Big Job

[Little's]

OK, so last week I got a call from a man who got my number from a realtor who sold them 10 acres of land about a mile from our local (beautiful Whiskeytown Lake). They want to build a nice big home on this land, but the land is pretty well overgrown with pines, oaks, and a lot of manzanita/ misc. brush. I walk the property with the wife (who is basically in charge of the project) and she says she wants me to clear the brush so she can see what the land looks like under it all so she can decide where to build the house/ driveway, etc. This is the first phase of clearing she wants done. The next phase will be after she decides where to put the house, I will clear all the large trees, etc. That will be a separate job not included in this bid. I tell her my charge is $800 per day for a 3 man crew, and that the job can take between 7 to 14 days. She said thats fine. I wrote out the contract she gave me a check for $2000 to get started and I start next Monday. I will take some before and after pics for you guys and also for my portfolio. I thought it was neat that her husband is the graphics artist who does all the graphics for the X-Games, including all the 3-D work in the X-Games movie that just came out. She is an actress who just got out of the business and they left L.A. 2 weeks ago and moved up here. I cant say I blame them, this is an amazing area and everyone moves from the city to here. I was lucky enough to be raised here.

__________________
Northern California

---

Last edited by Little's; 08-25-2009 at 11:20 PM.

[picframer]

Lawn care business tips

Congradulations!!! I like these projects and your price is good for this type of project. Will this house be on a well and or septic field? If so, check with your county office, within reason (here) you can place the house pretty much where you want it, most of the time. What they do however is make you dig perk holes first so they can check drainage, then they look for brooks, lakes, other wells and or septic fields in the area and give you the green light to clear for a house in a specified spot. If you are burining the brush check with your insurance, we are not allowed so we chip everything. Finally a brush saw makes quick work of the small trees (up to 4"), I find them to be worth their weight in gold. Post pics and let us know how it goes.

__________________
Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

[Steve]

That is fantastic news!

What kind of equipment will you need for this job?

I tell her my charge is $800 per day for a 3 man crew, and that the job can take between 7 to 14 days. She said thats fine. I wrote out the contract she gave me a check for $2000 to get started and I start next Monday.

How should a business owner handle something like this in general. They pay you a $2000 deposit to get started. That's 2.5 days of work at $800 a day.

How much longer should you work before you are paid again?

I will take some before and after pics for you guys and also for my portfolio.

I can't wait to see this. It would also be great to see and overhead google image and then show us the area you want to clear away!

[arthur712]

Was this a lay down sale for you? Have you been working getting this job.

Great Job!!!

I would love to before and after picture. It would be great to see the house they build too.

[Little's]

I have done a lot of jobs like this, usually about half this size though. There is no burning this time of year, so I will end up chipping it all at the end of the job. Until then it goes in piles. I use a 12" Stihl tophandle saw to cut all the brush. Only 6.6 lbs, so it is easy on fatigue.

I hire 2 guys to help me usually at $15 per hour. $240 in labor per day means about $560 per day in my pocket. At the end of the job, I will drop one of the guys and pick up a chipper so I will still be profiting about the same. They paid me the $2000 down and I will collect the rest at the end of the job. I sort of based the down on a 25% figure, but rounded off.

They called me and I met with them once. Talked on the phone a couple of times. That was it. Email a couple times too.

When conditions are dry like they are here. I always pick up several fire extinguishers and have them nearby and ready to go just in case. Always safety first. I keep my guys hydrated with gatorades and such, and usually feed them lunches and powerbars and stuff. A happy, well hydrated crew is a productive crew. My guys love working for me.

I dont have Google earth installed, but I may do that later on so you can see what it looks like. You can kinda see it if you use google maps, switch to satellite view. But you cant see where the dirt road continues on and there are no houses around there property at all. Type in Rock Creek Rd. Shasta CA. and it will pop up.

I have nothing to do with the actual construction of the home, but I know they have already done all the perk tests and everything.

*Note to Steve*. I had a heck of a time trying to find this thread for some reason the day after I had posted it. It didnt show up in 'new posts' even though there were 3 new since I posted it. I also did a search with the exact title I used and it didnt show up there either. I had to go to the forum beginning and click on the category I posted it in to find it. Just thought I'd let you know in case you have been having any trouble with it.

[arthur712]

Originally Posted by Little's

*Note to Steve*. I had a heck of a time trying to find this thread for some reason the day after I had posted it. It didnt show up in 'new posts' even though there were 3 new since I posted it. I also did a search with the exact title I used and it didnt show up there either. I had to go to the forum beginning and click on the category I posted it in to find it. Just thought I'd let you know in case you have been having any trouble with it.

That is funny! That happens to me all the time.

Here is what I do and it works well. Click on your name top right and that will bring up your profile and on the right you will see (Show All Statistics). I click on that and you can see all post or threads you started.

Just in case you need it again! LOL

[Little's]

Originally Posted by arthur712

That is funny! That happens to me all the time.

Here is what I do and it works well. Click on your name top right and that will bring up your profile and on the right you will see (Show All Statistics). I click on that and you can see all post or threads you started.

Just in case you need it again! LOL

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for. I was going to suggest to Steve to somehow make a button that is for "My Posts" or soimething. Thanks

[arthur712]

Originally Posted by Little's

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for. I was going to suggest to Steve to somehow make a button that is for "My Posts" or soimething. Thanks

It is like that on most of the forums.

The botton can say (DAH) lol

I would use it all the time.

[Steve]

Do you use the Quick Links, Today's posts up at the top?

http://gopherforum.com/search.php?do=getdaily