going rate for grounds maintenance

[miker]

hi all, i have been running my own landscaping and garden maintenence business for about 11 years now, just me and one lad, iam looking after 3 privately owned residential care homes as one of my main contracts, now i dont think im charging enough for what i do for them,lets take one for an instance,3 and 3quarter acres of mainly formal lawns, with flower and shrub beds, seperate fenced off area (dimentia) with lots of hanging baskets and wall troughs, these need to be kept in full colour 99% of the time, lots of trees , so lots of leaf fall in the autumn and the site needs to be kept in a very good state all year round, i charge 12k for around 1000 hours of work(materials extra) per year with varying hours to suit climate and seasons, i think this is very cheap, what do you all think?? any comments/advice? cheers mike

[tractorboy1]

Does sound a bit cheap, I normally charge £20 per hr for grounds maintenance. Problem is if you put it up to £20,000 they will tell you where to go.

[david]

is it 1000 hours each (you and your worker) or is it 500 hours for 2 of you?

 

[miker]

is it 1000 hours each (you and your worker) or is it 500 hours for 2 of you?

 

 

1000 hours all in:confused1:

[samarb]

Is that per site?

[david]

1000 hours all in:confused1:

 

wouldnt be me anyway thats for sure. unless there was ways of saving time, bigger mower, blowers etc

 

by the time you pay your worker, van, mowers etc id think youl be luck to get £2 per hour

 

[miker]

Is that per site?

 

thats just 1 site, the other 2 are a bit smaller but charge accordingly,i definately think they are getting a good deal,

[miker]

wouldnt be me anyway thats for sure. unless there was ways of saving time, bigger mower, blowers etc

 

by the time you pay your worker, van, mowers etc id think youl be luck to get £2 per hour

 

 

formal lawns are striped out with 19"hayters, got big stihl blowers etc,lawns take 9 hours to cut through growing season, not including strimming, edging etc, think the boss will be getting a bit of a surprise come april!! thanks for your comments fellas

[david]

3 and 3/4 acres 19" at a time sound like fun

[ukminch]

3 and 3/4 acres 19" at a time sound like fun

 

Actually quite theraputic and rewarding, well some of the time........... Can you not use a 21inch hayter, will make a big difference!!

 

Sounds very cheap to me, but it depends what your outgoings are, how long it's guaranteed for, how many extras you get etc etc.

 

R