I have someone who wants me to install (20) 6-7' Arborvitaes....with a 24" auger, and the potential to hit a couple roots along the digging, how long will it take me to dig these holes? thanks!

I had to install some trees with a 15" auger. had to drill 4 holes and dig them out. I didnt have a 24" auger...

The dingos work fast... I would figure 5 or 10 minutes max per hole.... I used the one with the tracks on it.... becareful it will destroy the lawn if you do zero turns

 

so at $100 for 2 guys, 2 hrs is a good estimate thus $200? One person running the dingo, the other cleaning out the hole and dropping in the arborvitae? oh the person is buying the shrubs themselves

 

so at $100 for 2 guys, 2 hrs is a good estimate thus $200? One person running the dingo, the other cleaning out the hole and dropping in the arborvitae? oh the person is buying the shrubs themselves

Is the 200 in addition to the rental of the dingo?

My wife was actually working the dingo while I was making the 4 individual holes into one big hole...

if you are just drilling one hole, it does a clean job no need to shovel it out.. I had to make some big a$$ holes....

 

Chevyman, I can dig the holes with the 30" bit in 5 minutes with no problem, even if i hit some minor roots. It likely will not take 5 to do the actual digging, they move FAST, but figure in some extra time to prep the hole for the plant. I guess what I'm saying is the actual drilling will be the least of your time. Big roots will throw it around in the hole a bit and give your hole cleaning man a little work, but it will go quick. If you are renting, check on the 30" bit (of course i haven't seen the size of the root balls that you are installing). I just like digging the holes a bit wider and when installing Arbs. of that size, we always dig with the 30". Good luck with it and let us know how it goes.

 

i agree with the above. we have run a 36" bit with no problem at all. I would estimte 15 minutes for each plant (X2 becuase tou have 2 people). that would include transporting the plants, digging, and setting the plants

 

You definately need to make sure that you charge them for the rental of the Dingo above the $200 you are charging for labor. Depending on how big the root ball is on the Arbs and the weight of them you might want to look into renting the pallet forks for transporting and putting them into the holes.

As for the time to dig the holes back in December I had 31 green giants to dig holes for with the TX420 Dingo with a 24" bit. I was done in under 1 hour and 30 minutes for measuring, marking and digging the holes then started transporting them to their holes.

Hope this helps some.

 

I have someone who wants me to install (20) 6-7' Arborvitaes....with a 24" auger, and the potential to hit a couple roots along the digging, how long will it take me to dig these holes? thanks!

If the shrubs will be side by side and in a row, it might be easier to just use a skidsteer and run a trench the full length, and then just backfill aouund the plants.

Depends on the area in question, but side by side your looking at an overall length of 35ft or so, depending on spacing. The auger would be cleaner if the area is mostly finished but if its new, then a trench is quick.