I have a customer that wants me to remove a 15' X 63' area of sod on a hill side and install a new bed and mulch everything in. I have never removed such a big area of sod and I'm not sure what to charge him for the removal. I can get a sod cutter for $90/day. About how many man hours should it take to remove the sod and haul it away? Or should I charge by the square ft? This will be with myself and one helper. Thanks in advance for any help.
15x63 can be cut in about an hour give or take a few minutes. But thats the easy part. Go about every 10-15 feet cut it, then roll it. By yourself it will take several hours, a few helpers and then it won't be bad. Personally, I like the to just till the new area up and rake out all the grass. I pulled up the sod where our new 80 x 30 shop is to save the grass, I'll never do that again.
I've done it! you better figure on 2 guys at 6 hours the sod cutter cuts like mad, it's actually kinda fun , but the roll up..... not so fun. I hope you have a loader to put the sod in ? if not you better add a few more hours, also where will you put the sod?
I don't roll up sod on a demolition - just set the sod cutter shallow where it doesnt pick up much soil , then rake the grass into piles for removal . I use the Dingo to do this , which is much more efficient , but even raking and hauling in a wheelbarrow could be accomplished in a half day with a two man crew. The key is the depth setting on the sod cutter. If you just 'slice off' the turf , it leaves a relatively smooth surface that doesn't need much prep to plant and mulch and saves a ton of hard work . I consider the sod cutter as a demolition tool only - the other guys are correct , it is back breaking work to cut and roll . Sod is too inexpensive to ever cut and roll to save the existing grass.
