Residential Landscaping Pricing

[MChalkley]

For you guys who do professional landscaping, or know someone to ask, I'm curious about the pricing of various parts of the process. First, I'll define the terms as some of the builders around here use them. Then, if possible, I'd like to hear some numbers on what contractors are paying for these jobs.

Backfilling - Filling in around the foundation inside and out and establishing a rough grade so water will run away from the foundation at least 15 feet.

Rough grade - Cleaning up whatever is left from the lot clearing process after the house is built. Finishing the rough drainage process started by the backfill. Filling in any collapsed trenches left from drainfields, etc.

Fine grade - Spreading sand and/or topsoil. Completing the grading process so it's ready for seeding, bushes, etc.

I know that many folks combine parts of the processes, or call them different things, and some don't separate the fine grading out from the final landscaping process, but I'd like to get some estimates of what people are paying for these (or similar) jobs in various areas. Thanks!

Mark

 

[MarkV]

Mark, for what it is worth, in the Atlanta proper, where we are building, most of the work you mentioned is being done by skid loaders at around $400 per day. Most of these lots are small and I don't do much work out side of the city where other equipment may be used on larger building sites.

 

[gordon]

Mark, I think you will be surprized at what price some people will start their tractor for. I do some part time and the price ranges from $30 to $80 an hour this is what I charge. Now I've lost alot of jobs to people willing to charge $20-$35 an hour.
The reason My charges per hour vary so much depends on how big the job is and how much work the guy feeds me and also how quick of a pay he is.
I just sold my 580c but for that I got no less that $50 per hour with a four hour minimum.
Within the next year I'm going to get either a backhoe attachment for my old 3750 or upgrade alltoghter it will depend on the amout of contracts I get. I feel the midsize hoe fills a good void in this area.
If I'm real lucky a four in one bucket to top things off but thats only if I upgrade which is probly the route I will take.
Just remember sometimes its good to start at a lower hourly rate to get your foot in the door and then make a killing on the add ons.
But the location depends on what the market will bear per hour even in a fifty mile radius price per hour can change drasticly high end low end its amazes me thats for sure.
It's much easier to loose a bid than loose your rear--dirt is everlasting there is always plenty to push.
I'm located in the middle county of the state of Delaware--There are only three counties in the whole state.

 

[MChalkley]

Interesting. Thanks to both of you for the info.

A local builder who builds about 75 houses per year pays $350 for backfilling to the same guy that does the initial clearing. He uses an excavator to do the job and it's a pretty slick job to watch him, I can tell you.

They pay $250 each for rough and fine grading, but a pretty good bit of what would normally be called rough grading is done by the guy doing the backfilling. On most lots (3/4 acre), both jobs take 4-6 hours each, if you've got good equipment and don't waste time or run into any problems. So that's pretty close to average, I guess. At 12 hours for $500, that's just over $40/hr, and you can often do better than that. Nobody will get rich off of it, though, that's for sure.

Mark

 

[gordon]

Nothing better than to watch someone who can make their machine dance. Many times I have been amazed at what someone could accomplish.
I would pass on the backfilling and go for the grade jobs--But you've got a hoe on the back of yours don't you. Lots of places a compact can fit that a full size can't and you can get as much as a full size or more per hour.

 

[MChalkley]

My 'hoe' is a Bradco subframe mount hoe, and is probably only on my tractor 10% of the time I use it. But it works great when I need it.

Without an excavator, backfilling involves a lot of manual labor, since there's no easy way to get a tractor inside the foundation. But that guy sure makes it look easy.

 

[gordon]

I posted this last night but it got lost or eaten. Thanks for the info that freedom hitch must be sweet. I've decided that you have to many toys and its time to share with the other kids.
Just the backhoe and the four in one bucket./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
ok ok ok just the backhoe/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
you wouldnt miss it 90% of the time /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MChalkley]

If you haven't seen the Freedom Hitch, you can't imagine how much time, effort, pinched fingers (click-rings), stubbed toes (kicking the implement), and guilty conscience (things you shouldn't have said) it saves.

You can never have too many toys. I did a job recently for a local contractor. He told me up front that it would take him (one of his guys on a L-something GST and a helper) 8 to 10 hours to do it. He told me he'd give me $450 for the job. I went over by myself to do it, got there at noon, was loaded up and gone by 4:15. Almost felt guilty taking his money. Consoled myself by reminding him I'd already invested it in equipment. He didn't complain. He said he'd rather pay me to do it anytime to get the job done that well that quickly and keep his guys to do something else.

So, unfortunately, I can't loan you the equipment. You see, I'm changing professions... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mark

 

[MarkV]

Mark, are you going to play with your toys full time? How will you eat? After you start you will have to build that nuke powered, computer controled, dirt moving Kubota monster machine that makes its own synthetic food. Please keep talking to us mortals./w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Hey, who needs to eat? Just riding my tractor is enough. (If 'Jack in IL' is listening he'll have to jump in and tell everyone he knows I'm lying when I say I don't need to eat!)

Nukuler (that's the way the folks around here say it) power, eh? Hmmm. (Sometimes me sits and thinks - other times me just sits...)

Mark

 

[Bird]

Reading this thread makes me jealous, I guess. I live in poor folks' country, where most of the farmers around here who need tractor work done have their own tractors. I do just a little bit of tractor work for other people for hire, but I'll do most anything I can do on my tractor for $20-$25 an hour (of course I like to play on it, and my principle income is from another source). I don't understand some of the thread about the backfilling. Most homes in this area are built on a slab foundation, but my two brothers used to be home builders in Alaska, and when one of them decided to build a home here, with a 4 foot crawl space under it, I did the backfilling with the B7100, front end loader, and 4 foot box blade that I had at that time; took awhile, but no big deal. When we were pouring the footers, I did get a kick out of the fact that the cement truck driver, who was delivering the ready mix, asked where we were from, because he said it was obvious we weren't from around here.

Bird

 

[MChalkley]

Yeah, I know what you mean. There's not much work like what I was talking about earlier around here, either. It's only the larger construction companies and they require at least $250k in liability insurance, workman's compensation insurance (even for 1-man-shows), etc. So, you lose about $50 a job to insurance, if you do 2 a week, and that knocks out all the "fly-by-night" competition. So, they have to pay more for their work. Of course, they're more demanding in other ways, too. If they call with a job and you don't get to it in a couple days, you don't get called again. Plus, they want it done a certain way and nothing else will do. They're very particular about run-off locations and slope amounts, etc. It's not like grading somebody's driveway, unfortunately. That would be sweet, if the money were the same.

The houses I'm talking about backfilling for are all masonry foundations with crawlspaces. But as I said, when they use the term 'backfilling' they mean more than just pushing dirt up to the foundation - they're also talking about establishing the complete drainage pattern within 20-25 feet of the house, all around.

Mark

 

[gordon]

Here is a good one. I'm hooking the box on the three point and the darn thing just won't line up correctly. I'm naming it if you know what I mean. About that time my wife walks into the equipment shed and asks what the heck is going on so I proceed to tell her. She busts out laughing and says if you don't have the hang of hooking those things up after a few thousand times then just give it up and walks out. well needless to say I had the darn thing hooked up within thirty seconds after that. Some women don't understand that if you name a piece of equipment sometimes it goes right on /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

By the way do you have a link for that freedom Hitch How comptable are they and lastly about how much is the list price or going price of these ???

Rule number one never feel guilty about taking that mans money because if he didn't have it he wouldn't have hired you to begin with. Jobs like that are sweet and make up for the ones that you run over on sad but true.

 

[MChalkley]

Try http://www.freedomhitch.com. I think they're about $150 a pop. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif The only thing I know of that they aren't compatible with (without a lot of work) is a posthole digger.

Don't get me wrong - I didn't mind taking the money. But it did surprise me that I got it done so quickly. Maybe he suckered me and is planning on making it up on the next one.

Mark

 

[gordon]

Anyone who leaves his or her own property with their tractor and does't have the proper insurance is crazy in this day and age. The world we live in today is a sue happy world so you best have all your bases covered, everyone out there has worked hard for what they have and it would be a shame for some smuck to take it all away in one fail swoop because of no insurance. I hate to pay all that money out but without it I couldn't exist and because I do some logging also it makes it even worse but my insurance agent loves me---yea right loves my money I should say---
What is great is when they send out some lady to inspect my equipment for safty who has no idea of what is what--That makes for a long morning. But thats the world we live in everybody has to cover their butts, even the insurance company.

 

[MChalkley]

I haven't heard anything about the safety inspection yet. What a prospect. Words I find myself saying too often these days: "Deliver me from the idiots."

 

[gordon]

Thanks for the link a searched for it the other night and nothing came up but a bunch of junk links. Looks like a nice setup does the long latch lever ever get in your way?

Thanks again for the great link Gordon

 

[gordon]

The fun never stops they want to make sure that you play with your toys very very safe thats all and it can help to lower your rate on the percentage basis. I couldn't have put that better myself /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[JimBinMI]

Bird,

Here in Michigan full basements are the rule, slabs and crawl spaces are the exception. I believe all new homes built today with a basement have to have egress windows, which allow a second exit in case of fire. A house without a basement isn't near as appealing. My basement is the same size as my main floor (ranch style).

The run-off away from the house that Mark mentions is very important here to keep water out of your basement since a lot of people have living space down there. Need somewhere to go when there's a tornado warning you know!

JimBinMI

 

[MChalkley]

My, what good eyes you have, Gordon! Yes, it does get in the way on the smaller tractors. It's necessary, I think for the largest Cat 1 tractors, so they give you enough, figuring it's a 2 minute job with a hacksaw to shorten it, but not every farm has a pipe stretcher. I've shortened mine considerably and am seriously considering bending it up/back about 15 degrees.

Mark