Pricing for Rigging Work

[Outlaw333]

First of all, I know this is not 'strictly speaking' in the right forum but 1)I thought it might get missed and 2) the question is more about pricing than rigging so I felt I could justify indulging my rebellious side!

 

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are with regards to pricing in rigging.

 

What would you consider a fair amount to add on to your standard subby rate if providing your own rigging kit, or do you have a standard rate that stays the same but factors in the annual costs of rigging equipment.

 

If it is your own job how do you go about pricing in rigging, obviously there is the time factor but does anybody have a standard 'rigging fee' that would be applied to your job/day rate, or do you have a totally different method for pricing up, or do you just keep your rate the same..

[tree_beard]

Rigging is such an elemental aspect of tree work why would you separate it from your usual rate? 

[Outlaw333]

Well i would say in the same way that diagnostic equipment is an elemental part of modern car mechanics but they still charge for plugging your car into it because it is expensive kit that has to be payed for somewhere. It's makes sense to keep costs down for those jobs that don't require rigging. Just my opinion though, that's why I'm asking.

Edited December 30, 2017 by Outlaw333

[tree_beard]

It would be more like a mechanic charging extra for using spanners. Its a fairly basic requirement for aerial tree work.

 

If a specific tree requires something really exceptional (elaborate speedline for example) maybe add on the cost of an extra hank of rope or couple of pulleys. But those kind of trees tend to be multi thousand pound jobs that have the margins to pay for extra gear anyway.

Edited December 30, 2017 by tree_beard

[Outlaw333]

Fair enough, cheers for the input Tree Beard, that's good advice and a much more simple way to look at it. I normally try and factor everything in when pricing up jobs on an individual job basis depending on what is involved rather than a simple £200 per man per day or whatever. It's got to be one of the hardest things we do I recon pricing up. I'm still trying to get the hang of it now after 2 years in business!

[Rich Rule]

I used to charge for a standard day's climbing, me, Loler'd climbing kit, ms200t and 150t and a 441.

 

If they wanted me to bring 700+ quids worth of rigging kit for no extra cost then I wouldnt be doing it.  If rigging was required I charged extra.  I wasn't cheap in the first place.  When I say riggin kit I don't mean an old climbing rope.  

 

I used to provide 16mm polydine, slings, krabs, impact blocks, redirect pulleys and other bits and pieces.  They all cost and needed to be Loler'd so I charged for it.  Look at the specs for that kit and it can handle some fairly substantial heavy rigging.  Any more than that and it was a crane job.

 

I also used to charge extra if they wanted me to bring a 660.  

 

I always found as long as you explain all this before hand and don't spring it on them at invoice time.  I never had a problem.

 

It worked for me.

 

Also I would suggest dropping the term subbie.  It implies you are a bonafide sub contractor and therefore require your own PL insurance.  I used the term freelance or contract climber.  

[Rich Rule]

In answer to the second part of your OP.  Riggin kit is essential for a rigging job.  It isnt the kit you should be charging for but the the skills you have a trained over the years in order to do the job correctly, safely and efficiently.

 

Charge accordingly for your skills.

 

Just my opInion.

[Mark Bolam]

Rich has beat me to it.

I never paid him more because his rigging kit pretty much replicated mine, though I would have done if I needed it.

 

Thinking about it, I probably should have paid him more a few times because we used his kit as well on some complex jobs, but my groundies were trained to nick it from the back of his truck then put it back before he noticed.

 

I wouldn’t get greedy, but an extra £20/day for a longer than usual (60m?) line and a decent extra block wouldn’t phase me if I needed it.

 

@bigtreedon Would be a good man to ask.

[Rich Rule]

Haha...  I wondered why you and Stevo always wanted to k ow where my truck keys were;)

 

i might add that on occasion, if a branch or two needed to be rigged down then It was just done.   However,  if I was I knocking gurt big lumps off, negative rigging, then they provided the kit or I charged them for the use of mine.

[tree_beard]

I suspect your perspective depends on your clients and usual job type. A purely freelance climber may well find it beneficial to have a variable price structure depending on job type or equipment needs. Maybe pruning for a well equipped tree company one day and removal for a landscaping firm the next. 

 

I only work for (with)a handfull of firms, usually sole trader all round tree workers, who have their own rigging kit/big saws anyway. We're rarely lacking in gear to get the job done, and generally the more the merrier. That and it's usually removals for me...

 

If you can... bring loads of shiny cool gear and charge the earth for it