edging ...is it proffitable? How much ?

[tomoaktree]

Hello
Thinking about offering edging this year. I haven't had a lot of inquires about it but I think I can talk some people into it.Just wondering how much to charge and how to set it up in a contract. Any suggestions? Should I send out a flyer with my next invoice?
Also what is the best equipment to have.
Do you charge by square foot?
Thanks for any feedback. I love to buy new equipment but want to make sure it's worth while.
Tom

[LoneStarLawn]

You do not edge with your basic service??????

[TJLC]

I may be an oddball but I include edging in my basic service. The way I look at it, the yard is not done until you edge it. Just my own personal opinion.

[tomoaktree]

I haven't been edging . I haven't seen too many other outfits doing it either. I always use a line trimmer on all the walks , drives etc.
Tom

[awm]

Does it sound like he edges with his basic service.
Some want it some dont .

[LoneStarLawn]

Are you using your line trimmer to produce an edge? If so that is still edging...A stick edger or a walk behind edger will produce a better edge, but it doesn't need that kind of edge all the time...(a line trimmer can touch it up each time)that is still included into basic services.

[tomoaktree]

I would like to edge but I'm not sure how much people would be willing to pay. The initial edging would be the most work. Do you guyss edge every week?
Tom

[LoneStarLawn]

The intial edging is the hardest and we use an edger for that...that price is included into the first service fee (which is more intially because it is usually higher maintenance) otherwise when we provide our service we use our line trimmers to touch up the edge...that is included in the basic service. We would never provide a basic service without edging...it makes the finished product.

[tomoaktree]

Lone Star,
I agree that without a nice edge , the job doesnt look good.That is what I would like to bring to the attention of my customers. How do you figure the cost of initial edge?
Will a stickeder work or do do you need something bigger?
Tom

[kutnkru]

We will use a walk behind edger at the beginning of the season when we perform the intial mowing during Spring Clean-Up.

After that the first cutting of the month is done with a stick edger and then refreshed throughout the rest of the month with line trimmers.

We charge $.75/100 linear feet or $45/hr.

Good Luck this season!
Kris

[Vibe Ray]

I would Highly reccommend it!!! It REALLY classes up a lawn! In fact it's not really a lawn unless it's edged, I think. If no one else does it, then you should get a lot more business after you start edging, because the other LCO's don't. They will either have to lose those customers to you or start edging themselves. I suggest a stick edger for maintenence and a walk behind edger for those initial edges. Which ever one you get first, make sure you get the other as soon as you get the money! They are both valuable assets, but definitely get that stick edger!

[NateinAtl]

What type of grass do you have in your area? Down here we have mostly bermuda and zoysia. If you don't edge each week, you will lose your customers. Besides, I can't see how even fescue lawns can go without edging. We edge, trim, mow, and blow weekly. We pull or spray weeds in the beds once a month.

By the way, did any of you see that article in Lawn and Landscape this month about some guy that supposedly has some unique way of edging? I didn't quite understand what he was doing, and how you can really differentiate yourself from competition in terms of edging. Oh well.

[Vibe Ray]

What page wa that on Nate? March 2001, right?

[awm]

You might try edging their drive or something
and tellum you are introducing this to cuatomers.
You know they will like what they see.

[Acute Cut]

95% of my business is residential. I edge weekly for....(BUM< BUM< BUM<!) FREE! (WOMAN SCREAMS)

Thats right. FREE! (Woman still screaming, cant we shut her up? Or is that Kutnkru screaming?) hehe

I figure it like this. The areas to edge are small enough. I figure a basic service is trimming, edging, and mowing, and blowing. You dont go to McDonalds and get charged .08cents for each sesame seed bun do you? I could see a charge if it was a large area as in a mall, stadium, or apartment complex. I could at least make that stretch.

Here is a funny quirk too, people ask for the cheapest service sometimes to save a dollar or two. They say they will edge and trim so they can save some money. I tell them i do it FREE (I aint gonna say it again dont worry) and they about pass out. Do you want the neighbors looking over at the lawn after you leave and still see it unedged or untrimmed? That could be a bit of bad publicity.

Just my half cents worth i suppose.

[Acute Cut]

I know some of that last post doesnt make a whole lot of sense. Some words are not showing up. Where ever it doesnt make sense just make up stuff in your mind i guess. hehe.

[LScom Addict]

To quote the sports babe: First timer. So please be gentle.

We figure on average that $5 figured into the price of the service is sufficient to cover labor and materials for trimming and blowing services.

[Runner]

Originally posted by kutnkru


We charge $.75/100 linear feet or $45/hr.

Good Luck this season!
Kris [/B]

Kris,
You mean that a standard half acre corner subdivision lot that is say, 200x150 with a 50 ft. drive, is edged for $3.37? Is that weekly? Monthly? Whatever it is, it's cheap! We get around 15-20 bucks per edging for a lot of this sort, and I like to do it monthly.

[tomoaktree]

Let me run this by....


If I spend 2 hrs doing the initial edge.....$90.00


Once a month maintenance edge......$20.00

Also had my eye on those echoe stick edgers.

Let me know what you guys think.
Tom

[Greenkeepers]

We edge every other week.... For Free, it is included in our weekly cost. We use a w/b edger, but I think that this year we are going to get a stick...

[AVRECON]

Edging should be an (SOP) standard operating procedure. Unless it is the crap yard and everybody has one, where the folks couldn't care less then don't bother. I always figure a lawn with edging, trimming, blowing included. Thats where the SOP's come in when customers say I'll take care of the trrimming etc. I just want it cut. Besides the yard AINT done till its edged anyway, ever wash your care and not do the wheels?

[tomoaktree]

I agree...

Edging should be standard procedure. My problem is that it hasn't been. I would like to make it standard. There are some customers who I think would really like it.
Tom

[beck]

In my neighbourhood most lawn care companies get $20 to cut,trim and blow. I charge $25 a cut. I tell them that my charge is $20 to cut (same as the other guys) but edging is $20 a month or an extra $5 a cut.
I used to do it once a month, but i am finding it more efficient to do it weekly. That way I don't have to worry about "who gets edged this week" Also after waiting a month a lot of my yards had too much grass taken off to just blow back on the yard so i ended up collecting it taking a lot more time.
when i go to give estimates i bring along a picture of an edged sidewalk. It helps out a lot, everyone is impressed by the look.
Also That extra $5 dollars makes a big difference. you may say that it takes so much longer to edge, but all of your edging is usually very close to the street and your truck/trailer so it does not take that much time to switch between edger and trimmer. I would rather cut 12 yards at $25 a pop than 15 at $20. to equal $300

I have a little wonder walk behind and will by a stick edger in the near future. walk behinds have the power but are not as efficient once the edge is established

[TGCummings]

Tom,

Shoot for the $40-$45 per hour figure for the initial edge, then work the time and costs involved into your service cost. Very generally speaking, it takes me about 1/3 longer when I edge the lawns, factoring in the time to edge and the additional cleanup involved. Of course, that's very general because of my area, the types of lawns I'm cutting, and the types of edges they have.

-TGC

[kutnkru]

Here is how I break down my trimming/edging costs when bidding Residential properties.

In the example you gave I would add 200ft for the length + 150ft for the width + 20ft per side of driveway (=40ft) + 10ft per side of walkway (=20ft). The total linear footage for the edger would be 410 x $.75/100lf = $3.08

Lets say the lot was the typical two story 30x60, had a 10x10 shed out back, miscellaneous trees to trim around in the lawn equaling 30ft of trimming, and two kidney shaped beds out back equaling 40ft of trimming each.

I would then add the trimming along the house 180ft + the shed 40ft + the trees throughout the lawn areas 30ft + the beds in back 80ft. The total linear footage for line trimming would be 330 x $.50/100lf = $1.65

I would then be charging the customer $4.73 in addition to mowing for each cutting we render during the season.

If the perimeter measured 30,000 by the time I subtracted for beds, home, drive and such lets say it was 25m/sf. I would charge them $75 for cutting, $4.73 for edging/trimming, $1.50 for blowing it off. I would round this figure off to $80 a cut.

Hope this helps.
Kris

[MIDSOUTH]

Edging is a every week thing here, it is included on the service fee. We would lose every yard we have if we didn't edge. I use an edger once at the begining of the season, once you do that it is nothing to cut an edge with the weedeater, my fs85 weedeaters will cut a groove down a sidewalk as good as an edger if it has been prevoiusly edged so the dirt is soft..

[tomoaktree]

Kris,
Do you have every yard measured out like that? Is everything itemized in your contract ?(trim.blow,&mow)
If so , my hats off to you , for I would love to be that organized.
Tom

[Fantasy Lawns]

each mowing event includes mowing, edging (metal blade) on all cement & bed borders (optional) weed whack of all standing grass not mowed & the blowing off of all cement areas ....that's standard down here

[kutnkru]

Yes they are all measured with the wheel, notated, and then kept on record in our files.

Our pricing structure is based solely on the measurements. I realize that it may seem like overkill, but I hope that by our clients having a record of them, that as the potential competitors come thru the neighborhood that they will compare notes.

So far so good. I have a few die-hard customers who make sure that I see everything to hit their doorstep. I just want them to have the opportunity to compare apples to apples. So far so good.

Good Luck this season!
Kris