How much per man hour?

I was just barely happy at $100/2man crew. I've since had tree services sprouting like dandilions. 0-6+ buckets in 2 years. So cut er back to make sure I get every bid and shut down the pro/ams. So far I looking at $5000 profit to get through the long winter. Good thing I enjoy the work! And heat with firewood.

46 250 blue eyed blond left handed not too religious tree dragon enjoy long walks at sunset...
 
Do you all figure the average between ground crew and climber/ bucket operator?

Average price per man-hour changes if it is me with one or with two groundies. Two groundies on most jobs makes average go down. If it is a complicated rigging job, then maybe the price goes up, as we can produce more, faster, with two people roping and landing big pieces.

I think that this is a worthwhile thread, however, inevitably, it is very hard to make an apples to apples comparison.

I figure between $45 and $100 per hour.

Price for a groundie on a small, basic, low risk removal with little skill set required for the low end of the spectrum. Basic dragging and raking. The drive-by tree guy can do it. I can still make money at it, and increase the customer network. I don't usually get these jobs, but sometimes they are a referral from an existing customer, and I can either bid the market value of the job and fit it in to my schedule conveniently, and make money on it, or bid it for what I'd like to get per hour, overall, and likely get 0% of my desired rate.

Goes up for a groundman on a rigging job over a house or Japanese maple garden.

CA climber working for someone in the market for CA for spikeless pruning with lots of rigging over valuable items in a tight work area, price goes to the higher end. Tight falling where most people would want to piece the tree out, price goes to the high end.

So much varies on access, competitor's capability (e.g. bucket truck accessible, nothing to hit with free falling all the pieces of the tree), customer's perception of value, customer's ability/ willingness to pay (e.g. senior discount in a retirement manufactured housing community, landlord).

I'm a Cancer, like long walks on the beach, dining out, height and weight proportionate, 37, 5'10', 325 pounds.
 
Sheesh I just posted my crack about long walks clicked ok submit and there was your post up at the same time. At least I got on first.

You must be trying to figure out metric on your weight though. Just wait till you have to adapt to metric time. It took Canada a couple gigayears to get used to it.
 
35-170lb lean mean climbing and cutting machine

$/man hour really depends on what we're doing

I never give rates to customers. I use them for my self to know what I need as minimum to walk away with and not feel stupid.

-min $50/man hour easy low prune work hand snips and easy lot felling and bucking where everything stays.
-add a chipper and truck $75/man hr
-start climbing min $125 fee to get in the tree if it only takes 30 minutes.
-up to $125/man hr tricky rigging/dangerous trees. (2man crew)
-There are always the rare jobs where I'll get $250-$350 to just fell a tricky tree next to or within range of valued property.

In the end when I bid a job several factors come into the equation more so then a fixed $/manhr.
-Who else around can do such a thing. Can a bucket pull right up next to the 40'pine tree in a trailer park, or is it a 120' pine down a hill on a water access only, million dollar camp.
-What equipment is needed, crane, chipper, skid steer...
-Danger versus liability level.
For me so many variables make it fun to do bids.
 
Had a downed tree at the bottom of a steep backyard today, 3 man hours with travel time. No rope, no saddle.. $545.. next lowest bid was $900... Customer was thrilled.. wants to be put on a 6 month pruning schedule.
 
Two good posts by Sean and frashdog. There's lots of variables...

In general, I shoot for 80-100 per average man hr. As many have had to do to survive in this economy, I've had to lower my rates....too little business and too many low bidders..skilled or not.

When it comes to big challenging trees, it would be nice to be able to net a higher rate, but that rarely works out, due to the complexity usually involved.

I'm 61, 165 lb.....uh is this a dating site
 
Wow... Awesome post.. Heres my take on it.

First, I'm amazed the hourly rate is so similar... But in business reality, Profit is future money, and to stay in business, you need profit. Many people (mostly clients) see profit as a negative term... Call it what you want, any professional business needs it to stay alive. Most of those inbreds are not around for 'profit'. So time will weed them out. Also, I sense most people are fraid to have too high an hourly rate. And even more uncompfortable charging more on jobs for those who can afford it.

here are my rules on that:

Always estimate the job as high as possible to stay in business (future money)

Do not share your hourly rate with clients... it is none of their business. Tree work is so varied in the skills equipment, knowledge and professionals required to do the work that a set hourly rate becomes confusing, especially to clients most of whom have no idea of the complexity of your business.

Hourly rate is a benchmark tool used to measure the profitablility of your company and a reference used in estimating. Again, it is none of your clients business any more than your P. & L. statement at the end of the year is.

From a financial perspecive for those investors and Incorporated companies... look at your clients as your stockholders... the more profit you make, the more they benefit by the long term existence of your company and its ability to do what other companies can't because they have the funds to do so.

If you want to bid an hourly rate, do it as a special 'deal' for those special clients and make it a one time event for that specific job i.e. we will deadwood your 200 oaks for 90 dollars per man hour since you have been a good client of our for over 20 years.

If that does not convince you, consider this:

How many beggers have you seen who have a set amount of money they will take from someone willing to give.

The company I work for has an hourly rate that varies from much less than 60 per man hour to well over 500 per man hour. And all that money is very well justified.

Good luck, work hard and charge what you need to make future money.
 
35 and around 220 lbs.

My day job pays union hourly wages and I can't remember what that is exactly, somewhere around $27 and benefits. I do know there will be zero increase for 3 years...

I charge $50/hr on my side jobs but I'm picky about them and don't do any clean up. I'll probably bump that up- a low hourly rate only drags down the value of the profession.
 
33 6'1" 198lbs $75 to $125hr

Does any body inlude their travel time in their hourly rate. Or is from the time you set foot on the job?
 
I think that some informative things to add are what you are bringing to the job in equipment,

how many are on your crew,

and what your job types are (e.g. 40% prune, 40% removal, 10% grinding, 5% planting, 5% consulting.

I will guestimate to do about 45% prune, 45% removal, 10% grind/ plant/ consult/ landscape pruning combined.

I have lately been running with one groundman. Aiming for $125-150/ 2 person crew hour for chip truck and 9" chipper.
$100-125/ 2 person crew hour with no disposal.
Less per man hour for stump grinding with 25 hp grinder.
 
5' 11" and 175lbs. 35 or 36 years old ( I don't really know or care).

I try to do things to work out as $220 an hour for 3 man crew with one as a climber and two groundmen and a 14" diam chipper. so thats $73 per man hour.

IF the k-boom truck and/or skid loader is used plenty, rate at $330 hour.

I don't charge houly rate very often, but usually quote an estimate for the job, and shoot for those figures.

I have to say, we will likely be about twice as fast as the next local guy though.

The really good thing is that we have done extremely well in this bad economy. Many of the local tree services have had little or no loyal customers. They have customers that just go with the lowest estimator and have no loyalty. Our customers want us; the quality and not just the lowest price, so we don't have to worry often about that.

I'm glad we have devoted customers and that is why we've done so well in this economy.

We've actually had some of the best years in business, in 16 years with this "bad" economy.
 
Hourly rate is a good measure for bigger companies, where labor costs are huge.

I've often thought that a daily rate is a better benchmark for a solo operator, owner working with crew on almost all jobs. You can always add another man to the crew, but you can never get that day back again once its gone.

ps.. you have to include travel tine to and from a job, as that is part of the cost on hourly calculations.
 
I think that transparency is fine. We expect it from goods, why not services? We post and stick to our hourly rate yearly. We will perform a job as a bid or T&M, but you can't have it both ways.
 
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