spreading small rock

[David M]

I was moving rock for a guy to put into his foundations with a BX2660. At the end, he asked me to spread the remainder of the pile around. All I had with me at the time was the loader. I gave it a shot and realized that would take a week. So I told the guy I'll have to come back with the box blade. He said, "Don't bother. I'll get a big unit out here to finish up." That kinda pissed me off. Was I justified in wanting to get the box blade to knock it out in an hour instead of a week? I AM rather new at that kind of work but it just seemed obvious to me. I wasn't going to charge him anything extra for YET ANOTHER trip for his add-on requests.

Opinions, please.

 

[MossRoad]

If I had a contractor tell me it would take 39 times longer to spread a pile of rock with a bucket VS a box blade on a 1 hour job, I’d be a little irritated as well. What kind of rock was it and how much are we talking about? Sounds like he wanted you out of there.

 

[rScotty]

That's not how I would have interpreted what the owner said. My first thought would be that he saw that spreading the rock with a loader was going to be a struggle and felt guilty enough about all the previous unpaid "add-on requests" that he didn't want to add yet another one.

My second thought would have been that he saw that a loader wasn't quite the right tool for the job and figured that he would do better to wait and find someone with a loader and landscaping rock rake. And in that I agree with him. Stone and rock is difficult to spread out evenly and just about impossible to "fix" if I get it wrong.
A 3pt corral finish rake it the right tool and does a heck of a lot better job.

I hope this helps, not hurts. You did ask for opinions, David. I'm just saying that neither yours nor MossRoad's opinion would have immediately occured to me.

BTW, I figure that add-on requests are just part of any job. Few people can predict just where a job is going to take them. If reasonable I simply add them on at the same hourly rate.

Good luck,
rScotty

 

[David M]

If I had a contractor tell me it would take 39 times longer to spread a pile of rock with a bucket VS a box blade on a 1 hour job, I壇 be a little irritated as well. What kind of rock was it and how much are we talking about? Sounds like he wanted you out of there.

Of course I didn't tell him that. Anyway, maybe he wanted me out of there, maybe I had already lost enough money on his "this little add-on" and "that little add-on" that I wanted gone. I gave him what we contracted for. This extra was just that: extra because we had done a lot of business together.
Rock kind? Small rocks, as concrete base I believe I mentioned. What difference does that make?

But you didn't answer my question.

 

[David M]

Thank you, rScotty. I didn't know those tools were available for subcompacts. Anyway, you ever tried to spread small rocks with just a loader blade? Wondering if you were going to break something any minute?
And yeah, box blades are for dirt, but I figured if I only did an inch or two at a time, nothing would break. The pile was not huge anymore as I had already filled in his porch areas for future concrete pours (and THAT is definitely someone else's job!) Me hates concrete.

 

[/pine]

just curious...did you not have anything on the 3ph for ballast?...when I'm moving gravel I like some weight on the back...it's generally my box blade...but then again I am not in the habit of transporting my tractor so room on a trailer may be a factor?

 

[David M]

Pine, the rear tires are filled. No problem with overflowing buckets and balance. Until one hits the <censored> humonguous dirt clods and holes left by the bulldozer around the area.

 

[rScotty]

Thank you, rScotty. I didn't know those tools were available for subcompacts. Anyway, you ever tried to spread small rocks with just a loader blade? Wondering if you were going to break something any minute?
And yeah, box blades are for dirt, but I figured if I only did an inch or two at a time, nothing would break. The pile was not huge anymore as I had already filled in his porch areas for future concrete pours (and THAT is definitely someone else's job!) Me hates concrete.

As long as the tractor has a cat 1 3pt hitch they probably make a landscape rake to fit it. Problem is that they are expensive implements (about $500 new) and they need the gauge wheel option to work well...and then they only work really well for spreading a topping layer onto fairly flat ground. But given all those things they do that very well.
I got mine at an auction where nobody wanted it. And frankly I've never made a penny on it. People do borrow it from time to time and for some it works and others not. I suspect it depends on how flat the ground is to start.
rScotty

 

[Fallon]

How much rock? Where would you spread it? If it was just flatening out a small pile I'd be able to back drag it flat with my bucket as fast as I could a box blade.

New at this? Define "this"... Tractor operating? Running & billing a business?

If you are going to take a couple hours to do a job that a big machine can do in under an hour, you better be noticably under a couple times cheaper. Especially if a bigger machine is going to be on-site soonish already. Are you working hourly or fixed bid? If fixed bid, why are you looking to do extra work without pay? B & BX sized machines obviously have their place, especially with small tight jobs, but bigger machines benefit from economies of scale & often double the machine will do more than double the work at less than double the cost.

Personally I have an hourly figure in my head & multiply job + transport time * hourly rate. Some times that gets multiplied by a pain in the *** factor if things look particularly hard on me or the equipment. At no point in that do I allow for scope creep. Any project manager will tell you scope creep kills projects & the bottom line. I'll happily work on any additional items on another bid or straight hourly rate if the scope is flexible or not well defined.

If you are doing free trips that's money out of your pocket. My side gig doing tractor work is evenings & weekends. Recently I've realized I'm underbidding or what not for multi-evening (especially as days get shorter) jobs because that extra 30-45 minutes of transport or commute eats into the bottom line. I may or may not change my bidding because of it for competitive reasons, but at least I'm aware of it.

 

[MossRoad]

Of course I didn't tell him that. Anyway, maybe he wanted me out of there, maybe I had already lost enough money on his "this little add-on" and "that little add-on" that I wanted gone. I gave him what we contracted for. This extra was just that: extra because we had done a lot of business together.
Rock kind? Small rocks, as concrete base I believe I mentioned. What difference does that make?

But you didn't answer my question.

The difference in rock size is I can spread crushed limestone and round gravel very easily with a FEL bucket but I can稚 spread 2 limestone and large rock worth a darn with a FEL bucket. I can稚 see how it would take a week with an FEL bucket VS an hour with a box blade. If you were more comfortable using a box blade, then by all means, go and get it. But if he saw you struggling and offered to get a larger machine to do it, why would that piss you off?