samthescam

I have just bought a petzl grillion lanyard 5m, here it comes for £15 get on that absolute steal mate.

 

Looks like my climbing kit is going to be mostly petzl.

 

Got a few other bits coming next week helmet, another lanyard, 230m of climbing rope, karabiners and a few other little bits so got myself a few bits of added kit, might even get meself another harness.

230 m of rope... Your either climbing some monster trees or just want a hard life carrying that bad boy about.

Am I the only one who thought that Kony 2012 was some kind of sick club night that I was missing out on? As its only about some war criminal I honestly couldn't give a ****.

Haha your a fool if you think council teams are all lazy & unproductive, employing poor staff. The wages are usually compativley good, conditions excellent, kit first class thus attracting the better climbers & tree workers.

Your either crap at your job, and need to live in a dream world to excuse the fact that you arnt getting enough work, or you work for the council.

I didn't say they were all lazy and unproductive... I said they take lots of breaks, breaks that I would take if it made no difference to my life.

The wages maybe comparitively good compared to what you earn, but I couldnt live on them. Your right the conditions are excellent, no one is going to get too upset if you have a lazy day, and you get payed if you don't turn up cos you have a headache.

And as for attracting the better climbers and tree workers... Well maybe you watch the skills they possess in awe, but I can assure you that most people dont. People at the top of there game generally want to make lots of money out of it, not kill themselves each day so the council can give them gold stars.

Sam , the concern is that they are not stopping every 5 mins for coffee breaks etc . We could be talking about motivated , well equiped , highly trained teams with the backing to wipe the floor with private firms in an unbalanced playing field. I dont go along with the idea they are all lazy and they'll mess up .

If they were that good, they wouldnt be working for the council. Sorry - but the best dont chose to work for big companies where they are only ever going to earn a set reasonably low amount.

Either way, unless the local councils are rapidly expanding then I cant see them having the manpower to take all the work.

I dont think its a case of me having a problem, its more down to the economics, I can run rings around the LA guys, because I have too !, and yes I may get the job back after they have ruined it.

 

My point is we cant compete on costs............and in todays climate its that what counts.

You know what, all the local shops and butchers said they couldnt compete with tesco's and other supermarkets... And they were right, on price they couldnt.

So what they did, was other a better service. They chose to allow customers to come in and see the meat was fresh and ask the butcher to cut it in certain ways... And they were willing to pay more for this.

What I'm saying is, that plenty of people will pay a premium price for a premium service. So just up your game.

Only this week I had a call from a long standing customer, The council sent them a letter !!! asking if they wanted there garden maintaining.............2hrs a week for £25 !!!!!!!, I used to do 1 hour a fortnight for £20.......thats 3 lawns mowed, borders weeded, edged, weed treated, and i saved her cherry from death by pruning !!!!!!!!!!!

 

I used to work for LA, and yes, if they are offering out services to the private sector, then all that tax free fuel, subsidised equipment and insurances will definately cost me out.......My hourly rate is based on my overheads, taxes, insurance and a wage element........the LA's to some degree dont have to orry about this as its allready covered........its a bad sign, it can only drive down rates even lower than they are as we all try to compete with a system that can outcompete us all at will !

 

Mark

If you can't compete with some guys who are stopping every 5 minutes for a coffee/fag/phone break you have a problem. At the end of the day they will probably do a terrible job, and you will end up getting the customer back. Stop getting stressed by this, and live with it.

NOT a sub contractor, hes working for you.

Where does your distinction end... If I'm sub contracted to install fencing, but I'm given a specification saying how it's meant to be done, and they offer to let me use there equipment, if it's say a farm. Am I now employed?

The guy you get in is not a sub contractor then is he, niether is the self employed groundsman without a chipper.

I don't really get what your getting at. But as I've said I'm a bit thick. I'd call anyone who comes into do a certain job a subcontractor, but I don't see what the distinction is. Sometimes when I have a biggish paving job on, I'll "sub contract" it out to a bricklayer, the fact that he uses my cement mixer or that I order the materials to me doesn't mean he's now my employee... Although I don't really see why anyone is splitting hairs over this.

Same here, I'm blonde as well.

 

I use a bloke sometimes who has none of his own kit at all. He's a lorry driver but enjoys playing with wood when he can, thus... sub-contractor without kit.

 

He gets paid peanuts, just like me:001_smile:

Glad I'm not the only one then... Have a guy who's a fencer by trade but comes into help out when he's quite. Not a ticket or a days training to his name, but wipes the floor with most "trained" people I know. And I know that people are going to rip into me for admitting that, but oh we'll, I'll continue living my life and making money and they can get upset on Internet forums.

 

I thought a sub-contractor undertook other companies work with there own kit in the way they want to, they work under their own PLI and also have ELI for the staff they have with them.

 

I am a self employed climber who works for many companies, I work under their pli and eli doing the work with their kit/staff (i have my own climbing kit/saw).

 

I should also have my own pli for cases of vicarious liabilty, which basically means if someone emplys me to dismantle a tree using rigging, and I straight fell it through the house I could be held responsable for undertaking the job to a different spec than I was employed to. If I take all due precautions carrying out the work to the spec I was told to by the person that employed me, then it comes under their insurance.

Sorry if Ive confused you... Cos I don't know what the hell your asking me... But then I'm blonde. Basically my point was, sometimes at weekends I have a guy in who doesn't have all the kit as he has to leave his saws and ropes etc at work. So he uses my stuff.

Edit, also I don't see if it matters who's kit the sub contractor is using. A self employed groundsman won't take his own chipper.

What about self-employed climbers/groundies that I am sure makes a vast majority of us here, me for one.

 

And how can you sub-contract without kit it does not seem possible?

 

Whats the reason for this survey?

 

Unfortunatly there is not enough money in this sector in the UK, we as skilled individuals do not get get half what we are worth, how to change this I do not know:confused1:

Your 90 percent right. But I sometimes use at weekends a guy who works full time for an electric company. So apart from ppe he doesn't have his own climbing kit on jobs. Doesn't mean that he is significantly cheaper than any other semi competent climber.

so get the right guys in, get a great job pay a little more than the bloke down the road your mate knows and spread the cost over 12 years as opposed to 5 years, think about it! For those interested in that kinda thing it was a four hour climb.

 

I can guarantee your clients knowing that would choose the pro job!

So don't bother using recommendations to find a decent contractor...? And imo and without wanting to be offensive, I don't think that tree looks very good. I'd be gutted if I was left with a tree looking like that.

I can guarantee you, the client would pick the person who was cheapest, if your anything like my clients.

going through courts etc is a complete waste of time and effort.. we had customer in 2000 who owed the farm £5000 for contract work etc. he went into voluntary liquidation.. we got aronnd 20p in the pound back... not at once either.. he's still m,aking payments now... if i could turn the clock back i'd a taken every thing in his yard that was worth anything.... we have a hay and straw dealer who owes us £18500 since august 20011... i'm gonna give him one last chance then i'm taking one of his lorrys off of him...[wolrth 50 grand].. someone else owes me £5000 from 18 months ago for skips that i'd done for him.. he too has a large skip firm and i will in no uncertain terms be loading up my artic trailer with 5 gands worth of his best skips very shortly... some people honestly live in a dream world!!!!!!

I'm with eggs on this... Although sorting things yourself works well, you have to realise your outside the protection of the law. If you get your head caved in doing this, your going to be hard presses to go to the police saying you were taking their stuff.

Not saying you shouldnt... However you have to realise your risking problems with the police, or problems with the blokes and their mates.

I wasnt sure if you were joking or not until I read this!

 

Is this normal practice when someone owes money?

 

Low man, very low.

 

You still never said at what point you hit hit him?

I think your blowing things out of proportion. The bloke could have gone to the police if he felt aggrieved. Or he could of smacked him back, or got some mates to do it. Sometimes a more proactive approach is required.

Or get someone in who will do the job right??

Are you joking??? Do you realise how much qualified staff cost? Whatever next, you'll be telling me to have insurance and not dump stuff by the side of the road... I'd never be able to make money if i did all that.

On the other hand, I was joking. Nice to see everyone on here has a sense of humor.

This depends on the spec, but yeah if i'm told 30% thats about as hard as it gets removing 30% of the volume, but to be fair its no exact science.

 

30% in height which eqauts to about a 3rd is a proper tonking!

Well for me I can only work as high as my ladders go. I know some people arnt fans on here, but I get nervous if I dont have both feet on something metal. So If I can only get up halfway I have to do a 50% reduction. And before anyone has a got at me about health and safety, I always tie myself into the ladders with some rope.

I was taking the track chipper into the field so i wasnt included in the goings over. i was doing groundie that day. all i know is that they were down for 30% reduction.

that means 30% of the crown, not 30% of the limbs...

You do realise that if you jailbreak your iphone or ipad, all apps can be gotten for free? Not that I'd ever do that of couse.

Fair point! I get vertigo just watching them on Youtube!

I know people with years of experience, who have come back after two weeks. Usually saying it was the spiders, when we know it's the height. I wouldnt dream of it... And I think anyone with no experience who'd put themself up for that is mad.

Here we go, well i was watching a programme earlier on TV about moving to oz and working there.

 

What are the requirments, i dont have any experience atm but i should hopefully be starting a job with a local tree surgeon in may, would say 6 months be sufficient? obviously i would still be learning alot, but would i be any use to them?

Do you know how big some of the trees are over there?

Definatly put a beal pinch over your spider jack leg attached to the krab, ever since I done this my sj tends alot better and it so smooth to pull slack out.

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Agreed, that the velco is tat and when art pruduce the metal thing (saw it was in the pipeline in spiderjack 3 vid) as long as its not horrendously prices I think most people will upgrade.

Couple of questions for everyone:

1) Whats the best sling in your experience? I want to get one and an oval crab to make changeover left annoying but want to get it right.

2) Do you find with your set up you have problems using the wooden brake? I use the same blue isc crab and find that when the sj gets into an angle like that its a bit difficult to use the brake and makes life annoying. So what the best crab to get the system working nice?

Thanks

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Good set up , stick with it feels weird but is miles better than prussics , get a rope guide t go with your set up

Whats that funky looking metal lump in place of the velcro? And where do I get one??? Care to explain that set up in a bit of detail? I can't make it all out from the pic (too dark). But it looks more useful than mine.

Oh and as everyone had said, get a ropeguide. They make life MASSIVELY more easy.

Also... is your splice going through your spiderjack???

So do I, but the 550 xpg will not be here for a fair few weeks according to the husky lady I spoke to yesterday. Heated handles will come to the UK when spring has sprung:confused1:

Thats disgusting... Do they not realise just how soft i am?

This is a quote from one of your posts in another thread:- Im worried it will fall apart with the abuse I give my saws.

 

So no I'm not worried

But neither of them lasted more than 5 hours... I get at least two weeks out of most saws!

Rover your right - I don't need this saw, i've got plenty of ground saws and the other director wont be having no more 50cc saws hence the no vat, although that said heated handles would be nice. But your right, it is nice to have something shiny and new, and be the first to damage it.

Spud - not sure why he's selling it. He's put a new bar and chain, plug and replaced the covers...