Tree felling - why so expensive?
Discussion
My neighbour is having an ash taken down, it's maybe 40 feet tall. He's had quotes between £900-£1600 +VAT from about 5 different local contractors. Access is easy and he went for the cheapest. The job was done in half a day. They did a really nice tidy job but it took 3 men half a day including removal of the debris.
Why is tree felling so expensive?
Why is tree felling so expensive?
Pistom said:
My neighbour is having an ash taken down, it's maybe 40 feet tall. He's had quotes between £900-£1600 +VAT from about 5 different local contractors. Access is easy and he went for the cheapest. The job was done in half a day. They did a really nice tidy job but it took 3 men half a day including removal of the debris.
Why is tree felling so expensive?
I think you've just explained why in your question. 1.5 days of labour, working at height, tools, insurance, waste disposal.Why is tree felling so expensive?
I run my own tree surgery business. Prices vary massively depending on the tree and it's location and complexity. £1600 isn't unreasonable at all for a tree removal. Labour wise would be 3-4 lads, chipper, waste disposal. Add on to that business insurance, the fact that being self employed you don't get holiday pay, sick pay etc. The costs are massive and I have a relatively small firm but have put in £120,000 so far. The training and expertise to do it properly and safely is vast and costly. People don't resent paying a plumber/plasterer/builder £200 or whatever a day but heaven forbid someone charges a sensible price for wielding a chainsaw up a tree and dismantling it successfully and safely. It is an extremely dangerous and challenging job and massively underpaid in this country.
robinh73 said:
I run my own tree surgery business. Prices vary massively depending on the tree and it's location and complexity. £1600 isn't unreasonable at all for a tree removal. Labour wise would be 3-4 lads, chipper, waste disposal. Add on to that business insurance, the fact that being self employed you don't get holiday pay, sick pay etc. The costs are massive and I have a relatively small firm but have put in £120,000 so far. The training and expertise to do it properly and safely is vast and costly. People don't resent paying a plumber/plasterer/builder £200 or whatever a day but heaven forbid someone charges a sensible price for wielding a chainsaw up a tree and dismantling it successfully and safely. It is an extremely dangerous and challenging job and massively underpaid in this country.
Agree with all that & dodged a bullet with my last house having according to the 100 year old neighbour, the biggest Eucalyptus tree in the county that needed attention in our garden.Reckon that would have been a 5 figure job….
It's bloody hard work. Most youngsters starting as Groundies these days leave before lunch on their first day.
"Done in half a day". Maybe. Get to and from the job, then there's all the equipment maintenance when you get back to the yard.
Public liability Insurance.
Getting good at it takes a few years of experience. Experience costs.
Equipment isn't cheap, nor is it's maintenance.
Customers. Arguing about paying/ trying not to pay/ whilst you're here can you just do this/that etc.
Disposal of brash and chippings. It's not free, and often involves more travelling (time) these days.
They probably made a couple of hundred quid on your friend's job, hardly daylight robbery.
"Done in half a day". Maybe. Get to and from the job, then there's all the equipment maintenance when you get back to the yard.
Public liability Insurance.
Getting good at it takes a few years of experience. Experience costs.
Equipment isn't cheap, nor is it's maintenance.
Customers. Arguing about paying/ trying not to pay/ whilst you're here can you just do this/that etc.
Disposal of brash and chippings. It's not free, and often involves more travelling (time) these days.
They probably made a couple of hundred quid on your friend's job, hardly daylight robbery.
Also worth considering that for some tree surgeons who do have the time and resources and fancy a second bite of the cherry, customers paying for the convenience of having a tree disposed can help generate a bit of additional money for them when they sell chippings and logs for firewood on.
A while ago I had some trees felled and the surgeon left a small proportion behind to collect another day after he had emptied the first lot.
He called me to explain the arrangement, but said I could make money in selling it to people who needed the wood for their fireplaces etc.
I can't remember the market rates at the time, but the remnants were deceptively heavy (a couple of hundred kilograms at least), whereas the firewood being sold in supermarkets and online were smaller in weight/quanitity but with huge mark-ups.
I listed mine on Gumtree and, predictably, started receiving phone calls after the remnants had been taken away, no doubt to be sold on to make a pretty penny.
A while ago I had some trees felled and the surgeon left a small proportion behind to collect another day after he had emptied the first lot.
He called me to explain the arrangement, but said I could make money in selling it to people who needed the wood for their fireplaces etc.
I can't remember the market rates at the time, but the remnants were deceptively heavy (a couple of hundred kilograms at least), whereas the firewood being sold in supermarkets and online were smaller in weight/quanitity but with huge mark-ups.
I listed mine on Gumtree and, predictably, started receiving phone calls after the remnants had been taken away, no doubt to be sold on to make a pretty penny.
Just paid £1200 plus VAT for a large sycamore (access not brilliant), and a bit of stump grinding and chipping of smaller trees and branches we've taken down ourselves.
Day rate for 3 guys (Assume a gaffer at £300, Groundies at £150 each), kit hire etc. Looked like very good value to us - I don't bid down tradespeople (I don't negotiate for my time at work, so don't think it's fair for me to squeeze others). Came recommended by a local farmer.
I guess it's quite difficult to double stack jobs like this; difficult to plan more than one job a day.
North Oxfordshire for reference.
Day rate for 3 guys (Assume a gaffer at £300, Groundies at £150 each), kit hire etc. Looked like very good value to us - I don't bid down tradespeople (I don't negotiate for my time at work, so don't think it's fair for me to squeeze others). Came recommended by a local farmer.
I guess it's quite difficult to double stack jobs like this; difficult to plan more than one job a day.
North Oxfordshire for reference.
Pistom said:
My neighbour is having an ash taken down, it's maybe 40 feet tall. He's had quotes between £900-£1600 +VAT from about 5 different local contractors. Access is easy and he went for the cheapest. The job was done in half a day. They did a really nice tidy job but it took 3 men half a day including removal of the debris.
Why is tree felling so expensive?
Well there's your answer, it take three fellas (TREE FELLERS!!!!) to do the job.Why is tree felling so expensive?
Thanks for the replies - it's helped me understand.
I think it's the cost of equipment, insurance and training I've undervalued.
I've taken trees down up to about 30 feet. No training, no insurance and not a clue but I lived. It's my garden and my safety but wouldn't want to do that for someone else for fun.
I think it's the cost of equipment, insurance and training I've undervalued.
I've taken trees down up to about 30 feet. No training, no insurance and not a clue but I lived. It's my garden and my safety but wouldn't want to do that for someone else for fun.
Portofino said:
Agree with all that & dodged a bullet with my last house having according to the 100 year old neighbour, the biggest Eucalyptus tree in the county that needed attention in our garden.
Reckon that would have been a 5 figure job.
We had a small eucalyptus tree at a previous house, only about 5 feet high, so I took it out myself with one of those "pruning" chainsaws.Reckon that would have been a 5 figure job.
It smelled LOVELY when I cut it up.
borcy said:
robinh73 said:
It is an extremely dangerous and challenging job and massively underpaid in this country.
How much are people paid in other countries for this sort of work? louiebaby said:
We had a small eucalyptus tree at a previous house, only about 5 feet high, so I took it out myself with one of those "pruning" chainsaws.
It smelled LOVELY when I cut it up.
Sure does, Used to get the smell when cutting the grass that had the leaves on. Was always bloody dropping something depending on the time of year.It smelled LOVELY when I cut it up.
Kuwahara said:
You re not just paying for your job,you re paying for the years of experience gained doing other peoples stuff so it doesn t damage property or kill somebody..
Yeah but that is very rarely reflected in the quote.£1500 for an experience tree surgeon to complete the job in one day, £1500 for an inexperienced tree surgeon to complete the job in 2 days- and make a mess in the process. And that’s if the inexperienced guy is honest. It certainly can be the case that the guy doing it for £750 per day eeeks out the number of days.
So all experience gets you is maybe efficiency and safety. But you’ll not necessarily know what you are getting until it’s too late.
JimM169 said:
Yeah, given the price of firewood these days wouldn't surprise me if it was the more profitable end of the tree felling process
IIRC, and as a slight correction to my earlier post, logs and firewood are often sold by volume rather than weight. After it has aged and dried out a bit, it's a lot lighter, which I suppose helps with any mark-up.The leftover stuff I was trying to get rid of was leylandii and advertised as that, so not the most desirable, but it still garnered a bit of interest for those wanting to save a bit of brass on trade/retail prices.
Portofino said:
louiebaby said:
We had a small eucalyptus tree at a previous house, only about 5 feet high, so I took it out myself with one of those "pruning" chainsaws.
It smelled LOVELY when I cut it up.
Sure does, Used to get the smell when cutting the grass that had the leaves on. Was always bloody dropping something depending on the time of year.It smelled LOVELY when I cut it up.
JimM169 said:
Yeah, given the price of firewood these days wouldn't surprise me if it was the more profitable end of the tree felling process
Hardly, they need to process it into firewood and store it for upwards of 18 months. It might help put some jam on their bread and butter but they won't be booking a weekend break at Claridges off the back of it.hidetheelephants said:
JimM169 said:
Yeah, given the price of firewood these days wouldn't surprise me if it was the more profitable end of the tree felling process
Hardly, they need to process it into firewood and store it for upwards of 18 months. It might help put some jam on their bread and butter but they won't be booking a weekend break at Claridges off the back of it.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff