Reality Check Needed....Cemetery

I know some of you are saying,&quot;not this again&quot; but I need some input.At this point I'm working alone,starting over in a new market and have a chance to place a bid on a cemetery that is good for two years maybe three.It is 8 plus acres about 1/3 to 1/2 full.I believe I can cut this in 6 hours with a 54 or 60 zrt,trimming will take about 2 hours and blow drive and head stones 1 hour,thats 8 to 9 hours.I would like to be able to this in a day and I know alot of things come in to play with a cemetery.Does my time sound right and is it possible?Please feel free to beat me up on this one,I can take it!! Thanks<p>----------<br>John <br>

 

John,<br>You have seen this job and I have not; but from what you describe I think it would take closer to 12 to 16 hrs. I think you have the mowing figured pretty close; but I think the trimming will take you much longer. If you can use Round-Up or something similar around the stones it would speed things up considerably.<p>----------<br>Mike's Lawn Service<br>

 

Is it worth it to you is the question I have to ask. If you know how much it costs you to run your equipment (gas-wear-maintenance-payments-insurance-replacement cost ect.) and you feel that you are making a profit then it might be worth it. Do you have a fertilizing contract with the cemetary? Do they require any other services that you can perform? If you can feel good about the amount of money you make (profit)then it might be worth it. good luck

 

A few more details...no fertilizing or other services.I have thougt of the round-up idea,not sure if they will let me.Trimming is to done every other cut.Thanks again<p>----------<br>John <br>

 

John, I cut a cemetery that is about 3 1/2 acres and is around 1/2 full with stones all over the place. It takes me about3 1/2 to 4 hrs to cut it and 3 hours to trim it every other cut. You are basically cutting the property twice because of the stones. Some of the stones are too close to cut between and I use the string trimmer in those spots. We aren't allowed to use spray, cut after dark or on Sundays because it's a catholic church. It doesn't pay real well but it's a good fill in job and in a good visible location for advertising. I think you had better rethink your hours. I use a Walker with GHS so no time blowing off stones and can cut tight on both sides of deck.

 

Just wanted to bring this back to the top,bid must be in Tuesday!!Would like to hear from Mr.Stone on this one,kill me if you must.

 

John, I did some test runs with my Walker last week. I can cut an acre in just under 1 hour. This is with a normal amount of trees etc to cut around. If it is a clear property the times are less, but this is what I am bidding all my jobs at to make sure I am making a profit. This works out to .o8 seconds to cut 1 square foot. It is a 48&quot; deck with 15% overlap. This also includes the time to dump the bin. I'm not sure about your cemetery but that 60&quot; deck would be a problem here.

 

John.<br>Thanks for the vote of confidence.<p>----------<br>Mike's Lawn Service<br>

 

JRB wrote:<p>&gt;Would like to hear from Mr.Stone on this one,kill me if you must. <br> <br>The job should take 8-10 man hours. I doubt<br>that it will go for more than $250/cut n trim.

 

Mike,I thank you for your post I'm just looking for all the info.I can get,I have never done a cemetery before.No harm done o.k. Mr.stone are numbers close,how about that!