aeration income

[corey4671]

I stayed busy this fall charging $135 for 10k sq ft lots double passed. Had a group of old guys that called me last year for a group rate. 5 of the 6 thought I was too high last year. I went with my price. the other 5 went with someone cheaper. The five saw the job I did compared to their guy and called me back this fall realizing the difference in price over quality work. This was also the first year I really pushed advertising aeration.

[sealcutter]

We did about 10% more this year compared to last. It opens the the door for more services. And on average we are up to 3 times the cost of mowing, or more depending on size and terrain of lot.

[David Grass]

I would never charge by the hour, I have a bed cutter that I charge a lot for, so I make about 120 an hour up, but that is because I charge by the job. I am buying the Xt5 this week, and I will want to make close to that. These are specialty pieces of equipment and one should consider it "special" when using it. We make a lot less mowing as an "hourly" thing but it is consistent and is the bulk of annual income. SO, I am going to go with the 3 times what I get for mowing as a general guide for aerating.

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by David Grass

I would never charge by the hour, I have a bed cutter that I charge a lot for, so I make about 120 an hour up, but that is because I charge by the job. I am buying the Xt5 this week, and I will want to make close to that. These are specialty pieces of equipment and one should consider it "special" when using it. We make a lot less mowing as an "hourly" thing but it is consistent and is the bulk of annual income. SO, I am going to go with the 3 times what I get for mowing as a general guide for aerating.

I totally agree.
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[jonniebud]

dont worry how much your going to make.its another service u give to the customer.it will definitly pay for its self over time.

[Talon]

Around here (Toronto Area) the big guys start around $75-$85 then jump $7-$12 per 1000 sq ft of grass give or take.

But then you get those door to door aeration companies that only give their student workers a percentage. They'll go as low as $25 sometimes..

[Exact Rototilling]

In my area prices start at $29.95 upto 8,000 sq feet. I charge more than that.

Often a homeowner will say I can rent a unit for such and such then they want you beat that rate.

Often when you factor in time spent on the phone, kicking tires with prospective client, flagging sprinklers, aborting the process if it's too wet or too dry....it can get iffy.

Once I get busy mowimg it's often not worth bothering with honestly.

I will be doing something outside the box this Spring. I have no doubt it will do well. It's just a matter of implementation, timing, weather and getting the right help or helpers.


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[nozzy]

With aerating the shape and layout of the lawn matters more than size. Lots of stuff to go around equals hard work, while a larger wide open lawn is pretty easy. I agree: NEVER charge by the hour. Have an hourly rate in your head that you hope to make (I try for $60 mowing, and $90ish aerating) and use that to set your bid - but don't talk to the customer in these terms. They will always feel that that is way too much. They instantly forget about equipment costs, maintenance costs, bidding/driving time, and on and on and on.

As far as flagging sprinkler heads, I don't do it either. For my own customers I aerate after mowing and I can usually see all the heads, for the one time customers that call, I ask that they have the lawn mowed before I come out. If you do mark the heads for them you are going to be spending a lot of extra time and even then it is easy to miss one. I have aerated a lot of lawns and I've never got a call back that a sprinkler was broken. Maybe it has happened but I'm guessing the customer realized that when they hire someone to roll equipment like that around on their property there is potentially some hazard. If I did get a call back to fix a sprinkler I would happily take care of it for them and then just make a note to insist they mark their own heads before I came out the next time. Knock on wood - so far it hasn't been an issue.

Lastly, if I'm aerating a bunch of lawns in a day with a helper, I try to split the operating time with him. It is HARD work, and feel like asking him to run a machine like that for 8 hours a day isn't fair. If you are by yourself I wouldn't schedule more than 3 to 5 of them in a day.

[adam.neusbaum]

Originally Posted by nozzy

Lastly, if I'm aerating a bunch of lawns in a day with a helper, I try to split the operating time with him. It is HARD work, and feel like asking him to run a machine like that for 8 hours a day isn't fair. If you are by yourself I wouldn't schedule more than 3 to 5 of them in a day.

After you purchase the Exmark 30" stand-on aerator you are able to schedule as many as possible in a single day where it's nearly the same pace as mowing & that's an X pattern too. Secondarily, you wont need a helper & that my friend is the best part.
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[nozzy]

At $9+ grand I would currently have a hard time justifying that expense. I fit aeration jobs in around my regular maintenance accounts, and 90% of them get done in a couple month in the spring and a couple months in the fall. The rest of the time the aerator sits in the shop. I can definitely see how that thing would be great for big lawns but it seems to me like you would still need a smaller aerator in some spots. What often seems to happen in those cases is the amount of time you save with the wider swath is quickly lost when you are having to switch between machines. Also, from watching a couple YouTube videos it seems like you can only do the most gradual turns with the tines in the ground. With my old Bluebird I can make a corner with about a 3' radius without tearing up the lawn. I spent $1900 on my Bluebird 12 years ago and it still runs great. Only a couple carb rebuilds, and the rest is just normal maintenance. It paid for itself in the first 3-4 weeks I had it. (I have long considered it the best business purchase I have ever made.) I guess it all depends on what kind of lawns you are doing and how many of them you have. I'm sure for a larger company with hundreds of accounts this thing would make complete sense. It looks like a VERY COOL machine if you can keep it busy enough.