Replies

1. 
   caseyr | Jun 11, 2003 07:33am | #1

   Background:  My area north of Berkeley, CA has become a vacation resort for bark beetles.  I had two dead 65’ trees that I took down a year ago using a manlift.  Took me about a day to take them down in small sections and another (very long) day to clean up.  (Actually, it was about 1 2/3 trees as the top third of one of the trees was blown down in a windstorm and put 7 large holes in the roof of my house, but that is another story…)   

   Two other pine trees of similar height have to come down.  People have been paying up to $3000 per tree to have their trees removed.  The cheapest bid that I received was $3600 to take down the two – one is a double spired tree with the split at about 20’ from the ground.  The other tree is shorter, probably about 55’ tall but is about 4’ from a power pole and the top braches extend slightly over one of the power lines (reportedly 15,000 volts). 

   I thought I would take these down myself, so I arranged with Hertz in Portland, OR (where I am currently working) to have an 80’ manlift delivered and it was there when I arrived Saturday morning.  A guy from Hertz stopped by to show me how to extend the wheels that I couldn’t figure out how to do (because, contrary to what they had insisted, the model delivered to me didn’t have wheels that extended) and he thought that since I would be working within 20’ of a power line, I needed an insulated boom.  The weekend manager came out and threw a fit saying Hertz did not rent manlifts for trimming trees and no one else did either.  He took the keys and left.  That shot the weekend for cutting down the trees.

   Went to United Rentals Monday morning.  No problem with trimming trees.  Told them I would be working about 15’ from the power line to take down a double pine tree ( I figured I only had time left to take down the double pine tree).  The driver came by when I was at the lumber yard, saw the tree I was NOT going to cut down and took the manlift back to the yard without leaving a note.  Contacted the electrical company and they said I couldn’t cut the tree over hanging the power lines with out contacting them.  I told them I was not going to cut that one, just the other one, so everything seemed cool.

   Went to Cresco and they said no problem with using their manlift for trimming trees.  Only had a day left before I needed to head back to work.  Managed to cut all the limbs off the double pine tree by late afternoon.  It turned out that the manlift they delivered was only 60’ – not the 66’ I had asked for  - and was about, guess what, 6’ too short.  A guy came by and said he would finish the job for $2000 if I stopped cutting because he needed the limbs on the top of the double pine tree to rig is block and tackle.  Sounded good to me as my allergy to sawdust was really kicking in by that point.

   I have the house rented out through a management company and they pay all the bills.  The guy had told me that he not only had insurance but also a license.  They checked him out – he flat out lied.  I was now back in Portland and had these two denuded spires sticking up in the back yard of my house dripping pitch over my neighbor’s drive way.  The neighbors were not happy. 

   I found someone else through an internet site called “Craigslist”.  Said he would do it for  $1500 if he didn’t have to dispose of any of the wood, limbs, or pine needles.  I said fine, just get the trees down.  I told him I paid through the management company and he had to check with them before starting if he wanted to get paid.  I also told him to check with PGE about the tree near their power line.  About the time he was supposed to start the management company said they had not heard from him and couldn’t contact him.  A few days later they contacted me and said that the guy had finally called and said he was no longer interested in the job. 

   Another day goes by and the neighbor contacts the management company to say that someone had tried to cut down the tree near the power pole over the weekend, had shorted out the power to the entire neighborhood, and had used their garden hose to put out a fire that had been started.  Hmmm, think their might be any connection with the guy loosing interest in the job…??? 

   If anything had seriously gone wrong with the attempt to cut down the tree, I am thinking my liability situation could have been a bit dicey.  I did ask him to cut down the tree, but I also said I need someone with insurance and that he had to contact the management company before starting the job if he wanted to be paid.                                               

2. 
   FastEddie1 | Jun 11, 2003 03:31pm | #2

   Why the heck are tree fellers in the Bay Area so incredibly expensive?   Well, read message #2 and you'll get a clue...

   Do it right, or do it twice.