stump grinding pricing

[Mark Butland]

This has probably been asked many times before but as a newbe Stump Grinder with a tracked grinder, how do you price up a stump ? I was told £ ? per inch diameter by the inch height £ ? including under ground level ? i'm based in Berkshire (if this makes a difference ? ) any advice welcome

[simonm]

If it looks like a shit job i price it higher 

[dan494]

1 hour ago, simonm said:

If it looks like a shit job i price it higher 

Definitely. Did this one today after it had had 3 days of being hacked and slashed. Kept blunt side of the teeth on as some concrete around it, think it's the most I've ever put on a single stump

[White Noise]

If I didn't remove the tree  then the customer pays top whack  simple . Sometimes  its obvious that the company who removed the tree  don't  actually own a grinder or couldn't be arsed to hire one  in  .   What really annoys me is when a job  you priced for  goes to another contractor ...then  the  customer asks you to grind the stump  for the price you quoted within your original  job spec / quote .   Nope    .... as  we price the whole job as one  .  

 

I generally state that if we removed the tree i will give a discount on the stump removal .   Not to clear up others  failings  .

 

 

     

[arbaholic]

First work out how much you need to cover your running costs, then add how much profit you are happy to make on that particular stump and go from there.

Edited October 18, 2017 by arbaholic
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[dan494]

That's just cutting your nose of despite your face, if another firm can't do stumps and I can then happy days, more money coming in for me

[Boy English]

I go with £75 - £100 for any small / one off stumps as a "I'll fit it in with some other stumps" type arrangement ..

£3.50 per inch across the top (two furthest points out of the soil) on anything where the customer has a few of reasonable size..

£500 per day on large jobs / multiple days..

I was talking to a guy who did some woodland work some time back (few years ago) that was charging £10 a foot but I've never priced that sort of contract..



All the above includes removing shavings / tidy up..

[sandpits]

Only the heaviest grinder is worth the bother. Too light a machine will still mess up the ground, turn good soil into unusable mulch, leave enough stump for honey fungus to first yellow the lawn for years then over-green it unfixably. Been a gardener 35 years and how depressingly few times have I seen a stump ground right out.

 

I'm pretty sure the pricing question is easier once you've bitten the bullet and signed up for a competent machine and some track to protect lawns. The cost of depreciation or lease of your gear will dictate how you price its work. Cost + profit per year /  a realistic no of days / no of stumps quoted for that day.  You certainly can't go measuring each tree and squinting at how near it is to some fence or wall and try to apply a five-stage multiplier. you'll go nuts and more importantly you'll forget your method and misquote yourself. Always assume the worst, be prepared to lose out over a quote and move on, and above all keep it simple.

 

Anyone who knowingly goes for the cheapest will frequently have bad work done and will not often spread the word that your more expensive proposal was overpriced, maybe the very reverse. Best of luck to you!