What would you charge ?

[1wezil]

I gave a possible new customer a price on a mulch job that will take 230yds of mulch . i told him 45.00 a yard including mulch and labor all i needed to do is clean up the bed edges and install the mulch .so far no answer his wife thought i was to high she said we never spent that much before. what do you guys think ? if i can land the mulch job i can also maybe take the mowing job away from the current person. he is paying 100.00 per mowing now . this house is in a large gated community and the house is worth about 4 or 5 million or maybe more ,the more money they have the harder they are to give it up.

[TurfCo, LLC]

230 cubic yards is a lot of mulch... and by my count, your price is in line with mine (maybe a little cheaper) assuming you pay $25ish per yard for the mulch

[1wezil]

230 cubic yards is a lot of mulch... and by my count, your price is in line with mine (maybe a little cheaper) assuming you pay $25ish per yard for the mulch
my cost is between 17.00 to 20.00 for the mulch

[big_country]

Man thats a lot of mulch...ought to keep you busy for awhile.

[1wezil]

Man thats a lot of mulch...ought to keep you busy for awhile.

i was planning on 6 people 3 days and a skid-steer can be used on 2/3's of the property from the sides and wheel barrows for the center of it around the pool area.

[FIRESCOOBY]

I charge double the price of mulch. Last batch was $24/ yard. I charge $48/ yard. There is a company that will blow the mulch for $40/ yard (mulch included). On anything larger than 30 yards I use them. I'd get a slight price break (maybe $2-3/ yard) for that much.

For the 230 yards I would DEFINITELY use them. Charge to the customer would be $11,040, cost for mulch and blowing (at $40/yard) $9200. PURE profit: $1840.

I would go this route and make nearly $2k and never touch the stuff and be off making money at another job.

[prland1]

I was wondering if your charging $48 per cu/yd is including labor? Up here the cheapest Premium Hardwood Mulch is $30 per cu/yd. Great idea though on bringing in a company that can blow it all in. That saves you a ton of time.

[1wezil]

Now the homeowner tells me they talked to the person that did it last year and it only took 140 yds, and that covered it well so i told them if we run short then you agree to buy more at the same price . oh ya last year they only payed 30 a yd installed but that guy is not installing mulch any more . well at that price i see why .this year they want to go with the black pallet mulch ,at 40 a yd mulch and labor is a good deal .i gave them the total and now i am waiting for them to get back to me. i am sure they are checking around on pricing. they were in a hurry but i am sitting and waiting for them .

[prland1]

I must be real expensive or somebody is giving the mulch away. 40 per cu/yd including labor of 6 guy's over 3 days does that give you a profit at all? Fuel, Mileage, labor costs or Delivery of the mulch which is sometimes cheaper the bigger the load. I try to factor that all in then figure a fair price. It's so amazing how cheap some potential clients can be. That's how the rich get richer, but that's for another forum.

[PerfectEarth]

at 40 a yd mulch and labor is a good deal

YEA it is!!! Unless you're paying your help 0.12/hr, your skid steer had no moving parts and runs on solar power, and Jesus is delivering the mulch for you, you might not make much money here. :dizzy:

[1wezil]

YEA it is!!! Unless you're paying your help 0.12/hr, your skid steer had no moving parts and runs on solar power, and Jesus is delivering the mulch for you, you might not make much money here. :dizzy:

i'am sorry i am charging him 45 a yd my mistake and seeing he thinks it will be less mulch we will have less labor. oh ya i am renting the skid steer. i will be making some money ?

[lupdog]

what is the going rate for bed edging per foot?

[#2MAN]

Wow...I live near Columbus OH and they charge $100/yard installed! My jaw dropped when I found that out. We're a smaller operation so we charge $33/hour plus the cost of mulch.

[Rcgm]

Just plain hardwood we charge 70 dollars a yard installed no bed prep no edging nothing just layed.

I never price edging beds by the foot I look at it think about how long it is going to take and if I need to get rid of weeds sod etc and price it. Some LCO's just make it harder than it is by the time they estimate it measure it we are done. I throw my customers a bone here or there if they are getting 10 yards of mulch and paying for a leaf clean up I can send a guy thru to edge those beds in 10 minutes. I guess this is why I have stayed in business for 14 years. If you treat the customer right the will repay you ten fold fellas.



RCGM
Brad

[J&A Lawn Care]

You need to charge by the hour for each guy helping you also.I know the last time I rented a Bobcat from Sunbelt for a day it was around $400 by the time they delivered it and picked it up.Thats why I just bought me a used 30hp Kubota.If you only pay your 6 guys $8hr and say you work 10hr days then you are gonna pay your guys $1620

Mulch $20 yd x 140= $2800
Bobcat 3 days atleast $500
bed edger $75
paying help $1620
Thats $4995 that you will have in the job minus fuel ETC
you charge $40 yd x 140=$5600
By the time you ad the small stuff plus you fuel then you will be over $5000.I personally would not spend 3 days breaking my back for $400-$500

[ooo]

Mulch, I charge about $70/yd with no prep, edging, etc.. Something of that size, i would look into mulch blower service or rental.

Edging I try to estimate my time, and the cost of the "Bed Shaper" rental. I usually edge a few in a day at an average of $225 or $250 per house.

[KstateCutter]

I've never done a mulch job near that large. My largest was 20 cu yds and I thought that was big. I must be real expensive, or you are offering a discount for a job that large with that much potential future business. I charge $80/yd installed. I have never had a problem with customers saying that is way more than expected. I'm laying dyed cedar that I buy at $33 /yd. I know I'm probably getting ripped off but its the only supplier within around 5 miles that will sell in bulk (as opposed to bags). Maybe I'm charging way higher than industry average but like I said I have never had a problem or complaint and am planning on charging that same price this year.

[KstateCutter]

Another question, how are you planning to protect the turf under the bobcat? I seem to tear up the grass when I turn. Are you using tracks or wheels? I've seen guys lay plywood but that seems like a lot of work and money buying scrap plywood.

[1wezil]

Another question, how are you planning to protect the turf under the bobcat? I seem to tear up the grass when I turn. Are you using tracks or wheels? I've seen guys lay plywood but that seems like a lot of work and money buying scrap plywood.

i still have not gotten a answer back on a yes or a no they are checking on prices . last year they payed 30.00 a yard installed down but like i said that guy is not putting down mulch any more . as far as the bobcat we are using that up and down the sides and on the ends of the property,there are empty lots on both sides of this property .on all my smaller or what we say average size jobs i charge where from 50.00 to 100.00 for other kinds of mulch.

[JohnnyRoyale]

Start by shopping your suppliers, including their suppliers. Go direct with your purchase instead of a local landscape supply. Your mulch price will go down significantly, as you'll be taking it in 100 cu/yd loads.

If your going to do it yourself. Thats alot of mulch, and using a skid steer is going to cause lots of turf damage, consider a small utility tractor with a bucket on the front-much more turf friendly. You may want to consider loading the mulch into the back of a truck ot trailer to get to the further areas, as bucket by bucket will take you forever.

Otherwise, consider getting it blown in. On that kind of volume, you should get enough of a break to make money. Don't tell the blower guys how many yards you want, insted ask them how many yards they think they will need. You may be pleasantly suprised you overestimated the quantities and if you gave a lump sum price for the job, your profits are going to be much greater than humping it for 4 days. Good luck on this one.