Ty Korrigan
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Everything posted by Ty Korrigan
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We never turn down hedges as they often bring trees with them and work is work after all. We've got a Henchman platform and may buy another even though they really are poorly made for the money, still a very usefull and above all safe tool for working off. Our prices for hedges are always by quote, never by the hour and are as much as we think we can get. This week we had a horrible laurel to fell to chest height from 4m. Full of brambles, barbed wire and starling mess. Chipped and tipped on site, looks like a real mess of naked stems but come May-June next year it will be all green again. There is a move away from conifer hedges here on the housing estates and so we get a fair few hedge removals complete with stumps which again is a good earner. Cripes, if I was just a 'climber', I'd probally work once a week! So much 'terrestial' work around! Ty
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Ah, We had been lowering big lumps but at this point the trunk is in 2 sections, split over 3m and so we thought it faster to chog down poker chips. Visor up for the photos! Ty
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Images don't show the rain unfortunately... However, this job was a real leaner of an oak (phototropic? or will that cause and arguement?) It was a mighty challenge for us, leaning as it was over a shabby former chicken shed. Heavy crown, full leaf, stem split over 3m, could see daylight and almost pass a hand through. The chosen branch to attach a pulley too turned out to be also structurally compromised...nuts. Cheaper to fell the oak ON the shed than to dismantle the tree to save what little of the shed remained...BUT. The owner wanted to keep the shabby ruin whose hole in the roof where so large we lowered gurt branches through them! I priced it at a day...then the rain set in. We got home at 9:30pm Today, we are proper ******. So tired, I packed up early to recharge for Fridays oak reduction. Ty
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Hmmm Butter flavouring... I spread it on toast because although it 'may' cause cancer it also lowers cholestrol whilst giving my piss the potency to control any weeds I choose to wee on. Ty:biggrin:
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Well... It is all we have FOR NOW and I do work all day with it for single clients. Like a J.R.Terrier I will attack anything! Lines of coni hedges, a plantation of 100 spruce, lines of poplars and recently a row of chuffing great thuyia stumps and also 5 huge pine stumps that took all day and all charged out at 480euros per day. Oh yes, its hard work all right but also the route to affording and justifying greater machines. Normally, its a 'bolt on' for domestic work but when there is the work it answers the call. For the future, there is a Bandit we have have our eye on...2550 with all the bells and whistles... On Monday, I recieved this smart flyer from a business some 30km South of us. I guess its been sent out to local garden and arb companies. I'm going to call them today to ask. Let you know later what they charge. Ty
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Here, that will buy you one man and his mattock! Ty:001_tt2:
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I admit to being a terrible accountant but... here's my math on the subject. If a Ped grinder bought outright costing £7k could do 1500hrs and still be saleable for say £1500 then it costs you £5.5 per hour. Using 4.2 litres of fuel (27hp petrol) per hour £5.5 Teeth and pockets...say £5 per hour Oils, belts, filters and repairs allowance £3 All in all, I think more like £20 in running costs alone. Then there is wages, transport, insurances blah blah blah AND PROFIT of course... Ty
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Still saving... Thing is, I have rarely lost a job due to the size of the HB20 BUT... It would be nice to work less hard and to be able to bid on some serious contracts. Bit of a step up eh? Ty
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Would it help cross the generation gap if I quoted in L.S.D...? For the much younger members thats Pounds Shillings and Pence... Ty
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To add... I try to charge a minimum of 150euros and never EVER give an hourly rate to a client. So when I did 3 gardens here in town the other day it was 150+150+100 for 2.5hours work alone and I drove the grinder between clients too! Wish every day was like that... Here, a mini-digger up to 2.8t is 60 per hour or 480euros+ for a day and the 15t machine and driver we hired to rag out some proper meaty stumps and bury them in a farmers slurry pit was 75euros per hour with travel charged at time in each case. Out there in Central Brittany there are ex-pats running mini-diggers up to 2.8ton from just 195euros per day+... but not for long I'll warrant:thumbdown: Ty
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Hello, I'm cheeky with small individual jobs but when I price a day of grinding for an 27hp pedestrian machine I try for around 480euros inc.t.v.a £50 or 60euros per hour) inc v.a.t I'm in it for a profit and to advance the business, I'd be robbing my future otherwise. Ty
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Even those are too hot for summer ground work over here. Winter, I wear type A and C climbing. Thing is, I don't dawdle around dragging brash, I run alot so heat loss and wicking are important. Ty
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Orange cotton T shirt with company logo and HiFlex until they wear out and I can try another type of trouser. Summertime, green Rohan expedition trousers if doing silky work or a limited amount of ariel saw work. C'saw pants just far too hot for me and I prefer to deal with the risk of a chainsaw bite than get one anyway due to lack of concentration from heat exhaustion. I change T shirt 4+ times a day. We tend to wear the same style and colour clothes. Ground work, I rarely use c'saw pants as I tend to run too hot. I think a 'corporate image' is important. Ty
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Hello, From experience I can confirm that tippers fetch rather more in France than in the U.K Our recent purchase, a 2007 Iveco was 40% more over here. Even adding in the search time, ferry, change of headlights, certificate of conformity and registration fees, we are still many quids in. No issues with running or insuring a right hand drive here either. Ty
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Ah...cash. We neither talk about, admit, acknowledge or are aware of any cash element to this business... We declare every centime and never talk payments into offshore accounts... Ty
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We'll drive an hour regularly to work but its not wasted, I have our planning meetings and have serious discussions on these long drive, hammering out our forthcoming business strategy in microscopic detail...mostly talking to myself though...as The French man is normally asleep in the passenger seat and farting like a chimp on a blue cheese diet...PHEW! Ty
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How do you think I afforded my Quadchip...? I'm sitting on Nigerian millions:lol: Ty
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If I ran around in a 20year old tranny tipper towing a handpainted chipper of dubious reliability wearing chainsaw pants with the stuffing falling out, the soles of my boots tied on with bailing twine and a groundy on a peanut diet THEN...I could perhaps charge less BUT...would I even get the right kind of clients...? No, I have too much self respect to try the 'Ken Shabby Tree Lopping' route. I charge the max, as much as I can, as I full well know that there are those who shop at Lidl and others at Waitrose... As in... This isn't Tesco's own brand tree lopping, this is Waitrose organic tree care with Aspen and veg oil smoothy... Ty And you don't need to be a billy whizz climber either to make a good go of it...
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Yes, it has become an obsession with me but you have forgot one very important thing here... PROFIT! As much as you can load onto a quote and at least 20%+ or you will be standstill or going backwards if you just 'pay your way'... Ty
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Where are you? I'm 350m from the A84 Rennes-Caen road Often working near Pontorson/St James alot and also Domfront area. I'll let you stroke my Quadchip if your lucky... Ty:001_smile:
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Story so far... Jamie, a young spotty, frustrated by his struggle with academia has his Mother worried as he wishes to become... A TREE SURGEON! I shall follow with interest... Maybe he'll appear on Arbtalk for real...hhhhhh! Ty p.s Available as a Podcast to listen later.
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And again! 690euros for 4hours coni bashing:laugh1: I thought it would take all day but... 1h30min drive to the job, a horrible wet scratchy fight with a reluctant hedge, then a quick chip of some branches cut the neighbour followed by a fat cheque, change of clothes and a 4 course meal for lunch at a decent local bistro. Ah...pays for the days I really screw up my coni quotes! Quadchip tip... It has a huge radiator and fan with a little oil cooler down the base of the rad. When you've done a load of coni, blow out the 2 rads paying attention to the oil cooler one as they fill up with dry dusty matter and blocks so causing overheating of the oil. Ty
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Like today, 5 hours work coni topping cos the gardener was too scared = 450euros. Why get out of bed for less...? Ty
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Yes, I have a few clients who are getting their gardens into order to help any potential sale. Several have properties on sale for 2 years+ In general, we are 25-30% lower when we quote for Brits than French. Still many here trapped on a lower income but also many Ex-pats scratching for a living off the back of other Ex-pats (builders, low income retired and dreamers) will turn to anything 'chainsaw' to earn a coin and as a result quote super low as they no real idea... Fortunately, the French represent an ever increasing part of our turnover so although the Brits turn a coin for us we are not wholey dependant on them. We tend to get the jobs the 'others' can't do, more technical tree work and bigger jobs with more waste to process. Brits cost more as they are further away and our margin is lower but for now, we will continue to court the Ex-pat euro. Ty
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Hi, We are often around Meneac, lots of Brits...with no money mostly:sneaky2: When your around, give us a call:001_smile: Ty
