Stump Grinding Prices???

[bottlefed89]

Alright, my stump guy is no longer reliable enough to do business with, and his prices were very sporatic(sp?) So...I'm looking for someone new to sub my stumps to, I know prices will vary with location, but can anyone help me with a general guideline as to what I should expect to pay someone I may be subbing quite a few stumps to?? I'd like to buy my own grinder, but that's not in the budget at this very moment, though it may be before too long.
Thanks
greg

 

[tinman44]

my stump guy charges 1.50 an inch and anything over 20 inches is only 1.00 per inch. another guy i thought about working with was way higher so i guess it all depends on how much they paid for their grinder or how much they owe, or perhaps even how much they can get

 

[spacemule]

my stump guy charges 1.50 an inch and anything over 20 inches is only 1.00 per inch. another guy i thought about working with was way higher so i guess it all depends on how much they paid for their grinder or how much they owe, or perhaps even how much they can get

That rate doesn't make good sense. So, a 20" stump will cost $30, but a 21" stump will cost $21? Or, do you mean the first 20" is $1.50/inch, so a 21" will cost $31.

 

[tinman44]

That rate doesn't make good sense. So, a 20" stump will cost $30, but a 21" stump will cost $21? Or, do you mean the first 20" is $1.50/inch, so a 21" will cost $31.

the latter is correct. he charges 30 bucks at 20'' then a dollar for every inch after. its easy if you have two 20'' stumps its 60 bucks if you have 2 22'' stumps its 64 bucks

 

[treeman82]

Over here the norm is anywhere from $5 / inch and up. I heard a rumor about a major company in my area which charges upwards of $10 / inch.

Have you checked into renting a grinder now and then? Good work for a rain day, or windy day.

 

[DDM]

Have you checked into renting a grinder now and then? Good work for a rain day, or windy day.

Most of the grinders Ive seen at rental Yards the Points are so Dull its ridiculous.
I'll Grind for 1.00 an Inch which is the norm here. But my minimum is 75.00 unless the stump is next door to where I'm already grinding.

 

[bottlefed89]

One guy that I do some work with said $4/in on bigger stumps. I have a 48" elm that I am trying to get a bid together to give them tomorrow, so I'll just go with that for now. I am looking into renting, but none of the local places have a very big grinder. I have that one elm, and a bigger cottonwood I'll have to do. I guess I could do alright if I can find a bigger piece, and then schedule several stumps in a day.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

i charge the most someone will pay i'm like a little ethnic person [asian] i start the price up high and drop till i'm happy or go home...it's all haggle haggle haggle..i find useing this system i alway's win

 

[Koa Man]

my stump guy charges 1.50 an inch and anything over 20 inches is only 1.00 per inch.

I guess your stump guy never did understand the meaning of pi r2.

He will charge $30 for a 20 inch stump, $50 for a 40 incher, only 66% more pricewise, but grinding 4 times more area.

Stump grinding in Hawaii can be sold for a high price. I charge a min. of $150, unless I am taking down the tree, then my min. is $75.00. I have done a lot of 12 to 24 inch stumps with prices ranging from $150 to $350.00. I did a 4 ft. diameter stump about 10 years ago for $600 with no hauling of grindings.

 

[tinman44]

listen in my defense.....he is my stump guy i'm serious. now i dont know how long he's been doing it but long enough to have his number in the book and to give me tree jobs. also koa in response to your comment, everything cost more in Hawaii

 

[Koa Man]

no offense tinman44, I am jealous. I wish I had a stump guy like you have. I would sell my grinders and make easy money subbing my stump jobs to him.

 

[tinman44]

none taken just all the posts were starting to sound like i was full of it. i was shocked when i got this guy cuz most grinders charged minimum fees for up to a certain number of stumps then so much more per inch and blah blah

 

[glens]

He will charge $30 for a 20 inch stump, $50 for a 40 incher, only 66% more pricewise, but grinding 4 times more area.

I would say 4 times <b>the</b> area.&nbsp; Nonetheless, I was wondering last night whether anybody would point out that absurdity of the line of reasoning... (wasn't in the mood to do it myself)

 

[Newfie]

none taken just all the posts were starting to sound like i was full of it.

I don't think anybody thought you were full of it, just that your stump guy is an idiot.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

i don't charge by the inch ,three 1 ft stumps look a lot better than one 3 foot stump..i charge by the hour ,which includes travelling time ,setting up time ,chip loading and disposal if needed etc,i just give my customers a fixed price ,if they new how much i charged per hour they'd all have cardiac arrests..and i'd be broke

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Most guys go by liner inch around here still. does seem more logical to figure the area, and maybe even the volume on the bigger ones. 3inches above grade, 8 inches below grade and 2 ft out.

How many of you follow the large roots out? I notce that many of the "discount" operators will leave quite a bit of surface root.

 

[treeman82]

As long as I can find them, I will grind the big ones out a ways.

 

[murphy4trees]

We've been over this many times... it's not a one dimentional measurement, like diameter, or even a two dimensional measurement, like area... pi x Rsquared
... It's a three dimetional area, like area x (height+depth)... then there is the root runners, wood charactoristics, location (access), and soil conditions (rocks etc).... and of course market conditions and overhead considerations... that's a lot of factors to boil down to price/inch....

No no no... I start high and go low....

 

[Koa Man]

That is why I like to go and actually look at the stump before I give a quote. If over the phone, I give a price range.

 

[a_lopa]

i find the best way to get in the door with price shoppers on stumps is to ask if its the size of a dinner plate if they say yes ill say its going to be between $70-$120.but murph is correct rocks or a fence line im double