# Can I get a price check on my stump work? Am I charging enough?



## Hoosier (Jun 21, 2013)

So, I have been doing this for a few years now and I thought I would ask around about pricing. I know many guys use a per inch price but I am finding that is just not applicable. In many cases where the stump needs to be obliterated with the roots being dealt with and the grade set back to flat from the root crown you cannot simply use a "per inch" price to obliterate a stump for replant.

I tend to get calls from people that had other guys do a stump poorly and they took it just a few inches below grade and I think those guys are doing the "per inch" price and generally undercutting everybody else and at the same time making everyone look bad.

By the way, whoever is grinding on the south-side of Indy with a rented grinder needs to be run out of town.

Anyway, I tend to obliterate a lot of ornamental stumps so the spot can be re-used for a new tree. Often that means spending a bunch of time chasing roots with an alpine after blasting the stump with my Super Jr. and I am wanting to know if I am charging enough?

Here is an example of the stuff I run into. 
This stump, while not huge had a large diameter dirt "Crown" from the root spread, the root mass was thick and heavy all the way out to that fence post, in fact that post was in heavy wood that needed to be ground away to get that post out because it was trapped in wood. (That was fun). 












I ended up grinding all the way out to the lawns edge and then flattening out the soil and removing all of the large mulch. I spent some time on it for sure.

Would you say that a stump like this would typically run in the $125 range for this kind of work or would you charge more or less?

I know most of my local competition would just hit the stump and get it below grade and go, but I tend to work in higher end housing areas that want things put back the way they were and a "Bump-n-go" would just not work in my business model.

I dont think using the hour meter would work either because of the use of two machines in some instances, not to mention that I often need a pick to pull roots up etc..

Thanks for any insight gang.


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## deepsouth (Jun 21, 2013)

No idea on price. 

But here's a suggestion - whats the value. 

And then there's two measures of value - value to you, and value to client. 


NEVER underestimate value to client. 

Value to you - your time is worth $x per hour. If you don't make, say, $30ph from home to home, why wouldn't you be a wage slave?

Then add the dollars per hour for the machines, including their depreciation and maintenance and running costs. This includes your vehicle, saws, grinders, hand tools, you name it. 

Then add a percentage for overheads - phone, cards, accounting & tax, etc. 

Work this out to determine a viable position.... Above that is profit. Below that, why f'n bother!


Client value either wins or loses the job. Along with your reputation. 

For example, I tried to land the professional work of a mate. Didn't on round one as I was honest and said some extra work outside at $ 550/hr would be needed. Current work doer said its no worries. Got to the cruch and work doer said we need outside consultants at a higher rate. 

He now feels used, and may well come back - as I was honest. 

I'll admit, I didnt like losing first up, but I don't lie, do stuff outside my abilities or [email protected]$#%.

I can also sleep well at night. 

Hope this helps.

Also- edit - you always get a hack that wants $10 an hour, doesn't consider travel to/from and the fact their gear will need repair/maintenance/rePlacement, so massively underprice the job. 

And probably don't have the ability to do it well.


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## Mowingman (Jun 21, 2013)

That would be a $100.00 job for me. It would take me about 20 minutes, tops, including loading and unloading my machine. I do not level or remove the grindings, just rake them into a pile.
Market conditions in your area will determine how much you can get for the job. We all have guys around us who work too cheap. Just do a great job every time, and, word will get around that you are the "go to" guy for stump removal.
Jeff


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## old_soul (Jun 21, 2013)

Hoosier said:


> So, I have been doing this for a few years now and I thought I would ask around about pricing. I know many guys use a per inch price but I am finding that is just not applicable. In many cases where the stump needs to be obliterated with the roots being dealt with and the grade set back to flat from the root crown you cannot simply use a "per inch" price to obliterate a stump for replant.
> 
> I tend to get calls from people that had other guys do a stump poorly and they took it just a few inches below grade and I think those guys are doing the "per inch" price and generally undercutting everybody else and at the same time making everyone look bad.
> 
> ...




Why use a pick? or alpine? Sweep the bed with the grinder to remove surface roots.

Around here that stump and roots would be ground out to the grass line @8-10 inches deep for less than 100 $

15 minutes with rayco 1672 grinder. Provided you could back into yard. Now if you don't have access and have to use small machines, i could see the additional $


Also you should be charging extra $ to clean up the chips. I always give customers a price to grind, then x to clean out chips, then x to replace topsoil/seed/straw

Usually all that is 3 times the grinding price. Some want it "put back the way they were" others just want cheap grinding. You have to judge this at the time of the estimate.


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## Hoosier (Jun 21, 2013)

Mowingman said:


> That would be a $100.00 job for me. It would take me about 20 minutes, tops, including loading and unloading my machine. I do not level or remove the grindings, just rake them into a pile.
> Market conditions in your area will determine how much you can get for the job. We all have guys around us who work too cheap. Just do a great job every time, and, word will get around that you are the "go to" guy for stump removal.
> Jeff



Thanks for the insight Mowingman. 

But the leveling and the mulch is where it gets sticky.
You pointed out that you do not level or remove grindings so we are comparing apples to oranges here. If that stump had been ground, and the immediate area around the stump was not leveled then the bulk of the stump did not get ground out, at least not in a way I would put my name on it. 

I never leave a mound of mulch. Sure, if I am working in a pasture I may spread it around, but in a nice high end home with a perfect yard you cant leave a pile of mulch and feel like you did the job correctly. I sell against that when bidding and it lets me charge more I guess.


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## Hoosier (Jun 21, 2013)

old_soul said:


> Why use a pick? or alpine? Sweep the bed with the grinder to remove surface roots.
> 
> Around here that stump and roots would be ground out to the grass line @8-10 inches deep for less than 100 $
> 
> ...



On that job I did not need the pick much (fencepost some), or the alpine. Often I use the alpine on maples that have roots at grade 10 feet from the tree etc.. 
I do not have a tow behind, most of the time I get the job because I dont drive a truck in the yard. I have a buddy with a tow behind and I throw him some work if the stumps are large and have access, but most of the time I am driving my Rayco across a nice yard into a goofy location. I did consider a tow behind for bigger stumps being they are cheaper than a big RG 50 or 90 but I dont think I would find enough big work to justify it.

So, $125 for grinding that mass out and leveling does not really sound out of line from the sound of it...I guess.


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## ronnyb (Jun 21, 2013)

Sounds way low. Here it would be $200 for the stump, and another $200 to remove chips, soil, seed, and mulch.


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## Hoosier (Jun 21, 2013)

ronnyb said:


> Sounds way low. Here it would be $200 for the stump, and another $200 to remove chips, soil, seed, and mulch.



Thank you for that info, it all helps.


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## stumper120 (Jun 21, 2013)

75$ in town with my 665a towed behind my wrangler. 15 minutes and im gone. 12inches deep.


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## Hoosier (Jun 21, 2013)

stumper120 said:


> 75$ in town with my 665a towed behind my wrangler. 15 minutes and im gone. 12inches deep.



The whole area or just the stump itself? Any clean up?

Thanks!


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## Tundra Man Mike (Jun 21, 2013)

If I just ground out the hole and large roots and leave, $125. If I had to till the area to the lawn area and it was rocky $260. If I have to break out a chainsaw it is an immediate $20 MINIMUM. If I have to remove the outer wheels or travel a long distance from the trailer it is another $20. If I have to clean up dog poop, it is another $20 Minimum. If I have to bag and drag chippings it is $20 per bag. Farther distance or multiple times to job site adds too. Fuel isn't cheap. Insurance is outta control.


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## stumper120 (Jun 21, 2013)

Hoosier said:


> The whole area or just the stump itself? Any clean up?
> 
> Thanks!


I can grind roughly a 5x5 square in 1 setup so I would grind maximum travel for it which would cover that whole hump... no cleanup


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## MOE (Jun 22, 2013)

That would be $75 around here,(for a one stump job) and a lot of people might say now and just mow around it.


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## Hoosier (Jun 24, 2013)

This thread has legs.

I also use the cost or renting a grinder to some degree, if a home owner wants to pay the $95 to $150 minimum to rent for 4 hours and DIY the stump (Learn how to use it, and clean up the mess and know where to haul it etc..) then I say have at it. In fact I will volunteer to the home owner the cost of DIY and that can change perceptions of value. If the guy has a wooded lot and he can rent for a day ($300 +) and deal with a large number of stumps for less than I would charge I point out how he could save money, but many professional people have zero interest in the DIY thing. If its a home where stumps are "yard art" or it looks like they have been mowing around it for a decade then I typically don't get called and I rarely solicit for those stumps.


I would not show up for $75 and use both a grinder, saw and a yard cart to haul off anything. Typically, $75 would be for a small 6" shrub or ornamental tree stump and the Alpine. Now, if they have three of those stumps in a yard the overall price does not go up a bunch, maybe $100, but to load and unload equipment = $75. I cant see it being worth leaving the house for less than that with fuel prices, insurance and machine run-time costs. I guess I could do those cheaper jobs and be content, till I have a break down and need to buy a new power head or polychain belt etc..


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## Toddppm (Jun 24, 2013)

ronnyb said:


> Sounds way low. Here it would be $200 for the stump, and another $200 to remove chips, soil, seed, and mulch.



This sounds best and I'd probably be close to the same price doing all of that. If you go through the trouble to do it right, like most companies don't. ie: remove ALL of the grindings that you can and not leave any big unground chunks of root or stump in the hole. Bring good dirt, seed, fertilize and straw........that's a lot of work. 

Per inch price really doesn't make any sense at all, figure out what out you need per hour- site to site and price it from there. I think $100.00/hour doing grinding work etc. with the Super Jr. is fair if you can get it.


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## MSgtBob66 (Jun 24, 2013)

*$100/hr*

That job looks to be 125/150 for grind only. I clean up for half the cost of the grind plus disposal at the nearest compost place. My home owners typically want to do the rest themselves.

BOB


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## Bigstumps (Jun 25, 2013)

$225 grinding everything in that area down below grade and raking it back smooth. I'll get that job everytime and leave a happy customer. I will also get referrals. I work strictly on quality of work. I grind them deep, get all the roots and leave the place looking nice. I don't take away grindings. I will discuss with the customer if they want to get the grass to grow back they need to remove the grindings and put in top soil. If this is the route they want to go I will pile up the grindings for them versus raking them out.

I figure I'm there - might as well do a great job and make top dollar. Customers remember the quality of work long after they forget what they paid!! I get tons of referrals. And I follow behind a lot of half ground bargain jobs!


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## TonyG (Jun 25, 2013)

*Hoosier,*

$125 to grind /cleanup. We try to avoid the reseeding end as of late, just don't want to bother anymore. A complete cleaning is "must".


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## MOE (Jun 26, 2013)

Hoosier said:


> This thread has legs.
> 
> I also use the cost or renting a grinder to some degree, if a home owner wants to pay the $95 to $150 minimum to rent for 4 hours and DIY the stump (Learn how to use it, and clean up the mess and know where to haul it etc..) then I say have at it. In fact I will volunteer to the home owner the cost of DIY and that can change perceptions of value. If the guy has a wooded lot and he can rent for a day ($300 +) and deal with a large number of stumps for less than I would charge I point out how he could save money, but many professional people have zero interest in the DIY thing. If its a home where stumps are "yard art" or it looks like they have been mowing around it for a decade then I typically don't get called and I rarely solicit for those stumps.
> 
> ...


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## Mowingman (Jun 27, 2013)

Moe,
I work my $75.00 minimum jobs about the same way. I tell the customer it may be a few days before I get by to grind. Then, as soon as I get 3 or 4 "minimum" jobs, I catch them all at once.
What usually happens though, is I get a bigger job in the same area, and stop at the small job while heading to, or from, the bigger job. It is kind of a waste of time and effort to hook up for a $75.00 stump clear across town.
Jeff


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## elmostump (Jun 27, 2013)

*Price check*

In NC This would be 80.00 to grind area grass to grass. I always rake in neat pile blow off area and anything tracked to trailer. Hauling my 1635jr on dedicated trailer I don't haul off grindings because of I would have to make extra trip. Leave the landscaping to the professionals.


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## Hoosier (Jul 9, 2013)

elmostump said:


> In NC This would be 80.00 to grind area grass to grass. I always rake in neat pile blow off area and anything tracked to trailer. Hauling my 1635jr on dedicated trailer I don't haul off grindings because of I would have to make extra trip. Leave the landscaping to the professionals.



Man, I would think the cost of that much run-time would exceed $80 on a 252 sized machine with gas and wear on equipment. Maybe a large machine has lower runtime costs..dunno?

But thanks for the info!

Moe, If I do a $75 stump it is typically an alpine job with just the pickup truck and not the full rig (NPR Dump & Trailer), those sized stumps make no real debris so haul off is non-existent. I dont haul tools and a trailer anywhere for $75-85.


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## ducaticorse (Jul 9, 2013)

Toddppm said:


> This sounds best and I'd probably be close to the same price doing all of that. If you go through the trouble to do it right, like most companies don't. ie: remove ALL of the grindings that you can and not leave any big unground chunks of root or stump in the hole. Bring good dirt, seed, fertilize and straw........that's a lot of work.
> 
> Per inch price really doesn't make any sense at all, figure out what out you need per hour- site to site and price it from there. I think $100.00/hour doing grinding work etc. with the Super Jr. is fair if you can get it.



Stump grinding pricing is all over the chart. Where I am I have used two individuals. One is 50% higher than the other and has a machine that is worth a fraction of the cost of the one who is priced drastically lower. The lower priced guy is doing something right because he just bought a brand new 55K machine this weekend. I do not do my own stump grinding, because quite frankly, I hate doing it. That stump just for a grind in my area would cost me $75 to hit with my lower guy, and $150 with my higher guy, and that would be grind and leave..


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## howel07264 (Jul 14, 2013)

Hoosier said:


> So, I have been doing this for a few years now and I thought I would ask around about pricing. I know many guys use a per inch price but I am finding that is just not applicable. In many cases where the stump needs to be obliterated with the roots being dealt with and the grade set back to flat from the root crown you cannot simply use a "per inch" price to obliterate a stump for replant.
> 
> I tend to get calls from people that had other guys do a stump poorly and they took it just a few inches below grade and I think those guys are doing the "per inch" price and generally undercutting everybody else and at the same time making everyone look bad.
> 
> ...


$500 per run hour for the grinding. 15 minute job=$125
$10,000 per hour to shovel, and remove chips. (It's funny I don't ever get that work)


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## MOE (Jul 14, 2013)

howel07264 said:


> $500 per run hour for the grinding. 15 minute job=$125
> $10,000 per hour to shovel, and remove chips. (It's funny I don't ever get that work)


Sounds like my one for the price of two special I offer for jobs I don't care to do.


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## ShermanC (Jan 6, 2014)

ronnyb said:


> Sounds way low. Here it would be $200 for the stump, and another $200 to remove chips, soil, seed, and mulch.


Ronny knows the business well. You can always drop price if the job goes better than planned and gets done sooner. But if you didn't see the buried headaches you will eat crow to get your estimate and anything higher. The public we serve seldom understands what is hidden behind the green door (under the lawn) and when your estimate goes on tilt, you are "the bad guy" for it was you who did not foresee the possible complications. My repeat customers don't even ask my price. They just tell me to put them on the list, knowing I deliver the best service I can and fees are a good value. We never catch up and run out of work.


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## Creeker (Jan 14, 2014)

Just looking at the ground lift from the root mass underground I'd be pricing that job on having to do a lot more grinding than was immediately directly under the stump. In Aus. I would charge round $150 to grind it and that would include chasing out all the roots to the edge of the lawn that were shallower than say 6" (150mm) from average ground grade at the site. I just rake it up and leave it.

A lot more messing around with some of these sort of jobs than meets the eye if you want to do a good job and not leave a 'crown' of root ends that surface when the owner levels it all out and starts wanting to mow it.

I get the occasional 'crown' removal from grinders that don't go out wide enough from the stump and needless to say, the h/o is quite unhappy about paying twice.


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## NCgrinder (Jan 19, 2014)

To me ,that looks like a 6'x6' area to take down to grade.. with having to chainsaw the existing stump height , grinding around that post(risking a set of teeth..!!) , and taking the stump all out ... I would price it at $175.00-200... That's not hauling off any mulch but raking up the site


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## Topbuilder (Jan 20, 2014)

To original post,
I would be at about :
$100 minimum
$10 chainsaw cut
$10 PITA T-post

That would include grinding all area so flat again. Separating chips/dirt as best I can. Dirt back in the hole and area raked up. Chips left in pile for others...


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## tidy (Jan 26, 2014)

contractor: "how deep should we grind it?" customer: "Oh, as deep as you possibly can would be most excellent please-and also the lowest price possible if you don't mind". I'm sure we have all had this conversation before 
My mentality goes like this: I was asked to grind a stump, I quoted to grind a stump, I grinded a stump therefore job is complete end of story. If you want grindings removed its up to you to say so. Carting it off isn't something I'm keen to sell...


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## NCgrinder (Jan 29, 2014)

Tidy Tree Work : The customer that finds out after the stump is ground that the grindings are NOT going to be removed , may just refuse to write the check!!
Ask me how I know...!! I learned this lesson early in my career..Most of my customers have never had stumps ground and naturally assume their yard will look like it did before the stump was ground..
I have found that discussing how deep, how wide, grindings disposal,extras, and all aspects of the job ,including price & payment are settled BEFORE I move onto the job.... and I make a point of telling them twice , if I'm not going to remove the grindings...
If all you're going to do is just grind the stump only, then the customer should be well aware of those specifics..
Nothing worse than leaving a customer dissatisfied over something that should have been discussed


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## tidy (Jan 29, 2014)

NCgrinder,
I agree and do similar myself, my previous post was more a vague poke at people that want to claim services that were never written on a bid...


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## NCgrinder (Jan 31, 2014)

Oh how well I know those "freeloaders" that try to get something for nothing...Thats also one of the main reasons I cover everything before I start..Took me a few times getting screwed over before I learned ....If I'm going to do something extra for free, I want it to be my choice...
After all,this stump removal business can sometimes be a real grind....!!!


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## Creeker (Jan 31, 2014)

Re extras, quite often my average customer is an older widow who can't do a small limb trim and after a stump removal I often do that for them and find the referrals and goodwill a beneficial strategy for the business rep. in the community.

We all get the customers who find 1/2hr of extra little bits for us to do that weren't mentioned in the initial quote, measure up the outlay in benefits V effort/cost required and take it from there.

Probably 40% of my work is for repeat customers, speaks for itself I guess.


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## OLD MAN GRINDER (Feb 1, 2014)

Looks like a 100.00 job if I was doing it.....been grinding stumps for almost 10 years now and never has anyone wanted me to remove chips and resod, we do stumps in million dollar homes as well as middle class and low rent areas, all my repeat customers just call and tell us to put them on the list, I also do work for about 4 diff tree services, been working for them long enough that they know approx what I will charge and can give the customer a ball park figure...my wife fills the holes and spreads the chips so everything looks good, have never had a complaint on our work...I set our pricing on the size of the stump and the time I would take to do it, I try to get 100 per hr, sometimes its a little over and sometimes a little lower, that's about all the area will allow down here, a lot of guys doing stumps for 10.00 each, very competitive area, a lot of variables involved when it comes to pricing, every area of the country is different...

Hope this helps....


Bob.....


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## no tree to big (Feb 3, 2014)

in chicago would be about 200 to grind 200 to leave level or i should say thats what we would charge as a stump only job maybe a lil better if we removed the tree n did it at the same time. if it didnt have that mound around it prob bee 200 to leave level. we try to avoid those kinda jobs not really worth it for us cause they normally come in in the middle of summer after the guy got tired of hitting it with the lawn mower a few times. i wonder what the price tag was for this beast of an elm stump we ground out this year I think we ended up grinding 18 feet in diamiter cause there was this wicked exposed solid root plate


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## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Apr 14, 2014)

If the customer wants to rent a cheap manual grinder and try to save some money it will cost them.
- $150/day for the grinder.
- gas for the machine and gas to get the machine back and forth. 
- possibly trailer rental.
- disposal fees for the chips.
- their time at ?/hour.
- the risk of hitting something hard and being charged to repair the rented grinder.
- the risk of hitting a utility line that they are not insured against.
- the possibility of having to re-rent the grinder if they miss something.

This is your competition on most jobs. If you beat this price most customers will be happy.
$200 for the job pictured should be a bargain to even the most confident do it yourselfers.


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## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Apr 14, 2014)

Now that I see my last post I think I might make some fliers like that... or maybe bid sheets.


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