Stump grinding - how to bid a job

[mckeetree]

While stumping for me started as a "value added" service to sell more tree jobs as a package deal it actually turned into a decent revenue stream. I charge out the ass for it 'cause I hate it, but when my machine is out there I'm making loot. The last one I did got me $650 for 2.5 hours with a 35 horse machine and a yota. No clean up.

That's us. We don't especially like grinding stumps so we just put the money on them. Bad ass if you take us up on it and bad ass if you don't.

 

[dtm165]

Sometimes you have white pines that are ground faster, more difficult jobs with hard to get around access, old stumps/fresh stumps, hollow. I don't ever price/inch, rather eyeballing it and calculating how many minutes/hours working. Usually I'm comfortable with $200/hr plus/minus that. Really never would go more than $1000 for a full day of working.

I don't charge by the inch.It may work for some stumps but you run the chance of screwing yourself out of a job ,or worse,into one that you regret taking.
All stumps are not created equal.I ground a huge sheflara with roots going everywhere last week for a bill and a half.Even with halfway dull teeth,I finished in less than an hour.
If that had been an oak stump the same size,it would have been worth 4bills easy.

What I do to weed thru the bargain hunter/curiosity seekers is ask them for the basics ie true dia. surface roots,type of wood,etc ,etc. then give them a $ range it might fit into.If they like the range ,I tell them I'll be there at so and so date and time with the grinder.

 

[Natewood]

Ther's at least four days a season I make over 2k a day with my 252 and wrangler. I hate stumps, the machines I only did it so I( was a complete seervice but it sure shows it can be its own revenue stream! Now I grind for about half the tree services in the area .coming soon....tricked out stump truck!!!