I have been talking to some guys about this same issue. What the heck to charge. From what i have learned from them and some experience this info is what i have to offer you. I use dolomitic and pelletized lime. i use which ever i need for the situation. I get the 40 lb bags. Since you will be spreading more lime on some lawns (which is very time consuming) ond less on other lawns (not as time consuming) both scenarios take more time than spreading fertilizer b/c you are puting out more product/ 1000ftsq, unless you have a mulch spreader. I pay $3.00/40 lb bag. My markup and charge to spread this on a small lawn is $10/bag. I make $7 for everybag spread. This is for a single app. I will charge $12.50 maybe more for the double application. Hope this helps you.

 

$11.00 for a bag of lime? Wow. About $3.00 for a 50 lb bag of top quality pelletized around here. Works better than ground limestone & spreads with a rotary. So it's quicker.

No matter. Around here:

4000 sq ft lawn for regular round $40.00 & up.
cost of "stuff" = $1.20/M or $4.80 so labor per 10 lbs applied = $35.20 (or $3.52 per pound).

Lime to same. 120 lbs @ $3/bag = $7.20 (so it's NOT cheaper) plus $35.20 to apply = $42.40 (now only $.29/lb to apply)

But we just raised the price by $2.40 & all we did was break even on the additional cost of material. In order to do it we just worked harder, put more weight on the truck, had to dispose of 7.5 times as many empty bags, breathed in more dust, & placed more wear on the spreader.

That should be worth another $7.00 in my book.

So this lime application is worth $50.00/4,000 sq ft if $40 is the regular round price.

Make sure you're getting paid for what you do.

Steve

 

I use pulverised dolomitic lime and purchase it by the ton, in 50 lb bags. My cost is $75. per ton. I use a 6ft drop spreader and can apply about a ton per hour. I charge $150 per ton to apply which makes it as cheap for the homeowner to hire me than it is for them to apply pelletized themselfs. I only use the pelletized where I cant take the drop spreader or on really small jobs. These I charge double the price of the lime. Here the rates are 100lb+ per msqft and I apply in two apps with soil test every two years. I use a Ventrac Tractor to pull the spreader so it is pretty mobile even in smal lawns.
I also use my hydroseeder a lot for appling lime, works good on those steep areas, alittle hard on the pump tho.

 

good soil test will tell you how much and which type!