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Price Per Metre


Fairbanks142
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Hi everyone, 

 

I've been asked to quote a job, it's about 20 metres around a boundary, they want it in a South of England style. I've done a couple of hedges in this style, but just for friends and family, just wondering what sort of price per metre I should be thinking? I have woodland that I coppice every week during the season, so I've got access to plenty of materials. 

 

Cheers

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55 minutes ago, Fairbanks142 said:

Hi everyone, 

 

I've been asked to quote a job, it's about 20 metres around a boundary, they want it in a South of England style. I've done a couple of hedges in this style, but just for friends and family, just wondering what sort of price per metre I should be thinking? I have woodland that I coppice every week during the season, so I've got access to plenty of materials. 

 

Cheers

It much depends on the size and condition of the hedge,i know what i want to earn a day so price it on how many mtrs i can do for that, if its not too big 20 mtrs is a days work anyway 

 

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That's how I do it. I need to earn a minimum of £150  day to make it worthwhile. I'll assess the hedge and come up with a conservative estimate of the meterage I expect to complete in a day, divide £150 by that figure plus the cost of any materials and that's your metre rate. On a really difficult rough old hedge that's covered in ivy, or if access is really difficult, I might struggle to complete 10 metres a day. On a straightforward one it could be 30+ metres. As it's south of England style, then unless it's a purely hazel hedge you'll need to cost in the supply of stakes and binders. There's two each of those per metre and I always price mine at £1 each, so it's £4/metre for materials before you start. I invariably get them cheaper than £1 but there's collection or delivery to account for, plus my time if I cut them myself. It's negligible on 20 metres of hedge but if it's 1000 metres a miscalculation on coppice material can be a serious clanger.

 

Don't focus so much on the hedge work itself that you forget about logistics: is there fence wire in the way that has to be removed? If you're right handed you want to work left to right and vice versa for lefties. Does the slope of the ground allow for that? It might slope the wrong way and force you to work overhand. If there's an obstruction like a deep ditch, a stream or a non-removeable fence on your natural working side, or an unfavourable slope, your daily meterage can be significantly reduced. Most of the hedges I lay for my main client are new-planted and every stem has a spiral tree guard round it. Carefully unwinding every one of these and picking up the pieces if they shatter (the farm is organic and the site a SSSI) is laborious and knocks several metres off the daily work rate. It has to be allowed for. Last year I laid 750 metres of hedge that had veteran trees every fifteen to twenty yards. Every one had to be thinned out so it didn't overshadow the hedge. That was pretty much a separate pricing job in it's own right.

What's access like? Sometimes you can't drive right up to the hedge. If you have to carry gear across two fields every day it eats into your laying time.

Some obstacles like fences clients will happily remove themselves if it keeps the cost down so discuss it with them. What about rubbish clearance? Will they deal with it, do they want you to burn it on site as you go, or remove it? Domestic clients with small neat gardens often want you to take it away and if you've got to tip it that can put £150 on even the smallest job. 

 

Also, as it's SoE, don't forget to allow for setting the binders and trimming up. It takes longer than styles that don't use woven heatherings. Again, negligible with 20 metres but on a mile of hedging it's several days work and mustn't be overlooked.

 

My rate for South of England could be anything from £12/metre to £25 depending on the above factors. Dorset style, especially on a nice hazel hedge that gives me all the bonds I need for tying down as I go, will be cheaper.   

Edited by Gimlet
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 27/10/2019 at 20:55, Gimlet said:

That's how I do it. I need to earn a minimum of £150  day to make it worthwhile. I'll assess the hedge and come up with a conservative estimate of the meterage I expect to complete in a day, divide £150 by that figure plus the cost of any materials and that's your metre rate. On a really difficult rough old hedge that's covered in ivy, or if access is really difficult, I might struggle to complete 10 metres a day. On a straightforward one it could be 30+ metres. As it's south of England style, then unless it's a purely hazel hedge you'll need to cost in the supply of stakes and binders. There's two each of those per metre and I always price mine at £1 each, so it's £4/metre for materials before you start. I invariably get them cheaper than £1 but there's collection or delivery to account for, plus my time if I cut them myself. It's negligible on 20 metres of hedge but if it's 1000 metres a miscalculation on coppice material can be a serious clanger.

 

Don't focus so much on the hedge work itself that you forget about logistics: is there fence wire in the way that has to be removed? If you're right handed you want to work left to right and vice versa for lefties. Does the slope of the ground allow for that? It might slope the wrong way and force you to work overhand. If there's an obstruction like a deep ditch, a stream or a non-removeable fence on your natural working side, or an unfavourable slope, your daily meterage can be significantly reduced. Most of the hedges I lay for my main client are new-planted and every stem has a spiral tree guard round it. Carefully unwinding every one of these and picking up the pieces if they shatter (the farm is organic and the site a SSSI) is laborious and knocks several metres off the daily work rate. It has to be allowed for. Last year I laid 750 metres of hedge that had veteran trees every fifteen to twenty yards. Every one had to be thinned out so it didn't overshadow the hedge. That was pretty much a separate pricing job in it's own right.

What's access like? Sometimes you can't drive right up to the hedge. If you have to carry gear across two fields every day it eats into your laying time.

Some obstacles like fences clients will happily remove themselves if it keeps the cost down so discuss it with them. What about rubbish clearance? Will they deal with it, do they want you to burn it on site as you go, or remove it? Domestic clients with small neat gardens often want you to take it away and if you've got to tip it that can put £150 on even the smallest job. 

 

Also, as it's SoE, don't forget to allow for setting the binders and trimming up. It takes longer than styles that don't use woven heatherings. Again, negligible with 20 metres but on a mile of hedging it's several days work and mustn't be overlooked.

 

My rate for South of England could be anything from £12/metre to £25 depending on the above factors. Dorset style, especially on a nice hazel hedge that gives me all the bonds I need for tying down as I go, will be cheaper.   

Thank you for such an in-depth answer Gimlet. 

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to do that, that is a massive help. 

 

Cheers!

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