cost per foot to dig a trench

[Mike Leary]

Round up the usual suspects, & you know who you are.

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

Originally Posted by jrumbaug

I'm new to residential irrigation and still trying to get a grasp as to "what is standard or typical". Today's puzzle is trying to estimate the cost of digging the trench that the pipe lays in.

I am writing a quote for my second job. My first trench was dug by hand by 2 men. When I look at the first job. It took 62 man hours to remove sod, dig and then re-fill, then replace sod on 240 feet of trench. That figures to about 1 man-hour per 4 feet. If I charge $20/hr per man, that's about 5$ per foot labor to charge for the service. Did I have slow employees or is this somewhere near reality?? Off the top of my head, I would have guessed $2/foot to be used to calculate how much to charge.


Jim Rumbaugh

Or secondly, maybe someone can tell me where to read about the prefered way to dig an irrigation trench? I may be working the hard way and wrong way.

The fact that you are analyzing these costs are great INMO. How else can you determine if an employee is a producer or a slacker. Not just in hand digging but gluing, coverup, etc, etc. It is manual labor to a great degree even with a trencher. I've seen guys that look really busy but get little done. Experienced a guy recently who was the busiest non-producer I have ever met.
Thanks in advance

[AI Inc]

Typicaly the guys that dont do jack , spend most of their time telling you how good they are. Dont tell me, show me.

[irrig8r]

Originally Posted by CAPT Stream Rotar

A few things to think about when trenching:

1.how deep?
2.soil climate? sand,clay....

"Soil climate" ????

Rotar, get yourself down to the libaray and borrow a copy of Brady's "The Nature and Properties of Soils" and/ or spend under $12 at amazon.com for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Soil-Science-S...dp/0881338133/

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

Economic climate
Political climate
Soil climate
I can see how one could put those two together

[CAPT Stream Rotar]

I think they fit wonderfully together...


personally.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by CAPT Stream Rotar

I think they fit wonderfully together...


personally.

I'd bet most everyone knew what you meant.

[CAPT Stream Rotar]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

I'd bet most everyone knew what you meant.

of course they did....


this place is just prone to bust balls..
Although some painless information has been given to H/O's lately....

I remember when I started here...
I came in Guns a blazing.....Got flamed for a few months....

purple haze was still around with his "dinky pipe" stories.

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by CAPT Stream Rotar

I came in Guns a blazing.....Got flamed for a few months..

That was the last time anyone got on the "ignore" list.

[CAPT Stream Rotar]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

That was the last time anyone got on the "ignore" list.

:::::Takes a long bow:::::::