How much would you charge?

[Jeff Lary]

I have this neighbor who lives a mile above me.He has hired me in the past to do some material moving with my tractor and yard some logs for him as well. He called me a little while ago and hears the deal
He want's to cut about 6 coards of Poplar and Hack and wants me to yard the logs for him .He will be felling them into a horse pasture at least some of them and he want's me to move the brush as well. Oh and he also does not have a saw that runs so he wants me to supply him with a saw. I told him by the time he paid me and paid the trucking of the logs there would be very little money left over for him. And he should check the price per coard closely first. He wants to know how much I would charge him for Me ,My 4wd Kubota and Farmi winch and at least 2 saws as i would not go with just one saw,He has absolouty nothing for chain hammer wedge ect.I will have to supply it all.I told him $35.00 per hour gets him me and everything He needs to do the work. I think he feels this is too much,I said well saws are $300 min the Kubota was $14,000.00 winch was $1500.00 and then I have to supply all the incidentals,what would you charge? I should have said $75.00 per as I really dont want to get involved. So I am hopeing he thinks there will be no money to be made.

 

[StihlyinEly]

Wow, $35/hr is VERY low. For your sake, I hope he thinks it's too much money. Not a job I'd want to tackle with such a small payday at the end of it.

 

[splitpost]

,I said well saws are $300 min the Kubota was $14,000.00 winch was $1500.00 and then I have to supply all the incidentals,what would you charge? I should have said $75.00 per as I really dont want to get involved. So I am hopeing he thinks there will be no money to be made.

you dont have to justify anything just tell him "your not interested"

 

[procarbine2k1]

You are MUCH less than I would be! Let him find someone else.

 

[Jeff Lary]

you dont have to justify anything just tell him "your not interested"

I hate to do that but that is exactly how i really feel.I tried to let him take a saw and do all the droping then call me and I would come up then .But I am under the impression he wants me to run a second saw to " help out"

 

[cpr]

Agreed. $35/hr is far too low when all the risk is yours in this deal. I'd maybe sit it out since your heart's not in doing it anyway.

 

[Guido Salvage]

My suggestion is to think long and hard before entering into any type of business arrangement that involves you, your equipment and your expertise, be it with a neighbor or anyone else. Do you have any experience doing the work? Do you have any insurance to cover you for injury, your equipment from damage or theft and liability coverage in the event you cause unintended damage?

In order to obtain a hourly rate you need to know the cost components of doing the job. This would include fuel and fluids, wear and tear on your equipment, depreciation, hauling costs, insurance, taxes, your time and expertise, etc. Do you have a contract that will be signed in the event you do the work and he does not pay? If payment is not made, are you prepared to go to court to collect?

It may sound like an easy way to make money but I would not do it for $35.00 an hour.

 

[tlandrum]

when using my tractor i get 50 an hr and when using more than just the tractor is keeps going up

 

[splitpost]

I hate to do that but that is exactly how i really feel.I tried to let him take a saw and do all the droping then call me and I would come up then .But I am under the impression he wants me to run a second saw to " help out"

sounds like a free ride to me,even if you did help out,he should at least pay for fuel/ oils and then give you half of the wood

 

[M-tooth]

sounds like a bad situation all around, i'd walk away.

 

[jus2fat]

$35 an hour...with you supplying the equipment..and gas etc....

That's a super bargain..at least here in the South..!!

I wouldn't even consider it at that price..!!

J2F

 

[Ductape]

I agree with everyone else....... 35 / is cheeeeeeeap. Around here, I'd expect 55+ /

 

[lone wolf]

you know what you get stick to it.

 

[M-tooth]

I normally charge 30/hr for just myself, my saw and fluids. The price I charge for residential jobs increases dramatically....3 figures per tree just to put it on the ground

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

I hate to do that but that is exactly how i really feel.I tried to let him take a saw and do all the droping then call me and I would come up then .But I am under the impression he wants me to run a second saw to " help out"

Why doesn't this guy have a running saw? You'll probably get your back not running too....

Is this a privet land owner? What does he do? Why does he want to cut the timber?

What do you do with your equipment?

 

[Jeff Lary]

Why doesn't this guy have a running saw? You'll probably get your back not running too....

Is this a privet land owner? What does he do? Why does he want to cut the timber?

What do you do with your equipment?

His saw ? who knows lac of maint i assume they live pretty rough.Yes he owns 3 acers 2.2 are a horse swamp / pasture. Why,... for money... what does he do... Runs a dozer for a large quarry down in the sother part of the state.What do I do with my equiptment ??? I guess I dont know what you mean .

 

[Fish]

If you work real cheap for friends or neighbors, then you will have plenty of friends or neighbors.....

 

[Jwalker1911]

I have this neighbor who lives a mile above me.He has hired me in the past to do some material moving with my tractor and yard some logs for him as well. He called me a little while ago and hears the deal
He want's to cut about 6 coards of Poplar and Hack and wants me to yard the logs for him .He will be felling them into a horse pasture at least some of them and he want's me to move the brush as well. Oh and he also does not have a saw that runs so he wants me to supply him with a saw. I told him by the time he paid me and paid the trucking of the logs there would be very little money left over for him. And he should check the price per coard closely first. He wants to know how much I would charge him for Me ,My 4wd Kubota and Farmi winch and at least 2 saws as i would not go with just one saw,He has absolouty nothing for chain hammer wedge ect.I will have to supply it all.I told him $35.00 per hour gets him me and everything He needs to do the work. I think he feels this is too much,I said well saws are $300 min the Kubota was $14,000.00 winch was $1500.00 and then I have to supply all the incidentals,what would you charge? I should have said $75.00 per as I really dont want to get involved. So I am hopeing he thinks there will be no money to be made.

Im far from an expert on tree prices but i know for me to fire up my welder i charge 65 per hour and i charge from the minute my truck pulls out of the driveway, no sense in working for free it costs a bit to maintain equipment

 

[StihlyinEly]

I normally charge 30/hr for just myself, my saw and fluids. The price I charge for residential jobs increases dramatically....3 figures per tree just to put it on the ground

About the same here. I'm at $35/hr unless it's residential/lakeshore work, and then it goes up fast. I also don't do tree work on a per/hr basis, but bid the job. Yeah, that means I figure out in my head how many hours it'll take, and I keep in my head the price per hour that I bid residential tree work at. I never tell the tree service client I work for x$/hr.

 

[Jeff Lary]

If you work real cheap for friends or neighbors, then you will have plenty of friends or neighbors.....

You sir are correct. nobody does anything for me on the cheep I have to pay just like I bet you do.