back in the stump business

[gotstumps]

Just getting back into the stump grinding business after taking a few years off. Just purchased a Rayco 1625 Super JR. I live in northeast PA. Just wondering what the going price is per inch these days for stump grinding in the northeast or any where for that matter.

Thanks

 

[ROPECLIMBER]

I have done root flare to root flare across the longest side of the stump fresh cut soft wood 4.75 x 1" or hard or hardened wood 5.75 some times cheaper if I am packaging a tunkey removal, that is to go 4-6 inches and level the mulch and haul excess no topsoil or grass, if they want to put a tree in the same whole I will charge normal rate plus 55 per hour to go as deep as they want
but we have a lot of rocks here there are 3 rock quarrys inside city limits, right now my cutter wheel shaft is broke and am in no hurry to fix it,
Do a search on this sight cause since the storms and the stumps only services really washed the prices down in the north east seems like I read 2.00 an inch, I wouldnt, hell wouldnt be wourth the diesel out there and the gas in the grinder, have had someone way across town say soinso can do it for 100 and say if you were around the corner I could match it but not 30 miles across town, I try not to use mine low ball as i need it to close the removals on the package price,and having second thoughts on even having it would love to set a guy up with it and the trailer on a percentage or sell it to someone that would give me a good deal when I do need him,
Paul,

 

[gotstumps]

When I got out of the business five years ago I was getting 6 dollars an inch. That was measured from the base of the stumps where the roots started coming up.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

I try to get $5 a inch at the largest diameter.

 

[imagineero]

I've never understood how anyone can make a dollar off pricing stumps by the inch of diameter. Even if you forget the depth of the stump and treat it as a flat circle the surface area of a flat circle is 4 times as large when you double the diameter - ie a 20" stump has 314 square inches in it, while a 40" stump has 1256.

If you forget the fact that flare is present and treat the stump as a simple cyllinder then it gets even worse. That same 20" stump taken to a depth of 12" (assuming a cylinder with no root flare) is 3,771cubic inches. the 40" stump with the same depth has (wait for it......) 15,085cubic inches.

Assuming a price of $3/inch of diameter to a depth of 12" and taking a 20" stump as 'point zero' to reference all your pricing from would give $60 for the stump, or $0.02c/cubic inch. multiplying that by the area of a 40 inch stump to the same depth and you get a price of $240. Not $120.

Flare makes things worse, but at least start basing your pricing on square inches or cubic inches to get a realistic idea of the cost to remove a large stump to any given depth. Otherwise you're always going to be out of pocket. This goes double if you've only got a small machine. There are plenty of online calculators for area. I carry a quick reference chart in my quote book that lets me figure area for stumps of any size at a glance. I dont use that figure religiously, but it keeps me getting in over my head.

Shaun

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

I price by the hour on any job, i look at the stumps, what the HO wants
as far as depth and roots, figure how many hours it will take and multiply
by the hourly rate i need to make money, i only have a sc252 so that
makes a difference, someone with a bigger machine would be faster but
they usually have a high setup fee and it usually equals out..

Hope that helps..

Bob...

 

[gotstumps]

How do u determine what to charge an hour

 

[Kottonwood]

I've never understood how anyone can make a dollar off pricing stumps by the inch of diameter. Even if you forget the depth of the stump and treat it as a flat circle the surface area of a flat circle is 4 times as large when you double the diameter - ie a 20" stump has 314 square inches in it, while a 40" stump has 1256.

If you forget the fact that flare is present and treat the stump as a simple cyllinder then it gets even worse. That same 20" stump taken to a depth of 12" (assuming a cylinder with no root flare) is 3,771cubic inches. the 40" stump with the same depth has (wait for it......) 15,085cubic inches.

Assuming a price of $3/inch of diameter to a depth of 12" and taking a 20" stump as 'point zero' to reference all your pricing from would give $60 for the stump, or $0.02c/cubic inch. multiplying that by the area of a 40 inch stump to the same depth and you get a price of $240. Not $120.

Flare makes things worse, but at least start basing your pricing on square inches or cubic inches to get a realistic idea of the cost to remove a large stump to any given depth. Otherwise you're always going to be out of pocket. This goes double if you've only got a small machine. There are plenty of online calculators for area. I carry a quick reference chart in my quote book that lets me figure area for stumps of any size at a glance. I dont use that figure religiously, but it keeps me getting in over my head.

Shaun

I have really just gotten into stump grinding and I think pricing by the inch is an easier way to start. You just have to vary a little. I average around 4 an inch. For smaller and medium stumps that works because even though the smaller stumps are easier than the medium ones per inch they require the same amount of setup time etc. For larger stumps (above 40 inches) I will go 5-6 an inch and 2-3 an inch on the surface roots. You can raise or lower the by inch cost it if it is a really hard wood or if it is a rotten ass poplar stump. If someone is calling me out just to do one stump grind i have a 100 dollar minimum.... even for a four inch aspen stump. If they get me when I am in the neighborhood, I will cut them a deal.

I only haul away enough stump mulch to make the hole level. If they want topsoil and seed I really only offer it on medium to large stumps and I charge between 125 and 225 to do it all and make it look pretty.

This system works so that anyone on my crew can bid a stump, we get a lot of neighborhood walk ups for stumps when we have our grinder out, this bidding system works so you don't need a seasoned stump man or mathematician to bid every stump.

Everything is variable though... I did a 13 foot maple stump a few months back... charged 1100 and 300 for hauling the mulch (filled my huge ass dump trailer twice).... don't know what the hell that comes to per inch.

 

[acme0007]

I almost only do my own stumps, I hardly ever do just stumps. Guys in the Midwest only get a couple bucks an inch and they usually will rake the perimeter and haul off the excess. I can't make much money doing a 5'-6' Maple stump even for $150 grind and go. Guys here do it all the time for $100 has to take at least 3 hours to do all said and done, travel and loading unloading. It seems like the magic number is $100 for anything over about 2', it's really kind of a joke.
I hear about some Fireman starting a stump grinding business and I can't help but chuckle. I do stumps with almost all of my removals just so I can offer something cheap to the customer and just to get jobs. I figure i am already there with guys and trucks and other equipment making a total freakin mess anyway.
My advise is to plan on selling your equipment in a couple years cause some lowballer with NO talent, climbing,rigging, ect....
buys a grinder and thinks that making $25/hour is great money. Until he figures out his real expenses.

But what do I know I have only been doing it for 31 years so I guess I am the newbie.

Just my two cents worth, you can keep the change on that to.
Sorry bout that it's just my op.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

How do u determine what to charge an hour

It will probably be different for each person,,,my wife and i do mowing and stumpgrinding and since it is only us 2, we do not have to pay any help, i try to avg 40-50 per hr mowing and 50-75 per hr grinding, more for grinding due to the maint costs, our equip is paid for so that makes a diff also, my exp the last 7 yrs since i retired and started the business run around 30% of gross, so u will just have to figure all your exp,,,maint, ins, etc and see what works for u...

You will also be held in chk by what the competition charges and will run into lowballers, we had one guy down here that was doing stumps for 5-10 dollars each until the motor went on his bobcat and he didn't have the money to repair it, happens all the time, they don't last long...

Make sure u have a big powerfull chain saw,,,,saves a lot of grinding..

Bob...

 

[PremiereTreeNet]

acme: I assume they own their grinders? Because if not, the rental price alone would go over that. When you include gas and labor costs, I don't see how that can happen. It seems very low for a stump removal of any kind. I'm sorry you have to put up with that!

Anyways, it may be better to ignore inches and diameters all together. Try figuring out your expenses, deciding what you want to make above that (depending on how many you've got working with you and how many hours you think it will take of course) and base the quote on that. That's always seemed simpler to me. You don't have to worry if your per inch cost is going to put you in the red or not. If your customer really wants a per inch estimate, just divide your desired cost by the number of inches on the stump(s). That's just me though. Just thought I'd provide a different perspective. :smile:

 

[imagineero]

I aim to recover $150~$200/hour for my stump grinder which is a 20hp self propelled fully hydraulic unit. I figure the cost for operating it is around $60/hour which includes teeth, fuel, servicing, sharpening teeth, tyres, eventual engine replacement, depreciation and wages for someone to operate it.

Shaun

 

[Kottonwood]

I aim to recover $150~$200/hour for my stump grinder which is a 20hp self propelled fully hydraulic unit. I figure the cost for operating it is around $60/hour which includes teeth, fuel, servicing, sharpening teeth, tyres, eventual engine replacement, depreciation and wages for someone to operate it.

Shaun

Yep, whenever I do it by hour it is 180.... now that is 180 an hour for stump grinder running and grinding... not set up time etc

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Yep, whenever I do it by hour it is 180.... now that is 180 an hour for stump grinder running and grinding... not set up time etc

You wouldn't be grinding down here at those rates, more power to ya tho if u can
get that kind of money, i would be laughed out of the neighborhood LOL..

Bob...

 

[tree md]

I charge by the hour, level of difficulty/access and liability.

I did 10 stumps for right at $300 a week or so back. All easy access, biggest one was maybe 2' and I was out of there in two hours. I bid it for 9 but missed one when I counted and threw it in for free. Customer was all smiles and his wife was thrilled to death. They asked me for a couple of cards. Got to go back and do their neighbors here in a week or so. I have ground over 75 on this same street.

I did one onetime for $200 in a tight spot, broke a sliding glass door and had to pay $230 to have the glass replaced...

 

[massjake1971]

Acme....what made you chuckle about the fireman starting out a stump grinding outfit? I have been doing it for 7 years now. I have a rg1631, it may take me a little bit longer to get the job done, but thats ok, I dont really mind. When I encounter a job thats just too big, I refer them to a guy I know who has a big tow behind unit. In turn, when he gets a job where he cant get to....he calls me. Sometimes on big jobs (20 or more stumps for example) we team up, he takes most of the big ones and I get the smaller ones and difficult access ones. Works out great for both of us. We just did a $1500 job yesterday together. We each had about 3.5 hrs, he got $800 and I took home $700. I dont normally do the per inch thing. I just look at the job and kinda figure out long my machine will take to do it. Sometimes I under bid it, most times I over bid. For example, today...2 stumps, pretty good size for me (oaks), 1 hr 45 min. No clean up, just decent rake job....$350. Earlier in the day, I did 5 little pear tree stumps in a well to do area, 25 minutes, $150. I think I get alot of jobs at the price I want just by being nice to people and talking to them. Going over what Im going to do and what they should expect....and being HONEST! It makes for great word of mouth and repeat jobs!! Hell, I cant tell you how many times I have even had customers tip me. I cant stress how important it is to be nice to people. I love doing stumps, its got to be the greatest part time gig I can think of. I guess I kind of got off topic...sorry.

 

[Tundra Man Mike]

Last year was my first year grinding. I was told to charge $80 an hour including travel. After the first month I learned that that wasn't going to work. Everyone had different expectations on the finished product. Listen to the customer. What are their goals for the area?

I gound 5 stumps for a guy that was getting free fill brought in. The trucking company wouldn't dump unless the stumps were gone. $300 later they were gone. He got $5000 in fill and was very happy that he didn't have to wait a week or more. Grind and blade only. I was gone in an hour and a half.

I ground 85 stumps over 12" for $30 each for one guy. No charge for anything under 12". Everything over 12" was counted. No cleanup. I call this grind and go. The guy loved it. His neighbor had me do 5 for him at $300, 24-30" cottonwood, no cleanup. 30 miles from home.

I have done 1 20 inch stump for $160. Backyard, $20 to remove outer tires. $30 to take down fence and move junk. $20 to cut stump close to the gound. If I fire a chainsaw I get a minimum of $20. $80 to grind it. This job got me 4 referrals worth a grand.

I will never quote a job over the phone again. I give basic rates and offer a free quote if they will let me do the job while on site. I have only turned down one job. It was an $850 job.... they told me that I could do it for $600..... They really didn't want me to leave, but I did. Gotta know which ones to turn down.

Sometimes when I am in a good mood (and have had an awesome week) I do stupid things for people that deserve a lottery ticket. A guy had an 8 foot cottonwood stump by his greenhouse. It was several years old and he had been trying to burn it out. He had an hour left at work. I told him to get $150 cash and drive responsibly. If I wasn't loaded up by the time he got home, it was $100. I was done and loaded up in an hour including grading the area well and leaving it looking sweet. He was very happy and gave me a $50 dollar tip. He said it was only fair that if I were willing to risk $50, so should he. His previous quote was $500 minimum.

Every job has a standard. Ready for topsoil is another. If I have to rake out the shavings and haul them off, I figure $50 an hour, plus bags @ $1, and dump fees @ $40 a trip. If I grade with my blade, I get $75 an hour and won't be responsible for cable TV lines. Some houses have 2 or more dead ones.

 

[acme0007]

Where I work there are lots of stump guys so the prices are no where near what you all are describing. Cut down a maple yesterday probably 30" stump $100 and I clean up the chips. The guy said he had another bid for the exact price and let me do it because I have worked for him before. I have two pine stumps to do this weekend 65 each 18" and another maple 36" at least, rake to a pile and smooth off $100 I did the removal so not that worried about that one.
These are typical prices around here, I have been doing this full time for about 30 years and go up against other bids all the time so I know what I am doing. At least I think so....... HAHAHA.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Where I work there are lots of stump guys so the prices are no where near what you all are describing. Cut down a maple yesterday probably 30" stump $100 and I clean up the chips. The guy said he had another bid for the exact price and let me do it because I have worked for him before. I have two pine stumps to do this weekend 65 each 18" and another maple 36" at least, rake to a pile and smooth off $100 I did the removal so not that worried about that one.
These are typical prices around here, I have been doing this full time for about 30 years and go up against other bids all the time so I know what I am doing. At least I think so....... HAHAHA.

Your prices are pretty close to what we get down here also, wish we could get the money some of the guys talk about, but i would never get a job at those prices...did 7 pine stumps today, took 3 hrs 280.00, so thats about 100.00 per hr, good job for this area, i don't do haul off, the homeowners usually use the mulch for flower beds etc, prices have come up some in the last couple of years, one of the guys doing stumps for 10.00 broke his bobcat and did not have the money to fix it, so that has helped, i work for a lot of tree services and they keep me busy..

Bob...

 

[mattfr12]

Theirs a guy around here that has a few big machines that will take them out for 100$ a pop with no cleanup i use him a lot. and then just clean it up its sometimes cheaper to do that than pay to have employees watch it getting chewed out. if any of you guys close to me want me to get you the hook up on 100$ a piece let me know. he uses the 200hp carlton and I've never seen him grind for much more than 10 minutes. usually takes him longer to get it off the trailer than to grind a 70 inch stump.

stump grinders in my neck of the woods are a bad investment i just picked up a carlton hurricane with 140 hp. that machine will probably never pay for itself off of residential. if we didn't make money on land clearing i wouldn't have considered it. and on some residential jobs you wouldn't be able to bid them without one.