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Posted by D Sherman on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 14:21:16 :
In Reply to: OT Tree removal posted by Keith in Washington on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 13:42:51 :
$1000 is roughly the going rate for taking down a large tree that has to be climbed. It typically takes around 2-3 hours and requires at least 2 men, with one man on the ground to tie things to the rope for the climber, gas the saws and warm them up, pull a rope to make cut pieces fall the right way, etc. If you shop around, you might find a guy who would do it for $500, but he's likely unregistered and uninsured. If he knows what he's doing, he might just be a logger moonlighting a bit and you could take a chance on him, but you'll be responsible for any damage, not only to your house, the neighbor's house, and the power lines, but maybe even to him. Either that or borrow some climbing irons and a belt and try it yourself. I have a set, but I've never had the nerve to try them.
I have a general distrust of any sort of contractors who say they're "going through the area". That's a line a lot of fly-by-night roofers, insulators, landscapers and the like use. $1150 was definitely full fare. If you call around you should be able to get it done a bit cheaper and by a somewhat more reputable outfit, but you'll still be shocked at the price. If "Tri Cities Tree Service" is still in business, avoid them. They ripped off my parents big-time many years ago.
Basically what it comes down to price-wise is supply and demand. Tree work is hard. It takes skill, plus a physical fitness and a tolerance for injuries (among other things, wasps don't like their trees being cut down and it's hard to run away from them when you're strapped to the tree). There just aren't a lot of guys who are willing to climb any more.
Is the tree within reach of the power lines? If so, Puget Power or City Light will top it for free down to a height at which it won't hit the power lines of you drop he rest of it yourself. They'd rather do that than clean up after an amateur logger falls it across their wires (I've seen it happen). That would definitely be the way to go if you can convince them it would hit the lines if it fell the wrong way. Unfortunately, the telephone and cable TV companies won't do that, though they'll charge you if you break their wires. If you've got a 12 kV feeder running on your side of the street right next to the tree, you're in like Flynn.
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