Rates for stump grinding???

[MOE]

I've been thinking of buying a stump grinder to use as a side job. Is there a lot of demand for this? How do most people bill,(by hour, by stump,etc)What are the typical rates? What kind of insuranse is needed? How do skid steer mounted grinders compare to trailer type? thanks

 

[Stumper]

I'm tired-try the search function this has been addressed 3.7 bazillion times.

 

[stumpy66]

by the hour, by the stump, all of those and some......its a difficult old game....the search function is a good idea...there are some mad formula's you can use.....good luck...

 

[TreeChopper1]

most of time we generally go by inches across at widest points and by how many inches deep and then if we haul or leave debris.

 

[Yellowdog]

gotta know your costs to do business (fuel, labor, insurance, machinery costs, etc). You have to know what your competitors charge, too, or you will price yourself out of the market or miss an opportunity to make a bigger profit.
Know your stumps. Some are worse than others.
Know your service, that is, will you provide clean up of chips or replanting? Do you work in adverse soils?

All of these questions should be answered.

Good luck!

 

[John464]

Stumps only are the only jobs I bid over the phone.
I charge $4.00 an inch measured at the base, widest diameter. Outside of a 10 mile radius I charge a fuel surcharge or .25 per mile. If I get there and the stump has to be re-cut flush I charge $10-$25 per re-cut(determined by diamter) This is all explained over the phone beforehand to the customer.

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

I charge $3.00 an inch If they have 1-9 stumps in a yard.Then From 10-29 Stumps Its $20.00/per Stump And if they have 30-50+ stumps Its $10.00/per stump.

 

[dogdad]

Stumped 4 life,,,what grinder do you have?

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

Vermeer 630b.

 

[John464]

I charge $3.00 an inch If they have 1-9 stumps in a yard.Then From 10-29 Stumps Its $20.00/per Stump And if they have 30-50+ stumps Its $10.00/per stump.

you would do 50 , 50" stumps for $500?

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

Yes i Would, it only cost me time and money.

 

[John464]

I'd do 2.5, 50" stumps for $500. It's amazing how much prices fluctuate all across the US.

 

[Pollock777]

I had 2 stumps that were about 76" across had to go down 8" haul the chips away and fill with top soil. $800 and that was the cheapest price the customer got. They were in the back yard and everything went through a 36" gate. But remember everything in N.J. is the highest in the nation. My cousin in Fla. pays $900 a yr. full coverage on his work truck. Same truck in N.J. $2400 plus $230 reg. fee ,tire taxes and it just keeps going and going and going. And now my twp. wants us to buy land in the industral park because of the tractors and trucks and equipment we have!!!!!!! I just love N.J. And we just use most of it on my dads farm.

 

[Pollock777]

Oh about the 50 stumps for $500 what is your runnig cost per hour? Because a 50" stump has got to take a 1/2 hr. if you go down 3 to 4 inches and the time you move from stump to stump. So 25 hours give or take not counting teeth and gas and grease. You made $250 it just don't sound like a good deal for you.But if your happy God Bless. And be safe.

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

I'm In pine country, So very rarely Will i get a Stump over 40+ Inches, I Mostly clear small lots with 50-500+ Stumps.....500 Pine Stumps 8-15 Inches Across Takes about Three full days. Dusk Til dawn...And i would Profit $3700-4000......If you ask me thats GOOD Money for only 3 days of work, Thats more than most People who have a 9-5 Make in a month.

 

[SilentElk]

there isnt much of a formula around here for stumps anymore. But my first year I started trees and was going to sub out my stumps I was quoted (in 97') at $2.10 an inch (widest point) to grind and $4.10 cleaned up. With a 20 hp self propelled Rayco I got 70% of the stumps I bid and averaged $65-80 an hr with cleanup and everything. With my buddy's Carlton (25 hp I believe) we can average $125 an hour. More if in a rock bed. Small stumps typically get bid a bare minimum of $10 to move from one to another and assume under 10" in diameter and if already on site doing a bigger one. So if we see a stump that looks like it will take 2.5-3 hrs we give a bid of right about $375 to just grind and then add 20-40% or so to cleanup. On big stumps doing cleanup might be a pain but isnt to bad with a small selfpropelled. You have to move the chips out of the way anyways so might as well spend a touch longer and haul them off and make some more money. You can only grind a stump once (unless someone did a crudy job and it is growing back) so you might well get as much as possible for it. thats why cleanup is good.

Another good reason for cleaning up stumps is the fact that it leaves the homeowner/business with a nice finished product. Leaving grindings looks bad. The homeowner will remember that when you were done they still had alot of work to do themselves. Might hurt future work with them since it is possible that subconcienously top them you might not be remebered positive even if you did great work. My thoughts at least

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

I Charge $5.00 an Inch to clean,Fill and Seed.......But most people like to Do it there selfs Around here.

 

[howel07264]

clean-up

there isnt much of a formula around here for stumps anymore. But my first year I started trees and was going to sub out my stumps I was quoted (in 97') at $2.10 an inch (widest point) to grind and $4.10 cleaned up. With a 20 hp self propelled Rayco I got 70% of the stumps I bid and averaged $65-80 an hr with cleanup and everything. With my buddy's Carlton (25 hp I believe) we can average $125 an hour. More if in a rock bed. Small stumps typically get bid a bare minimum of $10 to move from one to another and assume under 10" in diameter and if already on site doing a bigger one. So if we see a stump that looks like it will take 2.5-3 hrs we give a bid of right about $375 to just grind and then add 20-40% or so to cleanup. On big stumps doing cleanup might be a pain but isnt to bad with a small selfpropelled. You have to move the chips out of the way anyways so might as well spend a touch longer and haul them off and make some more money. You can only grind a stump once (unless someone did a crudy job and it is growing back) so you might well get as much as possible for it. thats why cleanup is good.

Another good reason for cleaning up stumps is the fact that it leaves the homeowner/business with a nice finished product. Leaving grindings looks bad. The homeowner will remember that when you were done they still had alot of work to do themselves. Might hurt future work with them since it is possible that subconcienously top them you might not be remebered positive even if you did great work. My thoughts at least

i never bid a job with clean-up. i tell the homeowner they can hire a teenager in the nieghborhood a lot less than they can hire me at my rates. what they pay me for is professionlly removed stump grinding. i sometimes schedule 3 to 5 jobs a day, dont want to spend my time on yardwork. also with my self prop. carlton i NEVER shovel chips, i just back away and sweep the wheel moving the chips away. i have a shovel in the truck....covered with rust! also dont have any calluses on my hands. i pride myself in doing a job the fastest and most efficient way with as little effort as possible.

 

[stumpy66]

I know in the Uk is is a different world, but, with a little care a large magority of the chips can be sculpted in to a nice mulched (ok, fresh mulch) area, i think that i leave the area better looking than when i started...with the customers agreement...perhaps i am good at it..dunno......i always leave it as i would my own garden,...price it in yes, but it is a balance between customer happy and me happy....i find the local pub needs wood chip for the muddy paths so that is a good outlet (not fungally questionable stuff), so far i do not have a huge pile of chip.....tell them that it will compliment the area, might need some fertiliser but they all seem happy.....always will be a problem.....a good easy solution would put us out of costablility for the cust...

 

[Stumped_4_Life]

I found Out Its easier To clean Chips up with a Pitch fork & a Tractor With a good sized bucket......If you have to use a shovel Try and use a Snow shovel.