a mast reduction service to boaters to reduce knockdowns.

 

[Bermy]

........it's similar to promoting a mast reduction service to boaters to reduce knockdowns.

Oh come on now...I've often had a conversation with clients who have big trees that its going to take more than one visit to care for their tree. Especially old ones that are important to them, too much all at once could be a death knell whereas staged visits for work will allow them time to adjust and adapt.
Generally these trees have been neglected over time, so its a multi stage process.

 

[treelooker]

View attachment RETRENCHING HOLLOW TREES FOR LIFE 131118.pdf

........it's similar to promoting a mast reduction service to boaters to reduce knockdowns.

that might work, but you'd need a smaller sail...is that why they call it reducing windsail? haha. re warranted, did you miss the part about 95% hollow?? attached is the reason; did you hear it in November?

 

[Pelorus]

One might wish to consider the proverbial 90 yr. old patient who views their decayed molar as being important to them. And justifiably so. Therefore, a pecunious (meant in a literal but not necessarily pejorative sense) dentist who is renown for root canals and gold implants is sought. And found. Save the chomper. Don't yank it out.
The patient is happy, the dentist's children are happy, so why are dentists regarded with low esteem? Cause they inflict pain and suffering? Cause they always find cavities, even imaginary ones? Cause they will tell you your fillings gotta be replaced (even though they are causing you no grief)? Cause they charge a lot? There has gotta be some moral to this story somewhere. Work that is or can be perceived by the public as having a dubious or negligible value is bad arboriculture, imo.

 

[Tucker943]

95% hollow? At what point do you recommend removal?

You can snip fine tips off all you want. The weight is in the wood. Its cool to save trees, to a point. Then there's a point where one is responsible as a professional to suggest a removal. "Hazard mitigation" I believe is what BCMA's call it.

 

[NickfromWI]

Nick, does blue show first phase and red final? The question is, are the clients that patient? Hope you get the job. That'd make a nice b&a.

Neither.

My client was the tree owner. The uphill neighbor wants tree topped for view. I was hired by the tree owner to determine where the pruning would have to be done to attain the view and make recommendations on the impact that would have on the tree.

I basically said they were asking for trouble if they topped this protected native oak tree.

The blue lines was in reference to a comment I made in the report about light reduction pruning that would likely have zero negative on the impact, as desired by the client.




love
nick

 

[treelooker]

Neither.

My client was the tree owner. The uphill neighbor wants tree topped for view. I was hired by the tree owner to determine where the pruning would have to be done to attain the view and make recommendations on the impact that would have on the tree.

I basically said they were asking for trouble if they topped this protected native oak tree.

The blue lines was in reference to a comment I made in the report about light reduction pruning that would likely have zero negative on the impact, as desired by the client.

OK Nick I hear ya; that oak's growing pretty fast by the looks of it; too bad there's such little room for compromise there. Too bad for the uphill guy huh?

I seldom recommend anything on big trees; it's the owner's call. Reduction pruning can be responsible professional risk mitigation on 97.3% of hollow trees, ime.