Is $30.00 Hour unreasonable for a landscaper.?
Question:I have my own little buisiness landscaping...and was wondering if $30.00 Hr. is a good laboring rate for mowing lawns, etc.
Answers:
I've gone into landscaping as a second career. I charge $35 per man hour for labor, and $45 for mowing (rider) or spraying pesticides. I have all the business that I can do, and regularly turn down jobs that are not attractive to me. Good luck.
I don't bag the clippings (we don't need to, due to very sandy soil) but I do precision edging and trimming. When I leave, things look like a million bucks. I do total service..mowing, trimming, planting, fertilizing, design work, etc. You will need to get your pesticide liscense, and learn what grows in your area.
I retired as a high school science teacher, and without a whole lot of trouble I have tripled my yearly teacher salary with landscaping..using only 1 or 2 helpers.
rrm38.LOL.It's hard to find that type of service here, too. That's why I've been able to charge what I do, and to have as much business as I do. All but one job that I do is within 4 blocks of my house/shop, and that really makes it easier for me, and it makes it more convenient for my customers. Alas.Next year will be my last year doing this. I'm gonna retire again.for good, this time. Thanks for the note.
That's a very good rate for mowing a lawn, but I don't know anyone that would pay that.
I don't think it's an unreasonable rate as long as you're doing an adequate job, but I'm picky about my lawn. I prefer for the clippings to be bagged, edging done (nicely), and for everything to be blown with a blower afterwards. Also, applying and watering in lawn treatments as they're due would be a great plus. Add in keeping bushes/trees pruned and flower beds weeded, and I'd probably pay more than $30/hour.
Edit: Dang, Dogzilla... I need you in AL. Then I could quit killing myself in the yard all the time. It's tough to find a good lawn service in my area that will do residential work.
Seems about right for mowing lawns. When I worked landscaping in college we always charged a flat fee for each lawn. The average lawn mowing fee was about 25 to 30 and we could knock them out in about twenty to thirty minutes with two people.
I would just like to point out that mowing lawns does not make one a landscaper. Landscaping involves the design, installation, and maintenance of all aspects of a yard including lawn, beds, trees, etc. Landscapers must also be licensed, bonded, and insured. If you mow lawns and do yard cleanup you are a lawn service company. If you are doing more and can call yourself a landscaper, it's time to get serious and contact your state's department of agriculture to see what you need to do before someone sues you.
And for a landscaper, $30 bucks an hour is on the low end.
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