Tree Cutting

[Steve]

Mike, For this situation, can you say what you would charge for the removal of a 60 ft tree?

__________________
- Subscribe to my Lawn Care Marketing Blog Feed and get daily tips sent to you. Free!
Download your Free trial of Gopher Lawn Care Software.

[comanche]

Lawn care business tips

sure steve, I usually go by height. A 15 foot tree can take up to 5 hours to just cut, buck load and unload. So times that by 4 and there you have the approx time for a 60' Tree. You can figure out the cost by multiplying the hours by how much your charge per hour rate is.

__________________

Mike,

You dig out the stumps when you cut down a tree? Wow...that must take forever. I've always left the stumps after cutting trees down and told them they could have it ground, but we don't do that. How long does it usually take to dig out a stump?

[comanche]

hey Dave,

Usually if the trees diameter is more then the size of my arms around. Ill get a guy that i know with a skin steer to dig it out and have the cost included. It pays to know the guys with the right equipment that have the knowledge and the ability to work with you and not against you. If the tree stump is small you just take a pick axe and follow the main roots out. The roots will go out as far or farther than the canopy was. The root diameter gets progressivelly smaller as you go. I have an old chainsaw that i use for stubborn roots. I also have a six foot long steel pry bar to help me along. Usually takes a couple of hours but is cheaper then if i had the skid steer guy come in.

Ah...the only stumps we've ever dug out were very small, except for one on a recent turf job that we dug out with the skid steer. I hate digging stumps out. I guess it's a good call to have an old chainsaw for stumps. After doing the last couple, we had to buy a new chain cause it just wrecked ours.

[comanche]

I try to get out as much as i can because if the roots rot and there is grass there or the customer wants grass, there will be a ugly lookin, sinking spot. Also some molds from the rotting roots can transfer to the grass.

[Little's]

I took out 2 oaks last week in a yard. Both were over 25 ft tall. Cut up, and removed them in 4 hours total. I always bid them a flat rate. I can usually guess within an hour or so how long they will take. I bidded the trees at $700, and finished an hour ahead of scheduled. Worked out ok.
I dont do stumps. I just tell them to call a stump guy. I have never lost a job because of it. Maybe in the future if I find a good deal on a grinder or something I will offer it.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]I dont do stumps. I just tell them to call a stump guy. I have never lost a job because of it.

I have noticed a lot of tree companies don't offer stump removal either. Is there a reason why this is? Could you rent a stump grinder and still make money off the job if a stump grinder is too expensive to buy?

[comanche]

I think that you can make money still.Its similar to what some companies do when you need to aerate a lawn. The machine gets rented and you add the cost into the over all cost.

I sell used stumpgrinders. Hard to find good low hour units that don't need alot of work. I've owned a couple and made good money. Did 565 stumps on one golf course and 110 on another. Used it with our land clearing crew to take out stumps near lot property lines where we couldn't dig. The key is marketing the service to landscapers, tree removal, general public, builders, and golf courses. Get a machine big enough to not spend all day on one stump. I had receiver hitches on the front bumpers of my trucks so we could steer the grinder into position and move it real easy.