Measuring Wheels

[Woody04765]

For tohse of you who use measuring wheels to price your lawns and other things, what numbers are you using? I know you probably go by linear feet but how much do u charge per square ft for mowing and how much per foot for edging or weedeating?

[br549oicu8]

Lawn pricing

I wouldn't advise a per square feet for mowing or edging. Not every square foot is the same. It works well for weed control, etc. but I think the time factor is much more important. A 1/2 acre lawn could take two completely different pricings to be fair to yourself depending on trimming, slopes. obstacles, etc.
Go for the time thing!!
Buddy

[Lawngodfather]

For lawn applications, you need to know the Sq/ft of the lawn.

For mowing I can use that figure, and also use the liner feet of blowing and trimming to come up with a price.

Yes this is all great, but I have found that neighbors talk and one that is a $50 next to a $25 lawn will complain no matter how much I explain why their price is $50, so I take a small beating on the price and eat it, so I can have all the other work at thier place. I am not in this business to make a killing of lawn care anymore, I am in this biz to make a killing off the rest of the work. Lawn care as a whole is suffering because it's so easy to mow lawns. That brings prices down as unemployment and lay off increase.

That extra 5-7 minutes we would spend at the more expensive lawn I am not charging the right price for, I am also getting the work that I want that brings me the real money I wouldn't get if I would of price that lawn accrdingly.

I perfer multiple houses in one subdivision or area, and charging each and every lawn accrodingly would not able me in doing that, so on that lawn I didn't charge the $50 is should be, it got me more lawns or work. That is what I am after right?

I price knowing my time, and what range that lawn should be in. After years of practice estimating, the measuring wheel get's used less and less for bid to mow. I've used it, and I do without it, you just have to know where you want to go, what you are going to do in the future (like 10 years from now not next week or next month) as planning your biz out.


Maybe I helped you maybe I didn't.

[Woody04765]

Lawngodfather, I also bid my jobs by what kind of work I will get out of it. I couldn't agree more. I have never ever used a wheel to bid a job. I was just curious to see what people do charge using the wheel because I honestly haven't a clue what the going rate is using a wheel for measuring. Thanks though for the advice. Any advice is always appreciated when it flows this way!

[Lawngodfather]

I'm not saying don't use one as the figures you gater can be used for other things, like bed edging, mulch bed area, aeration, dethatching, seeding, sodding, etc....but I have found the wheel to be almost useless for mowing.

I've read articles where there are guys who don't need to see a property, but can estimate on the figures given, I can't see how anyone could or would want to do that. On most residential that I have, many wheel figures would have killed me using it to come up with a price.

$1 per 1000 sq ft to mow is great, but you go that and say 700 liniar feet of trimming at .25 and how can anyone come up with liniar feet fro blowing? I have yet to blow something off that is linar, most grass clippings goes more than a foot.

Heck a 100,000 sq ft lawn it would be $100 to mow, $175 to trim and say $25 to blow. that's $300, who will pay $300 to cut their 2.25 acre lawn? I am getting $95 and takes 2 guys less than 30 minutes to acomplish this, and I have more than 1 lawn on the street.

[Greenman]

Re: Lawn pricing

Originally posted by br549oicu8
I wouldn't advise a per square feet for mowing or edging. Not every square foot is the same. It works well for weed control, etc. but I think the time factor is much more important. A 1/2 acre lawn could take two completely different pricings to be fair to yourself depending on trimming, slopes. obstacles, etc.
Go for the time thing!!
Buddy

I measure everything with the wheel. I have a formula that I go by, based on what I need to make per hour. My figures wouldn't be the same for everyone, everyone has different expenses, and hourly rates.

[Woody04765]

That's what I was curious about. Different people's formulas for using the wheel. It isn't like I am going to use them or anything because I just don't use a measuring wheel but I was extremely curious what formulas you guys who did use one had.

[Greenman]

Originally posted by Woody04765
That's what I was curious about. Different people's formulas for using the wheel. It isn't like I am going to use them or anything because I just don't use a measuring wheel but I was extremely curious what formulas you guys who did use one had.

xx amount per sq.ft for mowing maintenance

[Maddog]

I use a measuring wheel. I will use it to get the area of lawn, trimming edging etc. I usually need this for fertilization, mulch etc. anyway. I will keep it in my records for that customer.

Here I have played with some of the formulas that have been listed in the past here. The one that comes closest to what I bid is .0022 X sq ft of lawn plus .035 X the lineal footage of edging.

I don't use strickly this type bidding but it does come close on an avereage lawn. I have found that there are too many variables to bid a mowing job just by measuring and pluging it into a formula. Trees, bushes, flower beds, hills, ditches, fences etc. have to be factored in with there difficulty also.

Beside these factors the areas of the country, state, county, city and neighborhood will all be different as far as pricing.