Fair price for lawn maintenance.

[Old Ironmaker]

For a number of reasons I can no longer do any lawn maintenance. The lot is 65'X180' with about 6 large trees on it that need to be cut around. around 70' of a flagstone walkway that needs to be weed whacked between the stones. Looks great but a pain to weed whack. A 4 car driveway that is bordered by 6X6's that need to be weed whacked too. We are in a rural area on the Erie shoreline. There are more than a few yard maintenance guys out here. Most do it after their full time job is over and on weekends. The lawn is not watered at all, ever. Areas under the tree canopy can go  a few weeks without cutting it. I am not going to watch my wife put in 9 and 10 hour days wearing a face mask and shield for hours at a time and come home with deep lines and a rash on her beautiful face and then cut the grass, trim and weed gardens. I told her I was going to pay the guy last year and she said "Pay me!" That's not the point, I'll pay her not to do it. 

What do you guys think a fair price would be?  I think I would pay by the cut not on a long term contract. The guy that lives down the road from us snow blows the drive and cuts a path to the door for 25 bucks cash, takes him 7 minutes, I timed him. I never would question a fair market price, we all want to get paid fair market value but many times question the price we need to pay someone to do something we can no longer or have any idea how to do something. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for us he hasn't had to clear the snow in 2 years because there isn't any. But I guarantee the grass will grow. 

By the time it took to type this I could have cut it myself, limping with a cane. 

[Fisherman]

Always another option.  https://www.irobot.com/terra

[ketchenany]

Some goats OI! seriously is there a kid around that will do it for a few buck less than a contractor? If you have the mower and wacker you should only pay for his time.

[Fisherman]

As long as he's doesn't try cutting granite.  Some equipment users either don't know how or don't give a  **#@*, it's not their kit.  If you go that route,  make the effort to show the person the nasty spots.

[dave524]

As a teen I cut a similar sized place for 3 bucks, that would get you  12 beer and a pack of smokes, doing the math  12 beer is now 20 bucks and smokes are what?  $15 , so $ 35 sounds fair.  

Edited May 15, 2020 by dave524

[Hack_Fisherman]

I hired a a guy to slit seed, feed and weed control last year. $700ish for 100 x 200

this year is fertilize and weed control only spring and fall for $380. 

I know it’s not cutting and trimming but I thought it might help you compare if you are looking into those services also as part of your Maintenace plan. 

Would a small riding mower be any help either of you? There’s cordless trimmers and mowers now too if gas powered equipment is part of the difficulty in maintaining it yourselves. I bought a cordless mower. It’s quiet, lightweight and will do my lot with a charge in between. (By the time I finish a halftime beer, it’s ready to go again. I’m buying a 2nd battery this year...beer is getting expensive) 

What about asking around your area to see if there’s students looking for work?

Advertise on the JIJ or check to see if anyone is offering grass cutting services?

 

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Hack_Fisherman

[aplumma]

If a company has to drive to your house to do the work then it will be at least $50.00. Remember it is a business which has overhead, insurance,equipment, employees and trucks to keep running. They have to account for the travel time to your house so if it is one house only then it will be a higher rate than if it is someone who has other jobs in the area. You also want to be able to do it on your schedule meaning you are not a steady customer. A professional will  always be more expensive than a local kid so decide if you want the professionalism of a company which cost more or a local kid who could be more of a headache than you want.  I would expect a bill of $75.00 a cut to be more than reasonable from a lawn company. 

Art

[Old Ironmaker]

On 5/14/2020 at 2:50 PM, Fisherman said:

 

We have a very irregular lot and I have no idea if that matters to the robot. Without knowing the price of one of these robots I would have to pay someone to do it big bucks before a robot started to give me a good return on investment. 

 

9 hours ago, dave524 said:

10 years ago when I was going into work up to 7 days a week I tried to find a local kid to cut the lawn. No way, no how. I did pay a pals daughter when she spent the summer with her Dad 20 bucks a cut and she showed up twice and then a no show. Through her father she said it wasn't worth her time for 20 bucks. I asked him to ask her what price would be worth her time, no response, I let it go. Imagine an 18 year old  having to use a parent as an intermediary with your employer. It has happened with my wife as well, often. The parent calls her or worse show up to the store to demand that their kid get more or better part time hours at the store, oh my. I know they are in for a culture shock when they do hit the work force. I know more than a few nieces and even a few nephews were brought to tears because their boss was mean to them. 

There is absolutely no youngsters out here that will cut our lawn, zero. We are in a farming community and I would even be willing to pick them up from home and bring them back. Believe me I have asked around. 

Art I know exactly what you are saying having been in business for years. People get upset when they have to pay $75.00 for a service call. Depending on the size of a business I always tell people that it most likely costs that business 40 bucks just to start the truck in the morning then there is the wage and benefits for someone to drive the truck to and from a customers home, especially out here in the boonies. In 2006 I calculated our fleet rate per kilometer was $1.25 per kilometer. That adds up when you have a customers home 100 kilometers from our shop. At $75.00 we are losing money right off the bat. 

edit: Dave didn't write the above. I did. 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[aplumma]

I know that my personal business burden is $65.00 an hour  per truck  that it is on the road. This leaves me with $35.00 an hour to pay for business expansion, savings , bonuses and profit. This is not about someone being greedy which does happen but about the cost of business. I had an estimate to replace the  stairs, planks and rails on my deck that I rarely use on the front porch. They came back with $3,200.00 dollars with $900.00 labor. I at first read it and choked but after pricing the job out it was $320.00 material mark up and 2 men 10 hours or $45.00 per man. That which looked expensive actually was one heck of a deal. I live in an area that is one of the highest cost of living in the nation (Metro area outside of Washington D.C.). It sucks when you need to hire someone who can do a job you used to be able to do. As I get older there are jobs that I prefer not to do anymore like taking down 2 trees that were close to the house. A phone call away was a guy who dropped the trees, cleaned up the area for $900.00 dollars and I got the job done . IF you had told me 10 years ago I would pay that instead of doing myself I would have called you crazy. The pill is not so bitter paying others because I have a trade that command a better price than most jobs and I am able to work as much as I want. "getting old is not for the faint hearted" was said by someone and I can't agree more. 

Art