Hired hand?

[066Bigbear]

First off if anyone in the Central Va need firewood split please call me best way is to call (540) 241-2188 for more info. Now to the question do you hire your self and splitter out for work?. If so how often and what is your going rate? This is my first time putting myself out there but I would like to know how many of your guys do the sam. All input is welcome

 

[Iron man]

If I was ever going to pay somebody to split my wood for me it would be a per cord deal because it would be bucked and ready to split but not all situations are the same.If somebody had a pile of logs and wanted you to cut them to size and split them I would give them an hourly rate charge or hourly for the bucking and flat price per cord.Bottom line is you don't want to put yourself in a situation where you work all day for peanuts.

 

[SPDRMNKY]

:agree2:

I do saw-only work at $40/hr...and half that goes out in fuel and insurance costs...I'd imagine splitter-only would be similar...I try to pay myself somewhere between $10 - $20 per hour...sometimes it works out :tongue2:

a per cord cost might be a better marketing strategy (though you assume more risk that way) for splitter-only...depending on what daily splitter rentals go for in your area

if they want it stacked...that's $20/hr I'd say

first hour is full, then 15 min increments thereafter

do your math!!

cheers!

 

[avalancher]

I have hired out many times to split for others, but take some advise from someone that has bumped heads with a few folks over the details.

For starters, make dang sure you and the person you are splitting for agree on what is considered "small enough". I have always gone by the method of, "if I can pick it up with one hand, its small enough" but after busting and stacking three cords of wood for a guy, he then decided to pull a fast one and decided not to pay for the work because the wood was busted to big.After I started loading the wood into my trailer, he changed his tune. The hilarious part was he actually called me back the next year to buck and split a trailer load.Needless to say, he paid upfront for the work before I pulled the rope on a saw.

If the folks want to save some bucks and stack it themselves, make em come out and stack while you split or pay you by the hour.Folks will argue until the cows come home about a pile of wood being one cord, two cords, etc and refuse to understand that after doing this for years I got a pretty good idea of how much a cord looks like piled up.

If you are working by the hour, make sure they understand and agree with you about break times.I split until the tank runs dry on the splitter, then take a few minutes to get a drink, at the most five minutes. I consider that on their time. I also break for lunch for thirty minutes, and consider that on my time. Nothing different than if you were working for a company.

I have found over the years that the best method is to get payed by how much you produce, and charge $60 a cord to split and stack.If I am moving fast, I can do a cord in two hours, but the time and charge per cord varies according to the species.Pine, red oak,locust, and Ash are at $60 per cord, but if they want large pecan, hickory, or elm the price goes up for the simple reason it is harder on the operator and the equipment. I have never split and stacked a cord of hickory in my life in two hours, and I am not sure it can be done unless the rounds are less than 20 inches or so. Hickory around here is very stringy and very time consuming, same with Pecan.