Tom D
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Everything posted by Tom D
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I always do, how else do you know if your pricing is right? I find most people are happy to tell, in fact If they say they have other quotes then I like to know who is quoting, it just gives you an edge sometimes.
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I use the sage accounting package, all that information is stored on there as part of the invoicing. I dont use it much though.
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Thats why I ended up taking someone on full time. The sad fact is that whilst tree work can be as skilled and complex a job as you want to make it (just look at all the debates / information on here ) , In reality its pretty easy and any muppet can do it ( badly ). As long as there are lots of guys wanting to play with chainsaws the money in this job will be poor. I think Andy has a good point about other trades keeping their prices up even in the hard times but it does'nt seem to happen in the arb world. I know that when I first started out I was way too cheap, now I am dearer but the temptation to cut prices is still there and must be resisted. I read in a small business advice thing that undercharging is one of ther most common causes of small business faliure. I have never worked through a recession / downturn so i dont know whats coming but I suspect higher wages are not likely when I am getting phone calls from guys and companys looking for work all the time.
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I have seen those ones, i thought they looked a bit flimsy, are they ok? the ones I'm looking at are just like a standard bulk bag but the material has slits in it. The slits are 1/2 inch wide and there are 20 or so on each side. I'll post a pic when it arrives
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I have long been looking for a solution to the problem of handling logs once: ie splitting them streight into a container and leaving them there untill sold. I currently sell in bulk bags but have to leave the logs to dry before filling them. I want to be able to pay the "splitters" by the bag to avoid any slacking (i'm a tight git ) also double handling is never a good idea. Although there are some vented bags on the market they are very expensive £8 - 9. I have found a bag manufacturer who can make a ventilated bag for around the £4.50 mark which i think is ok as i would charge the customer a deposit against a bag returns. To get this price, or possibly even better, I need to order a lot. I am currently awaiting a sample. If the sample is ok who would be interested in some bags? I would pass them on at cost price plus carrige. The more takers the cheaper the price.
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At the end of the day Dean its the small jobs where the vat makes a difference and you can always take cash. for those. Of course I never do that.
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Gob looked ok to me, a fifth to a quarter is ok. Even a half would'nt stop a barber chair if the tree is leaning like that, he should have dog toothed it.
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Is this your first return? Mine took a while as they asked for all the receipts for the capital expenditure claims that I made, after we submitted these the payment took a couple of months. Did you know that as well as capital expenditure you can also claim the vat from any professional services that you have used in the last 6 months eg. accountant.
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I've seen kiln dried logs for sale before, IMO a total waste of energy, one of the major benefits of burning wood is its green credentials. Any energy used to dry it could surely have been put to better use. I'd go for the poly tunnel idea but with the ends open and get plenty air through, any open sided structure would be good, although its possible to get them below 20 % just sitting in a heap in the open if they're split.
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Ok poss see you there.
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Are you having a stand Steve? if not are there any plans for meeting up with fellow arbtalkers?, it would be nice to put a few faces to names.
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For me the stressful side of things is the admin, running the business paying the wages etc, It got so bad recently that i can actually feel it coming on in the mornings, then if things go wrong during the day I start getting grumpy with my staff. I did'nt use to get it a few years ago but as the business has grown so has the stress. Pete is absolutely right though: as soon as you go up a tree it all melts away untill you come down again and find you've run out of two stroke or the lads have spilled chain oil on someones block paving. It is interesting how not only stress melts away when you're up a tree; how often do you come down and notice that its pi**ing down and you're soaked but had'nt noticed before or that you've cut yourself on something but did'nt feel it?
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Guesstimation for a Big Dougie?
Tom D replied to David Humphries's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
If its been growing on its own the side branches will have grown large meaning knotty timber, ok for carving or garden sleepers but noy much use for anything else. With commercial plantations only the trees in the centre go for milling, all the knotty stuff from the edge is used for low grade jobs. -
Point taken. better to sell the implements to a collector and use the dosh to buy some stsndard 3 point linckage stuff. My dad's a machinery dealer ( not small stuff generally ) but if there are particular things you're after I could ask if he knows of any.
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Second hand equal wheeled types are like rocking horse sh1te especially at 70 hp. I'd go for a conventional type for farm / smallholding type work there will be a much bigger choice. Why equal wheeled?
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The implements for the david brown shoud fit other makes / models no?
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I have a modern version of that type of equal wheeled machine, I tried for ages to get one second hand. They are pretty rare because so few are / were imported, if you go for a conventional type tractor there loads of cheap japanese ones for sale. http://www.affordabletractors.co.uk/details.php?ID=903 There is a dealer near me with a 35hp equal wheeled Cerarro for sale, its hydrostatic and looks to be in very good shape, he wants about £6k though.
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My plan was to climb and dismantle, however when my first choice of anchor broke off as i was pulling the rope over I changed my mind. I did climb it but only to put in the winch wire.
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Hucks right that dead elm can be quite strong, however th roots rot quicker than the top, i once put a tirfor winch on an old elm to fell it (climbed ). When i tensioned the winch prior to cutting the tree just pulled over with very little resistance. The wood above ground was hard but below was mush.
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It is / was an elm Huck, and I know it was definately dead five years ago.
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All the fine twigs were off it but there were some 3cm thick ones left. I made thisd mistake last year climbing a dead birch, it still had really finer twigs on it so i climbed right to the top tied in and came down to cut off the first branch. It snapped of very early and when it hit the deck exploded into millions of tiny pieces. I was a lot more cautious after that and lowered my anchor. This tree also had this: Pleurotus cornucopiaeI think.
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This is one we did today I dont know exactly how long it has been dead but it was dead 5 years ago. I am not looking to start one of those endless argument threads but I'm genuinely interested to see what you guys would do with dead trees.
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Im quite jealous, would love to be able to turn work away, although a job like that is pretty easy, its when they want 4' off a thick conifer hedge and the stems are just too thick for the hedger that I'd really like to tell them to get someone else.
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Thing is, when you quote for jobs like those you are competing with a whole load of landscaper / gardener types for whom that is a big job and with their lower overheads they can often do it for less . I put a price on that I am happy with, If I don't get it then I wont be upset. I do get miffed sometimes when I loose out on bigger jobs but for the sake of 280 quid its not worth worrying.
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