benedmonds

Thanks for the info.. Is a felling licence likely to be approved do you think? The trouble is if you do it in bits the the economies of scale don't work.. 3 or 4 days with a big chipper and a digger job done..

https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6dfkw6

I have a client with a large plot.. The previous owner planted 1,500m2 of conifers approx 100 trees, 15-20 years ago. They are now a dense stand about 6-8m tall. He wants to clear fell the site and there must be more the 5 cubic m... There certainly is if we are chipping it.. How do I find out if it is a garden and therefore exempt from requiring a felling licence? Or is it to young to count? I want reckon chipping all for biomass is the simplest solution, but he wants me to leave in 2.5 lengths so he can sell the logs to be chipped for biomass...? https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6dfkw6 The google maps is a few years old....

Members might get access. I am sure Paul will be along to sell the AA to the smaller outfit..

I said there was a small chance.. and yes you need to build it to a size where a manager can manage it.. But I know of a few that have been sold or taken over, and I know of a few owner operators who have just shut up shop.. I disagree with what you are saying about a climber however as a huge part of tree work is clearing up and low skilled tasks. It makes sense for a gardener using a free lance climber for specialist jobs and I guess if you only took difficult jobs that might be the case.. but not if you have the mix of works most tree firms deal with.. The example job I posted, demonstrated that point,. The best climber in the world was not going to have done that job a lot quicker then an average climber, he was not the slowest point in the operation.. You could have put more men to drag then you might have had a bottle neck at the chipper...

I don't believe they are free ant more. Available to AAAC's. or whatever acronym they use now for approved contractors

I don't get why you think the price has no relevance.. I was using it to demonstrate that £200 a day is not feasible day rate to pay a freelance climber in my area if you want to be competitive .. My pricing should cover a wage (some would say modest) for me and the other director, it should cover replacement kit etc. so the business should be able to sustain running exactly like that.. We have to run multiple teams if we want to take a wage while not actually doing much invoice-able work. We are getting older and don't want to have to climb trees every day. It might not work, but if you don't try you will never know... I agree the safest structure and probably more profitable in the short term (and sometimes more desirable) is owner operator team. But... that has a limited life span.... I don't deny that running multiple teams can be challenging and the rewards are not guaranteed... But, there are better exit strategies, there is a small possibility that the business could be sold, where as owner operator business are really only worth the tools.. The other option which I think preferable is putting staff in the place to do all the real work, while being able to pick and choose what you want to do into old age...

I have seen it a few times locally, watched one lime slowly decline over 6 or 7 years as more lesions appeared.

If you want to process it yourself pete we have plenty..

yes

If you would have quoted £900 to do that job you would NOT be competitive on price. Some one was willing to do it for £450. I don't see how anyone could have done more quickly (except with more men). No access for bigger machines, 10 inch chipper to process brash would have kept pace with the 2 groundies dragging.. Logs humped out by 2 guys while stumps ground out.. Return to yard at end of day with 1 truck full of chip and the other logs..

The market decides the "correct price.." I was using the job as an example to illustrate why I can't pay £200 a day for a freelancer climber.... Not because I as a business owner am shafting my employees, but because in my area you would not win much work if you were charging £900 a day, because there are companies charging £450..

The fuel filter has been changed twice, it is a Kohler 27hp petrol engine I believe..

The planning departments take even less notice then the developers.. Insisting that crappy trees with defects should be classified as A grade trees. They often have no concept of long term mitigation and would rather compromise a development to save a sub standard tree in the wrong place. Rather then plan for the future, remove the rubbish and plant replacements that would mature to suit the development...

Our Bandit HB20 is giving us problems.. apparently it runs fine for an hour or so then dies... It was dropped on its side a few weeks back.. Any ideas?

Using 2017's figures I am minus £26.50 .. I need to put my prices up!

Using 2016's figures minus £4.50.. I do get a salary/dividends out of that, but it is not allot more then our top PAYE climber... Some will ask the why question bother, the obvious answer is that it takes time to build a business and you don't know unless you try.

Including VAT Fell 2 conifer trees in rear garden to ground level (£575) Grind stumps (£250) Total: £742.50 including discount if all work completed

An example of why rates are low. Priced this job yesterday but was I was too expensive. A local firm who I don't know, but have a nice web site priced fell and grind £450 including VAT. It is a straight forward job,fell and grind 2 conifers.. It would take a team of 3 with two 3.5 ton trucks a chipper and stump grinder a day. You would easy have a load of logs and a load of chip. I can't see how it could be done quicker or cheaper...

Some one has to pay for all the other stuff involved in running a business and it's not just trucks, chippers, fuel, insurance, there are staff doing the work that is not invoiced, they need a wage.. payroll, quoting, accounts, filling in tenders, writing method statements, organising the diary... The teams out their doing the rel work have to bring in enough money to pay for all that..

Can you elucidate as to how they make lots of money...?

This is another reason why your statements re day rates don't fit with the freelance climber model. You sound like a genuine sub contractor, called to do a job in your own way on your own and willing to travel to do it. Most freelance climbers (I use) are relatively local, turn up at 8 am with climbing kit and top handle saw, travel to the job site in a works vehicle (up to an hour each way) and leave at 430, with the rest of the team and they normally have a team leader telling them what to do onsite. It is very different level of responsibility from being emailed a job sheet, driving 200 miles and running the job.

I looked a kanga kid, too big to be used on many domestic jobs but too small for everything else.. It also made a right mess turning..

Its a good question...

Eggs statement was: "Any subby/freelancer going out for much less than £200/day is on a hiding to nothing" I agree, the few might be able to get top rates for either VERY specialist work or for occasional work for a gardener or someone who has the job priced really well. But 5 days a week doing regular domestic tree work it is not realistic in my market.. I wish it was as I would like to pay myself that much as a company owner running 3-4 teams..