Stump grinding price

[debo1683]

I suppose I am a little ignorant ... I had some dozer work done a while back and the minimum for that was $300. And that made sense to me because it is a big machine, with big parts, diesel is expensive and so is the truck and trailer needed to haul it. I just always was under the impression that a stump grinder was a small machine and low maintenance. Seems like I was incorrect. Thanks for the insight. I am going to keep checking around. Hopefully I won't cause any one to torch any of their machines

 

[swick1]

Dont worry Debo. Lots of people have the same misconception. At least now you can see the other side of the coin

 

[muddstopper]

Debo, dont take my rant as an attack on you personally. Lots of folks never consider the other side of the equation of any job that is being done. There are even more business owners that cant figure their cost of doing business either. I once had a guy tell me he could seed cheaper than me because his overhead was much lower, to this he was telling the truth. I paid workers comp on my employess, and carried $1mil in general liablility insurance. This guy didnt have any insurance. My company was set up as a chapterS corp and we paid taxes. He didnt have any kind of company, just worked out of his house and didnt report any of his side income. Even with him doing this, he couldnt figure out that he needed to charge something for his truck and equipment depreciation. I can give someone a brand new truck and new machine to work with, but if they dont add enought to their priceing to cover replacement cost or repairs, they will be out of buisness as soon as their truck or machine wears out or breaks down.. It doesnt matter if your equipment is paid for, if the business isnt paying for it, you better have a rich uncle or you will be working for someone else as soon as your "paid for" machine breaks, or you will be borrowing money to fix it. Once you start borrowing money to fix things, your standard of living has just gone down and now you are taking home less that you what it cost you to do the work.

 

[swick1]

All hail mudstopper! :salute:

 

[teampryor]

Hey folks,
I know this is a regional thing ... but can you provide some info on what a far price for getting stumps ground out is? We have two, one is a white birch and the other a fir tree. Both about 18" in diameter and the quote we got was $175. This seems high to me, but maybe I am cheap. We have some other people coming out for estimates, but unless it gets close to the $85 to rent a 25 hp stump grinder, I am thinking about doing it myself.

I was just curious more than anything what people pay to have this done. I was under the impression it would be about $40 a stump. But I guess I was wrong ...

Thanks!

Sir, you should do it yourself. When you are done add up the costs and your time. I bet it takes you all day and thats if the rented machine does not have any issues, which it will. Good luck.
But you should not waste peoples time asking for qoutes if you do not intend to hire them.
$175 is more than fair for a small job which is what 2 stumps is. Should of hired that company on the spot.
Minimum around here is in the $250 range.

 

[debo1683]

But you should not waste peoples time asking for qoutes if you do not intend to hire them.

I don't agree with that ... I don't see that as any different than shopping around for a car or a tractor or a gallon of paint. It's not that I didn't intend to hire them, I just didn't know if their price was fair, which is why I was asking. It's just like when we had new gutters put on this summer and I had several companies come out to give estimates. I want to hire the person that is best for me and our house ...

I wasn't taking things personally. I just never had thought about it like you guys put it. It makes sense ... I guess that's why I was asking what was fair.

Thanks!

 

[newbury]

Sir, you should do it yourself. When you are done add up the costs and your time. I bet it takes you all day and thats if the rented machine does not have any issues, which it will. Good luck.
But you should not waste peoples time asking for qoutes if you do not intend to hire them.
$175 is more than fair for a small job which is what 2 stumps is. Should of hired that company on the spot.
Minimum around here is in the $250 range.

The OP intended to hire them if the price was ok. If you've no firm idea what something costs how do YOU (teampryor) find out. I generally contact at least three firms for quotes and definitely DO NOT intend on hiring all three.

Getting and giving "qoutes" are part of business.

 

[muddstopper]

I dont think its wasting someones time asking for a quote, but I do think its the person wanting the work done to be fair when assessing the price given them. Like I said in my pyor post, some folks are working under the table, not paying taxes and are not insured. As a potential customer hireing someone to work on your property, you are financially responsible if that person gets hurt on your property. If they dont have workers comp and you hire them anyways, you are responsible to furnish the workers comp for them. If they damage your property, you will most likely have to pay for the damages yourself. There is a reason why hireing a professional usually cost a little more, and that extra cost is usually worth every penny you might have to pay.

 

[Bdavis]

But you should not waste peoples time asking for qoutes if you do not intend to hire them.
.

I disagree with that and I know several stump grinders in my area that would also disagree. Getting multiple bids is part of doing buisness. The rates will vary according to the season and the level of activity. If a guy is really booked up he is not going to give you the same rate if it is right before Christmas and he has not worked in a few weeks. Having said that, the last couple of years I have settled on one guy and stopped getting multiple qoutes. He has never been the cheapest but I like his professional manner and the equipment he uses is top notch and that to me is worth the extra money

 

[debo1683]

Thanks again for the help, guys. I have decided to hire the second guy that came out for an estimate. He told me between $150 and $175 and seemed to be a lot more knowledgeable and friendly than the others. He is supposed to be out sometime this week to do the work.