Cost and quotes
Do you charge by the hour or by the job?
By the job. You get one firm number after I walk the land, and that is the number. Hourly puts the risk on you if the ground fights back. I would rather carry that myself.
Why hourly makes people nervous
When you pay by the hour you are paying for how long it takes, and you have no way to know if that is fast or slow. Every hour the operator takes is money out of your pocket, and you are standing there watching the clock. I have heard that worry from enough people to know it is a fair one.
How a by-the-job price works
I walk the land, figure out what it takes, and give you a number for the finished work. If it takes me longer than I thought, that is on me. If something we did not talk about comes up, a buried stump pile or rock where I expected dirt, I stop and talk to you before anything changes. You are never surprised at the end.
What is in the number
The machine and the crew for the job, fuel, getting the equipment there and back, and the plan we agreed on for stumps and debris. If haul-off is part of the job, it is in the number. There is no separate load bill that shows up after.
Want a real number for your land?
Tell me what you are picturing and I will come walk it with you. You get a firm number before any work starts, and the quote costs nothing.
Serving Middle Tennessee