Grass cutting price per hour, help ASAP!

[MLS]

Like many above don't commit to cut every 3wks given average summer third week will still put too much growth on either will knock hell out of machine or you will have to keep raising cut height so machine can cope or cut slower, plus wheres cuttings going? Travel time to allow for I do one site spend more time travelling to empty because thats where I'm allowed to tip, than cutting. It does add time on to the job and mines a fixed price so if takes longer ie wet grass, or more of it there is no more money.

[mowingjamie]

I had a quick chat a few hours ago with the lady owner, she was very unsure about how often the old guy used to cut it, surly after 40 years she would have known by now?

 

She says her husband has had another quote, by like im saying im not keen to give a fixed price as they are unsure on whats being cut, weekly, etc. So i'll give an hourly rate as of above but if she wants a fixed price i'll add plenty ontop and the price of a used zero turn mower!

 

Im almost certain that there is no other quote as i know the head gardener quite well and he says no one but him has been on site (owners dont live there)

 

I have to use my kubota g18 which i know is upto it by not every 3 weeks and not willing to damage any of my kit for their gain.

 

Would £30ph be a crazy number to ask for if im using my fuel? As far as i know grass cuttings are staying on site, well there not coming back with me anyway....

 

Cheers for your views really helps to have a bit of support.

 

Going to have a proper view tomorow but by the sounds of it its more like 5 acres of open lawns and 1 acre of grass between veg patches...

[Richard 1234]

I aim for £30 per hour(or more if I can) for all grass cutting. Does not matter which machine as the biggest is 7ft cut and will easily do the big stuff and the smallest for tiny gardens etc. don't sell yourself short and three weekly is madness with your own kit.

[Mortimer Firewood]

I had a quick chat a few hours ago with the lady owner, she was very unsure about how often the old guy used to cut it, surly after 40 years she would have known by now?

 

She says her husband has had another quote, by like im saying im not keen to give a fixed price as they are unsure on whats being cut, weekly, etc. So i'll give an hourly rate as of above but if she wants a fixed price i'll add plenty ontop and the price of a used zero turn mower!

 

Im almost certain that there is no other quote as i know the head gardener quite well and he says no one but him has been on site (owners dont live there)

 

I have to use my kubota g18 which i know is upto it by not every 3 weeks and not willing to damage any of my kit for their gain.

 

Would £30ph be a crazy number to ask for if im using my fuel? As far as i know grass cuttings are staying on site, well there not coming back with me anyway....

 

Cheers for your views really helps to have a bit of support.

 

Going to have a proper view tomorow but by the sounds of it its more like 5 acres of open lawns and 1 acre of grass between veg patches...

 

I would not collect on any sites over 1.5 acre let alone 5 mulching is the only way on that sight I'm afraid and that's a 10 day turn around

[Richard 1234]

I would not collect on any sites over 1.5 acre let alone 5 mulching is the only way on that sight I'm afraid and that's a 10 day turn around

 

 

I agree with you about the collecting it's mad. I use a triple gang for the big stuff so can't collect with it anyway but regular cutting and you can barely see the cuttings

[Ty Korrigan]

Hello,

Do you know you mowers hourly running cost plus margin?

 

Once you have that, add your other costs, wages obviously but transport, insurance blah blah blah.

 

I'd pick up close to the buildings and paths and mulch/cut and drop further away on a 2 week contract.

 

£30 to me sounds professional, a good price for you and if your anygood for the clients.

 

They can always get a 10euros Dave with a plastic 7hp rider to do the job but...

 

Like me this last B/H Monday, I used the grab bucket on the JD1026 to pull the last 'gardeners' mower out of the paddock where it had burned it's drive belts out last summer...hhh!

 

Gardener simply walked away from it...actually common enough here in France for expats.

 

We'll be looking at buying a cutter deck, grass wheels and hydro lift pto grass collector for the JD if we get any more groundscare clients on board.

 

Best of luck with it all!

 

Ty

[bggc]

Ask yourself this, you turn up on week three and it's been hammering it down, try again the next week and your diary is rammed, it may have rained again aswell, now what do you do? You finally get to cut it on week five, imagine what's waiting for you. Insist on a two week frequency, iv had the old story of "old Fred used to do it at his own pace, sit in his van and have a roll up then have another bash", bollux! If you're a pro, set a proper price or you will hate having the job on your books. If it doesn't pay for all the hassle I get, it gets cut loose.

[gensetsteve]

You could do it the once for your hourly rate and see what it entails. That way the customers risk is limited. I can understand not wanting to pay by the hour can the job be done in a short day with travelling if so quote for a normal or extended day gives a bit of spare on the job. I use a recycle deck on a 6 ft toro around my house once a week and you can hardly see any cuttings.

[Mortimer Firewood]

You could do it the once for your hourly rate and see what it entails. That way the customers risk is limited. I can understand not wanting to pay by the hour can the job be done in a short day with travelling if so quote for a normal or extended day gives a bit of spare on the job. I use a recycle deck on a 6 ft toro around my house once a week and you can hardly see any cuttings.

 

Hourly rates are not going to work on mowing contracts

[Daniel Jiggins]

I charge £30hr or a minimum of 3 hrs as I don't load the machine and travel to do an hour and a half of cutting.

It's false economy thinking that cutting every 3 weeks saves money yes certain areas can be cut every two weeks if collected but in general I attend every week / ten days to cut more formal areas of grass if collected I can literally wiz over it and it barely takes any longer than chugging through thick wet grass fortnightly plus the client has a much nicer looking lawn all the time.

In general the ones wanting it done quick / cheap are a pain in the arse.