I've done the stopwatch thing and it works. I've been lucky and only been swindled a few times by pros who got everybody around. If state in your contract if it can't be moved with your biggest tractor or backhoe you kinda cover yourself. Some say unrippable with a d8 ripper is rock and can be blasted. If I look at a job and think it's gonna be rocky, i know different engineers classify rocks differently. I have a rock exclusion and unsuitable soil exclusion. I always exclude and surveying,engineering,locating, landscaping and the usual stuff. And every estimate has a place for exclusions. WRWtexan: I always always always use a paper contract and estimate. Pete I hope I haven't hijacked your thread but maybe added to it. What about working hourly doesn't pencil out? Honest questions all as I am excited about maybe branching out from straight repair wrenching which is getting very frustrating (very good money but stressful trying to keep everyone happy) to getting some seat time. Even with shifting dirt which is measurable (yardage), how do you deal with finding a spring or rock layer? Wouldn't that get into change orders? I've had people ask what I'd do a job for and I tell them it's hourly or I don't run as a hard bid is too much of a risk for me as I will short myself on the estimate. How do you bid a job large job and both sides have faith that they are getting a good deal? I had done skid steer shear clearing and every job was different when I got into the bush (thick/thin/small/large growth). Even with years of experience, how do you keep from getting bit in the a$$ by something unforseen without bidding high? My thought has been charging by the hour (stopwatch in all machines, only running when producing), the op is paid for his time spent and the customer only pays for work performed. My questions are myriad regarding bidding. I have good work prospects after this job is over, which for all I know if he's pleased, he may add more. The woods to be cleared are uniform in growth. To do the best job I can for him and not leave a mess as the previous op had, I've purchased a 55K hoe with thumb for the big stuff and an older Kershaw/Fecon grinder for the small. He was impressed with my cleanup and has given me over a hundred acres of standing timber to clear and another spillway to repair. After he was happy with that job, he asked if I could take on cleaning up a huge tree clearing mess left by a local operator as he had pushed more dirt in the piles than trees. I had purchased the D6C which is my avatar pic for personal work and a tractor repair customer with over 2200 acres asked about me doing some dam repair work as I had offhandedly mentioned having some equipment. Td25c please take this as just a question from someone who is just getting into the business by accident.
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