I paid to get a tree dropped in my woods, first ever.

[gspren]

For 36 years my woods were no where near buildings or wires and I cut lots of dead trees for firewood, usually where I aimed them. Now at my new place the small amount of woods that I have runs along one side and close to my new pole building. In the fall I saw a dead red oak about 14", very tall, with a mild lean to my building. I kept thinking I could drop it IF I could get a rope up high but I don't even like ladders let alone climbing so I kept putting it off untill a few days ago I saw a tree crew cutting up a big "yard tree" just up the road and I know the guy that lives there. I stopped and ask him what he thought about them and he approved, I talked to the crew boss for a minute and when they finished there they came down and looked, i said just drop it down parrallel to the building and I'll do the rest. He climbed way higher than I'd of thought, tied off a rope and his crew of 3 pulled while he cut it off about 3' off the ground, hit right where I wanted and cost me $260 cash. With my old knees I think it was money well spent!

[peakbagger]

I recently paid to have couple of trees cut on my woodlot. They were along the road frontage and all on a steep banking leaning out over the road.  There are power lines along with bunch of fiber optic and cable lines on the same poles. Rather than take the risk I paid I guy to climb and drop them. I probably could have cabled the trees to pull them back away from the powerlines but not worth the risk. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Now that's how you do it! Tree guys, like loggers spend a lot of money to get the right equipment and crew on a job site, then they have to make that daily rate to cover salaries, loan payments, insurance, and profit. If you look at it from their point and can throw in a bonus tree for the day, after they have already made their daily goal AND you eliminated the cleanup, which takes MOST of the time, AND you paid them in cash, everybody wins. I'll bet he was at your place less than an hour in total. I'll also bet it took you most of a day to clean it up. But you saved a ton of money, avoided the hazard, nd got peace of mind.
 I hear this all the time from clients. I don't cut trees for money, but occasionally will drop smaller ones with no hazard or risk. They all say "I got quotes, but holy cow, these guys want a fortune, and this/these tree(s) is/are pretty simple. I can't pay that, it's crazy". I try not to laugh out loud, then try to explain to them why it costs what it costs. I then explain the best way is to find someone willing to just drop it, then they do the cleanup themselves. Most don't really like to or even can do the actual work of cleanup. For working folks, it's a good way to go.

 With 'my guy' who is also a good friend, I show him the tree I need done and when his crew and gear are in the right place or they are returning home early he will come in and drop it, chip the small stuff, and leave me the rest to finish. Sometimes this means waiting for 6-15 months, but it gets done on his calendar. This last one was a 38" DBH RO dying and leaning at my house. I waited more than 2 years, but when he bought a 75' skidder/bucket truck and wanted to try it out, it was my tree we got to just in time. We are still waiting for the ground to freeze so we can drop the main stem.
 Now he parks the skidder/bucket in my driveway and has used it on 3 other jobs here on my road recently. I use it as a lawn ornament and a way for folks to find my house easy.

 Again, good for you!
 

[YellowHammer]

Yes, sometimes the best decision is to let a pro handle it.  

[21incher]

I had 2 big dead ash dropped by loggers that were working on my neighbors property.  I had been staring at them for years and didn't feel safe with all the dead branches and one was split into 2 main trunks.  They were cutting next door and there was one tree on the property line they wanted and the boss asked me If I wanted  to split the value on it. Well I quickly thought about the ash and said it's all yours if you will just knock down the ash and they could take the over 2 ft sawlog off the big ash also. Well took them about 1/2 hour to drop them and luckily  they had a big skidder because a wind came up and pushed the big one the wrong way so they just dragged it out. Don't know if the ash log had much value though. The whole center  of it was black and looked like some kind of bacterial infection. We think it was black ash. Everybody was happy and safe in the end. 

[GAB]

I had 2 big dead ash dropped by loggers that were working on my neighbors property.  I had been staring at them for years and didn't feel safe with all the dead branches and one was split into 2 main trunks.  They were cutting next door and there was one tree on the property line they wanted and the boss asked me If I wanted  to split the value on it. Well I quickly thought about the ash and said it's all yours if you will just knock down the ash and they could take the over 2 ft sawlog off the big ash also. Well took them about 1/2 hour to drop them and luckily  they had a big skidder because a wind came up and pushed the big one the wrong way so they just dragged it out. Don't know if the ash log had much value though. The whole center  of it was black and looked like some kind of bacterial infection. We think it was black ash. Everybody was happy and safe in the end.

Now that is what I would call have I got a deal for you.
GAB

[Kodiakmac]

I quickly thought about the ash and said it's all yours if you will just knock down the ash and they could take it ... Everybody was happy and safe in the end.

Hey Bud, please send them north.  I've got 2 cottonwoods they can have.  One is 4' 6" and the other over 5' dbh.  I'll even give them breakfast, dinner, and supper. 

[Dom]

That was wise and well worth it.
Knowing where everyone specializes and strengths shows strong ethics and professionalism. 
Sure,you can cut trees, they can cut trees, both you both have different specialities.

[Nealm66]

I've finished a few jobs that needed finished. I would never judge anyone for stepping away before something bad happens. It just isn't worth it in the event of catastrophic failure. One job a homeowner placed a tall ladder against a tree to cut a big limb off. The limbs don't always land flat. It landed on its tip and the butt knocked the ladder out from underneath him. He broke both ankles and said the bone was sticking out on one. Makes me queasy thinking about it.

[Ianab]

I've walked away from a couple of trees before. and let a mutual friend of the land owner (a professional logger) handle them. He had both the gear and skill to get them down safely. 

Identifying a hazard tree is a good skill to learn. If you look at a tree, and your gut tells you "This could go badly wrong", listen to that little voice. 

[Kodiakmac]

Yup.   I'm leaving more and more of them standing for age and gravity to deal with.

[Hilltop366]

I asked a excavating company to pull a few spruce trees over for me that were near the property line within reach of the neighbouring building and power lines and busy road, they were working on a sidewalk install along the road so a few months later when walking the larger machine back to pick it up they stopped a pulled over 4 trees in 12 min. One tree had a dead top so he took his time otherwise it would have only been half the time. Well spent $80.00 plus I heated my home for a while too....thinking about it, work paid the $80.00 and also paid me to cut up my firewood too.

[John Mc]

I've walked away from a couple of trees before. and let a mutual friend of the land owner (a professional logger) handle them. He had both the gear and skill to get them down safely.

Identifying a hazard tree is a good skill to learn. If you look at a tree, and your gut tells you "This could go badly wrong", listen to that little voice. 

Exactly! Knowing when to walk away because the situation is more than you can handle or beyond the capabilities of the equipment you have available is an important skill to have

[chet]

Something that must be remembered here, always make sure that the folks doing this work for you are properly insured. With out it, you can be held personally liable if something goes wrong, that may include their personal injuries.

[gspren]

I asked about insurance and was assured that they were. When they backed into my driveway I took 2 photos of their truck, one showing whole truck in my driveway and one zoomed in on the business name, phone number, and list of available services, under that it said "Fully Insured".

[chet]

When bidding jobs I would advise future clients to always get a copy of their contractor's insurance before any work commences. I personally know of folks that got stung really bad by not doing so. Including cases where the home owners were successfully sued by the folks they hired for damages incurred or personal injuries.

[beenthere]

I often ask, and am told "insured". 
A couple years back, I was getting ready to hire a couple young painters to paint some of my homes' overhanging eaves. Wondering what I needed, I called my home owners insurance, and was told that I should have a copy of their insurance listing my name and address on that copy. Made sense to me.

[chet]

I normally always only provided a copy of insurance. But I have been required to provide a named copy as you stated and also be bonded. In most all those instances it was government, large Corp, or insurance related work.

[Ianab]

That insurance seems to be more a US thing? 

Here in NZ ANY accident is covered by a universal insurance policy. It's paid by a levy on wages, based on your occupation. Loggers pay a bit more, because more than average accidents. You have to actually be "negligent" to be sued or prosecuted. 

You can be prosecuted if you (as an employer / workplace) expose people to avoidable risk, and no amount of insurance will protect you there.  But in the case of a hazard tree, if you ID the "risk", and hire a "pro", then you have taken "reasonable" precautions. 

If you tell your teenage worker to "go cut down that tree", and he's not had any official training in logging or arborist work, and he hurts himself, OSH will come down on you like a ton of bricks.  Accident insurance will pay his hospital bills and lost wages, but you might still be on the hook for other compensation.

 

[chet]

@Ianab, What you are referring to is what we call Workers Compensation, which is a form of employee insurance coverage that pays benefits to workers who are injured or become disabled as a result of their job. In most cases here only regular employees are eligible for workers' compensation; independent contractors are not. This insurance only covers that worker for injuries, nothing else.

[Ianab]

Yes it's similar to that, but Universal. Covers everyone, for any accident. You don't even have to be a NZ resident, if you break your leg getting off a cruise ship, your treatment is covered. (Just you can't claim lost wages unless you are a NZ taxpayer)

You could still be found criminally liable for an accident, but that's covered by workplace safety /  traffic laws / creating a public nuisance etc. And you may be ordered to pay an injured party more compensation, but their medical expenses and lost wages have already been paid. You also can't insure against a criminal conviction. 

A civil court case for accidental injury is very rare because everyone has the same Insurance Co. They have to pay out the same, no matter which party gets the blame for an accident, and unless you are found criminally negligent you aren't on the hook.