You might want to direct this question towards the customer and get this figured out for future storms. Handing them a bill for $600 ontop of the mowing cost isn't probably going to go over well.

 

No way I'd do that by hand. Do you have a pull behind rake of some sort?

 

What's you basic labor hourly rate? What does your contract say? What did you discuss with the client for when this situation happens?

Heavy tree covered property this is something that should be addressed during the sign up process. What are you doing about the leaf fall?

 

Just a little more info. No actual contract. I have no tools for this other than simply picking them up by hand. I was figuring about $25/hr. but wanted to make sure I wasn't being exorbitant and my pricing was comparable.

 

Some time (and your back) can be saved by using one of these trash picker uppers. Only $16.
I have this style and it works good on sticks and smaller branches. Drag a plastic garbage bucket around and use the tool to pick up debris.

 

My business can't sell work at $25 per hour. I would be making sure you can if your gonna sell it. I like to pay myself more then $25 per hour also things like bills and food need to be bought.

 

Thanks for the input. I just told the customer that the pick up alone will be close to $300. I cut it for another $125 afterward, with no weedeating involved.

 

That sounds awfully cheap. How did you estimate only 10 hours? Is everything you pick up staying onsite and if so, how far do you have to move them where the client wants them?

 

4 acres....80 trees My god that sounds awful. Any way to sub it out to someone with the right tools to get this done quickly and efficiently? And you not killing yourself...

 

 

Work out a time and material contract. Labor rate $45/man hour, haul away fee $125.00/ load and dump fee $75.00/ load. Be clear to include travel time with your invoice. If you need a chipper, see what the rental cost is and add 20%. Seems like a job to make good money.

 

Will customer let you drive a pickup or trailer between the trees?

 

You could probably find some high school kids looking to make a little money while school is out. Unless you have nothing better to do than pick up sticks for 10 hours for a couple tanks of gas...

 

Do you own a back pack blower?
Are these sticks or branches?

Branches, limbs, sticks. Some of all over the four acres.

 

Use to play pick up sticks when I was a kid

 

Do you own a back pack blower?
Are these sticks or branches?

 

Backpack blower is a good idea. I have a property with two MONSTER willow trees. Come spring it is a war zone. Actually use a walk behind blower and it does a fantastic job. A backpack blower could blow everything into manageable piles at least.

 

Take a few pictures for us to see

 

Reminds me of a waterfront property I was servicing after Hurricane Fran. They had 2 feet (vertical) of marsh grass piled up on the lawn. About 200' wide by 30' deep. Had a welder make a pitch fork like attachment for my larger mower. Drove into the stuff, picked it up, carried it off and dumped it. Works great for debris on lawns after storms.

 

Sounds like something you guys should bring to market! :clapping:

 

Our storm damage clean up is always T and M

 

Use a tarp, hook it to your mower, use it like a trailer or use a trailer. More centralized placing of the limbs. Is it onsite dumping? May have missed that....

 

If your going to do this kind of work you at least need SOME basic hand tools, tarps and a barrel or wheelbarrow. You can actually pile a lot of brush in a wheelbarrow. Put it in with the butts towards the rear and pile the heavy wood on top. Picking up that kind of mess by hand seems crazy to me.

If I pick up sticks by hand I use an 18 inch steel tine spring rake, a plastic grain shovel and a 60 gallon barrel to drag around. Kind of like the street sweeper broom and dustpan deal. I carry a folding pruning saw in my pocket in case there's something I need to break down - assuming I don't need to break out a chain saw. For larger branches I use a heavy duty tarp.

 

The guy lets me use his JD Gator that has a bed with a dump. I just dump it by the edge of the road.

 

We’ve used one of these before for sticks. Works very well it’ll at least get them in one area

 

Ok so you aren’t a real business which explains the lower rate. I still think you could get more than $25/hr though! That’s a lot of work man and I am assuming you work pretty quick using your customer’s Gator, so you are definitely getting $25 worth of work an hour.

 

Please do not do anything for $25.00 / hour while running a business.

 

He's using only the customer's equipment, so he's really more like a domestic employee in this case, not a contractor. Or so it appears to me.

 

Yeah my thoughts exactly. I think this is more of a side hustle sort of thing/ working under the table. No business would be using the customer’s equipment, I would assume? Even so, $25/hr is a low wage. I realize it is super simple work, but the customer could probably find two kids for $15-20 an hour that would get this job done just fine. Maybe he is young though. Probably have at least one hour of non billable time driving etc.