Doing first company Sod install?

[mlsadidas8]

I am installing Sod on 500 Sqft area. What should i charge for an estimate? what does the estimate include? Can i get a detail lists of charges. thanks

[Smallaxe]

Are you doing the prep work? Soil any good? Easy access to location? Sod truck drop it on-site? 500 sqft 2 guys one afternoon.

Can you soak it down good at the end? or is it only on irrigation? small area it is better to walk over it with a running hose packing down the seams and pockets. Charge for the time to do that.

[mlsadidas8]

I am doing the estimate tomorrow. The lady says its her backyard in a residential neighberhood. She says the prep work is already done. I plan to use my truck to pick up th sod and there is two of us doing it. The average cost per sqft of sod is 0.34. What should my estimate be? Can you break it down please. thanks.

[merrimacmill]

I pay .36 cents a square foot with my discount. I figure it without my discount which is .40 cents a square foot just for my delivery expenses. And for a yard with average access, I charge .80 cents a square foot for install. That does not include any loam though. That is separate. So the .80 cents a square foot is for us to take it off the truck, and roll it out smoothing the ground as we go. I generally make out alright with it. If the yard has limited access, or we'll need to carry each piece a long way, I charge accordingly..

[mlsadidas8]

any other estimates?

[NEW CITY LAWN CARE LLC]

500 sq. ft. is really small, did you measure this yourself? Length X Width of the area is Sq. Footage. I always throw in a couple extra rolls than I need just in case, each roll is 10 sq. ft., so if the 500 measurement is correct I'd order 520. Don't forget the starter fertilizer before you lay down the sod. I'd charge the customer your price for the sod and then charge a labor rate X your estimated man hours to complete the job.

[mlsadidas8]

so what would be the total amount?

[NEW CITY LAWN CARE LLC]

Not to be hard on you, but if you can't estimate how many hours this will take and breakdown your supplies, sod, fertilizer, lime, etc., than what are you even doing trying to do this job when you aren't familiar with it?

[merrimacmill]

Ya, I understand it can be difficult to figure out your prices when your starting out. But this isn't a forum for everyone to estimate your jobs for you. Everyones company is different. I run a very low overhead, I pay everything off, minimal monthly expenses, part time employees, etc. So I can do a job cheaper than another guy that has payments on 10 trucks, all full time employees with full benefits, a huge shop with a huge mortgage, etc. And I can still make more money at the end of the day because my profit margin is higher. I'm not saying either way is the way to do it, I'm just saying everyones prices are different for these reasons. And also, don't get the image that I'm one of the "lowballers" driving around in a 25 year old truck with mowers that hardly cut. The oldest truck I have is a 2006 and thats out of 4 trucks. Not to mention your location. If I drive 25 minutes north of here, I can't charge what I can charge 25 minutes south of here.

Just figure out what it cost you to run your business last year. Figure out how much it cost you to stay in business. That means paying all the phone, internet, electric, gas, equipment loans, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. And then figure out how many hours you work in your season. Add your profit margin in, and there is your hourly rate. I know a guy that has 10 employees and makes out very well charging $45 an hour and live very comfortably. I know other guys charging $75 an hour and running they're business on a shoe string, month to month. But of course there are the guys in the high hourly rate bracket who are very, very high class companies and are doing very well.

[KCLawnTamers]

We buy for .20 a square and install for .77 a square... You bid should be straight forward.. Charge by the square if all prep is done..

[TexasFire221]

When you guys say a square are you talking about a sqft? Im just a little confused. We don't have rolls here thay are cut in pieces. If i am figuring it right I am buying the sod at around .28 a sqft. So with a 10,500 sqft yard like the one I did an estimate on earlier today, if I charged .60 to install that would be $6,300. Am I correct?

[cgaengineer]

When you guys say a square are you talking about a sqft? Im just a little confused. We don't have rolls here thay are cut in pieces. If i am figuring it right I am buying the sod at around .28 a sqft. So with a 10,500 sqft yard like the one I did an estimate on earlier today, if I charged .60 to install that would be $6,300. Am I correct?

Yes, square foot.

[cgaengineer]

We buy for .20 a square and install for .77 a square... You bid should be straight forward.. Charge by the square if all prep is done..

What kind of sod are you buying for $.20 per square? Around here a pallet of bermuda is 550 square feet and runs about $75-$85 per pallet. Some other places are higher, but that's what I paid delivered last year.

[Bustus]

I am installing Sod on 500 Sqft area. What should i charge for an estimate? what does the estimate include? Can i get a detail lists of charges. thanks

I wouldn't charge for an estimate. In your estimate include all of the costs you think you will incur. Good Luck.