Utility arb subbie on price work

[Tommygunn1992]

Hi all,

 

just weighing up an offer to subcontract from a local utility arb contractor, I met the owner and went to see a few sites which seemed pretty decent for the money, I’m not naive enough to believe they will all be easy money and the contractor seemed pretty honest and said you have to take the rough with the smooth.

 

I can rent a mewp and tracked chipper at a decent price to get started as my truck and road towable will be no use, anybody else working on span rate and how is the earning potential?

 

Cheers,

Tom.

[htb]

Don't worry you will get plenty of rough and they will keep the smooth.

Wherabouts in the country and what network?

[oldwoodcutter]

What often happens after a short while is you’ll get the condensed milk, while your arb contractor gets fat on  the cream.

[Tommygunn1992]

7 hours ago, htb said:

Don't worry you will get plenty of rough and they will keep the smooth.

Wherabouts in the country and what network?

Based in Kent, the work will be across Kent and East Sussex  cutting for UKPN and EPN. The work is just cutting back to previous in most cases, most work from a bucket with rods.
 

I believe the team is 100% subcontractors, I was told £3k a week is generally not unusual for a 2 man team.l and more if you really go for it.

 

[DJM Tree]

£3k a week you gotta hire a picker and a chipper plus run 2 vans probably alot of driving. im not saying i wouldn't do it just gonna be £1k  min in hire surly ?

 

side note are you short on domestic work is that why your considering the change ?

[topchippyles]

2 hours ago, DJM Tree said:

£3k a week you gotta hire a picker and a chipper plus run 2 vans probably alot of driving. im not saying i wouldn't do it just gonna be £1k  min in hire surly ?

 

side note are you short on domestic work is that why your considering the change ?

Not everyone wants the hassle of dealing with customers and a contract job is a nice change some times. I do 3 months a year cutting traditional roofs for a mate contracting no stress.

 

[Joe Newton]

1 hour ago, topchippyles said:

Not everyone wants the hassle of dealing with customers and a contract job is a nice change some times. I do 3 months a year cutting traditional roofs for a mate contracting no stress.

 

That's wonderful, but completely irrelevant.

 

 

The ball park of £3k a week works out at £600 a day, which is easily done in the domestic sector with as transit and 6" chipper.

 

When you factor in the hire of a mewp and tracked chipper, as well as your groundies wages you're not earning very much at all. Better off subby climbing really.

[s o c]

2 hours ago, topchippyles said:

Not everyone wants the hassle of dealing with customers and a contract job is a nice change some times. I do 3 months a year cutting traditional roofs for a mate contracting no stress.

 

Utility work and no stress?

I don’t think so.

[Mick Dempsey]

6 hours ago, Joe Newton said:

That's wonderful, but completely irrelevant.

 

 

The ball park of £3k a week works out at £600 a day, which is easily done in the domestic sector with as transit and 6" chipper.

 

When you factor in the hire of a mewp and tracked chipper, as well as your groundies wages you're not earning very much at all. Better off subby climbing really.

Well it’s easily done, IF you can get the work.

 

5 jobs a week, 5 clients to visit at the weekend or in the evening, two jobs a day sometimes, there is a lot of buggering about.

 

I’ve only worked a handful of days in utility work, railway line stuff, hideous if I’m honest, but I know people that do it and earn a living ok.

 

For the OP a foot in the door of the sector, recession proof steady work, knowing what you’re doing week on week I can see the attraction. 

 

 

[Tommygunn1992]

11 hours ago, DJM Tree said:

£3k a week you gotta hire a picker and a chipper plus run 2 vans probably alot of driving. im not saying i wouldn't do it just gonna be £1k  min in hire surly ?

 

side note are you short on domestic work is that why your considering the change ?

Will be a two man team so just a 4X4 with bucket and a tracked chipper, all waste is left on site, truck and chipper hire will work out around £75 a day including insurances, I’m waiting on a quote to up public liability. 
 

jobs are meant to be kept fairly close but I’d imagine an Isuzu smack with mewp and towing is very thirsty, I’m just waiting on all my numbers so I can work out the take home on it.

 

With regards to domestic, I do ok with domestic but its a lot of hedge cutting and I quite enjoyed the smash and grab railway style work I used to do, out in the country not draggging brash down pissy alley ways 🙂.

 

plus with an economic crash looming I worry people won’t be looking to have trees pruned and hedges trimmed.