That 80-foot dead oak took me 3 days when I budgeted 1

I had a job last Wednesday on a big dead oak in a backyard near a fence line. Figured I'd have it down in 8 hours easy, you know, just a straight drop and chunk it out. But the lean was way more off than I thought once I got up there, and I spent a whole afternoon rigging pieces just to keep them off the neighbor's shed. Then the ground was so soft from all the rain that my chipper sank into the mud, and I had to call a buddy with a skid steer to pull me out. Ended up being a 3-day slog, and I only made like $200 after paying for the extra help. Has anyone else had a tree that should've been simple turn into a complete disaster?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantp2811d ago

Man that soft ground thing kills me. Happened to me with a big silver maple last spring, my bucket truck got stuck so bad I had to run hoses 50 feet just to reach it. The lean being off is the worst too, once you're up there and realize the whole plan is garbage. I feel your pain on that $200 profit, sometimes you're just paying to work.

mary_martin2211d ago

Buddy of mine @grantp28 had this exact thing happen with a big oak last fall. His bucket got buried so deep he had to call in a tow truck and the whole job took twice as long. He said he barely broke even after all that mess.

jordan9038d ago

Oh man, that lean being off hits hard. I had a similar thing with a big red oak last year, thought it was a simple back cut and drop but once I got up there I realized it was leaning way harder toward the house than I guessed. Ended up having to piece it out with a rigging line all day while my ground guy was just standing there looking at me like what now. Then my stump grinder broke down on day two and I spent like 3 hours on the phone finding someone to rent one from. By the time I was done I think I made like $150 after paying the rental and buying a new saw chain because I hit some metal buried in the trunk. Sometimes you just gotta laugh so you don't cry about it.