Dirt in stump holes??

[a_lopa]

lets face it you really need your own stumper when you are already doing trees it just takes to much profit away i subd my stumps and made ok money out of it,but its much better now i own my own even if you only get a small one,ive a 1625 rayco and i still sub my big stumps out but i do 95%of them its made life easier thats 4 sure,i find most people are happy to deal with the pile i push up

 

[MidwestTree]

I am starting to see a trend here, It is like topping, for years the local tree butcher has made everyone think that it is the only way to have it done but I am changing that with education. The cleaning up of the chips is expected here but in some location you are not expected to clean them up. I wish it was that way because I would love to walk away after grinding. I guess neither way is right or wrong but is just based on what the local customer's expectation is.

 

[dbeck]

rates?

The local stumper guy charges $1/inch or on big stumps $60/hr. Full cleanup is about 30% more. I think that is ridiculously cheap...what is it by you guys?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I know several guys who I can sub work out to. As for them taking work away from you, well that is the same trust as in any buisness relationship. There are many honest people out there.

If they do other tree work, you make sure they will not, or retain one of those guys who do nothing but stump work.

It's like a bucket truck or a big saw. You have to be able to use it enough to make it worth the aquisition. In a metro area there are enough contractors out there that it is not worth it for a micro company to own one.

We have a blue colar mentality around here, they usually dont want to pay for a backfill. On small stumps I used to have a guy carry a few bags of topsoil, scoop the chip out and dump a bag in. Throw a handfull od seed in...happy customer.

Bigger then 12 inches it's not really worth the effort for a bid job. then go T&M only.

 

[ORclimber]

Originally posted by MidwestTree
I am starting to see a trend here, It is like topping,.

So, no cleanup pruning would be hack work

You're providing high end service, that's cool. I'd rather climb than shovel chips, though.

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by MidwestTree
How long does it take you to clean out a hole, we usually have it done in fifteen minutes on large stumps. I think of it as leaving the chip the same as leaving a yard not raked. The custumer is going to look at it as half done.

15 min for a big stump? What size stump are you talking about? The biggest stump that we have cleaned up was 10' in diameter. On that job it was a 10 and 6 footer, and that cleanup took around 4 hours.




As for not cleaning up stumps being hack work, why should someone pay you 175 an hour to do something that someone my age could and would do for 10 an hour or less?

If the customer doesnt expect a cleanup, then why clean up? We dont offer the service unless they ask, otherwise it is told that we dont clean up the stumps. Come here and try to sell cleanup and make any money at it. We are too busy grinding (part time, still works full time (my dad)) to clean up, that and the fact that cleaning up is hard on the body as compared to just running the machine.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

anyone who takes the chips away and then fills with dirt and seeds must need there head examining...i dont mind takeing away the chips but im certainly not going too start landscapeing projects....half a job if you dont fill with dirt thats funny

 

[tree108]

Ax-Man, $126,000 last year, with 3 stump grinders, 1 bobcat track mini skid ster, plenty of top soil and a dump trailer. Doing mainly commercial...they don't like a shovel or chips.

give me a break...

tree108

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by tree108
Ax-Man, $126,000 last year, with 3 stump grinders, 1 bobcat track mini skid ster, plenty of top soil and a dump trailer. Doing mainly commercial...they don't like a shovel or chips.

give me a break...

tree108

The most we have grossed in a year is 85,000. But that was part time, with 2 grinders.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

MB had the best idea; spread the chips as mulch. What landscape does not need mulch?

After backfilling, why spread grass seed? The warning against replanting a tree where a stump was taken out is way overdone. If most of the chips are out and soil is blended, a tree will grow there.

Most of my stumps get cut low, mulched over, and shrubs planted between the root flares. Grinding's not for me; I sub all mine that need it out to the same guy.

 

[MidwestTree]

Lumberjack, We can cleanup a five foot stump in fifteen minutes. With a small loader you can clean up almost everything then rake the last debris into the bottom of the hole. Use a corncob fork or a cottonseed fork (same thing) and clean out the bottom. The little bit of raking and a couple of loader buckets of chips is the only hand work needed. I also use the loader to feather the dirt that I put in. Running a spring rake over the dirt in the end makes it look great out the door.

We don't run into much over 5 to 6 foot stumps. I hate grinding the big ones but don't mind cleaning them up, the bigger the hole the easier it is to use the loader bucket to get everything.

If you guys are not equip. with a loader and cleaning up by hand then I don't blam you, I wouldn't clean them up either.

Dana

 

[jmchristopher]

I've always wondered about folks who charge on a $/inch basis. I think they weren't paying attention in geometry class when the area of a circle was discussed. You see, there's this thing called an exponent in the formula that biggers things very quickly, and even more quickly when you get down into "volume."
Overall, I think what we're looking at here is partly some folks wanting to stick with what they do well, partly folks afraid to try something new and not particularly fun, and partly folks working out at the edge of what they can juggle equipment- and complexity of life-wise.
I myself am more than happy to tell clients how it's going to look (neat but lumpy), do the job well to that standard, take my money and move on.

 

[Lumberjack]

If you guys are not equip. with a loader and cleaning up by hand then I don't blam you, I wouldn't clean them up either.

Dana

Then I am off the hook. What size grinder do you have?

 

[wiley_p]

I make the customer understand that I would prefer to be set on fire and put out with a pitchfork rather than haul the chips away, and never in my most wasted thoughts did it occur to me to haul and backfill with soil.

 

[Koa Man]

I have a $150 min charge for stump grinding. Not worth bringing the grinder for less. I will grind up to a 24 inch stump, at least 10 inches deep for the min. charge. A 48 inch dia. stump will cost 4 times as much because you are grinding 4 times the area. I very rarely haul away the grindings. Customer will pay a premium for that. Most yards will have plantings that the excess chips can be placed in. Over here, it is usually only the government contracts that require chip removal and backfill with top soil.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Koa Man
Most yards will have plantings that the excess chips can be placed in.
Absolutely. The best place for tree scraps is on-site, returned to the earth where they were made.
Over here, it is usually only the government contracts that require chip removal and backfill with top soil.

Removal off site? You can count on the government to mandate unnecessary and even anti-ecological work.
Tax dollars hardly at work.

 

[jmchristopher]

Koa was paying attention! Good for you! Koa sapiens!

 

[murphy4trees]

I started REALLY grinding stumps last fall....
And I've been thinking about this quite a bit...
I always look for a "competitive edge"... something that makes me different than all the other tree guys out there and sometyhing which is of so much value that the customer is willing to pay me well for it...

So I Am definitely thinking about offering the clean up and soil replacement, and sodding as a service..... Gotta have the business rolling, and market the service in a good way....
It's all about sales and marketing and then of course delivering...

And even better would be tree replacement.... develop a list and take deposits for spring and fall tree plantings... buy in bulk and get busy....

Do you all think a tractor would be better than a skid steer for this application????

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Now you're talking!

Originally posted by murphy4trees

And even better would be tree replacement.... develop a list and take deposits for spring and fall tree plantings... a tractor would be better than a skid steer for this application????

A tractor fo planting a tree?
Tree replacement is where it's at. Some folks just gotta have that flat green look--the urge for broad lawns comes from narrow minds, as Hemingway used to say.
But many stump owners are glad to see a new tree in the old tree's place. You can come out ahead putting one in, not as much as climbing or grinding maybe but think of the growing advertiesment you left.
Good will keeps your foot in the door--every time I see a tree I planted I check it out, drop off some info re care. If you want to get more work in a good neighborhood it's best to have a rep as a tree grower not only a tree cutter.:angel:

 

[murphy4trees]

I believe in the laws of Karma and have always planned on setting up tree planting projects in my retirement, so I don't have to come back as a tree and get cut down who knows how many thousands of lifetimes.. probably a good idea to make a few bucks while cleaning up my karma in the mean time...