stump chipping costs

[Abbershay]

i was wondering what the going rate is for stump cutting around the country, since the costs of fuel has increased.

1.50/ inch without clean up is what have been getting . minnesota.

At this price i can only get enough jobs to run my machine about once a week.

how about you? can you keep your machine working everyday?

 

[SilverBlue]

@1.50 an inch feel free to set up shop here! I charge 5.00 PI


when can you start??

 

[tophopper]

dont know how far north you are, but in the metro 2.50-3.00 is the norm for grinding only, anywhere from 3.50-6.00 with hauling depending on access.
Market may be much different though, figure out what you NEED to make and charge that.

 

[NeTree]

$1.50/inch, with the big tow-behind....


$2.25/inch, with the little portable.

Grind and go, no hauling.

 

[Abbershay]

i am way north, tophopper we have one stumper person per thousand people population..... do you all keep your machines running everyday? without the trees you cut yourself?

like i said i have been going once a week. I am planning on heading to florida area, probly a million stumpers there i am sure but there is no dought i will make more money in the south east than i will in minnesota.

 

[jimmyq]

I have usually been quoted 6-10 bucks per inch up this way, Canuck bucks but hey....

 

[a_lopa]

Originally posted by netree
$1.50/inch, with the big tow-behind....


$2.25/inch, with the little portable.

Grind and go, no hauling.

yep thats me as well,if there on a fence line i expect bricks,rocks anything i charge $50 per '

 

[tophopper]

I actually sub all my stump work out, but those are the rates i bid by. Do you do stumps for other companies? If not hit the book and sell yourself, check with municipalities they may have grinding needs.
The guy who does my stumps runs 2 rayco super 85's? 6 days a week and he never has to bid his work just works for tree services mainly.

 

[a_lopa]

used to sub all my stumps and charged more generally,i now sub my big stumps,and anything i cant get my 1625 to. cant warrant a big machine yet,but its on my mind.i do 95%of my stumps,sharp i get thru a decent amount in a day.you guys would do alot more big stumps than me,oaks elm etc

 

[treeman82]

Over here, normal for just grinding and minimal clean-up (just toss everything back in the hole) runs anywhere from $4.00 - $6.00 / inch.

 

[Koa Man]

How are you guys measuring your inches? If it is diameter, you are losing more money the bigger the stump gets. Square inches should be the way to measure. Add more if you have to chase runners. If you grind two stumps, one 12 in. dia. and one 24 in. dia., the latter will have FOUR times more area. I don't charge by the inch. I take into consideration location, type of stump and how long I figure it is going to take me. My minimum charge to do any stump job is $150 for the first hour and $100 an hour after that if I am by myself. $150 each hour if I need a helper. I know we get more money in Hawaii for stump jobs than Newark, OH. My brother lives there and does stump jobs on the side with his Rayco 1625. He said a lot of people are doing stumps real cheap. Good thing he is retired and bought the grinder primarily because he had more than 80 stumps to remove on his 2 acre property.

 

[Stumper]

Koa is absolutely correct-diameter inch pricing is goofy . With that said I am getting approximately $3 per diameter inch with exceptions for very large and very small stumps. (Actual practice is to simply price the job based on species size and location). I keep hearing about $5 per inch pricing. This is a very rocky area and my prices are actually lower than they were 10 years ago. Time for a rate hike.

 

[tophopper]

I dont measure, just eyeball 'em. Usually on the high side though.
if they are exceptionally large then I measure and always add more for chasing runners. When measured it is always the widest area of the stump. Had a 900.00 stump about a month back.(with hauling)
Whats the most anyone has charged for just a stump.

A couple of years back a removed a willow tree for 1200.00, then the stump work with hauling and soil backfill was 1500.00 additional.

 

[geofore]

dia.

Measure out to the ends of the root flare and any roots sticking above ground that have to be removed not just the stump. Then ask the homeowner how much it'll cost him to replace his mower if he breaks a crankshaft if you leave them. When he has a choice of the price of a new mower or your price of the flare and above ground roots you'll find out how much he loves his mower. I don't buy into the homeowners arguement that the stump is 2' across if the flare takes it out to 4'. He is not thinking it'll cost me $450-$700 for a new mower till you point it out to him. It's going to cost him more if he has a riding mower and breaks a shaft and has to take it to the dealer to get the shaft and deck fixxed. You are after all smoothing his lawn so it is easy to mow unless he has asked you to plant a replacement tree with mulch around. Mr. Homeowner is not thinking about killing his mower he wants to kill your bottom line on price. Point out what it's really going to cost him for trying to be Mr.Cheapskate. Make sure he knows going cheap on the stump grind really costs him a lot more the first time he mows the lawn. It's not about how big the diameter is ABH it's how big it is at ground level and how much a new mower costs. Explain things, open his eyes: It'll get him to open his wallet for you and not the lawnmower repair guy, then raise your prices, gas prices went up.

 

[NeTree]

I just tell them the what the machine cost.

 

[Abbershay]

my most expensive was a 3000.00 job but that was many stumps, the most for a single stump was probly about 225.00


some people i have done work for havent asked the price, i charged them less than a 1.00 per inch since i was only there for a few hours and i did about 700 inches.

i wonder what they would have done if they would have gotten a bill for 2000.00 or more.

 

[murphy4trees]

Got 1475 for a monster uprooted white oak root ball in Va... Insurance job... I bid the job that high cause I didn't want it... very steep hill, backyard, and the owner didn't want anything tied to his trees or shrubs... had to sink 5' digging bars as anchors....

I just kept looking down to the bottom of that ravine and thinking how many men it would take to get the machine out of that hole...
Job went smooth though and the machine was loaded and ready to go by lunch...

 

[Dadatwins]

Originally posted by murphy4trees


I just kept looking down to the bottom of that ravine and thinking how many men it would take to get the machine out of that hole...

If that was during Isabel Daniel you probably had 10 guys waiting for you to get out of the hole to give them estimates on their stumps. I ran out of gas in my machine on one block and had 2 homeowners offer to get me some more as long as I did not leave the area.

 

[trzz]

stump grinding

Hi, I am new to the forums. However, my .02 is that the consumer doesn't care how much in the hole you go. They just want a great job at the lowest prices.

 

[Nickrosis]

Re: stump grinding

Originally posted by trzz
Hi, I am new to the forums. However, my .02 is that the consumer doesn't care how much in the hole you go. They just want a great job at the lowest prices.

Unless they plan to replant in the same hole. In that case, getting a hole deep enough for the new root ball is critically important. And you should make it 3-4 times wider than the root ball to. Subtle ways to encourage proper planting practices.

At least 10% of our stump grinder use is for non-stumping purposes like roto-tilling large areas and digging holes for large tree/shrub planting jobs.