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How many 1/4 acre yards can be done in a day?

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CrappyMower

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
The area I'd best like to target has exclusively 1/4 acre yards. They have what I would consider to be avg. obstacles. Approx 1600-2000 square foot homes. Lets just say average.

How many yards can one, three (3) man crew (well-equipped) be reasonably expected to do in one 8-10 hour day? And for the sake of argument let's assume you have 100 customers on the same street, 50 each side, so there will minimal loading/unloading of the trailer. They all want mow, trim, edge and they all have front sidewalks. It is expected to do a quality job, not necessarily the best cut ever.

By well equipped assume a 48" ZTR, 48 WB (poss. 2), 32" WB to fit through the rear gates, and a 21" push with quality edgers, trimmers, blowers etc.

This is a hypothetical question. I'm trying to see what price I could do (X)amount of yards for if they were situated like this and we could cut (Y) amount of yards per day.

Feel free to brag about your yard mowing conquests here. I'm not looking to low-ball.

Thanks to all, I'm WAY new at this and trying to do a business plan. Need data for optimal conditions. I unfortunately know well the data for the flip-side.

CrappyMower
 
#3 ·
Albery's Lawn & Tractor said:
100 yards side by side w/ a 3 man crew could/should be done in one day.
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yeah right. If each one takes 10 minutes, it would take them 17 hours working straight.

To get them all done in 10 hours, the lawns could not exceed 6 minutes a piece. I doubt that's going to work out, especially considering you will need a break or two.
 
#4 ·
Its all about being productive. No travel time all side by side. Not to mention 3 people. Maybe myself and my worker are more productive and more efficent then you. I guess if every yard has a fenced in backyard then it might take longer but most condo's and other hoa contracts say if there backyard is fenced in then the owner is responsible for it. This is a broad question w/ alot of variables, but 100 is possible w/ the right crew.
 
#6 ·
My 2 three man crews do about 25 to 30 homes per day each, with no rush, with a hour lunch and are still back in the barn by 6pm at the latest, leaving out @ 7:30am. One thing you have to always remember is Quailty Control. I think we could do more, but I try not to over do it. Most of my accounts are in the same neighborhood, or within a few minutes of each other.
 
#7 ·
EASILY and I mean EASILY....40 of those can be done in one day...with the equipment & 3 man experienced crew.
 
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#9 ·
I do 10 in one day solo and 3 are 1/2 acre, 25 mile route ,with lunch and didn't start until after 9am and done by 5pm. And then I call it a week and head to my full time job...lol

You should be able to kill that door to door with 3 man crew.
 
#11 ·
Albery's Lawn & Tractor said:
Its all about being productive. No travel time all side by side. Not to mention 3 people. Maybe myself and my worker are more productive and more efficent then you. I guess if every yard has a fenced in backyard then it might take longer but most condo's and other hoa contracts say if there backyard is fenced in then the owner is responsible for it. This is a broad question w/ alot of variables, but 100 is possible w/ the right crew.
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Laughable at best.

100 1/4 acre subdivision homes, ALL doable in 10 hours?

Add the 3-man crew into it, that's 33 properties per man, in a 10-hour day that's 18 minutes per property, per man. With zero break time. Consider one hour total break time(15 min morning, half hour lunch, and 15 min afternoon) and that time drops to 16 minutes per property per man. Then subtract 20-30 minutes per day for piss breaks and stopping to refuel(being conservative with that estimate), now you're down to 15 minutes per property. This doesn't include things like walking between properties, grabbing different equipment off the trailer, walking up and down the street to get to the tow rig, etc etc.
 
#12 ·
There's too much competition to even get 100 customers basically in one huge stop...so many people have LCO's one would have to really throw out some low prices to line that many customers up.
 
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#13 ·
Sometimes I wonder if people know lot sizes. 1/4 acre is a decent size lot. I have heard people on here claim they can service a 1/4 acre lot in 15 minutes, solo. There is no way. 100 in a day...can't be done, I don't care how efficient you think you are.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Not can 100 be done. Under ideal circumstances how many can you (experienced 3 man crew) mow in 1 day. And at a pace that you could do everyday without people dying, quitting etc. Well 5 /6 days a week not "everyday".

Thanks again for the input.

CrappyMower (hope to soon graduate to Un-Crappy)
 
#15 ·
I have a property that is 10,050 square feet(turf area), one birdbath but otherwise no obstacles, a fence at the back of the property, and I edge the sidewalk each week.

It's a corner lot so twice the normal sidewalk but it only takes me a few minutes.

Mow, Trim, Blow, Edge, working at a moderately brisk pace that "won't kill me", I'd estimate 25-30 minutes.
 
#16 ·
One day if ater the first 3-4 times you figure out the most productive way to accoplish this. But it could be done in one long day.

100 homes / 3 workers = 33 homes each worker.

600min / 33 homes = 18 Minutes per home.

or

10 hours * 3 guys = 30 man hours

30 hours / 100 homes = 18 Minutes per home.

No drive time no loading and loading working a 12 hour day with 2 hours worth of breaks it could be done. If it were me I would first start by all three guys mowing first thing in the moring. The 21" guy would run around the 100 homes first and get all the spots that only the 21" can go, the other guy grabs the 32" and does everything that only the 32" can do, (depending it may be more efective to hit these areas with the 21" it all depends.) I start with the 48" ZTR. When the 21" guy gets done he grabs the 48" w/b and we all mow until every home is mowed. Then depending on how much trimming and edging One would grab trimmer, one edger and the 3rd would blow or if there is a lot maybe one guy would quit mowing before the rest and start on something else.

you get the idea. treat it like a big 25 acre commerical job. and slam it out.
 
#18 ·
The question shouldn't be ....how many 1/4....it should be ....how many 1/4 acre yards can be cut WITH CARE in one day. Suddenly the numbers drop drastically when the word care is added to the equation. I know we're all in this for the money but people are paying for quality service, give them that and charge accordingly. Anyway, I would think 8 per man per day @ $40.00 each.
 
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