I WAS REFERRED TO A CUSTOMER THAT WANTS THE REAR SECTION OF THEIR YARD CLEANED UP..OLD FALLEN TREES SMALL SAPLINGS THAT WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING BIGGER...LOTS OF POISON IVY....A QUICK LOOK TELLS ME THERE IS PROBABLY ABOUT 15-25 YARDS OF WASTE THE AREA IS ON A HILL AND IS NOT VERY EASILY ACCESSED. DO YOU GUYS PRICE THIS TYPE OF WORK BY THE SQUARE FOOT OR BY VOLUME OF MATERIAL REMOVED...OR BY MAN HOURS PLUS DISPOSAL?..ANY INPUT WOULD BE HELPFUL..
If you can get a rental wood chipper back into the location so you can just leave the chips there would be the only way I would bid the job. Frankly jobs like this are best to pass up. Don't expect to get any other work from folks who just don't care what the property looks like. This is a one shot deal price accordingly and get 1/2 min. and a signed contract.
I do a lot of this kind of work through a contract with our city. For brush or weed mowing, I charge by the square foot and whether it is a rough or finished cut. If I have to remove debris, I charge additionally by weight. If you take the material to a landfill, they should be able to give you a weight slip. I don't mind doing this kind of stuff, and since most guys don't want to, you can usually charge whatever you want. I don't recommend using a regular lawn mower to cut tall overgrowth. If you don't expect (or want) to do a lot of this kind of work, I'd pass on it. Also, it might be good to get your agreement in writing and collect up front.
This type of work is what we look for. There are few people in this. I charge $50.00 per hour straight through, for just myself. More help is more per hour. I mow with the DR field and brush mower, remove derbis if necessary, charging by the cubic yard and add in landfill dump charges. Any additional equipment I need to rent is added in. Customers are thrilled to see the place cleaned up, no one else will do this kind of work!!! Charge what you want. Good luck!!
I agree with Stone on this one. I would also pass on it, to much regular work to do. If you have nothing else to do and want to work go ahead, just get yourself a very good price. I would also have a new set of blades figured in the price if you are mowing the unknown. Ray
Boy OH Boy to think of all the grief I got on this site for Gutter Cleaning and cutting down one lousy tree!!!!!!!!!
I also agree with Stone. A lot of jobs like this are under bid. You usually don't realize this until your 3/4 done. If theres no access to the back yard just forget about it. You don't want to walk from the back yard to your trailer 200 times!
If you need the work: a) Charge by the job, 20 cubic yds. $600 b) Charge by hour, $25-40 per hour c) Sub it out to an hourly person for $7 an hour and you "help" and still charge $50 per hour.
I somewhat agree with curlawngreen on this one. If you aint one of the 1,000,000$$ lawn care companies then this is an easy money maker. Get in and out in no time. I would charge a 40$ PER MAN HOUR rate. 2 to 3 hours and you are done. Dont know much about poison ivy though so i might pass just because of that. Good luck on your decision. Acute Cut
