Stump Grinder Math

[luckydozenfarm]

I guess it all depends on where you live. Water is expensive in the desert. I can get almost $300 a cord selling in Houston, where they don't have the ability to cut their own wood. But out at my place, everyone has their own wood.

 

[Topbuilder]

$100 a run hour will not keep you in business with any profit. I charge $2 an inch which would make this a $1120 job and would take around 3 hours. I'm in a metro area and am very competitive with competition. It takes a lot of money to keep equipment running.... just saying.

I hear ya. But, I'm not running a 7015TRX either. These 20 + jobs are not my core business. I'm mainly doing residential 2 here 5 there type of thing. When we get to the 100 degree mark I refer them to the guys with larger machines.
You "by the inch" guys still puzzle me. You see by the #s the larger the stump, the less you make. Just making it easy to bid makes it worth it or I guess the majority of your work is done on the smaller/higher profit stumps and it all works out...
If the market accepts that $2 per inch is a good price for a 24" stump then :

24" stump = $48, or .1061 cents per square inch of surface area (for all stump sizes)
36 = 107.98
48 = 191.96
60 = 299.95
72 = 431.93
84 = 587.90

What the same stumps look like at $2 per inch:

24" = $48-------------------.1061 cents per square inch
36 = 72----------------------.0707
48 = 96----------------------.0530
60 = 120--------------------.0424
72 = 144--------------------.0353
84 = 168--------------------.0303

Now granted that suposses that every stump is a the same distance out of the ground, same dirt crown, same amount of roots and each one is a perfect circle...it will never happen. But you would agree the larger the stump, generally the worse all of those conditions get.

 

[luckydozenfarm]

The market price is always right considering there are sufficient customers and servicers.
My main business is auto repair and I wont do oil changes any more. Not because they are hard or we don't have the equipment, its that they only bring me about $6 in profit. Sorry but it's my personal opinion that getting hot oil all over me and the time it takes to do an oil change is worth more than $6.
Find the price that works for you and leave it at that. If you cant get any takers at the price you want to be paid for it, then you should probably find something else to do. Just my opinion but getting paid less than you think you deserve only brings misery.
I mean I like to grind stumps as much as the next guy, but if I had to take less than what I thought the job should bring, I would do something else.

 

[066blaster]

You have to take into consideration distance from your house also. I just did a 37 a 14 and a 25 today for $190 took about 3 hours. 20 miles from home. I didn't get rich but it was ok. Plus I got about 35 dollars worth of firewood. The tree service left a couple big rounds. I'm thinking about advertising 15 inches and less $50 15-25 $70 25-30 $90 30-35 $120. Plus extra for anything weird or longer travel time. The grinder only makes money if it's running.

 

[066blaster]

I currently just rent a good grinder when needed ( not my primary gig) $175 for the day. I get a few jobs lined up and hit em all in one day. Each job pays $200 show up fee plus $50 a stump under 24" $100 24-50 and $200 over that. Im mot gonna waste my time for chimp change. Most all my side work is repeat customers b


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you can get that good for you. I'm pretty new at this but don't think I could charge that much.

 

[066blaster]

Can anyone make a living grinding stumps? There just doesn't seem to be much of a demand by me and I'm in a pretty populated area. And people have money. Maybe I have to get hooked up with some tree services.

 

[Fairbanks Stump]

I promote the idiots that work for less than 100/hr because they will winter kill them selves even if they work with a pos 1625super jr because after fuel insurance (on the machine and truck) and maintenance they can't afford any advertising! They will die a slow death and that's OK

 

[Menchhofer]

Been reading all this about the per inch price. This conversation is about 20 years old. It is true there are alot of people out there that grind stumps for almost nothing. They do not make any money. But unfortunately it is a fact of life.

Knowing your machine and how fast it cuts is the key to pricing stumps in this market. Thus, the larger portable machines seem to excel in this area. You ought to be able to look at the stump and know how long it will take to grind. On average, we make 150-250.00 per hour. Have for many years. Most average 15-20 minutes and we are off to the next one.

 

[NCgrinder]

The guy put a 18 horse on it. Will it work?

I've used a 252 /25 HP Kohler for 13 yrs... and it takes a long time on larger stumps ... Finally ,after this season I'll upgrade to at least 30 HP (Kohler CH750)..maybe even 34 HP (Kohler CH 940)
IMHO, 18 would be a low-powered machine and would quickly discourage you from taking larger stumps..unless you got all day !!!

 

[NCgrinder]

As far as thre pricing question.. After 13 years ,I can pretty well tell how long it's going to take.. I base my estimate/price on $ 120/hr for multiple stumps... I have a $75 in-town , $90 in-county minimum and I'll do up to total of 20" for that..
If a customer starts that .." Well I can rent one for"...or.." So&So said he'd do it for..." .. I just thank them for calling, hand them my card and move on... I'm not the BurgerKing of stump-grinders

 

[066blaster]

I've used a 252 /25 HP Kohler for 13 yrs... and it takes a long time on larger stumps ... Finally ,after this season I'll upgrade to at least 30 HP (Kohler CH750)..maybe even 34 HP (Kohler CH 940)
IMHO, 18 would be a low-powered machine and would quickly discourage you from taking larger stumps..unless you got all day !!!

The guy misspoke it has a 25 kohler pro a couple years old he figured 50 hrs he has a bigger tow behind that he mostly used.

 

[jbarth636]

Anyone grinding by the hour is just flat out STUPID. Per inch pricing is without doubt the way to go. I can grind a monster 60'' Oak with roots for days in 20-30 minutes about 12 inches deep. I will also clean it up with my mini skid in another 20 minutes for 50% of grinding price. You are leaving money on the table if you are not offering cleanups. I did a 20 shrub job today in 12 minutes and I charged $200. Customer was super happy and so was I. If I told the customer charge $1,000 / Hour what do you think he would have said? I wouldn't be typing this because he probably would have shot me in the head. But just as others have stated, they end up paying it, they just dont see it as such.

Customers dont pay you hourly when youre at the shop changing teeth, tensioning belts, swapping trailer tires, dumping mulch, changing oil, bidding jobs.... the list goes on. YOu make this up in the pricing on your jobs everyday. Anyone working hourly is shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Topbuilder]

While I would not go so far as to call "inchers" stupid, I am pretty much convinced they can't read.

 

[Menchhofer]

Anyone grinding by the hour is just flat out STUPID. Per inch pricing is without doubt the way to go. I can grind a monster 60'' Oak with roots for days in 20-30 minutes about 12 inches deep. I will also clean it up with my mini skid in another 20 minutes for 50% of grinding price. You are leaving money on the table if you are not offering cleanups. I did a 20 shrub job today in 12 minutes and I charged $200. Customer was super happy and so was I. If I told the customer charge $1,000 / Hour what do you think he would have said? I wouldn't be typing this because he probably would have shot me in the head. But just as others have stated, they end up paying it, they just dont see it as such.

Customers dont pay you hourly when youre at the shop changing teeth, tensioning belts, swapping trailer tires, dumping mulch, changing oil, bidding jobs.... the list goes on. YOu make this up in the pricing on your jobs everyday. Anyone working hourly is shooting themselves in the foot.

As far as thre pricing question.. After 13 years ,I can pretty well tell how long it's going to take.. I base my estimate/price on $ 120/hr for multiple stumps... I have a $75 in-town , $90 in-county minimum and I'll do up to total of 20" for that..
If a customer starts that .." Well I can rent one for"...or.." So&So said he'd do it for..." .. I just thank them for calling, hand them my card and move on... I'm not the BurgerKing of stump-grinders

Guess I need to spell this out. Customer does not need to know your hourly rate. You keep that info to yourself. You just give them the pricing. Your experience and machine do the rest. 90% of our hourly pricing is completed in 10-15 minutes of that hour . Your rate should cover your travel time as well both there and back.

 

[Menchhofer]

Guess I need to spell this out. Customer does not need to know your hourly rate. You keep that info to yourself. You just give them the pricing. Your experience and machine do the rest. 90% of our hourly pricing is completed in 10-15 minutes of that hour . Your rate should cover your travel time as well both there and back.

And yes, our hourly rates do include maintenance of machine, dumping, changing teeth etc. You young-in's have a lot to learn...just keep on charging by the inch and remove the debris at 1/2 the removal cost. I am laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[066blaster]

How can you give an estimate if you charge by the hour? You can use what you want per hour as a reference and charge accordingly. My customers want to know what it's gonna cost before I start. This pretty much goes for all lawn and landscape services. I give a price and try to do it as quick as possible.

 

[Menchhofer]

I think you answered your own question.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[066blaster]

I think you answered your own question.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

It was more of a statement then a question

 

[howel07264]

I hear ya. But, I'm not running a 7015TRX either. These 20 + jobs are not my core business. I'm mainly doing residential 2 here 5 there type of thing. When we get to the 100 degree mark I refer them to the guys with larger machines.
You "by the inch" guys still puzzle me. You see by the #s the larger the stump, the less you make. Just making it easy to bid makes it worth it or I guess the majority of your work is done on the smaller/higher profit stumps and it all works out...
If the market accepts that $2 per inch is a good price for a 24" stump then :

24" stump = $48, or .1061 cents per square inch of surface area (for all stump sizes)
36 = 107.98
48 = 191.96
60 = 299.95
72 = 431.93
84 = 587.90

What the same stumps look like at $2 per inch:

24" = $48-------------------.1061 cents per square inch
36 = 72----------------------.0707
48 = 96----------------------.0530
60 = 120--------------------.0424
72 = 144--------------------.0353
84 = 168--------------------.0303

Now granted that suposses that every stump is a the same distance out of the ground, same dirt crown, same amount of roots and each one is a perfect circle...it will never happen. But you would agree the larger the stump, generally the worse all of those conditions get.

I hear ya. But, I'm not running a 7015TRX either. These 20 + jobs are not my core business. I'm mainly doing residential 2 here 5 there type of thing. When we get to the 100 degree mark I refer them to the guys with larger machines.
You "by the inch" guys still puzzle me. You see by the #s the larger the stump, the less you make. Just making it easy to bid makes it worth it or I guess the majority of your work is done on the smaller/higher profit stumps and it all works out...
If the market accepts that $2 per inch is a good price for a 24" stump then :

24" stump = $48, or .1061 cents per square inch of surface area (for all stump sizes)
36 = 107.98
48 = 191.96
60 = 299.95
72 = 431.93
84 = 587.90

What the same stumps look like at $2 per inch:

24" = $48-------------------.1061 cents per square inch
36 = 72----------------------.0707
48 = 96----------------------.0530
60 = 120--------------------.0424
72 = 144--------------------.0353
84 = 168--------------------.0303

Now granted that suposses that every stump is a the same distance out of the ground, same dirt crown, same amount of roots and each one is a perfect circle...it will never happen. But you would agree the larger the stump, generally the worse all of those conditions get.

THIS WORKS FOR ME AND SAVES ME HOURS OF DRIVING TO BID A JOB THAT i MAY NOT GET. WHEN THEY CALL ME THEY KNOW THE MEASUREMENTS AND GENERAL COST BEFORE THEY CALL. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS WHEN GRINDING MAPLES,MAGNOLIAS,BRADFORD PEARS WATER OAKS ETC. BUT I ALWAYS LET THEM KNOW BEFORE I COME. I ALSO HAVE A MIN. JOB COST BASED ON DISTANCE..10 MILES $125,
10 to 25, $!50. BY THE WAY, A VERMEER 252 RENTS FOR $375 A DAY AROUND HERE SO SOMEONE RENTING TO SAYVE MONEY DOESEN'T WORK. .........FORGIVE THE CAPS LOCK,WIFE BEEN ON MY COMPUTER....REGAN

 

[bryan_norcal]

We charge $75/foot, but most folks have a 1' stump and want 8' of root around it gone too. We count the roots unless we are chasing a few strays. We also charge extra for haul off or if we have to cut the stump to a managable height.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk