Day Rate/HourlyRate For Stump Grinding

[ASG]

Seems like summer would be your busy time. Why do you slow down?

I figure it's because school is out, people are busy vacationing, etc...

 

[Stumpefy]

95% of the time they ask what the machine cost and I always reply more then your car and she's high maintenance.

Did you have to beef up the floor in your trailer to support the weight of your machine?

 

[fatheadon1]

Did you have to beef up the floor in your trailer to support the weight of your machine?

no sir not yet. i have wanted to for a long time but never took the time to do it. i do have a sheet of 3/4 plywood under the grinder to help with absorbing bumps. and use it as a shield as needed.

 

[Bigstumps]

I always quote the job, just trying to figure my time. I won't work for less the $200 an hour and find I can consistently get $300. My minimum is $100 - I find most anyone who wants a stump gone will pay $100. I've looked at the rental rates for the small machines and figure it will cost a homeowner $200 to go get a machine that won't do anything.

On another note - I went from a Vermeer tow behind and a loaded SP4012 to a track SP7015TRX - I'll never go back to a wheeled machine. The track does take more planning on the route to the stump but really offers a lot of advantages IMO.

 

[Cupocoffee]

I always quote the job, just trying to figure my time. I won't work for less the $200 an hour and find I can consistently get $300. My minimum is $100 - I find most anyone who wants a stump gone will pay $100. I've looked at the rental rates for the small machines and figure it will cost a homeowner $200 to go get a machine that won't do anything.

On another note - I went from a Vermeer tow behind and a loaded SP4012 to a track SP7015TRX - I'll never go back to a wheeled machine. The track does take more planning on the route to the stump but really offers a lot of advantages IMO.

Like you, Bigstumps, I went from good, better, best with the three machines I have owned. I have the wheeled SP7015. If I ever buy again, which I doubt because I am 68, I would think hard about getting tracks. Taking my wheels off to go through narrow gates is the only thing I don't like about stump grinding. I would say 95% of my jobs I could do with tracks with no problem. I get on very few manicured lawns. In most cases where there is a stump, there is a good chance there is no grass there anyway because the tree kept grass from growing below it. I am curious ... when you have to get on someones sidewalk or driveway and make a turn, do you leave black track marks. I'm sure you try to avoid that but I did see one video of a guy on a new driveway and it looked like skid marks all over it from where he turned. I think the homeowner would be upset. Also, can't you just walk it right over a curb? It is interesting to hear track guys say they will never go back to wheels especially since they have used both. I can't say because I have never operated a track unit. There is a guy, here in town, that says he would never use a remote. I just shake my head. I've done it both ways and I think I would give up stump grinding before I would go back to operating on the side of a machine.

 

[howel07264]

1600$ for 16-18 hours with a 66hp machine including operator is a very good price. 550$ with a 7015 sounds stupid except you miscalculated by 10hrs.

$1600 for 16hrs. is a good price for the customer....not so good for the man doing the grinding.

 

[howel07264]

Sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot. 550 is crazy low, but I guarantee this lady didn't talk specifics with the guy.

My price includes leaving a clean work area and a nice level hole. I grind down any humps (within reason) the root flare causes and leave the client with a nice level lawn. I will move the chips anywhere on the property for them usually dumped in the woods or behind a shed. Hauling them away is an upcharge and bringing in dirt is another upcharge.

For anything over 36 inches, my 1625 takes awhile and my price reflects that. If the stump is accessible I will be completely honest with the customer in telling them to get a few bids. But I always advise them to be sure the price includes what my price includes.

I was just talking with a client about how the last stump she got done was a large 48" maple. She never discussed what the low price included and when it was done, the guy took his money and left leaving her with 3-4 yards of material. That doesn't work too well when all she owns is a minivan. But thats what happens when they take that low bid.

I always bid on the job tho and keep in mind wear and tear on the machine. I usually get 100-125 an hour.

Just curios but how are you moving the chips? skid steer,tractor,by shovel and wheel barrow? I've been grinding stumps 14 years and NEVER moved or hauled a chip. I might lose 1 job out of 100 but what a trade off. I'm up front with the customer and tell them they are paying me to professionally grind their stump and not for landscaping services.

 

[howel07264]

I always quote the job, just trying to figure my time. I won't work for less the $200 an hour and find I can consistently get $300. My minimum is $100 - I find most anyone who wants a stump gone will pay $100. I've looked at the rental rates for the small machines and figure it will cost a homeowner $200 to go get a machine that won't do anything.

On another note - I went from a Vermeer tow behind and a loaded SP4012 to a track SP7015TRX - I'll never go back to a wheeled machine. The track does take more planning on the route to the stump but really offers a lot of advantages IMO.

Rental rates around here are $375 a day for a 252 or $90 for a 13hp tiller machine. My minimums are based on distance to the job. $100 to $150 min. My website economystumpremoval.com gets a ton of hits each day so I pick and choose my jobs. I own five domain names that all feed into one website.

 

[gorman]

How do you guys deal with customers that have grind out a little more, then a little more, then a little more to suit their fancy after you've already given a flat price. I try to humor them but after that in just say "that's it, I'm done".

 

[Cupocoffee]

How do you guys deal with customers that have grind out a little more, then a little more, then a little more to suit their fancy after you've already given a flat price. I try to humor them but after that in just say "that's it, I'm done".

I tell my customers exactly what to expect before I start a job and that is, I will go 8" to 10" below grade. In most cases the stump is gone even on the really big ones. I also tell them that there will still be feeder roots that go all over their yard and I don't chase them out unless they are visible on top of the ground, you know, the kind that they can hit with their mower blades. Very seldom a customer might ask me if I can take out a bit more. I just do it. I did have a lady a few years back call me back on a job and she said I missed a bunch of roots. I went back and she had spray painted about twenty tiny surface roots that were about the size of my thumb that were in her yard around one of the stumps. I did them but told her that I don't usually do that. I didn't charge her. I suggested she take out those type things with a hatchet and she was okay with that. She has called me back twice since.

 

[dontbthatguy]

Just curios but how are you moving the chips? skid steer,tractor,by shovel and wheel barrow? I've been grinding stumps 14 years and NEVER moved or hauled a chip. I might lose 1 job out of 100 but what a trade off. I'm up front with the customer and tell them they are paying me to professionally grind their stump and not for landscaping services.

I wheelbarrow them or cart them out with a dump trailer.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

I tell my customers exactly what to expect before I start a job and that is, I will go 8" to 10" below grade. In most cases the stump is gone even on the really big ones. I also tell them that there will still be feeder roots that go all over their yard and I don't chase them out unless they are visible on top of the ground, you know, the kind that they can hit with their mower blades. Very seldom a customer might ask me if I can take out a bit more. I just do it. I did have a lady a few years back call me back on a job and she said I missed a bunch of roots. I went back and she had spray painted about twenty tiny surface roots that were about the size of my thumb that were in her yard around one of the stumps. I did them but told her that I don't usually do that. I didn't charge her. I suggested she take out those type things with a hatchet and she was okay with that. She has called me back twice since.

This is exactly what I do, I grind down 8-12 inches and run roots until they are underground and cannot be hit
with lawn mower, I show customer exactly what I will do b4 bidding on job and get their approval, sweetgum trees
especially may have roots out 10ft all around the stump, if they start to run me all around the yard to do roots i
will add price to bill, and let them know that b4 i grind them, i fill the holes and spread the chips as an added
benefit, i do not do chip removal and have never been asked to do it in over 10 years of grinding, but then again
i do not work in to many high income areas, where that might be wanted....

Have a great week....

Bob.....

 

[Cupocoffee]

This is exactly what I do, I grind down 8-12 inches and run roots until they are underground and cannot be hit
with lawn mower, I show customer exactly what I will do b4 bidding on job and get their approval, sweetgum trees
especially may have roots out 10ft all around the stump, if they start to run me all around the yard to do roots i
will add price to bill, and let them know that b4 i grind them, i fill the holes and spread the chips as an added
benefit, i do not do chip removal and have never been asked to do it in over 10 years of grinding, but then again
i do not work in to many high income areas, where that might be wanted....

Have a great week....

Bob.....

Bob, I have never hauled off a chip. I finish my work with a rough coverup. I pull the chips back into the hole, if the customer wants, but I rarely put a rake to it. I have NEVER lost a job because of it and my customers have never balked for a moment when I tell them I don't dress it up. I am a stump grinder and not a landscaper. My jobs always look good when I leave. I am doing a job this week that I am not looking forward to. It has about six roots that look like alligators laying on the ground. I bid the job at a decent price but as soon as I told the homeowner he said, "Wow! I thought it would be a lot more than that". Don't you just hate it when that happens?

 

[jughead500]

Guys i got my first stump grinding job wednesday.priced it monday evening and went tuesday evening to rent a vermeer sc252 which was kind of overkill for the two stumps i had to do.luckily the vermeer was tore up when i got there so they rented me a new Husqvarna sg13 which was much much better.
I told the guy i would do both stumps for $300+rent for the grinder.one was a pine stump around 20" but half of it was rotted out of the ground.the other was a 30" hemlock.he also added a row of small boxwood stumps.around 25 of those.since rent was cheaper at $100 for the sg13 vs $175 for the sc252 i done the whole job for $425.
I liked the sg13 but the tooth life wasn't too good.i turned the three sided teeth once mid way through the hemlock.they were the stock husky teeth.do they make better teeth for that setup?i'm also thinking of buying a grinder.even though i liked the sg13 does anyone offer a self propelled model in similar size?since it is hilly around here a 250+ pound machine starts getting heavy to push around by yourself.sometimes i have help but find it hard to keep help due to my Sasquatch temperment.
Just really looking for info on getting into stump grinding.cheap as i can because in 16 years this is the first job i've got.i'm sure others around here have grinders but nobody advertises.renting is a pain in the ass.closest rent alls only have 1500-3000 pound machines and they are 35-45 miles away.i want to go used and fairly cheap because i don't know how long this things going to be setting.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Guys i got my first stump grinding job wednesday.priced it monday evening and went tuesday evening to rent a vermeer sc252 which was kind of overkill for the two stumps i had to do.luckily the vermeer was tore up when i got there so they rented me a new Husqvarna sg13 which was much much better.
I told the guy i would do both stumps for $300+rent for the grinder.one was a pine stump around 20" but half of it was rotted out of the ground.the other was a 30" hemlock.he also added a row of small boxwood stumps.around 25 of those.since rent was cheaper at $100 for the sg13 vs $175 for the sc252 i done the whole job for $425.
I liked the sg13 but the tooth life wasn't too good.i turned the three sided teeth once mid way through the hemlock.they were the stock husky teeth.do they make better teeth for that setup?i'm also thinking of buying a grinder.even though i liked the sg13 does anyone offer a self propelled model in similar size?since it is hilly around here a 250+ pound machine starts getting heavy to push around by yourself.sometimes i have help but find it hard to keep help due to my Sasquatch temperment.
Just really looking for info on getting into stump grinding.cheap as i can because in 16 years this is the first job i've got.i'm sure others around here have grinders but nobody advertises.renting is a pain in the ass.closest rent alls only have 1500-3000 pound machines and they are 35-45 miles away.i want to go used and fairly cheap because i don't know how long this things going to be setting.

425 for an hours work, wish I could get work like that....i'm jealous, lol....


Bob....

 

[jughead500]

actually it took a little less than 4 hours.still yet great money.money i really could use right now.lol

 

[tazz0018]

Interesting, I charge 5.00 a inch and put the chips back over the hole and 5.80 a inch for hauling chips off. Avg. hole depth 6-8 inches below ground surface. On one Saturday made 1525.00 with a sc252. And use the 4 green teeth setup on the stock wheel. I try to avg. at least 135.00 a hour.

Biggest stump to date 112" oak. Took 4.5 hours with a sc252 and that included clean up. It paid 675.00. But I had a plan on how to attack it. That comes with time behind the grinder.

I mainly subcontract to tree service company's. It take time to build a re pore with company's.

As far as teeth sharpening, I do this myself. It takes me a basically 2 mins to sharpen a tooth with my setup. But I use GreenTeeth. I use a 4' diamond wheel with water to keep the dust down and keep the wheel and the tooth cool. So far I get around a year out of 12 teeth. And that grinding just about every day

I carry 2 million in liability insurance.

I also made attachments on my grinder to carry all my safety netting and gear ( rake, broom and hard rake, etc...) to get the job done so I keep the trips to the truck down to a min. But you have to be careful when you grind, use your gut feeling and you will be fine.

Also do your homework, learn every inch of your machine. Make all the repairs that you can and you will make money.

 

[marne]

That 112" must have been rotted or 50" of it where root flares, you had a loader, where 3 persons or you did not grind it out very deep.

Sorry tazz, but 4.5hrs for a 112"solid stump including clean up with a 252?! Never, not in my world.
The grindings alone could easy fill the back of a mog, except one of the above was given.
I had city councils loading two 17000lbs trucks with grindings from five 50" Stumps with a loader, cleanup took em 2-3hrs.
But stumps where proper grinded, healthy and solid, not sure about that oak.

The price is right there.

 

[stumper63]

Hey Tazz, you really stump grind full time and only buy 12 green teeth per year?

 

[Stump Grinder52]

10' stump in 4.5hrs?With a 252?12 Green Teeth a year?Must have been eating the mushrooms around the stump before posting that response!!