Hi everyone, I had some questions on stump removal... can someone school me on identifying types of trees and their difficulty to remove? I would be renting a machine and hiring a truck to remove this stump. And also what type of percentage do you usually put on top of what it actually costs you to do the job? I guess that would be gross profit margin..
What we do on jobs with one or just a few stumps that need to be removed is use a stump grinder . Most of the time the customer keeps the shavings . I don't have a grinder so when these type of jobs come up I hire my buddy with his machine to grind out the stump . I suppose you could rent one .
I agree with td25c, rent a stump grinder or sub it out. If you try to dig that stump out, you'll end up digging out the driveway too.
I agree with td25c, use a grinder, and since your right next to a driveway make sure you know where the utilities are!. If you were thinking of digging the stump out the dig area will be at least double what you think it is so you will have a good size area to fill and fix when you are done. As for cost it really depends on the site... what kind of access, how picky are they, possible utility repair, they keep the stump?, etc... We do a lot of work in seattle and some customers are very picky about messing up the grass or breaking branches on trees in order to access a site... all these little things can add up to a lot of hours beyond the actual stump removal.
If your going to rent a grinder I would get an axe and try and take more of the bark and dirt off the stump and take another cut with chainsaw to get stump as close to ground level as possible. Sometimes the Rental machines teeth are warn, besides that the less you have to grind the better. It looks like a pine stump from the picture if it's still green and full of sap it's going to be a bear to grind with a rental grinder. If it was my job and I didn't have a grinder I would try and sub it out if the homeowner is willing to pay the price I'd say at least $800-$1000. Tree guy
I am in the stump grinding business. That appears to be some type of "softwood" tree stump. For me, that is about a $150 - $175 grinding job. It will probably take about 30 minutes to complete the job. I would sub it out to someone who does stumpgrinding and tack on $50.00 to his price for a finders fee, if I were you.
Thanks for all the reply everyone I guess the consensus is clear. I'm going to get prices on a grinder, and also prices to sub it out. I am just starting out and I need the work so it might be in my best interest to rent the machine myself.
Do you guys think a Vermeer sc130 would be too small?, its a walk behind stump grinder.
I would think that would work fine Aliate . My buddy's grinder is a Vermeer trailer mount unit ,he just backs up to the stump & go's to work . Don't take to long , not a big deal . I have done this with my skid loader & front mount hoe and a chainsaw . Dig around the stump & clean the roots off best you can with the hoe & hand shovel then cut them just below the surface with the saw . Takes a bit of time and bring a file along to sharpen the saw ...... LOL But it works . My memory is bad . For some reason I thought you were in New York working in the city . Did you move out west ?
Yeah I did, I started a new company the right way this time, just finished my first job, which was for costco
The sc130 will work but very labor intense. I have sc352 and that stump would take me 3-3.5 hours with surface roots. So the sc130 I'd say almost double that plus rental fee and hauling. It looks like the stump is at least 2' above grade and your going to need to get at least a little below grade so your grinding 2.5' at minimum. I'd say your looking at minimum 4 hours with surface roots again hauling and rental fee. Don't get sucked in to a nasty situation. If the money is there go for it.
I think ill take your advice, ill look into subbing it out. There is a smaller one for the same customer I may be able to do with a rental machine, and yes it is a monster stump.
That's cool . Best of luck on the stump removal and new business venture .
I think subbing it out is the wise thing for you to do. It really is a small/quick job for someone with the right equipment, and experience in stump grinding.
Thanks td25, and when I sub something out what is the legal way to do that rather than me just writing someone a check?
We would write them a check from the business account . Also be a good idea to inform your insurance agent about subbing out work . They may want a certificate of insurance from the company doing the work for you .
Very good point td25 brought up. You need to get insurance certs from all the subs you employ, naming your company as additionally insured. Best of luck on the new venture!
I gave her a ball park number ($1500) and she said she wasn't interested. I guess it saves me some time from bidding, I know later on I could probably do it cheaper but right now I need to minimize my risk and factor in my rental costs.
That's very close to the same rate My buddy charges on stump grinding mowingman $ 250 to $ 300 tops for a monster stump . Machine & labor rates differ a lot depending on what part of the country you are in . Check on rental rates on a grinder , what a good used grinder sells for , and what a contractor with a grinder in the area will charge to show up & do the job Aliate . Might have to sharpen the pencil a bit in the future but those small jobs lead to bigger opportunities .
Yeah I know what you mean, it would have cost me $300 for a small grinder alone though. I am also having to rent a truck and trailer too. It doesn't make me very competitive on the smaller jobs, but I'm doing some sidewalk repairs tomorrow and a new concrete driveway on Friday. I am waiting until I can afford the truck I want.
Understand Aliate . You know ? Now this is just me talking........ If I was looking at getting into that type of work I would bide my time & save a little cash on the side to buy a good used stump grinder in the future . Yep .. Find a good used 3/4 or one ton truck & trailer first to move equipment with .
I have my eye on a 550 tool truck with an underdeck 185cfm compressor for 15k, I'm trying to bank as much money as I can. I also came across a Chevy 2500 for $800 I might buy in the mean time. Either way I'm pricing truck rentals into my bids, its not ideal, but I'm getting jobs where my most expensive piece of equipment is my demo saw, so I can't complain. Last time around I took out big loans and I won't put myself in that position again, cash is king. I have my amex card for daily expenses.