I am bidding a religious complex for a variety of services. They have a small cemetary as part of it. I need to know come up with a price to dig / backfill the occassional grave. I know I can do the work, I have the equipment (probably get a dump cart). What is a fair price to charge knowing that it is not a scheduled service. Keep in mind it is part of a complete landscaping contract I am bidding. Anyone do or done this work that can offer prices or other advice? Thanks.
Well, CT18, a few years ago i was called in to dig a couple graves the "normal" contractors machine was broken and they needed someone on call. I took the job until there contractors machine was up and running. Just keep in mind that u have to be VERY carefull when u are digging there is almost NO room between the plots i dug one that was between 2 graves one was from 1886? and the other was around the 70' and there was just 60" between them. so we had to load the dirt on to power buggies and move it to the back of the cemetary until the service was over and then bring back about 1/3 of what we dug to fill it in. but i got around $275.00 at the time to dig and backfill the extra dirt stayed onsite. Hope that helps ???
Dave what bucket did you use 36", bigger??
Yeah that's basically what they want. Dig, have the dirt on a cart or truck, stockpile the extra and fill in / seed after the service. I would then be mowing etc the whole place. My concern to was the space between them. I was thinking of saying $300 so that is close to what you got. I was told they average 2 a year. Of course if I get it this will be the year they need 10 dug. The real catch is that you need to be ready because obviously you only have a day or two. Always need to have someone available or a good backup.
We dig graves at a local cemetary but it is more of a volunteer service then anything....we dig it for $125 bucks and they back fill it themselves. It takes about 15-20 minutes from the first scoop till the last scoop. But ya things are tight in the cemetary. I have had the care taker say " Not sure if there is a grave here or not but if it there is it is probably an old wooden one" It always freaks me out a bit hen he says stuff like that because we all no you really are not going to be able to tell if you snag the old thing. And I have snagged them a couple times. It never sits well with me when that happens. I actually have never once sent an employee to dig one either for that reason. (And it doesnt pay enough to send someone else). I bet I have encountered concrete vaults atleast 40 times,usually when digging next to a spouse or relative of the person we are digging the hole for. Grave digging can be very unsettling
About ten years ago I was doing labour work for a small backhoe firm and we occasionally dug a few graves, this was during the winter too. Most of the time it was pretty uneventful I cleaned up around the grave site and helped setup the green carpets they used around it, shoveled snow if it was tight, etc. Well the boss who was running the backhoe was taking his last few bucketfuls of dirt out when one wall of the hole caved in exposing the side of a pine box and then all the water that was in that grave started pouring in. I was probably 19 at the time and been around a few sewer and water excavations that sloughed in growing up as a kid but not a grave I thought I was going to see who was next door. lol Well I cant remember exactly how the boss cleaned it up but I seem to remember he bucketed out most of the water and hid it in the snow I think, then he used some of the dry mud he had already dug out and mixed it with the slop and cleaned it up pretty nicely. He phoned the funeral director people and they brought some longer carpets to hide the other box and nobody found out about what had happened. We backfilled normally and while I was still freaked out about it, the boss told me that was nothing he had hit unmarked graves before. Sorry if I went off topic I just wanted to tell my little bit of excitement with grave digging.
Yea, Daman i use my 36" bucket, back then i had a Case 580C and the 36" bucket was a smooth edge, i was not sure which bucket to use and the contractor that did there work told me to use a toothless bucket as he said they are not always sure what maybe down there when u dig, did'nt want to break into anything "buried" there.
Dave How did you position your machine? My concern is having room to work around the headstones. I have a property walk around with the grounds commitee chair today so at least I have some knowledge on the subject. I will see what he says and then let you guys know. Thanks
Thanks Dave yea i thought so,,FORD actually had a "grave bucket" that you could buy it was more flat on the bottom with not much of a "heel" like a standard bucket of today good for excavating of strait up and down walls.
CT18, that is going to be the trick of it getting the room to dig, when i dug the graves i was sitting on the "lane" they have between the rows of head stones it was about 8' wide so i dug from the side and was loading the power buggys inline with the back of the backhoe. not the fastest way to dig but the only way i could figure out how to do it ?!?!?
We dig graves for a local millitary base. They have run out of room in there cemitary. Meaning any one that wants to be buried with a spouse we have to dig up the grave that is there. Pull it out dig it down set it back in and then put it back put some dirt in then they set the next one goes right on top. Luckilly this does not happen very often. The two that I have been on had no concrete vault just a rustying metal casket. Just a little unsettling when we find that.
Wow...
the guy that lives next door to me does this for a living , He uses a JD 110 backhoe. Keep in mind if you had to dig in the winter you need to provide propane ground thaw and a 100 lb tank of propane for every hole. His is basicly a 8' x 4' 1/8" thick plate box with a gas train inside that burns all night and they dig the next day .
Couldn't you use a frost ripper? I've used them lots for all kinds of jobs.
Must be a Ma thing, when my gramps died in late Jan he had to stay at the funeral home till ground was able to be dug.
In my town here in MI our DPW has a propane ground thawing unit they use in the city owned Cemetary. But most of the cemetarys are church owned and they hire out the digging I think a frost ripper would cause some problem with the head stones but i think u would use what u have to get the job done ??
Like i said we had to wait till the ground thawed or they didn't have the right equipment,small town so hard to say.
It is pretty common to put the cadavers in storage until spring where I was born in the state of Maine,they are still doing it that way.I dug my fathers grave by hand and he died in march.I do remember that I had plenty of time to get it dug but that was in '63.Ron G
I helped my father dig my grandmothers grave in Jan. of '00. We built a pine vault and set it in the hole next to my grandfathers plot. He was also buried by my father and placed in a pine vault that he had built back then. She always said she did not want to be put in storage if she died in the winter. Luckily we didn't have any collapses. All the ones I have done have been by hand. Trying to get a machine in is real hard in some places. In a couple hours you can move a lot of dirt. Frost is a major issue to consider. The problem with a ripper, at least mine, is if you can break through they peel back a big area. And if you get a 2-4 feet of frost like around here it's going to be a long day. You may want to clarify the policy on frost digging. If it is required, frost means all bets are off cost-wise.
Thats got to be tough digging that size hole by hand,wow..
Most of them are done by hand around here. A few years ago a buddy past away in the local FD. I got to the cemetary early, concrete vault was just rolling in. No grave. Driver got out, grabbed a shovel and started digging. He had less than an hour. Fortuneatly it was sand digging. It was his second one of the day. I had my dress uniform on, offered to strip down and help him but he insisted it was no big deal. He dug the hole, set the vault, laid out the carpet etc and said, I'll be back in a couple hours, have another one to set just up the road and off he went as the hearse and family were pulling in. I was impressed, one a day is enough for me and this guy said 3-4 a day is not uncommon.:notworthy
Winter burials depent on the cemetary, some do, some don't. One of the local cemetaries rents mosuelem space for winter storage. Alway was a pita to have to handle someone twice. My dad is a retired undertaker, usually ended up helping him more than I wanted. Our local cemetary uses a propane burner, works great, just time consuming. The sexton uses an old Ford 800 series tractor with loader & hoe. He's never in a rush....does excellent work. Ed
Ive only done one once with a friend. Use a 420 cat with a 24inch straight edge swinger bucket and some flat shovels. Cut the sod by hand with the shovels. Dug it with the hoe and squared the edges perfect with the shovel. One this with frost, pealing it up, loam comes up in big chunks, no way to keep square edges. Could keep a compressor and jack hammer on hand if you have one to use. Man did I feel bad when they made me wait off in the corner with the machine still in site.
Was at a burial once and they had the dang hoe(case)still in plain sight off to the side,how damn inconsiderate was that!
I was doin what I was told but if it was my machine I would've hit the road for a bit. No reason to have it there while a burial is taking place.
Sure that would be the proper thing to do just drive down to the corner or something.
I was told they want the machine on site. The also want the dump cart to be able to be brought to the hole after the casket is lowered. Their funeral practice is to have the hole completely filled in brfore the service is complete. So I guess difference people have different practices. Still working on the bid with them. Currently they have services split which they will continue (I will definately get the mowing/plowing etc.) Just seeing if I can bid in the graves for a better price.
My father manages a cemetery. I think the biggest problem of all is soft ground spring and fall. Somehow you have to get the machine to the gravesite without destroying the grounds. Something to think about. One time my neighbour passed away, he was cremated. We had to dig a hole for the urn. Sure enough, we were still digging when the funeral procession arrived! Not a good scene! I know the dead guy wouldn't have cared.
I used to dig graves for the family business from 1986 t0 1996. about 100/year. we used a little JD backhoe with a 36" bucket with little teeth. cut the sod in about 12" x 36" chunks with the bucket and set off the side of the hole. Lay down plywoods and back in the single axel truck and load out the dirt. my brother now digs most of them with a hitachi EX 60. My dad started in 1967 so been in the family many years. got to tell u a little story if u dont mind. The vault guy and I had completed the setup in a little country cemetary one daay and had about ahour to kill before the ceremony. So we went to town about 2 miles away and grabbed a pop. Came back about 15 minutes later and sat and waited for the hearse. After the service was over the funeral director motioned us over, just like all the other times. when we got up to the gravesite he said we have a little problem. Apparently while we were gone the neighbor's dog down the road came over snoopin around and fell in the hole. While the pastor was giving his speach, I guess, you could here the dog whimpering. After we moved the fake grass away, we found a basset hound in the bottom of the hole. jumped downed and lifted him out. Talk about a happy dog. The funeral director gave us a quick " what for" and then we finished. Strange things happen. Got a chuckle when it was all over.
Lol, that is a good story. I think the way to go with the really "tight" cemetary's is with a small excavator and some kind of dump cart. A loader-backhoe is nice as you can bucket away extra dirt and clear snow with the loader as well you dont need a truck and trailer all the time to go to the next job. But with a small excavator you can sit in spot and not have to worry to much about where to place the machine. I guess different strokes for different folks.