Splitting at customer site

[woodbutcher44]

at those Prices you my want to split slow .
your gonNa hurt your own pocket.The price you are stating will keep you busy with commercial accounts.
The average home owner will be more set up time than production.Unless you you increase your min.
GOOD LUCK AND BEST WISHES

 

[Husky137]

I see your point there. Im just getting started, and if I feel the price is to low, I can always raise it. Right now Id like to get a base built up. Not to mention Im still green as to how much wood I can split in an hour. Im sure itll pick up as I get back into shape.

Thanks for the tips, I will for sure keep those in mind for the future.

Be careful that you aren't just building a client base that will abandon ship when you discover you need to be charging more. Good luck with your venture.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Keep in mind Im not using a processor. Here is my splitter....

Its painted now, and Ive got a pull handle on it. Im working on getting a 4 way for it.

This is my first venture into working for myself, and I appreciate all the tips from everyone. I dont actually burn wood, as I dont have a fireplace. But working with it is something Ive always enjoyed doing. Im not sure exactly how many commercials customers Im going to get. My aim is mostly at the residential market, those who have a couple face cords at a time.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Be careful that you aren't just building a client base that will abandon ship when you discover you need to be charging more. Good luck with your venture.

You bring up a good point. If and when I realize I need to raise my price, it will follow normal cost of living adjustments. Nothing drastic.

Im not doing this to put food on the table either, I have a full time job for that.

 

[manual]

Hey Casey

Just bumping this up to see how your Business is going ?

 

[Mike Barcaskey]

sorry I missed replying to this.

Rspike, I sell my split and seasoned firewood in that range, as a matter of fact I'm at $200 a cord now.
What I meant to say was if someone wanted me to come and split their cord of wood, I would charge in that range, about the same I charge for what I sell already split.

woodbutcher,
set up time/production it's all the same, $50 per hour. With a little sense at scheduling, a $75 minimum is fine. In November I had 3 calls to split on site. I lined them all up on a Sunday, when to homeowner was home to help, and they were all with 5 miles of each other. If I remember correctly it was $325 for 6 hours.
I wouldn't take a job at that price more than 10 miles from home and I'd try to schedule more than one job on the trip.

Like I said, I'd rather split here and sell the wood, but if they want me to come to their house, the price is going to be equaivilent.

 

[Pcoz88]

So how's it going Casey forest??

How's the firewood buiness going??Great I hope.

Its been awhile.

Pete

 

[maxburton]

I see a lot of folks here trash-talking the pricing, but it all depends on your area and how much money you want for yourself. Some people are content to make $15/hour for themselves if they can do work the really like...I'm not one of those people. I would imagine that splitting on site is such a simple task that one can't make much doing it. But I wouldn't mind looking into it...

 

[gslam88]

Sorry I did not get any emails of follow up post .. so I did not pay attention to my post..

I charge $80 per hour with a min of 4 hours for just splitting on site with their wood that has already been cut down. If the pile that is there takes me 6 hours then its $480. On days when the fill in work is needed it helps a little.

I currently offer a variety of services, this is just an add on.

Pricing does vary in many areas.. an example of how this area can handle higher cost.. there is a stone wall that was built in the area.. the mason building it went thru 100k worth of blades to build it.. there are not that many places that can be said.. this just happens to be one of them...

 

[CaseyForrest]

Ive only had a couple jobs since...I still havent done any advertising. Other projects have been keeping me busy...Like getting our house ready to put up for sale. New baby keeps things busy too.

Maybe this year Ill go after it with a little more ambition. Either that or sell the splitter!!

 

[pyromaniac guy]

i think it's a great idea, casey, but around here everybody has splitters or splits their own wood. if i could make $25 an hour doing this i would do it in a second. at the very least, i'd do it enough to get a free splitter out of it...

 

[manual]

Ive only had a couple jobs since...I still havent done any advertising. Other projects have been keeping me busy...Like getting our house ready to put up for sale. New baby keeps things busy too.

Maybe this year Ill go after it with a little more ambition. Either that or sell the splitter!!

Gongrats on the baby...
Hopefully you will end up with a house with a bigger yard.
Better to sell firewood, Makes a good commodity.

 

[hydro2]

I hire out to run my 2004 John Deere 240 skid loader with 150 hours for $50.00 per hour and feel guilty about. I too have four hour minium if I am not working close to home. I just do this on the side. If they are getting close to that for a logsplitter, what should I be charging for a $20,000 peice of equipment?

 

[Mike Barcaskey]

hydro, I think you been hanging out at All Stars too much LMAO

 

[hydro2]

Maybe the Legion, but not All Stars!!!! LOL You from Brady????

 

[GLM]

Hydro, up here guys get around $90 an hour for a skidsteer, the going rate customers get billed for LABOR on any landscape project is $50 per hour, cost of living is very high here so when the big guys have to charge high prices to survive the little guys can charge the same and not shock anyone. I thought about splitting on site but I don't know how many people would be willing to pay $$$$$ per cord to have me split it. The people here have lots of $$$ and just order a cord of wood and have it delivered, everyone else has a splitter or knows some one that does and splits it themselves If $50 an hour is in line with your area don't feel bad at all about charging that after all your John Deere wasn't free!

 

[Mike Barcaskey]

cousin-inlaw is, last name DeCorte (BTW he was a classmate of Kelly's)
hunt and fish around there some, just like the area.
use to be a bar up there, Parrot something or other, right?
Is that bridge done yet? Haven't been up since that started.

 

[redneckpete]

75 bucks an hour here for a skid steer. A JD 240 is a pretty small machine, however, and if you are doing it on the side, chances are you are not an exceptional operator, no offence intended.

That said, for 30 bucks an hour I would want a decently hard working dude on the log splitter. Then again, I own one, so why would I hire the work out. I can put a kid on the log splitter, he can do about half a cord an hour, costing me 16 bucks a cord in splitting labour.

You are targeting a different market though.

Pete

 

[gslam88]

GLM,

I have some family up in Mid cape.. but they do a lot of work off cape... well know in the area

Also machine and operator is around $100 an hour around here too.. but its also what the market can bear...

Pete... as we all know different areas can generate different prices..

There is a guy around here that went thru 100k worth of blades building a rock wall... which is about 10% of the wall cost the customer.. does not happen everywhere..

Most of the time the customers I get for this are people that have a couple of trees that have been cut down and they think for a couple hundred dollars they are getting a deal on splitting their wood.. and I guess it is somewhat true for them...

For a solo if you net $200 a day.. its not a bad day around here.. obviously a $300 is better.. but it really depends on what your area, your costs, and what you can do...

 

[Pcoz88]

So how's it going???

So how's the business going? Let us know.Thanks Pete:chainsawguy: :chainsawguy: