How to estimate a stump job

woodslinger

woodslinger

TreeHouser
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Jan 6, 2015
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Location
Southeast PA
Or I am putting together an estimate for removing 8 or 9 stumps for a regular client, I had mentioned it briefly in another thread and I felt it needed its own thread so I can ask for help.

It was mentioned by Sawman that stumps locally (he's about 1.5 hr drive from me) are $5 per inch. So going with that just as a starting point to see where I'm at, do I use the stump diameter at the top or at the base? And should I compensate for the height of the stump? They range from 26" to 48" at the top, which are 7" to 12" tall, and 36" to 60" at the bases. 7 are between 26" and 32" at the top, the other 2 are 41" and 48". The 48 was specifically requested along with the first 7, the last one (41") is on the other side of the yard and I figured I might as well price that one as well.

I am thinking of giving them 2 price options, grind & walk vs. grind and cleanup w/soil replacement and seed.
They did mention the possibility of breaking it up into 2 jobs if necessary to ease their wallet.

I'll run some numbers on all that later, I just got back from measuring the stumps and I have to run out for the afternoon.

Also, can anyone give me a rough idea of how much to add on for surface roots? There are a few that have to be chased out a few feet.

I have a question on how big of a grinder to rent also, I'll post on that later tonight.

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I measure the stump diameter near ground level right in the middle of the flare on the sides of the stump.
Stump diameter is almost always oval shaped so I use the widest measurement. Under ground the stump ball are usually evenly rounded. I grind the whole core out and as long as the lateral roots are a few inches below ground level....stop at that. If the ground was raised just grind what your machine can reach.

I cut the stumps off at flare level with my stumper saw and throw the piece in the dump box.
I charge $4 per " with no cleanup and $6 "with cleanup , never resoiled and grass seeded.
Over 24" diameter I charge an extra $2 per" on both prices and another $2" on every 12" thereafter.
Visible surface roots I factor them into extra stump diameter, takes a little guesstimating.

You can make the best $ on grinding only with no cleanup working solo but be careful it's easy to miss root flares and surface roots, call backs are expensive. A blade on the grinder to move chips will help save that grief or lots of raking backed up with a silage fork.
I suggest no less then a 25 hp machine and self propelled
 
If it's 30" then make it 36" and charge an extra $4 per inch. So now your charging $8"
If you can't stretch the measurement then charge $7" for a 2 ft 6 in. stump.
 
Chris, in case it isn't clear, the volume of the stump is an exponential function of the diameter. A straight by-the-inch price, no size limits is a win on tiny stumps, and a lose on huge stumps, with a balance point in the middle.
 
Good thread, I'm trying to figure this out myself. Some companies around here charge $1 per square inch of the area of the stump. Myself I've been aiming for $100 per half hour, no clean up.
 
If you do alot of big stumps like say over 4-5 ft then a much larger machine and extra machines will be needed. Everything is relative.

I could never sell by the hour.
I have ground stumps up to 8 ft diameter full core removal and the deepest depth below ground level was 16 inches in the middle.
 
We have pretty much moved to price per hour. One hour min. It seems like most of our stumps are the minimum charge. Clean up usually doubles the cost. But it's all per hour for us.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
If you have no experience then use the $5 per inch price. Cut the stumps low before you measure. Faster to cut than grind. Add in cost of your rental and fuel. See how long each stump takes you. Then in hind sight you can take your hourly rate plus expenses and have a good idea on what it takes for the next job
 
MasterBlaster said:
You don't have to let the customer know that was how you arrived at the price.
Click to expand...
True but you better be sure you know how long the job will take you as your doing the estimate .
Majority of stump work I do and probably most other tree outfits do too is in small multiple stumps.
You come to realize the profitability in your machine when you can grind out enough stumps charged by the inch with no cleanup..... to put a check over $500 in your pocket for an hour of work.
The price fixed per inch is written in stone on the estimate.
On the estimate I don't even have to tell my customer how long it will take.....move on to the next estimate/job
 
Same here, I also find alot of tree removals the customer is not even serious about getting the stump out.
But there's all those stumps sitting in people's yards where the homeowner cut the trees down themselves..........
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
I'm familiar with the area of a circle calculation and the exponential relation to the diameter, the relation of that to price is part of the reason for this thread.
I've done very little stump grinding, only small stumps with a manual stump grinder. It worked pretty well for the tasks that day, but for any decent size stump it would absolutely suck. Also it did not really give me a good idea for time estimation for the size stumps I am currently looking at. Thank you, Williard, for your pricing input, I find the adjustment factor very helpful.
I am looking at renting this 26hp track driven model
http://www.stoneycreekrentals.com/rental-item.asp?rent=1540&d=Track+Driven+Stump+Grinder%2C+26+HP+For+Rent
or this 44hp wheeled model
http://www.stoneycreekrentals.com/rental-item.asp?rent=1558&d=44HP+Diesel+Stump+Grinder+For+Rent

The price difference doesn't really bother me, I'm going to use it for the weekend and knock out a few other jobs in addition to this one. The main concern for me is I do not feel safe hauling the 44hp grinder on my current trailer. If it is necessary to use the larger grinder, I can borrow a tandem axle utility trailer but I would much prefer to use my own equipment whenever possible.

Chris, is that 150 per stump minimum even on a multi stump job? just curiosity really
 
You have to know your species. Some trees have a tulip bulb stump, as I've had it described to me. Maple seems that way. Cherry is bad for grinding, I hear.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #22
I have no idea what species these were, they were casualties from previous storms and such before I got this client and have not resprouted. I would guess hardwood vs soft, but that's not a very educated guess. There are many pine, maple, cherry, and oak on the property.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24
There's hardly any bark!!!!
But in all seriousness I did look at the bark a little, it does not seem like pine to me, but I'm really not sure what it is.
and I do need to get better at tree ID. . . .
 
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