dayexco
Senior Member
going rate for basement excavation here is $3.75 per cubic yard. going rate for hourly rate on a 210 sized excavator is $130 per hour...if they don't add up, is because you're punching the wrong numbers on your calculator?
-
Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!
Hourly rate or "contract"?
- Thread starter Scrub Puller
- Start date
going rate for basement excavation here is $3.75 per cubic yard. going rate for hourly rate on a 210 sized excavator is $130 per hour...if they don't add up, is because you're punching the wrong numbers on your calculator?
Colorado Digger
Senior Member
hourly or contract
in my neck of the woods $3.75 for mass x (over2500 yards or so) is right in there. the prices have all come down quite a bit. when i look at basements, my bidding depends on how far i have to move the material or if it goes straight into the tipper. to dig for $3.75 and move and stockpile is a different deal. now you need a hoe plus a loader. still cheaper then hauling, depending on the dump site. our friggin landfill is up to $96 a load for a tandem load(12 yards) or structural fill and $50 bucks or so for screenables-(topsoil). most of the material here is pit run. so lot's of import and export.
our market is different here and 210 sized hoes are between $150 and $165 an hour. some guys are working for $125 and $135. the arguement between t&m or bid could go on and on forever. if there are good plans and a well built scope of work bidding is the way to go. it seems that the plans are never very complete and we bid jobs and the client keeps saying "that's in the bid"
anyways, good luck
regards cd
:usa:usa
in my neck of the woods $3.75 for mass x (over2500 yards or so) is right in there. the prices have all come down quite a bit. when i look at basements, my bidding depends on how far i have to move the material or if it goes straight into the tipper. to dig for $3.75 and move and stockpile is a different deal. now you need a hoe plus a loader. still cheaper then hauling, depending on the dump site. our friggin landfill is up to $96 a load for a tandem load(12 yards) or structural fill and $50 bucks or so for screenables-(topsoil). most of the material here is pit run. so lot's of import and export.
our market is different here and 210 sized hoes are between $150 and $165 an hour. some guys are working for $125 and $135. the arguement between t&m or bid could go on and on forever. if there are good plans and a well built scope of work bidding is the way to go. it seems that the plans are never very complete and we bid jobs and the client keeps saying "that's in the bid"
anyways, good luck
regards cd
:usa:usa
Colorado Digger
Senior Member
we do alot of not to exceed t and m. it seems to work well. the one thing is with type of structured pricing is you need a fixed scope because the client always adds more work and then you go over budget and they whine or don't pay. keeping the jobs separate and accurate timecards is the ticket. we try to get things signed every day as well.
Digging It Inc
Member
Why would any customer pay your 375 for the job when this job only takes and hour and guys are charging 130 and hour? Sounds like your 245 over what the local clown is. Maybe I'm completely missing something or maybe customers arent asking contractors that charge hourly whats your best guess at how many hours its gonna take you charging hourly. Hell if I was charged 375 for an hours worth of work I'd be pissed if I found out I could have had someone at 130 an hour. Then again when you tell your customers that your only charging 3.75 per yard maybe they dont understand quite how much dirt you can move in an hour and obviously 3.75 sounds alot better than 130 an hour. Seems like there might be some details left out to make it sound a little better.
dayexco
Senior Member
most of my customers want to know beforehand...what the "walkaway" cost is...in other words, when i'm ALL said and done, what's the number they're going to write down on my check. they tell me the scope of the work, i tell them...and unless they change the scope of the work, my bill will be for that value. works for me, and them....after 30+ years in this, i'm fairly confident in my ability to produce "x" an hr....and 9 times out of 10, when bidding against somebody that says "this is my price per hour"...i'll walk away with the job because the owner know his end cost. being in the biz this long? unless is was an emergency repair with a LOT of variables, "who knows what's buried here, a zillion utilities in the road, etc."......if i was on the paying end of this scenario, i would NEVER hire a contractor by the hour.
Colorado Digger
Senior Member
missing something
so the guy for $130 an hour is going to mobe a 210 in, move 100 yards and mobe out? all for $130? of course you are missing something. most of us add a mob and demob into this figure. the numbers are different in dayco's part but i thing most of us know the deal. mass ex and such for $3.75 is doable. with as much experience as he has i am sure je knows where to draw the line. let's remember excavator come and go faster than truck drivers drinking slurpees and cops eating donuts.
if i had a 100 yard stockpile that i needed moved how would i handle it? move it on site? ok. one way. load it out 2 ways. again different pricing.
it alll depends on the machines available, how much material is to be moved and how far. if you are digging and stockpiling with a hoe only eventually the material will be double swapped, processed for backfill, dozed out for fill, or backfilled.
i tend to use subs that may not be the cheapest but get the job done without bitching and whining and don't cry the next day about wanting a check.
i don't think it is worth an arguement over.
regards, cd
so the guy for $130 an hour is going to mobe a 210 in, move 100 yards and mobe out? all for $130? of course you are missing something. most of us add a mob and demob into this figure. the numbers are different in dayco's part but i thing most of us know the deal. mass ex and such for $3.75 is doable. with as much experience as he has i am sure je knows where to draw the line. let's remember excavator come and go faster than truck drivers drinking slurpees and cops eating donuts.
if i had a 100 yard stockpile that i needed moved how would i handle it? move it on site? ok. one way. load it out 2 ways. again different pricing.
it alll depends on the machines available, how much material is to be moved and how far. if you are digging and stockpiling with a hoe only eventually the material will be double swapped, processed for backfill, dozed out for fill, or backfilled.
i tend to use subs that may not be the cheapest but get the job done without bitching and whining and don't cry the next day about wanting a check.
i don't think it is worth an arguement over.
regards, cd
Digging It Inc
Member
First off there was nothing at all said about moving machines in or out or anything along those lines or even transporting spoils or anything past moving 100 yards. So C.D. in that aspect I don't think that I'm missing something. The statements that were made were bluntly I charge this an hour or I charge this a yard. The other statement was that using a 210 sized excavator I can either charge you 375 to move this 100 yards of dirt or 130 an hour. Now the way its been figured in this posting is that it should not even take an hour to move 100 yards of dirt so yet again explain to me how it is cheaper by the yard. There are obviously many ways to handle the moving of 100 yards I'm sure we are all in agreeance on that aspect but for this scenario 130 is still cheaper for the customer, and until you spell out every last little detail about how its being moved and whats happening after its moved I can't see how a generalized statement of a per yard price is cheaper!
Colorado Digger
Senior Member
not interested
Broken shovel
Member
With all the discussion about costs of doing a job, large or small, hourly rate or bid job. Unless you have been to the job site, visited with the owners about what is to be moved where, how could you determine if one person's price is better than the other when the specifics of the project don't seem to be clear. It would seem to be comparing apples to cucumbers. We get tangled up in this type of question all the time from customers even though we are in a much, much, smaller end of the excavation/dirt work business. I agree with CD about the $130.00 charge, how could you move in a small hoe much less a large machine, do the work and then move back out. Not trying to be confrontational, but I can't hardly move into a job with a 322 Bobcat excavator and dig 50' of electrical line for that. I'm trying to come up with a price now to do cable drops for a local company. They would prefer a "quoted" price, but with all the extenuating conditions I'm not sure I can do that. Anybody have any ideas on this type of thing, it's new to us?
Matt_H
Well-Known Member
contract is by far the best. Look at plans do site visit, talk with general/owner. and price, everyone knows were everyone stands no surprizes. right now where we're at mass ex. is starting at $4/yd and up, plus hauling plus moblization. hourly rates are good hear with 200 going for $190/hr and 290 for $240/hr. From personal experience anyone that works hourly is shorting them selves big. On most jobs I figure work for 2hrs get paid for 3hrs.
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair...
And that's a good attitude to business?
And that's a good attitude to business?
Matt_H
Well-Known Member
If you provide good workmanship, finish on time people will pay whatever it takes.
mitch504
Senior Member
Wow, sounds like I need to move to Saskatoon.
dayexco
Senior Member
you will find, a "seasoned" contractor is very reluctant to take a job by the hour unless he knows there are a bunch of unknown variables in his way. if the job is straight forward, he'll bid "total cost/completed cost" and do one of two things...he'll make money at what he's doing if given the job....or occupy the hourly guy with cheap work, working by the hour that has zero idea what his costs are, what he's capable of producing is....and put money in his pocket either way.
SKM Excavation
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2011
- Messages
- 35
- Location
- Sask,Canada
- Occupation
- Heavy duty Mechanic bye trade. Self employed cont
I run my excavator for a lot of farmers and bye the hour works for what i do plus they supply all the fuel my unit arrives full of fuel and must leave full of fuel. I also charge a flat rate depending on distance for moving my equipment. I've had it before when a few farmers in a close area will get together and split the transport/fuel costs as i can just walk my excavator from one quarter of land to the next this works good for cleaning out water drainage and burying stone piles and so on but i have to keep good records of how much time i spend on each persons land i have never had problems going this route. However the R.M's in my area want to work off quotes most of this work is putting in culverts breaking out beaver dams and so on no real precision digging i always quote on the higher side for these jobs as their is more variables for problems when dealing with R.M's or other contractors and lets face it time is money if i'm sitting waiting for councilors arguing over the way a job is going to be completed i'm not making money. I don't have a preference for either hourly or contracted work I've done good on both you just really need to know who you are working for and do your research before you put that quote in and make damn sure you take all unforeseen problems into account as once you get into trouble any of those over runs come out of your profit and once that profit is gone it starts coming out of your pocket I've never lost money on a job yet but i have walked away even a few times LOL.
Matt_H
Well-Known Member
Another thing to account for is the time you have to wait for payment. Something that is common practice around here when submitting a lump sum price on a job is add interest ahead of time, as most generals pay in the 60-90day period.
SKM Excavation
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2011
- Messages
- 35
- Location
- Sask,Canada
- Occupation
- Heavy duty Mechanic bye trade. Self employed cont
Very good point i like cash on the hood deals better though most of my work has me being paid before i leave the job site when doing work for a farmer i lay out what the deal is with fuel and my rate and ill give a very rough estimate of what the bill will be if requested bye them and also that i need to be paid as soon as work is completed. I've never had a complaint on any of my policies most farmers in my parts work under the same rules when using their equipment to help one another farming anyways and everyone knows how uncomfortable and difficult it can be to collect debts. R.M's generally pay within a couple weeks to a month so i guess that would be on par with a general contractor. What kind of projects are you working on in saskatoon Matt?
Digging it. 1st you have to say this would you rather pay a flat rate or a variable rate? Yes to move that 100 yds it would cost 375 but we do not know how long it would take him, but you pay the same no matter how long it takes. And to be honest sometimes moving a stockpile take more time than expected due to truck breakdowns and machine troubles or owner troubles. Where as you are paying by the hour for the excavator to sit there. So if the job will take more than 2.9 hours you have made money on the deal.
Typically We would hire guys for the set contract price. I think it give incentive to complete the job sooner. If you pay by the hour too many guys ride the clock as explained in the initial post of this.