Simple bidding question

[verticaltrx]

I run a small company building fences/barns/etc, and doing other agricultural related jobs (pasture renovation, light clearing, etc), but I don't often do larger tree removal jobs. I have all of the equipment and experience, its just not something I've gotten into much with my business.

With this in mind, I have a job coming up in which the customer needs five pine trees, 15-20" DBH, roughly 50' tall each removed from the edge of a field. I will haul the logs off, as well as the branches, and saw off the stumps at ground level. I will only be hauling the logs/brush about 2mi, and dropping them off at our farm to be sawed later (we will chip the brush for bedding for the barns). I have a 2-ton 14' dump truck and 80hp 4wd loader tractor to load/haul the logs and brush with.

What would be a reasonable price to charge for this? I was thinking around $600-800 but I have no idea really. I'm located in a somewhat rural portion of Virginia if that matters.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ACE]

Bidding

Sounds a bit on the low side. Roughly $150/ tree. For me I would charge at least $375-$450 / tree if they can just be dropped and hauled off. 3 guys should be able to do it in a day depending on the situation.

 

[farmer]

I think it would depend on how bushy they are. The brush is what will take the time if you aren't chipping it on site. It shouldn't take long to drop and load the trunk.

 

[verticaltrx]

I think it would depend on how bushy they are. The brush is what will take the time if you aren't chipping it on site. It shouldn't take long to drop and load the trunk.

Since they are out in a field they are fully branched out top to bottom.

If I were to only take the logs and pile the brush on site what would be reasonable. (looking for ideas on a bid for both options.)

 

[StihlRockin']

Hard to say not knowing.

One thing you have to consider when receiving answers like this, is that what someone else can get somewhere else, you may not be able to touch where you're at and vice-versa. Being in rural Minnesota doesn't lend itself to getting the $$ as if you're within an hour of Washington DC. From what I gather, a friend who also worked in this area, got from 1.75 to 3x what the going rates are around here. Quotes vary depending on the geographical region you are in... AND many factors right at the job site itself.

What might help is to determine how long it will take you with certain equipment and manpower, then decide how much you want to make hourly... and don't forget the job may actually be one time amount, but then you'll have additional time finishing the job by hauling, chipping and disposing, etc.

Knowing how long something will take is quite possible, but takes experience. If you know it will take a day, figure how much you need to make that day, overhead, and how much you'd like to make that day, profit.

StihlRockin'

 

[verticaltrx]

Thanks for the replies.

I realize that bids are very geographical and job specific, I know this from my other lines of work. Since I have never really done this sort of work before, I'm just trying to get an idea of what a job like this would go for in various regions of the country. From that I can decided how much I would charge based on what I think is fair for this area.

Keep the replies coming, I'd like to develop a good average.

 

[juststumps]

why don't you get a few prices from tree guys,,,, add 10 -20%.. then sell the job ???? or work with the tree guy,,, and do the ,,, drop it, chip it,, i'll move the wood,,,he's more equiped to do this job,, than you are....unless you have a lot of time to kill... JMHO

 

[jemclimber]

Well since your most likely not insured for this type of work and you're probably doing this for cash, $150 a tree seems fair for both. (Most landscape and such type of insurance only covers small pruning and trees up to around 20'). If I were there with one worker chipping on site it would take less than an hour a piece for trees as you describe unless it was a very long drag to the chipper. I very curious why you would haul branches and then chip instead of just chipping on site. They tend to get tangled up and harder to separate to feed the chipper.

I also never heard of someone using pine as bedding. Have you used this before for bedding? Needles and sap on fur doesn't seem good but don't have a farm. Good luck.

 

[BRCCArborist]

Well since your most likely not insured for this type of work and you're probably doing this for cash, $150 a tree seems fair for both. (Most landscape and such type of insurance only covers small pruning and trees up to around 20'). If I were there with one worker chipping on site it would take less than an hour a piece for trees as you describe unless it was a very long drag to the chipper. I very curious why you would haul branches and then chip instead of just chipping on site. They tend to get tangled up and harder to separate to feed the chipper.

I also never heard of someone using pine as bedding. Have you used this before for bedding? Needles and sap on fur doesn't seem good but don't have a farm. Good luck.

Pine is actually pretty widely used as bedding.

 

[2FatGuys]

I would try to figure how much time you think it will take, how much you need to make per hour, and do the math. Only you know how fast you work. Only you know what you expect to take home. Only you can determine the price. I second the suggestion of chipping on-site rather than hauling the brush away to chip elsewhere. I have done that a few times when I couldn't get the chipper for some reason. It is a royal pain in the back side!!!

 

[verticaltrx]

I very curious why you would haul branches and then chip instead of just chipping on site. They tend to get tangled up and harder to separate to feed the chipper.

I also never heard of someone using pine as bedding. Have you used this before for bedding? Needles and sap on fur doesn't seem good but don't have a farm. Good luck.

You just answered your own question. We pile them to dry first, then later chip them. Greatly reduces the sap, and no needles. Also, we only use this in sheds as a base to keep the mud down. In the actual barn we use dried planer shavings. In fact almost all of the bedding that is used in this part of the country is pine, either shavings, chips, or sawdust.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Just guess how long it will take and multiply it by how much you want to earn.

I find it best to bid by the day, or fraction of a day, rather than by the hour.
So a job like that might take you a day, just apply your day rate.
If you can get it done in half a day, charge that.
To me, if you think it will take 6 or 7 hours, I just bid a day. If its 3 to 5 hours, I bid a half day.

What equipment you use is irrelevant. You still need to make payments even if it's just sitting in the barn. Overhead is overhead whether you use it or not.

 

[John464]

What equipment you use is irrelevant. You still need to make payments even if it's just sitting in the barn. Overhead is overhead whether you use it or not.

Huh?
For every piece of equipment that goes on the job requires an operator. That equipment consumes fuel. It also requires maitenance that when the more you us it the more repair/maintenance costs. These are all factors you should place in a bid. More required equipment on the job always equates to more $.

If a job only requires a 1 ton and would take 6hrs you are saying you would bid the same if it took the same amount of time with a bucket truck, chipper, a skid loader, a stump machine. 3 mid sized dump trucks?

try that advice for a year and see how fast the biz goes bankrupt.

 

[masiman]

Huh?
For every piece of equipment that goes on the job requires an operator. That equipment consumes fuel. It also requires maitenance that when the more you us it the more repair/maintenance costs. These are all factors you should place in a bid. More required equipment on the job always equates to more $.

If a job only requires a 1 ton and would take 6hrs you are saying you would bid the same if it took the same amount of time with a bucket truck, chipper, a skid loader, a stump machine. 3 mid sized dump trucks?

try that advice for a year and see how fast the biz goes bankrupt.

I don't think he meant it like that. I think KB was saying that he should bid the job for what the job is. If he needs to use equipment or not does not matter to how much he should charge. Meaning he has to be competitive. The mechanicals will give him a time advantage in that he can go work another job sooner. But, if his bid is too high he won't get the job. I.e. he needs to bid the job so that he can get it and then use whatever resources he has to do the job and make the most profit (some combination of people and machines).

 

[manbeastmatt]

About $200/tree isn't bad for guys like us who aren't full-time arborists. Just make sure you figure in all your costs, and my guess is $1000 will give you a decent profit margin. Regardless of your region of the country, just providing your customers with a fair consistent price instead of trying to hit a home run on one job is definitely the best practice. I only do a few jobs every month or so on the weekends, but all my customers are reffered. But, hey, I'm just a dumb old country-boy trying to make a few bucks on the side

 

[Bigus Termitius]

$1762.53 Cash!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I don't think he meant it like that. I think KB was saying that he should bid the job for what the job is. If he needs to use equipment or not does not matter to how much he should charge. Meaning he has to be competitive. The mechanicals will give him a time advantage in that he can go work another job sooner. But, if his bid is too high he won't get the job. I.e. he needs to bid the job so that he can get it and then use whatever resources he has to do the job and make the most profit (some combination of people and machines).

Exactly. I wasn't talking about variable costs like labor, fuel and that stuff.
I was also assuming he was a one man show.
The point is that if you have a bunch of expensive equipment, you can't be out working for $25 an hour. You gotta make the payments on the equipment and other fixed costs.

 

[tomtrees58]

tree removal

tree job go s 700$$ on li ny now chipping ect blame bush

 

[verticaltrx]

My overhead is pretty low as all of my equipment is fairly old, so no payments, but I still keep on top of depreciation. I generally work by myself, but I do have a guy that works part time for me when I need it. I have decided to charge between $150-200 per tree depending on how much the customer wants hauled away (lower end if I leave the branches). Thanks for the replies.

 

[1953greg]

sounds like a one man job so maybe each tree could be felled, cut into thirds, loaded on truck w/ loader, hauled 2 miles, dump and return in 1 hr to 1:15. x5 = 5-6 hrs. maybe a little less on a good day. the rest could be done at ones convenience.

that would be bout a $750 job for me.

i have done more for less
and been paid more for less