What a mess

[Dragger]

Had a phone call yesterday from a lady that wished to meet Saturday to look at her property. She stated the rear yard had not been taken care of and needed some work ,I swung by this morning to take a peek before meeting with her and here is what I found. No idea on even how to start to price this any thoughts or idea's Can not get any equipment into it as its basically all 3 feet below ground level with steps going down to it surrounded by a retaining wall ,no place to park a truck and trailer 4 house down the alley is the closest place with out blocking the alley way . so glad I went by to peek first so I do not spit out "WTH" when I see it with the customer.

Attached Images

	messyproperty1.jpg (102.9 KB, 2 views)
	messyproperty2.jpg (106.2 KB, 3 views)
	messyproperty3.jpg (106.1 KB, 1 views)

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[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Okay, now it's kinda hard for sure what is going on there. I am seeing some brick on the ground in certain spots. Is that all a brick patio or is there grass in there too? What does she want done ultimately? Does she want it all cut down and hauled out? These are great pictures and I think they point out the importance of going to a site first to review it and not just give a bid over the phone because you never know what you are going to be dealing with. Can you show us an overhead view of the property from like google maps or something to compare what you would see if you looked at it only online and didn't visit it first?

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[Dragger]

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Here is the over head Steve

And yes that is an all brick yard some where under all the over growth.at this time I am not 100 percent sure what she wants done with it as I have not met with her yet that will come on Saturday but I am thinking she is wishing to sell the place as it is empty.

[Steve]

Yea that is a great overhead.

Keep us posted on what she needs done.

Do to the way the property is set up, have you thought about how you would perform the cleanup?

Could you get a brush cutting blade on a line trimmer and just hack everything down?

I also see what might be piles of sand and gravel. Or what ever else is in there. Is that gonna need to be removed or leveled? Who knows what else is in there. You may be surprised as you walk through it.

[picframer]

It's not too bad, personally I would state to the client, I charge $xx.xx per hour, I will come in with (suggest 3) staff, one will use a brush cutter and a trimmer to cut the dead growth and grass, two will clean up what is being cut load it into wheel barrows and cart it to a garbage bin. We suggest customers in a case like yours rent a bin, you can contact xxxx waste removal, inform them you will need a 16 cubic foot rubbish removal bin, if you hire us I will give you a date for them to drop the bin.

In a case like this we can not provide an exact quote as there can be many unseen items to cart away, accordingly if at any time you do not like our progress we can stop. Payment is due upon completion of the job.

I am guessing 3 staff, one day, probably $500 to $750, it's really hard to tell not being there. Where I live I can rent 8, 10, 12, 16 and 20 cubic foot containers, they drop and pick them up, I believe a 16 cu/ft is around $250.

[picframer]

If you get the job, get a 2 X 12 plank for the steps and build a walking ramp

http://www.yellowpages.com/wincheste...val-containers

[Upscale2]

I would definitely find out exactly what she wants. There is a brick patio there so maybe clean of the heavy stuff and string trim the weeds off of the bricks. All of the other thicket and pruning can be cut out and removed. You should plan for 1 day with 3 guys. I remove debris with my 1 ton dump so a dumpster isn't necessary. I would charge somewhere around $1K for the job as I see it.

Make sure you double check about the scope of the job just to make sure you are on the same page.

[Dragger]

Thanks for the replys guys and i was thinking the 1k range also and no room for a roll off dumpster really its a very narrow alley barley get my pick up in so will use 1 ton dump truck ,

will let you all know more on saturday as to what all she is wishing done to the property

thanks

[Steve]

I will be looking forwards to your updates.

[Dragger]

Well I did not get the job but I am sure she will not be happy with the service she gets .
She wanted it all cleared out down to the brick pavers 2 trees trimmed and all the brush cleared out and trash cleared up.

Estimated 4 dump truck loads have a 1 ton dump and averages about 50 usd to dump a load in local landfill,36 man hours ,I bit it at 1,000 and she said the other guy bid it at $400.
I kindly gave her a business card and told her to call if the other bid fell through that I could not touch it for that price