Mulching prices

[Stinky]

Have a customer wanting beds mulched. Total area of all beds is 2,900 sf. All the numbers I have run seem too high or too low. My price for one cuyd of mulch is $15.00. Any help would be well appreciated. Thanks

[Scraper]

I charge $75-85 a yard installed. If you can get it down there great. That would include all edging. If a cleanup is necessary then that would be extra. Try searching for more threads...there have been many similar in the last few weeks. You'll need about 18 yards to do a 2" depth for a total of $1165 @ $65/yard installed.

Think I did the math right...if not, someone please let me know....;)

[Edited by Scraper on 03-12-2001 at 04:21 PM]

[kutnkru]

Here is a calculator that you can use in figuring mulch, topsoil, concrete etc. The link is from the ELMLawnsite lawnsite links page.
http://gardening.sierrahome.com/tools/landcalc/

If you take your cost and mark it up 100% that would give you $30/yd. If your labor rate was $35, then you would market your mulch at $65/yd.

Based on this guesstimative figure, I would have bid your job as follows:

For replenishing composted mulch:$910.00
2900/sf(1.5 in.thick) = 14/yds @ $65/yd = $910
for installing new mulch:$1755.00
2900/sf(3 in.thick) = 27/yds @ $65/yd = $1755

Good Luck this season!
Kris

[joshua]

both kris and scaper, have pricing relatively close, it depends on how much mulch you use , if the beds are new and how deep you want to lay the mulch. i wouldn't lay it thicker than 2 inches in a old bed and 4 in a new bed.

[dmk395]

Geez you guys really put down some mulch. For people who I mulch every year I try and only put down an inch, as with years and years of mulch its tough to plant anything after the fact. Newer mulch beds I usually put down anywhere from 2-3 inches.

[Scraper]

DMK...more mulch = more $$$. ;) But seriously...I will usually put down 1-2 inches on existing beds and have found that most has completely decomposed by the next season. New beds will get no more than 3 inches. I use triple ground hardwood so it's rate of decomposition is much faster than other mulches. I hear you on the buildup of old mulch, but I have not had a problem with my properties that I've been maintaining. It is when I pick up a new account that has been mulched by another LCO that I have problems. Usually end up having to haul away mulch so I can get the new stuff down.

[joshua]

i said 2 because i know that most people don't want it every year, there cheap up here at times, and a new bed at 4 because i can just over turn it the next year and it will look like new. shows how cheap they are that they would want that.

[Southern Lawns]

Scraper,
recently picked a new account and am facing the same issue of removing all the old mulch (I guess get the top layer off) and haul it off. Replace with new mulch. My question is: how did you charge for the removal and am I correct in thinking it best to just skim the top layer to minimize hauling too much debris? From what the customer says he wants this done every spring.Forgive me for being so inept but when measuring the beds for application do you use a wheel and take your measurments as you would a lawn or do you pace it off and sort of guestimate? Thanks,
Raymond

[jonspolaris]

doesent the type of mulch have to do with the price of it?? like if u use pine bark, cypress,or hardwood bark mulch.

do u guys let the customer pick what kind of mulch they want or just mulch it with any mulch??

thanks
jon

[Greenkeepers]

We usually get around $55-60 a yard here, depending on the application.. Our customers always pick their mulch, no pine needles here..

[joshua]

for my customers i put down the black mulch it looks the best and doesn't fade as fast. i seen guys put down the brown cheap stuff and by middle june it looks terrible. or if they have red in the house and want the red stuff i put it down , because its the same kid of dye and lasts just as long. i only give them those 2 options. i get it for like $50 for 2 yards. its exspensive up here. the garden center gets a new semi full every 3 days, for the black.

southern lawns, if i was you i would try and get most of the mulch, it will benefit you more, because you will be there longer and the next time you have to do it, you won't have to take as much. unless you like doing that every year.

[kutnkru]

so. lawns
When we bid a property if it has been mulched previously by either the homeowner or another LCO we will measure the depth of the mulch throughout the entire bed length.

If the product applied was a double ground hardwood, cypress, or hemlock and measures more than 3 inches in depth; if at all possible we will just fluff the existing mulch and wait for it to breakdown farther during the upcoming season before we install new product.

If the product used was bark nuggets or pine shredding, we will remove this mulch at an hourly rate in addition to the cost of installing the new product. If we are removing the old we will remove everything.

jonspolaris
Yes. The type of mulch we use will determine the price of the product installed.

We will advise our clients of whsat varities we feel would best accent their landscape. The final decision however, rests with the customer.

Hope this helps and Good Luck this season!

Just my nickle.
Kris

[Southern Lawns]

Thanks Kutnkru,
I'm gonna have to go the total clean up route. They have the stained (red)(imitation cedar) chips, it's all hardwood and about 3 inches thick. Hmmmmm it's gonna take many hours but hey if they want it removed and replaced which is what he told me so be it. I'll go with the hourly rate and see how it goes.
Raymond

[LScom Addict]

We have been charging between $45 per yard and $60 per yard depending on the mulch being used.

[slingshot]

joshua said he only puts down the best the black or red not the cheep brown stuff. well i hate to break it to you but the black and red stuff that is dyed is no were neer as good as the brown shredded mulch. all the black and red is is pallets or construction debree. and has no nutrients in it to decompose making the brown a natural mulch that is healthier for the plant material.

[kutnkru]

In our area you can buy a Double Ground Pine Bark in either Red, Brown, Black, or Tan(natural). We also have Double Ground Red Oak, Hemlock, and Cypress.

I have yet to see the construction debris or the palletes ground up for sale at the nurseries and wholesalers in this area. Usuallt that type of rubbished material is available for free at the county landfill.

I think that you both have misconstrued the Pine material for something else.

Good Luck this season!
Kris

[Strawbridge Lawn]

I have found that the mulch calculators seem to be high in the amounts they require. I typically cut the amount by 25-35%, and it seems to work well. What we are dealing with is the ole compaction versus fluffed principle.
I do not believe in putting down more mulch than is needed just for more money. That is taking advantage of a customer and crosses my ethical boundaries. JMHO

[Davis TLC]

I usually get $40 per yard for dark brown hardwood mulch and $60 per yard for the black/midnight mulch, installed. The vast majority of homes in my area use the brown hardwood mulch, the black mulch here is made using ground coal, charcoal or leaf mold to make it black, no dyes. The red mulch I have seen in the surrounding communities is ground wood dyed red, not ground bark.

To help with the decomposition of the mulch I sprinkle a little fertilizer, usually a high N ratio, which speeds up the breakdown of the mulch. This is the same prinicple of feeding a compost pile which has materials that are high in Carbon.

I get brown hardwood mulch for $13 per yard and get the black for $23 per yard.

Some people around here who thought they wanted the black mulch soon changed their minds after Rover or Fluffy tracked some of this stuff in on their nice carpets. Some have even gone the route of having it removed and replaced with the brown hardwood mulch.

I agree in some situations the black looks good, but most of the people here don't really care for the additional cost of the stuff.