Originally Posted by 480sparky

Hate to burst your bubble, but no license is needed to cut down a tree. So if none is required, where, pray tell, would you suggest I obtain one?

Originally Posted by ChainsawCharlie

I'd rather see hacks price gouging than undercutting to the point that the legit guys can't compete.

Originally Posted by mics_54

BTW 600 bucks sounds more than reasonable.

Originally Posted by tkle

......... drop a 35' tree with no overhead? Were you doing the moonwalk while doing it? What's your special talent that made it worth that much? .........

Originally Posted by mics_54

Well I was thinking it would depend on how he got the tree to the alley. I would have used the skid steer but it might not be accessable. If he had to pack the tree very far by hand and not rut up the yard it might take some labor

Originally Posted by 480sparky

Just to let everyone know:

The tree is down. It has been cut up, and has been placed next to the alley. The HO has a relative that is going to take it for his fireplace. As for the small stuff, the HO is tackling the task of cutting it up and placing it on the curb as yard waste.

I managed to cut the tree down with a chain saw. Not solely based on the need for money. I own three chain saws, and know how to use them. Not run them or start them or pull the trigger. I know how to use them.

The tree wasn't some 100' sycamore. It was about 35'. Getting it to drop was not an issue..... it was leaning at about a 30° angle against another tree and the HO was worried about it coming down the rest of the way while some poor slob was trespassing in her back yard.

The planets are still in their orbits. The sun still came up in the eastern sky this morning. I still draw breath on this world, on this plane, in this existence. My family still loves me, I still have the best next-door-neighbors one could hope for, and my cat still wants fed every day. I continue to receive bills in the mail, the phone still rings, and I have $12.57 in cash in my pocket this morning. My truck will still start, I can still drive on public roads to go to the bank, and I plan on having some Iowa Peaches and Cream sweet corn for supper tonight.

As I stated in my OP, I am an electrician. To all you doomsayers who claim I should not be cutting down trees for whatever paranoid reason, the universe still exists. If I were to limit myself to pulling romex and bending conduit, pray what else should I do in my life?

Shall I stop changing the oil in my trucks because I am not a professional mechanic? God forbid I should pull out of my driveway and crunch a parked car with my bumper. Let some lawyer loose on that one... I'm a goner for sure!

Last week, I had my neighbors (yea, the nice ones) over for a bar-b-que. Chicken, steak, ham on the grill. Salads, chips, sun tea. Topped off with home-made ice cream. I didn't poison them. No one spent the night whistling carrots. No one felt the need to call 911. They still speak to me. All this despite the fact I am not a professional chef.

I am, at this very moment, pushing buttons on a thing called keyboard, which is wired to a contraption called a computer, which in turn is hooked to a system called The Internet. I may mistype a letter, or misspell a word, even compose a sentence that does not make sense. Yet no one dies simply because I am not a professional computer programmer.

Shall I discontinue mowing my own lawn because I am not a professional, trained and insured landscaper? Shall I sell my vacuum cleaner because I am not a professional, trained and insured house cleaner? Heaven forbid should I attempt to replace that asphalt shingle last week's storm ripped off my roof as I am not a professional, trained and insured roofer.

Just yesterday, my neighbors' 11-year old granddaughter knocked on my door. Seems the kickstand on her bicycle was loose, and she was inquiring as to whether I could fix it. I opened my van, pullout out a 3/8" allen wrench and tightened a bolt. My God, what have I done to that child? Will she spend the rest of her life in a vegatative coma? Will she live to have her father walk her down the aisle? This precocious child has expressed an interest in the medical profession, yet have I unwittingly destroyed mankinds means for a cure for cancer?

As I watched Haley (that's her name) merrily ride off, I noticed my neighbors garden flag was on the ground. I picked it up, and found the end of the pole was broken off. I reached in my van, pulled out my cordless sawzall, and put a nice, even square cut on it. I used my cordless drill to remove the portion of the pole out of the bracket attached to their deck.

This simple act of kindness, I am now convinced, spells the end of the cosmos as we know it. I have angered my Creator to the point He will divide by zero, and beset a super-massive black hole upon the universe. Everything that ever was, everything that is, and everything that ever will be shall be sucked up into Nothingness, just like the Freeling's home at the end of Poltergeist.








All this because of $600. Had I only known.........