Small Residential Project

[lxarth]

I have a customer that wants some small landscaping done. He has a front yard that is pretty normal, and he wants me to turn it into just a small oval of grass, bordered by bark. He said he has a irrigation system, but doesn't care about it. He mentioned that when he got part of his back yard tilled, he just had then go over the sprinkler heads. So I'm not sure how that will fit into the sod cutters plan. So here is what I figured out. I walked the outermost part of the front yard, and came to 100-ft. I figure cutting in 4-ft or so, and 2.5 inches deep. That's going to leave me with 3-4 yard of bark. Cost for that is S75-$100 (my cost), and I would retail it to him for $87-$116 (retail). An estimated time to instal the bark is a hour per yard. So a price of $105-$140. The cost to rent the sod cutter is $63/4 hours, or $90/24 hours. I have no idea how long it takes to cut sod, I've never done it. I heard it's hard, because the machine vibrates like crazy. After the cod is cut, and hauled I know it will be 3-4 yards of debris at least. I'm not sure how much it will weigh, but my guess is around 4,000-lbs. That will cost me $166 to dispose of it. This is just a guess, but the local recycling center said that compost weighs in at 1,100/yard. So I'm just guessing here. Also, the customer wants me to lay down fabric before putting in the bark. Not sure how long that will take, but probably an hour or so. He said he has the fabric already. Anyone know how long it takes to cut sod? I'm sure I will have to grab the shovel and dig out some spots the cutter cant reach as well. So far I'm coming up with $550, not counting how long it will take me to get to the dump and back a few times with the bark (my trailer is light duty), and doing a few trips to dispose of the sod (my trailer can't handle much weight). I might be able to borrow a VERY heavy duty trailer, but that's a very big might.

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[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

A while back on here one member was saying he estimated sod cutting by multiplying how long it would take him to mow the area with a 21" mower by (4 to 5 times). I would think the area being small could be done in an hour if you cut and rolled up the sod? The sod can be heavy depending on it's moisture content. Up to 60lbs per 5ft of 12 inch sections. So keep that in mind when using your trailer. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

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