Where does the money go?

[treedweller]

.....

Edited August 8, 2012 by Steve Bullman
language

[WorcsWuss]

Dave123's comments about spending on something you don't want are exactly right... We're on a job at the moment, DB9 in the garage, client haggling over something very minor which they do need but don't have any emotional desire for, but they just went out and splurged on a hot tub for probably 10 times the value of the essential thing... it's human nature though...

Most people would rather spend money on a new TV than tree work, or digging out and repairing stinky knackered drains, re-pointing the walls, fixing leaky gutters....

 

Ref tree surgery being dangerous, shall we say no more or less dangerous than delivering fuel....? Don't know many tree surgeons who earn £50-odd-k...

I reckon that for the investment and the graft most tree surgeons are vastly under-valued and under-paid. This is just an observation I have made from dabbling myself and employing people in the construction industry.... £150 a day for a ceiling fixer? No special insurance, no special tools, no expensive training and certification... rock up, clip some ceilings together.... To my mind a tree surgeon should earn a lot more... Don't think they do though....

[treedweller]

.....

 

Honestly???

[Marula]

IMO, if its dangerous your doing it wrong, my son is just starting for me as an apprentice, if I thought it was dangerous I would not want him to do the job.

 

Tree works not dangerous, but some of the people doing it are.

 

Righto... so danger in tree work is 100% human cause and affect.

[Mark Bolam]

I'm enjoying this conversation,& must thank Dave123 for his contribution here.

It realy is quite enlightening (for me at least) to get this perspective from a clients eye view.

 

Totally agree Geoff, I think Dave123's contribution has been excellent.

 

Dave, I'll drop them for £640 cash.

 

(That was a joke!).

 

I've just had a lad on the phone who took a tree down with his brother 4 weeks ago and wants a price to have it chipped.

 

I suspect he may not be happy with the price I give him....

 

I sincerely wish the £50-60/hour I quote would all be my wage, but in reality I end up with less than that. Just need to get rid of my pesky machines and groundies....

[skyhuck]

Righto... so danger in tree work is 100% human cause and affect.

 

Of cause, what other reasons are their?

 

You say have had many injuries, how log have you been doing tree work?

 

I have only had one serious injury and that was totally my fault.

 

I don't see how a tree can sneak up and hit you from behind

[Marula]

Of cause, what other reasons are their?

 

You say have had many injuries, how log have you been doing tree work?

 

I have only had one serious injury and that was totally my fault.

 

I don't see how a tree can sneak up and hit you from behind

 

Ok, granted, for there to be an accident a human must make contact with the tree in some form, IE working on it. It is true I wasn't injured by being assaulted by a tree. My injuries were also not accidents, they were just injuries brought on by years of abusing my body in sport and the forces. I have been in this game for a good number of years. Now, onto the more factual information. Trees are organic living things, thus there is an element of immeasurable doubt when surveying said trees before work. Dangers don't just come in the form of you + saw + stupid = accident. I know of some top climbers and very experienced climbers who have come short through failure of the tree. For example, I met a gent whos father was a climber, had been for thirty years and never had an accident in that time, and had an anchor point fail on him. He fell 50 feet and broke his back. The anchor point was looked at by those in the know and it was concluded that there was no way he would have known there was a fault.

 

Now, if you find this industry safe you must have grown up dodging bullets, which Ill give you, would make this seem tame.

[Steve Bullman]

Skyhuck..I really can't see how you can claim there is no danger in treework...I really think you're fighting a losing battle here. Some trees can be a danger to work on, plain and simple. Have you never climbed a tree before that you didnt consider there being a chance of it failing?

[skyhuck]

Skyhuck..I really can't see how you can claim there is no danger in treework...I really think you're fighting a losing battle here. Some trees can be a danger to work on, plain and simple. Have you never climbed a tree before that you didnt consider there being a chance of it failing?

 

I've climbed tree that felt different (in a bad way), but I've never really believed the tree was going to collapse, if I thought that and still carried on climbing it I'd be pretty stupid would I not??

 

I think its easy to feel afraid because the tree feels less solid than most trees, but that does not mean the tree is really likely to fail.

 

I almost never rig trees, preferring to cut and chuck, I'm sure there is more danger rigging dead trees.

 

I can only speak from my own experience, but I really hate reading post where people say how macho and brave they are for "risking their lives every day", because that really is not my experience.

[Steve Bullman]

but I really hate reading post where people say how macho and brave they are for "risking their lives every day", because that really is not my experience.

 

Agreed on the above..

 

The rest we'll have to agree to disagree on however