Price for thinning work ?

[openboater]

Is anyone prepared to hint at how much my mate might be able to ask (price per ton) for thinning hardwood please?

He's been invited to price for thinning some mixed woodland, mostly hardwood around 12"-14". Some is on level ground but a lot is on steep terrain and will need to be winched.

The job must be low impact and first indications are that there may be 200-300 tons to extract to roadside.

All advice gratefully received. We may ignore it, but grateful anyway.

Ta.

[Chris Sheppard]

How long's a piece of string?

 

Are you quoting to the owner to do the felling and extraction, he'll pay you and sell the wood himself? Or are you looking for a standing price to pay the land owner and you'll market the timber?

[openboater]

My piece of string is not very long, but it is quite thick thank you. I can't tie a knot in it.

I think my mate wants to price just to fell and clear the thinnings to edge of site. He may have the option later to buy the timber, but I think that is a separate negotiation.

Is this type of work usually priced by weight or volume ?

[Big J]

Either do it all on tonnage at a higher rate or work tonnage on the reasonable terrain and day rate on the slopes.

 

About £15 a tonne would be reasonable I think. You should be cutting about 10 tonnes a day in a stand of that size, including the difficulties the slope will present.

[slack ma girdle]

Work on felling seventy trees per man per day. You will have days where you will fell more and some days less.

Work out how many trees per cube ( probably about 10ish).

And work back from there. Once you have worked out how long it will take, you can give a price.

 

Sent from my Galaxy arse using tupping talk.

Check ALL the simple things first.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Work on felling seventy trees per man per day. You will have days where you will fell more and some days less.

Work out how many trees per cube ( probably about 10ish).

And work back from there. Once you have worked out how long it will take, you can give a price.

 

Sent from my Galaxy arse using tupping talk.

Check ALL the simple things first.

 

Seventy? Cut, rigged out and stacked?!

[Chris Sheppard]

Taking into account the bank and the fact they sound like they need winching up to the top before forwarder can lead them out, I reckon it's going to be somewhere mid £20/T to roadside - could be miles out though without seeing it.

 

IMO Tonnage is the only way to go to avoid any potential arguments later on - volume is too easy to manipulate to sut either party.

 

I'd be more inclined to go down the standing sale route - gives you more control and takes more hassle off the landowner. Bit more of a gamble as markets can change mid job but on the whole will give a better return with less earache.

[Big J]

70 trees does seem a bit ambitious. In an average stand of 12 inch trees here, I'd expect to drop about 40, averaging 3 maybe 3.5 trees to the tonne, resulting in about 12-13 tonnes a day. That is felled, snedded, cut to 3.5m and stacked as far as possible, brash cleared away from product.

[Chris Sheppard]

70 trees does seem a bit ambitious. In an average stand of 12 inch trees here, I'd expect to drop about 40, averaging 3 maybe 3.5 trees to the tonne, resulting in about 12-13 tonnes a day. That is felled, snedded, cut to 3.5m and stacked as far as possible, brash cleared away from product.

 

That's why I like bank side work - crash, sned, repeat til out of fuel and then start again - roll an odd top out the way and leave the stacking for the machine once the wood reaches the top later on

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

70 trees does seem a bit ambitious. In an average stand of 12 inch trees here, I'd expect to drop about 40, averaging 3 maybe 3.5 trees to the tonne, resulting in about 12-13 tonnes a day. That is felled, snedded, cut to 3.5m and stacked as far as possible, brash cleared away from product.

 

What he said. Bang on.