Mowing....is it viable?

[Andy Collins]

I've been asked to cut about 2acres of lawn. Thing is this will involve the purchase of a ride-n mower. I have a good source for all types of mower so this isnt the issue, but how much to charge per hour/per acre? As you'll be aware, these machines are not cheap, so to get a return and yet remain competitive is a problem. Tips, advice, shouts of "dont do it!" all welcome.

[Justme]

Buy in 12 weaned lambs every time it needs cutting & then eat the lawn mower when its finished. You can then also charge for fertilising the lawn too.

[Hawthorn]

It all depends on the finish wanted.

Rotary or reel cut? Do you need to box off the clippings?

 

If it's tidy already I'd be guessing at, for me, around 220-260 per cut collecting clippings.

[RWTS]

I have done a fair bit of contract maintenance. 2 acres could be cut quite quickly with the right mower. My initial reaction is mowing can be viable as it is a regular source of work.

 

The finish of grass is quite a key factor to the quote but to be honest I dont think people will pay more than £150 for that type of work.

 

Be cautious of buying a mower specifically for that one job though.....I did the same thing for a contract on a golf course, only to be gazumped by a transit driving individual who was selling soemthing called 'lucky heather!!!'

 

Hope this helps

[Lee Winger]

Complete waste of time Andy I looked into a ride on no end of times, the rates for grass cutting are pitiful, and the maintenance of a ride on is very high.

 

I guess the only time its worth the purchase is if you have a written contract for a number of years, making sure you at least cover the price of the machine and fuel, wages, running costs over a set period of time.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Complete waste of time Andy I looked into a ride on no end of times, the rates for grass cutting are pitiful, and the maintenance of a ride on is very high.

 

I guess the only time its worth the purchase is if you have a written contract for a number of years, making sure you at least cover the price of the machine and fuel, wages, running costs over a set period of time.

 

Yep; 2p a metre was about average on commercial; domestic makes a lot more - I charge 8p per metre for good turf requiring either a rear roller rotary or low-blade reel cylinder machine like an allet buffalo. But this is ride-on territory so I guess 2 p per metre would be worst case if private owned so that's £161...

[easy-lift guy]

I agree with Timber Cutter unless mowing of turf is part of your core business you may think twice before making the additional investment of time/material cost before you see a return on investment. The fact that you have a much shorter growing season for your turf should also factor in to taking on this job.

[Blaisey]

You can add value to business with one of these A mate bough some thing similar You cant really go wrong as long as you check it carefully.

 

Ransome ride on 3 gang mower on eBay (end time 10-Mar-11 13:24:37 GMT)

[tractorboy1]

This thread makes my blood boil, how many times has it been said "the gardener had cut the tree". Now you tree boys are trying to nick our work:001_tt2:

[Andy Collins]

Fair point mate, not trying to rob work from anyone. The client concerned rang me this morning, I have done thei hedge maintenance for the last 5years at their current address, and they are moving to a larger house with more land, and hedges. I will be getting the hedge work anyway, but they asked if I could either recommend someone (I dont often recommend as they can be unreliable) or do the grass myself. As mentioned above, I dont know if the sums will even make it worthwhile, and if you were on my doorstep I would gladly pass the work your way.

Another issue with passing the grasswork on, is that the mower may decide he'll under-cut my hedging work, so it could be detrimental for me to pass the work on.