# Labor estimate help



## DillmannEnt. (Sep 8, 2008)

i have a lady that would like me to install some proffesional edging around her flower garden. She also would like me to move back some rocks and lay down some wood chips. I told i get the chips for free {My dad owns a tree company} But i am trying to figure out if 25.00 an hour is high or not. It could take two guys about 8 hours to do. So is 300.00 bucks to much with material and surcharges. I am located in colorado if that helps.

My next question is how do you figure what to charge for residential property mowing. I mow, weedeat, edge, Pet waste removal, Blowing. and some fertilizing. What should i base my price on / size of coarse /but whats too much

Thanks for the help


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

DillmannEnt. said:


> My next question is how do you figure what to charge for residential property mowing. I mow, weedeat, edge, Pet waste removal, Blowing. and some fertilizing. What should i base my price on / size of coarse /but whats too much
> 
> Thanks for the help



First, I decide what I want my hourly wage to be. then I factor in:

My liability insurance
My workman's comp
My health insurance
My benefits package
Taxes and matching contributions to SSI & FICA
Unemployment insurance
My equipment maintenance costs
My shop rental
My vehicle expense
Material & supply expense-gas, oil, trimmer string, etc...
Advertising
Profit for the business

After considering all that, I come up with a number that I need to pull in on an hourly basis. The best way to do that is to calculate all that for one year, then divide that total by how many hours you plan to work in that year. For me, I like a nice 30 hour week. 30 x 52= 1560 hours I work this year. So therefor, my annual cost of the above list, divided by 1560, tells me what I need to charge per hour.

Then I look at the job, estimate how long it will take me to do it, and multiply that number by the hourly number to come up with a price.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

I know you were just asking about "labor". I decided to expound just a wee bit.

If you need to know just the labor cost, call some landscapers in your area and inquire as to what they pay their employees. Over here, laborer/general help starts at $17.50/hour. CLT's $22.50/hour. Foreman running a crew gets $27.50/hr.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

And Big Macs are $7.00 (yes, I'm talking McDonald's food).


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

And there are also other things to consider with the lawn maintenance thing-how much green waste do you need to haul away? How much does it cost to dump it if you do not do your own composting? How much time do you have to spend picking up children's toy? Rolling up hoses? Scooping poop? 

Those are all add-on services with require extra charges.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

And you do not want to base your cost on size.

For example, I have one client, with a quarter acre lot. I charge $125 every time I show up to do it. I have another client with a full acre. I charge $50 every time I show up.


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## DillmannEnt. (Sep 8, 2008)

and you stated what every buddy gets payed i was saying as a hole. if i have eight hours on the job i charge 30.00 an hour for 2 people is that cheap the total bill is like $400.00 and i think it will scare her


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## BuiltByMAC (Mar 11, 2006)

DillmannEnt. said:


> i think it will scare her


Don't use such a scary font on your bid! You should be less worried about her fear threshold and more concerned with doing a proper job for adequate profit.

Chainsaw has several good points...read through his posts again, do a little math to figure out how to stay in business and come up with a proper bid. Don't worry about scaring her (unless she's a little old lady w/ a heart condition! - then, just mail the bid...)

Mac


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

> But i am trying to figure out if 25.00 an hour is high or not. It could take two guys about 8 hours to do.So is 300.00 bucks to much with material and surcharges.


8 hours x $25/hr x 2 guys= $400. With a bid at $300 you've already lost $100, and you still haven't bought the edging.

Or are you charging $25/hour for both guys combined? That's $200 on labor and you now have $100 to buy the edging. How much edging do you need? What type edging? how much is the edging? Quality costs, and you said "professional edging". How much time and gas do you need to go get the edging? What are your time and fuel charges for picking up, loading delivering and unloading the chips? Is you're helper going with you to do that? You'll be paying for his time involved with that as well. Was that factored into your 8 hours?

And never, NEVER, *NEVER* tell a client you get materials for free!* What happens if by chance you can't get the materials or enough of the materials? Your client has a contract and expects you to deliver as bid and promised. Charge for the chips as if you were buying them outright from a supplier.

*You could/should tell her what the materials WOULD cost, and let her know that you just happened to have some that you don't need and give her a great deal or free.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

And "My dad owns a tree business" is no good.

"I have a good working relationship with someone in the tree trimming business, and I can get materials from them at a substantially lower cost, depending on what he has available, and I would be happy to pass those savings on to you".

And best of all, that statement is 100% truth.


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## DillmannEnt. (Sep 8, 2008)

*Thanks for the wake up*

i appreciate all the help i called around and people told me they would charge about fifteen hundred for 3 guys so i am completely looking at things different this is my first big job and i did not want to lose it but if i charge her less than that i will be cool but i am installing plastic proffesional edging it was about 32.97 for 60 feet plus 15.00 for stakes i am going to charge 7.50 a foot for the edging{40 foot} and 2.50 a foot to install the mulch {150 sq foot} and i am trying to figure out what to charge for removing the rocks and taking down the dirt i am charging a little more than the supplies cost just in case 140.00 in supplies bid is 160.00 for supplies i am also charging 30.00 surcharge for fuel what you think :thumbup:


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## s&mll (Jul 5, 2008)

Honestly stop wasting your time. For just two guys you should be at close to 700 for 8 hours. Plus plastic is not professional. Are you a licensed business? Please Please re evaluate your business.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

I don't know how anybody could quote a job without seeing it. If someone wants me to give them a price sight unseen, I will always overbid.

And s&mll is right on with the plastic. Especially at 32.97 for 60 feet. If someone charged me 7.50/ft for plastic edging, they'd be sh*tting plastic for a week. I hope that price at the very least includes installation. I could install concrete pavers for that price.

Mulch is measured in cubic feet. I don't know prices in your area, so lets just use $5 as an example for the price of a cubic foot of mulch. 150 sq. ft. 1 inch thick=13.5 cubic feet=$67.50. To cover that same area two inches thick would cost you $135.00. And speaking of mulch, you mentioned your dad's tree business. Since you said she wants "wood chips", I'm assuming she wants the decorative look. It would be in your best interest to find out EXACTLY what she is expecting. If I were you, I would have here show me pictures so there is no doubt. So....are the wood chips you're getting properly aged? Are they the proper size? If you put freshly chipped wood down 2 inches thick, within a week or two, it will already be down to just one inch thick. And fresh chips will suck every bit of nitrogen out of the soil you put them on and the plants you put them around as they decompose. If you take the stuff fresh from the chipper, it's going to look like crap with the leaf and green stems that were chipped with it. Have you ever seen what comes out of the end of a chipper? Also what type of trees were chipped? Are they pest and disease free? Pests and diseases can survive the chipping process. Also, some trees produce chemicals that inhibit growth or even kill other plants.

As for the rocks-how big are they? How much is there? Where are you moving them to?

The dirt-how much are you removing and where is it going? You can't just leave a pile in her yard. 

As for the fuel charge-that says to me "I can't afford to buy my own gas. Will you buy it for me?" You need to factor it into your bid, not itemize it.

And lastly-Punctuation is vey important. Your last post looks like it was written while on crack.


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## treybernhardt (Dec 2, 2008)

*When I estimate a job as you describe, I fiqure the total cost for me to do the job. Number of man hours, plus equipment required, transportation to the jobsite, and business incidentals. My estimate would be a bit higher than yours, more like $420 for the job. If required I can always come down a bit off the price, but I try not to do this.*
*Trey*


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## drive55cat (Dec 1, 2008)

dillman, You will know your price is too high when you don't have any work, if your real busy, perhaps your price is too low. d55c


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