# CL Boston - black walnut tree for sale, you remove it



## JCantin (Jan 21, 2009)

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mat/2000889507.html

Rare Black Walnut Tree for Sale to the Highest Bidder and the minimum bid is $2500. The bidder will remove the entire tree from the property. This tree is at full growth (130 to 150 feet tall) and has a girth of 73" near base. Photos attached. The tree is perfectly straight from the base to 30' or higher.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Ha ha ha… A 23" (diameter, they measured circumference at 73'') walnut butt log 10' long is about 225 bft (doyle scale) assuming it is decent I pay $90 for similar walnut logs *delivered* here to my mill. The upper logs, looks like there may be at least one more 1/2 way decent one it may be a $50 log, the third log maybe $30…Who in their right mind would pay to do tree service work ? I'm not blowing smoke, I buy logs several times a week (delivered here mind you) there is not $200 worth of sawlogs there…what if the "lucky" guy who pays for the privilege to cut it down drops it and it is as hollow as a sewer pipe ? I buy my logs on a trailer where I can grade them/ reject them if they are junk. Buying a standing yard tree is not wise, even if you have $0 in labor to get it from where it stands- to the mill….$2500 is just insane ! Let's say there is 400 bft there (long shot) that is $6.25 a bft…standing. Add removal labor/sawing/drying and you got yourself some mill run (some decent/some crap) walnut for ~$10 bft, and had to work your butt off for it…I sell kiln dried FAS (only the good stuff) for $5 bft all day long.

OK I'm done now.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

damn… I was expecting a 73" diameter humungous tree…. only to see a few twigs…. bummer.


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## NathanAllen (Oct 16, 2009)

But Daren, you're not seeing the beauty of it. For $2,500 you get to drop a tree on their house. It may wreak havoc on your insurance but imagine the satisfaction, especially when you claim it was the wind that took it.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Nathan, funny you should mention insurance, or maybe not once you hear these stories. These homeowners with "valuable" trees they want to sell standing, or have cut down for free for the valuable lumber often get themselves in a pickle.

They get an estimate from a legitimate tree service (bonded and insured) and have a mini-stroke at the price…so they post on c-list looking to avoid the cost of removal…or in some cases like this discussion try to get enough money for a vacation to boot.

Let me back up and say I work with many tree services, that is where I get most of my logs I sawmill. I was talking to one a few months ago and he was telling me he needed to make $750 a day before he could pay himself…Liability/workers comp insurance is very high for this line of work. The first $750 went to payroll/expenses/insurance when he went to work for the day.

So my stories as they relate to cheapskate homeowners (or in the case of the $2500 walnut, crackhead homeowners) Two, number 1 the homeowner (from now on referred to as HO) was shocked at the price of removal of a tree close to the house, so they listed it "Free tree, you fell and clean up". So some guy shows up, uninsured yahoo…drops the tree on the carport where the wifes new Caddy was parked. Well he figures his work is done/this went south and smokes on out of there. Leaving the HO with ~ $15K worth of damage and a tree to still clean up/get off the house-carport…which they had to pay an arborist for afterall.

Story 2 is worse. Same start, cheap HO-free tree you cut it…unisured yahoo shows up…falls out of their tree and SUES them/their insurance.


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## Sawmillnc (Jan 14, 2010)

@ Daren.. I'm with you. To take down a tree that size is going to cost you at least that much. I have heard several stories from people that hired fly by nights that ended up nightmare stories.

I can't afford to take down urban trees, and I can't afford to buy large trees at veneer prices especially when most almost always have metal/ceramic/random stuff that reduces the value.

I still pay a reasonable price for large walnut or cherry trees.


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## JCantin (Jan 21, 2009)

Just to clarify, I'm not the one "selling" the tree nor do I know the person who is. I just posted it here because I suspected it would generate some interesting commentary. Which it has!

Tree felling is one of the most dangerous occupations out there and workers comp insurance is very expensive. Add in the cost of owning and maintaining the equipment, especially if a crane is needed, and it is indeed a heart attack when the homeowner sees the cost. It is very tempting to hire unlicensed and uninsured amateurs but as the stories above show, it can cost you dearly.


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

In a former life I worked as a golf course superintendent on the Monterey Bay in CA. Our course had approx. 3000 trees, and thats a conservative estimate. All of the trees were mature eucalyptus, pine and monterey cypress. Now, the euc and pine were usually only good for fire wood, but the cypress was milled into slabs that were used for benches. The arborist that I used was local, insured and a good worker. We would pay about 1k to have a tree removed. These trees were 100-125' tall and most 48" in diameter. He would come in limb the tree, chip all the branches, drop the log and buck into either 10' or 20' sections. My maintenance crew would then cut into firewood length, haul it off the property, split, season and then sell as firewood. I sure wish I would kept ahold os some of the cypress, it was beautiful stuff, and the price was right.


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## tnwood (Dec 13, 2009)

Typical urban type who is too cheap to have the tree removed, his neighbor or buddy told him how much it was worth, and he figures some sucker will come along. He only forgot to specify that the feller needs insurance. There may be 2 or 3 8 foot logs in that tree but that is the end of it.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

All of this is still assuming there are no nails, spikes, etc in the wood. I see these ads too, once for a cherry tree that was 9' across… yeah, it was only about 20". Sheesh. You're all right about the cost of removing trees, a friend had a black walnut in his yard that truly was 5' across at the base; the buyer of the tree paid 3k for it standing ( a rarity), but it cost 4.5k to remove. But isn't it somehow internally necessary to just go take a look anyway, lol?


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