Landscaping stump holes

[cory]

I have to bid on landscaping stump holes, adding top soil, seed and hay. I'm a rookie at this. Any tips?

Anyone know how many wheelbarrow loads are in 1 yard of topsoil?

 

[MasterBlaster]

"The average wheelbarrow can hold 2 to 3 cubic feet per load. 2 cubic foot wheebarrow is more shallow than a 3 cubic foot wheelbarrow, which is considered a full size. Therefore, depending on the size of the wheelbarrow it can take 10 to 14 full loads to equal a cubic yard."

http://www.ask.com/question/how-many-wheelbarrows-in-a-cubic-yard

That sure sounds odd to me.

 

[cory]

I think the full size contractor wheel barrows are 6 cu ft, so if you conservatively figure 1 barrow can hold 5 cu ft then there is bit more than 5 barrows full in a cubic yard of top soil.

 

[Husabud]

3x3x3=27 cu ft in 1 yard it all depends on how big the bucket on the mini is. If you're using a wheelbarrow, price it high. On a 20" stump ground to 8", I will get 3-4 buckets with the mini of grindings.

 

[cory]

I'm set with the grinding part, just trying to price the soil/seed/hay part.

I think I've got it now, we'll see if I figured right if I get the work.

 

[Husabud]

Usually to fill that hole it's 2-3 buckets with the mini.

Sorry I forgot that part.

 

[Altissimus]

...also actual top soil is only needed for the few inches it takes to support grass...if holes are deep a gravel or loam filler will cut cost as top is expensive by comparison

 

[MasterBlaster]

Good tip!

 

[Al Smith]

You don't want hay .Oat straw is best because it rots faster next is wheat straw .Almost nobody bales oat straw any more in these parts ,Fact almost noone plants it any more .

If you want a fast cover crop sow annual rye or wheat in with the grass seed .It comes up looking like grass and protects the young grass shoots which take longer to germinate .Plus it hids the grass seed from the birds .In about early July in most parts the wheat or rye will die off leaving just the grass .

 

[bonner1040]

At big green we often sold stump cleanup far and above the cost of the stump removal. We removed all chips, put soil in, graded, planted, seed, added starter fert and pen mulch/tacifier.

Its horrible work.

 

[bonner1040]

Its a big help to have two trucks, one to load with stump debris and another full of dirt.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I did this on 600 stumps, but for the life of me cant remember the details. Peter might know, as he was working for me then, and drove the mini loader non stop for 2 weeks removing grindings and filling with top soil.

 

[cory]

Thanks for all the responses, good stuff there.

 

[treelooker]

When the thread was titled 'landscaping' I thought it was about planting something more useful than grass.

Lansdscape a natural area, with a tree in the middle! We don't need no mo stinkin lawn!

 

[Tucker943]

Don't use hay. Use Penn Mulch or some other tactifier. No mess, better for germinating the seed, nicer looking, and has a very light fertilizer that wont burn the new sprouts. You will have a higher germination rate, faster establishment of new turf. That is better then reseeding if portions of it don't take. A little more money, yes. Higher success rate, YES.

 

[cory]

Thanks for the info, gents. All to no avail, though. I bid on some town work, I bid low knowing town work tends to be mad cheap. There's an outfit from Rhode Island, 140 miles away, doing town work here now, they stay at a local hotel. My bid was almost 3 times higher than the low bid...

 

[MasterBlaster]

Good!!!

 

[brendonv]

Damn.

A guy i know, bids town work for nothing. I mean nothing. He makes up on adds on. He bid 16 large tree removals for 200$ each, haul everything.

 

[cory]

What's an add on? Work neighbors want done when he's there?

 

[woodworkingboy]

A few bucks to help carry the groceries from the car?

 

[brendonv]

No, that the town adds on.

 

[cory]

How does that work, getting a real number for an add on when the initial item is 4x too cheap??

 

[brendonv]

Works for them. Are they going to redo the bidding process for the medium sized cherry tree on bear den rd when there is a tree crew doing town work across the street? With that said, based upon a recent issue you can tell the competing bidders aren't happy about it.

 

[jalegre0]

This happened to me when a storm ripped up vineland,nj last year.
I went to the motel they were staying at, drank that night at the bar next door and smoothed into there conversation.
How you do today I asked they said it was a good day $2,000.
I then went on to tell them you can get 2 to three times that much around here.
Left that bar on a good note and since he didnt have a stump grinder He refered me for all stumps they couldn't grind and the customer had me complete or fix anything they didn't do a win win for all.

Thanks for the info, gents. All to no avail, though. I bid on some town work, I bid low knowing town work tends to be mad cheap. There's an outfit from Rhode Island, 140 miles away, doing town work here now, they stay at a local hotel. My bid was almost 3 times higher than the low bid...

 

[cory]

The whole thing is pretty eye opening, having seen/bid on every tree (15 trees). The biggest tree I bid for a day with a crane, with 2 cops closing the road (the cops are $850.00 per day). With no crane, the tree would take 2 days of road closing. The tree is a pretty massive 4' diameter sugar maple between the curb and a nice stone wall, wires close by. Tree, wood removal, stumping, and landscape the stump. This one tree is worth 80% of the entire low bid.