does anybody have a method of pricing for digging like if there is a ballpark fee per foot long and deep did a job for someone 2 inch gas line 3 feet deep 150 feet long for pool heater made a few turns had to cut driveway just seems like the guy i work for which is a good friend of mine undercut himself on price he's a plumber so he's not acustomed to this kind of work never did any kind of excavating so i do digging on my days off :beatsme
Newbie 1276, Can't offer you any hard and fast rules for estimating the cost to complete a specific excavating job, but can offer you this advice to pass on to your boss, if you so choose to do so: I am a firm believer in "sticking to what got you there" [that is: what has made your company sucessful, thusfar] Companies across many markets are too quick to embark upon diversifying their business activities before they have reach the pinnacle of sucess in their "core" business. I worked for a company that made this fatal mistake. I saw the writing on the wall 2 years ago and made the decision to leave, to start my own gig. The owner made the decision to diversify into the Skid Steer Attachment business, an area that is highly "capital intensive", marginally profitable and very freight intensive. They extended credit terms to companies that were about as dependable as the millions of Americans that were extended Home Loans and have defaulted on these Mortage Loans, resulting in the current crisis. The company closed its doors a month ago. Tell your employer that a Pizza Shop operator doesn't expand his business by going out an opening a Steakhouse without doing the proper due dilligence, including market research and costing. There are 2 ways to go broke in buisiness: Lack of Profit and Cash Flow.:beatsme
he needs to know....what the machine costs him, what the expected life of it is....what the fuel costs him, the ins. costs him, what labor costs him...ALL of his costs...and the hours he anticipates that machine will work per year. long story short...HE has to come up with his operating costs...none of us with an internet connection will do him any justice by saying..."yeah, charge him this much"...he needs to spend some time and determine his costs, desired profit, and charge accordingly.
Well, what do you do it your "core" was housing developments? Thats what happend tot he company I worked for, market went down the tube, now they have 75% less people working for them.
Stumpjumper, My comments to newbie related to business expansion. In your company's case it's just a drastic downturn in the market. Your company, nor its employees, have no control over the market. You are both victims of circumstance. The liberal whacko's screamed about the banks providing a means for lower and medium income earners to acquire housing. The lenders provided the means, the ill informed agreed to the terms of these loan agreements and had no clue as to the obligations required to meeting the requirements of what they signed. The people that got really screwed in this whole process are the middle income earners who had a portion of their 401K's and IRA's in mortgage backed securities. The market will eventually correct itself and the 75% of your company's employee's will be back at work. In the meantime, they, like many others, will have to reinvent themselves to do other things.
i like to get 26 per foot for pipe under 4 feet and good diging lime fill no haul out