Hourly rates

[capetrees]

This may have been discussed earlier but what do some of you climbers/company owners charge out for a climber? On the ground, I charge out $40 per man, $120/hr for the chipper on top of that. But I'm feeling the $40 for climbing is off. It's something that takes more skill and is simply something some people won't do. Do you charge different prices if you climb the tree to trim/remove or are the rates the same all around, regardless of what you're doing?

 

[huskystihl]

This may have been discussed earlier but what do some of you climbers/company owners charge out for a climber? On the ground, I charge out $40 per man, $120/hr for the chipper on top of that. But I'm feeling the $40 for climbing is off. It's something that takes more skill and is simply something some people won't do. Do you charge different prices if you climb the tree to trim/remove or are the rates the same all around, regardless of what you're doing?

Not to many jobs are by the hour but 2 guys and a chipper for $200 an hour wouldn't fly around here. Maybe moneys a little better in your parts but you'd be out of biz real fast here in OH. Don't get me wrong, theres a lot of jobs that average 2 bills an hour but to come out and tell a customer my rate is $200 an hour I wouldn't have to set the alarm tomorrow thats for sure.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

I don't charge by the hour.

I do the bidding by the hour though, meaning that I know my cost for each item (personnel/equip/etc) per hour, and then I figure out how long I think the job's gonna take me to complete. Once I am comfortable with my cost, I mark that number up to encompass my profit, and then hand that number to the customer.

It works out pretty well for me doing it that way.

 

[huskystihl]

I don't charge by the hour.

I do the bidding by the hour though, meaning that I know my cost for each item (personnel/equip/etc) per hour, and then I figure out how long I think the job's gonna take me to complete. Once I am comfortable with my cost, I mark that number up to encompass my profit, and then hand that number to the customer.

It works out pretty well for me doing it that way.

Gotcha, that makes sense. if you can pull $200 an hour with a well paid ground guy you can stop that climbing and get a bucket and be way more produtive.

 

[capetrees]

Not to many jobs are by the hour but 2 guys and a chipper for $200 an hour wouldn't fly around here. Maybe moneys a little better in your parts but you'd be out of biz real fast here in OH. Don't get me wrong, theres a lot of jobs that average 2 bills an hour but to come out and tell a customer my rate is $200 an hour I wouldn't have to set the alarm tomorrow thats for sure.

I apparently wasn't too clear.

The $40/hr is per man on the full day. The chipper I add to the day so $40 per man x 2 men x 8 hours = $640 then add the $120 for the chipper, total $760. A lot of material can go through the chipper in an hour. I usuallty don't need it more than 1 hour a day.

Why I ask about the climber is of course, more time is spent in the tree than if we could take the tree down on the ground only. For instance, I took out three trees ground level last week in two hours, cut chipped and gone. Later, I took out 1 maple amongst wires and over a street and deck and it took 3 hours alone, all taken down by hand while in the tree. On a trim job, I would price it according to hours but what price should it be per hour, still $40?

 

[jefflovstrom]

So if you go $50 per man hour, 2 guys 8 hours is $800 and that is without the equiptment per hour. Makes it easier to bid.

 

[treeclimber101]

Three an hr . includes three men and the equipment ,whatever they may need , minus a crane ..

 

[GarethVW]

I try to charge $50 per man hour minimum. I don't have a crane or bucket. I am very close to what other tree services are charging in the area.

 

[Thillmaine1]

Everywhere I have worked has charged around 80 a man hour. That typically includes a truck and chipper, some companies have charged another 80 for every hour a bucket is on the job, some havent. Climbers, groundmen, drivers all get billed at the same rate.
FYI, I have worked in Boston, all over New Enlgand, and all over New York, but have found rates pretty consistently right between 70 and 80.

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

$120 per hour for the chipper is insane and $40 per man hour for tree work is not much better. PM me I should be able to give you some direction in this...

 

[jefflovstrom]

Please give!

 

[GarethVW]

I apparently wasn't too clear.

The $40/hr is per man on the full day. The chipper I add to the day so $40 per man x 2 men x 8 hours = $640 then add the $120 for the chipper, total $760. A lot of material can go through the chipper in an hour. I usuallty don't need it more than 1 hour a day.

Reread this, $40 per man hour, $120 for the chipper entire day. And if you have a chipper and truck and insurance ect. Then $50 per man hour is not insane at all.

 

[huskystihl]

80 an hour for a 2 man crew is about right bucket or not. The difference is by the time a good climber gets rigged up and starts a saw the chipper has been running for a good 20 minutes. I know a bucket is a big investment and may cause you to either climb anyways or walk away from a job but what used to take all day is now done by 1. I know of an old timer who charges extra for this and that and would charge $800 for a tree that i'd do for 400 which is probably why I dont see his truck around much anymore. It's a cut throat biz and every time I turn around theres a new outfit in town.Tree work is kind of like the tortois and the hair, steady wins the race. It's not always how much you make in a day but how much you make in a year.

 

[RVALUE]

The flaw in hourly rates is that all men are not equal. In some trades one can be 10 times better (or faster) than another. In tree work, being twice as fast as another is probable. (technique plus equipment)

By the job is much fairer when available.

 

[bulldoglover]

The flaw in hourly rates is that all men are not equal. In some trades one can be 10 times better (or faster) than another. In tree work, being twice as fast as another is probable. (technique plus equipment)

By the job is much fairer when available.

Double edge sword there. Can't bid a job by the hour, but to get a bid for a job you have to figure your cost per hour. By the way which came first the chicken or the egg?

 

[TimberJack_7]

I don't charge by the hour.

I do the bidding by the hour though, meaning that I know my cost for each item (personnel/equip/etc) per hour, and then I figure out how long I think the job's gonna take me to complete. Once I am comfortable with my cost, I mark that number up to encompass my profit, and then hand that number to the customer.

It works out pretty well for me doing it that way.

What he said.

 

[PurdueJoe]

Guy I use to work for would get $50 per man, $50 for truck + chipper, $50 bucket + $25 for the mini. So 3 man crew with everything on it you're looking at $275 an hour. My rates are similar but slightly lower. Don't want to derail but do most companies charge per man + equipment or is it set with men and equipment combined? Because how can you justify charge $90 a man hour with equipment included on a job where all you need is 2 guys dropping stuff where no equipment is needed?

 

[arbor pro]

Up until this season, I didn't have any problem staying plenty busy charging $65/hr per man (ground or aerial work) which included saws, rigging equipment and pickups. Aerial lift, bobcat, chipper, stump grinder and dump trailer all have an additional hourly rate ranging from $30-$150/hr.

On average, I bill out about $180-200/hr for a 2-man crew and my daily goal for an 8-hour day is $1400 though, on some days, we'll bring in $2k. When I run a 3-man crew, I typically bill another $100/hr for labor and equipment. Repairs, overhead and loan payments eat up a huge portion of the gross.

This year, work has been slower but I have still stayed busy up to this week where I am, for the first time this season, down to only 1 week of work on the calendar. While I'd rather have a month's worth of work lined up right now, I have no intention of lowering my rates to compete with the local lowballers who are doing removals at half or a third my rate. I'll stick to pruning and hope that people will continue to pay for my experience and qualifications.

 

[arbor pro]

Up until this season, I didn't have any problem staying plenty busy charging $65/hr per man (ground or aerial work) which included saws, rigging equipment and pickups. Aerial lift, bobcat, chipper, stump grinder and dump trailer all have an additional hourly rate ranging from $30-$150/hr.

On average, I bill out about $180-200/hr for a 2-man crew and my daily goal for an 8-hour day is $1400 though, on some days, we'll bring in $2k. When I run a 3-man crew, I typically bill another $100/hr for labor and equipment. Repairs, overhead and loan payments eat up a huge portion of the gross.

This year, work has been slower but I have still stayed busy up to this week where I am, for the first time this season, down to only 1 week of work on the calendar. While I'd rather have a month's worth of work lined up right now, I have no intention of lowering my rates to compete with the local lowballers who are doing removals at half or a third my rate. I'll stick to pruning and hope that people will continue to pay for my experience and qualifications.

In retrospect...I am part-time (20 or so hours a week) so my workload is about 1/2 to 1/3 of a full-time tree service. Since I do fewer jobs, I suppose I can afford to lose the lower-priced removals to the lowballers whereas some of you full-timers might have a tougher time staying busy.

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

I misread the post but still $120 a day for a chipper is still pretty crazy. With us that would give the chipper a little over two hours of run time. How many of you guys actually know your hourly costs of operating machines and labor costs? I have seen a lot of,"I try to get $xx per man hour", in my eyes that does not cut it. Know your costs.