cemitary

[lsylvain]

Here is another I need help on bidding a cemitary question.

It is 6.5 acres full of stones to many to count, Good news is they are all lined up perfectly around 6 feet apart, so I should beable to run my 36" back and forth between the rows without much, stop, turn, backup, turn garbage you get with most cemitaries.

The caretaker said it took 48 man hours (mowing and trimming) using junked up pushmowers. I'm thinking it will take me about 24 hours, 36 on a bad day.

It is very convinatly placed 2 blocks from my house and buts right up to one of my other comercial jobs.

He has a guy doing it right now but he isn't happy with him, and gave him one more chance to do it right. I figured up about $480 a cut. I told the guy I would do it this week for $360 if he got rid of the current guy. ( way low I know but it would cover my expences with a little left for me)

What do you guys think?

[geogunn]

lets do some math on this one.

480 bucks per cut divided by 24 hours cutting time equals 20 bucks per hour.

20 bucks per hour minus gas and all of your other expenses assuming that you are insured, licensed and pay taxes means that you'll be working for about 10 bucks an hour.

can you afford to work for 10 bucks an hour?

GEO

[NoDownTime]

I would bid it out at 35/man hour which is 35*24= $840. You can not work for free.

[lsylvain]

I would love to charge $850 for it but I really don't think he will go for it. I try to charge around $35-$40 an hour on my residentials. I'm not eaven sure if it will take me 24 hours. I've walked over the property 3 times so far and I just can't see it taking that long. That's like 4 hours an acre. I just can't picture it taking over 3 seconds per sq foot. That would be like taking your trimmer and holding it still for three seconds then moving to the next spot. but maby.

[geogunn]

lysl...--since you posted the question, my point is that I think you owe it to yourself to think about this one.

let's say you take 12 hours instead of 24 to do the cut. how would you figure your profit on that? the numbers look better but are still far from enticing.

my perspective comes from the fact that I have several weekly cuts that approach $100 an hour. these are small, high profile properties that want a favorable public viewing. good luck.

GEO

[summitgroundskeeping]

I'm young to this industry, 3rd year, but I know that's too cheap. I'm one of the cheapest I know and I price by the job not hour. But I figure I charge $40.00 an hour if the property is 2 acres or smaller. If it's bigger I charge even more per acre. If you aren't sure it will take you 24 hours, do it then bill him as a trial. If he won't go for $850+, tell him that he should pay the guy who does a bad job what he feels is fair. This is a business, not a charity.

[Holloway Lawns]

I just done some landscape work at a cemetery here a few weeks ago and thay ask me about helping take care of their grounds using thier machines and all. I told them I would for $20.00 an hour and they are concidering it but they have one person who has been there for over 10 years he takes care of it all by his self and is behind they pay him like 8.00 an hour. If they do use me it is my bet they would only use me to catch things up.

[KD'sLawns]

Do you need the account, or are you looking for extra income? If you are busy already, set your own price and see if they go for it. Tell them that you will do it for $600.00 and provide the equipment and the gas. If you can get them locked into a contract with you at that price, I would purchase a ZTR with about a 61" or a 72" cut. This would cut your mowing time to about 5-6 hrs. which is 100 bucks an hour. If planned right , this account could pay for you to have a new ZTR and some cash in your pocket. But, to cut the full 6.5 acres with a 36" and still have to trim around headstones will eat all of your profit up.

[lsylvain]

I do need the job. I'm out of school on may 9th and the maintanance job I have with the school ends then to. This job would be really good advertizing for me, being right on the main drag. I like the sound of $600 I just need to get my foot in the door and show this guy what kind of work I do. Once he sees what I can do I can charge him pretty much anything I want.

The guy that is doing it now has what looks like around 52" husky ztr. I was watching him mow from my house last night. Within 15 min I heard that thing grind good and hard. "Tombstones I bet" I'm wondering if that's because he can't drive or if the deck is just to big to run around through there.

anyway..

[Getmow]

Originally posted by KD'sLawns
Do you need the account, or are you looking for extra income? If you are busy already, set your own price and see if they go for it. Tell them that you will do it for $600.00 and provide the equipment and the gas. If you can get them locked into a contract with you at that price, I would purchase a ZTR with about a 61" or a 72" cut. This would cut your mowing time to about 5-6 hrs. which is 100 bucks an hour. If planned right , this account could pay for you to have a new ZTR and some cash in your pocket. But, to cut the full 6.5 acres with a 36" and still have to trim around headstones will eat all of your profit up.
You cannot get a 72" mower between head and foot stones. Sometimes 60" is too big. Regarless you still have to make two passes on each row.
You are right that the trimming is where the greatest amount of time is spent. For a perfect job it is usually about 2X the cutting time in a cemetery. With the use of growthregulators and herbicides you can reduce this time.
I speak from experience-Older cemeteries that weren't all evenly spaced. 9.5 acres took apx 24 manhours without chemicals - 10 with. 3 acre about 2mh w/o chemicals. You have to like the work because the hourly employees don't!
As for charge-around 100 an acre is fair.

[jaclawn]

I do several cemeteries, some with some dating to the early 1800's, and possibly late 1700's. Those sections of the prooperty are not in rows, but rather scattered about. In those days, if they hit rock while digging ( by hand), you got buried next to the rock.

That being said, my machine of choice would be a 36" wb, with 1 wheel Velke, and mulching kit.

In the modern (post 1950) areas, the stones are in line. You can get a large machine between the rows of stones, but you must also look at the space between the stones. Many are places right at 36" apart. That is a lot to do with a trimmer, or you must get out the 21" mower.

You must also look at the stone denisity as well. I have a cemetery that is 50% less square footage than another, but they take the same time to mow and trim. Why? One has more stones to contend with.

Having done cemetery work for 8 years, I still cannot estimate time on them. They are next to impossible, but as a general rule of thumb, charge 2-3X what you would charge to mow the same area as a residential lawn.

In all my cases, I have found that the trimming takes almost exacctly half the time as the mowing. Also, You will use about 1 full spool of line per hour.

[Esby]

So it sounds like you are looking at a two day affair with this property? Have you thought of hiring someone to help you, ya know, do the trimming while you cut it. This way you can get done in one day, which is always a huge plus, and it can land a little more of the profit in your pocket. For instance, if you pay him $9.00 an hour, and charge $25-30 for his labor, thats $16-21 per hour of gross profit that he works. Of course you are taking on the costs of having an employee, but it's deffinately something to think about.

[GREG R]

Do it for your set price for one cut.
see how long it takes you.
get the experience from it.
it might be the biggest mistake you will
ever make then again it might not be.
just do it and you will know how long it wil
take you and you will know what to bid it at since
you already know whats it all about.
if you have time, just do it.....

[KD'sLawns]

Sorry guys, I wasn't even thinking about footstones.

Since you need the work, I would do the job at the price you gave him one time and see how it goes. Keep track of exactly how long each thing takes. I do not mow any cemetaries, but I would be surprised if they were willing to pay a very high hourly wage. The two people that they had mowing for them were probably only making about $8.00- $9.00 and hour, working 48 hours. 9 X 2 = $18.00 an hour.
$18.00 an hour is not very much, but if you can cut your mowing time in half and get it done in 24 hours, then you can double the $18.00 an hour to get $36.00 an hour.
36 X 24 = $864.00. If they were paying $9.00 an hour to two guys and it takes them 48 hrs, that's $864.00. You should at least be able to get $600.00 out of this and do a much better job of cutting. About the guy grinding the had or footstones, I would be hacked off if that was someones grave that I knew!!!

[lsylvain]

thanks for all the info guys

I guess I should have said this from the begining but. Whenever I give an estimate on a job it's for the first cut only. I tell them It will be $x the first cut and the price will be adjusted up or down if it needs to be. That way I don't get stuck doing things for not enough green. I think it makes it a little harder to get some jobs but until I'm financially stable and don't need the work as bad I guess this is the way to go.