How much pay for tree climber?

I own a small tree service and am looking to hire a tree climber on a freelance type basis. How much do you guy usually request for freelance work? Is it by the hour/day or by the job?

Some climbers go on a day rate. Others go by a job rate. Some even go by the contractor's desparation rate. Costs depend on availablity too. Lots of climbers available=lower rates. Few climbers available=higher rates. There is no union to contend with. Costs can be all over the map.

My advice having 27 years in the trade- find some one who you can trust, that shows up when agreed on, and has good skill levels. One that can work as a team member too. When you find that person, just figure in his costs with the estimate and ALWAYS pay the climber immediatly (so he will come back to work with you agian). Good luck! It is not easy finding a good climber that is dependable.

Good luck! It is not easy finding a good climber that is dependable.

You got that right.

What part of the country are you in Debbie? Pay rates vary regionally.

I really enjoy/specialize technical climbing for removals and trimming. I work full time as a machinist/engineer, stuck behind a desk all week and work for myself on the weekends doing this stuff. I like to get somewhere around $40-$45/hr for good technical climbing type jobs and pay my groundie $20/hr to do most of the grunt work and mind the ropes when I need him to. (Customer is ideally paying a total of $60-$65/hr) Of course it all depends on the job and the situation. I'll tack on a little extra if travel time is an issue, if the client is difficult to deal with, if it's especially risky or some other unusual circumstances. Maybe I need to rent a chipper or some equipment....

i dont' know exactly how much climbers go for, but i make 12 an hour after about 2 good months of climbing almost everyday. on the side i like to make at least 75-100 an hour doing my own jobs. it also depends on what you want in a tree climber..if you want someone that just spikes the tree up as far as they can stand, then tops the thing 3 feet past the lateral with a nice bold angle cut, you can find one anywhere for cheap. (some even come complete with extention ladder) if you want someone to climb to the very top with ropes and give the trees a nice healthy shape. try quizzing potentials about their trimming technique. do they know what the BBC is? what about the cambium? drop-crotch? i've only been at this for a short time, and these things i know well.