I’m getting too old for this kind of stuff.


 
Andy Kaminski

Andy Kaminski

TVWBB Pro
Getting old kinda sucks.
We had 3 big madrone trees that were endangering the house that I needed gone.
The estimates were astronomical to get them done.

I’ve always been decent with power tools and have even fell a few trees in my younger days.
I did these for the cost of equipment rental $600, miscellaneous materials $100 and I will be paying a neighbor fuel money (for his tractor) to haul these up to where we store and work on our firewood.

Thankfully we are allowed to burn here so that helps a lot with the small debris.
The tree above the deck had to be lowered in sections with a rope and that wasn’t much fun.
I’m glad that the trees all landed in the correct spot and that all is going well so far.

My daughter told me I was nuts and just to pay.
Me? I’d rather keep my money if I can.
 

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Andy Kaminski said:
Getting old kinda sucks.
We had 3 big madrone trees that were endangering the house that I needed gone.
The estimates were astronomical to get them done.

I’ve always been decent with power tools and have even fell a few trees in my younger days.
I did these for the cost of equipment rental $600, miscellaneous materials $100 and I will be paying a neighbor fuel money (for his tractor) to haul these up to where we store and work on our firewood.

Thankfully we are allowed to burn here so that helps a lot with the small debris.
The tree above the deck had to be lowered in sections with a rope and that wasn’t much fun.
I’m glad that the trees all landed in the correct spot and that all is going well so far.

My daughter told me I was nuts and just to pay.
Me? I’d rather keep my money if I can.
Click to expand...
i live in a suburban area and own a chain saw. it's just easier to do my own work and not overpay for labor, and have the job done the way i want it done, the first time.

tool cost, electric makita saw was around $241. it paid for itself on first use. we took down a plumb tree this January and it's now smoking wood pieces and the other parts were sent to green waste. bid to down and cut the tree was $1,000.

if anyone local wants a few chunks of plumb wood, hit me up. it should be dry enough to use this summer.
 
The DIY chainsaw thing can be quite OK...but in more established areas with older homes some of trees are waaaaay beyond the scope of a chainsaw and a Saturday afternoon. I'm talking 60'-100' oaks with 5-6' trunks. Its guys on cherry pickers, huge chainsaws, logging trucks and chippers with stump grinders to follow. It's expensive. But after powerful storms they're out in force...not just for homes but they're contracted by power companies to clear trees which have downed lines.
 
I’d never even consider taking out my walnut tree! Way way too big it would need crane and experience, neither of which do I possess! Even knowing that helps me sleep better at night!
 
Guy quoted me 3 G for my 70' Norway maple. It's in a bad spot, behind the garage and 8' from overhead power lines.
Can't use a small lift ( not enough boom ) and don't have the clearance to get a big one back there so it's all climbing the old school way.
 
Andy Kaminski said:
Getting old kinda sucks.
We had 3 big madrone trees that were endangering the house that I needed gone.
The estimates were astronomical to get them done.

I’ve always been decent with power tools and have even fell a few trees in my younger days.
I did these for the cost of equipment rental $600, miscellaneous materials $100 and I will be paying a neighbor fuel money (for his tractor) to haul these up to where we store and work on our firewood.

Thankfully we are allowed to burn here so that helps a lot with the small debris.
The tree above the deck had to be lowered in sections with a rope and that wasn’t much fun.
I’m glad that the trees all landed in the correct spot and that all is going well so far.

My daughter told me I was nuts and just to pay.
Me? I’d rather keep my money if I can.
Click to expand...
How old are you?
 
Bob Erdman said:
Nice work, I'm all about saving money myself when I can. Had 2 large oaks removed a couple of years ago, $1800. Ouch.
Click to expand...
Only $1800? Wow. I wish. We had a large oak taken down a while back (not quite 2 years). Guys did excellent work. Also trimmed the other 2 oaks and the maple out front. $2500!
Here are a couple video links
Was about 60' tall and IDK maybe 7'-8' diameter
 
John_NJ said:
I think it’s a fair question.

Obviously it’s up to @Andy Kaminski to decide whether to respond or not.

I am 63 for the record and have enough experience with tree removal to know that’s the age to hire professionals.
Click to expand...
Yeah, same here. No use for killing myself. Already too close to the dirt condo already!
 
LMichaels said:
Only $1800? Wow. I wish. We had a large oak taken down a while back (not quite 2 years). Guys did excellent work. Also trimmed the other 2 oaks and the maple out front. $2500!
Here are a couple video links
Was about 60' tall and IDK maybe 7'-8' diameter
Click to expand...
The wife actually brokered the deal, job included stump grinding. I miss those trees, wife wanted them gone because she thought they would hit the house if they ever fell over. My front yard went from full shade to full sun.
 
When I lived in Edmonds, WA, we were one half block from Puget Sound and had a peek-a-boo view of the Sound that was obstructed by my across the street neighbor’s 4 trees between my house and the Sound and were in the front of her house street-side. I offered to pay to have them removed several times but the neighbor was an “earth momma” and didn’t want to cut her trees down. After about 5 years of living there, she finally came over and said she was tired of being cold and having little sunlight so she was now agreeable to have me pay for the tree removal. The trees were beginning to grow in the power lines, so I called the local power company and told them the neighbor agreed to have her trees removed. The next week the power company came out, confirmed with her and removed all the trees and debris at no charge so they didn’t have to come out in the Winter to repair power lines when wind storms frequently caused power outages in our neighborhood. I ended up with an unobstructed view of the Sound and that dramatically increased the selling price of my house when we sold it and moved to Idaho. That was the best money I never spent!
 
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timothy said:
Guy quoted me 3 G for my 70' Norway maple. It's in a bad spot, behind the garage and 8' from overhead power lines.
Can't use a small lift ( not enough boom ) and don't have the clearance to get a big one back there so it's all climbing the old school way.
Click to expand...
If it's only 8' away from the overhead power lines, call the power company and suggest that that it might be a good idea to take it down before it causes a problem, and that you're willing to give them easy access.

I grew up with Dad taking care of wood lots in the winter, and I know enough about this stuff to know that I won't tackle much beyond 30-40'. I do know enough to make a decent notch cut, use wedges and even potentially use a winch to persuade it a bit to fall in the right direction, but I'm not getting more than about 8' off the ground to do any of this.

I have a beer story about my Heep, the winch on it, and helping my brother take down a tall maple snag. And the last time I'll ever ask him a trigonometry question......
 
Yeah, our last tree removal project involved a big crane and lifting the logs right over the house - from the back yard to the front yard where the logging truck was parked. The tree, an ancient sugar maple, had started to split into three and was located too close to the house and sheds to drop. Trunk was almost four feet in diameter at its largest place. Sad to see the tree go but it was dying, dropping big branches, and now splitting down the middle into three.

Crane operator was a young guy - maybe early 20's. Very impressive operator. Zero mistakes, not cocky, slow and steady, knew his equipment. I commented on his ability when he was done and he said he had a lot of hours in that crane.
 
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