Tree & Stump Removal Bid

Hey guys! Business has been going very well for me so far, and I haven't even gotten my cards or door flyers in yet! Actually, I intended to just get my foot in the door with mowing, and gradually move into the landscaping and other bigger projects. I have run into a client today who has a lot of things she wants done, and they are all things I have never had a chance to bid before...can you help? My client wants the two large trees in her front lawn removed, Irrigation set up in back (front lawn already set up for irrigation), seeding (I am assuming the dug up spot in back of house), and possibly lawn installation. The two trees that I have pictured are the first project I'm going to bid on for her, then I will just cross the irrigation bridge when I get there! Let me know how you would bid the job of removing the two trees with black X's painted on them, and their stumps in the front lawn. I have only me, and one other guy right now, but if you think necessary (still being profitable) to hire one more...please let me know! ##I am having trouble posting the pictures for this post...can I email them to somebody, and have them post it for me??##

[Steve]

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Hi, Sure I will get them up for you email me.

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I sent you the pictures, let me know what you think!

[Steve]

Ok I got them. I think the problem you ran into posting them was they were too big. I try to make the images no bigger that 600 pixels wide. So ultimately if you are having troubles in the future, check the image size and if they are too big, you can simply resize them.

Here is pic #1

[Steve]

Tree Picture #2

[Steve]

Tree picture #3

Thanks a lot Steve! Now any help from anyone on how to bid this would be great!!
thanks again

[Steve]

I sent a message to Brandon, our resident tree expert, and I am hoping he can jump in here and share with us some advice.

If anyone else has any thoughts on this please share them! Thanks!

Have you ever taken down a tree before? Do you have the tools to do it? Will you be climbing the tree to cut it?

[Little's]

Hi Sensible.
Do you have any experience taking down trees? I will start by saying that it can be VERY dangerous, and there is a big liability on your part in regards to anyone helping you, and any property you could damage. Please make sure your liability insurance is paid up, and also that you are certainly covered to work on trees.

With that said, you are going to want to start with the one closest to the house (smaller one). Hopefully you are okay with climbing the trees, and arent afraid of heights. You will need to limb it down with rope a piece at a time.

There may be room to drop the larger one in one cut, but even if there is enough room (nothing within the drop radius that can be damaged), there is probably irrigation pipes and sprinkler heads to worry about, and trees as large as the bigger one weigh a tremendous amount.

Chances are, and to be a little safer, you will also need to climb the larger one too and limb it down. Learn the Bowline knot to make things faster and easier. Always lower the branches down with the rope running around a crotch in the tree easier control and manageability.

Are you going to be hauling these trees away? Is so, there is a lot of time to account for, and mileage depending on how far you have to go to dump. In a situation like this, I will usually end up charging double if I need to do all the disposal, for instance:
I would charge $1200 ($400 for the smaller, $800 for the bigger) to completely remove the trees at ground level and dispose of everything. BUT if they wanted to do the disposal/burning, etc.
I would to it for about half $600-$800.

This is just to take them to ground level. I always sub out the stump work, and you should be able to get someone to do them for about $300-$500 depending on your area, so figure that in to your bid.

Now these are just my figures, and you will have to assess the trees yourself to get a more accurate bid. Good luck.