# What would YOU Say? All Comments Welcome..



## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

Ultimately, I am making this thread to see what you guys would bid on this church...not exact figures, but ballpark figures to kind of get an idea where I would stand with my estimates against a competetors estimates. (yeah its a church, we all know how churches are with their selection process so factor that in)... i am also posting this here to see how long you guys think it would take to successfully, and professionally clean this place up every 3 inches (i believe average snowfall around here is 60 inches)... heres some info...all comments appreciated- neg or pos.

-3 trucks will be doing it, all 8 foot plows.
-Sidewalks/walkways that line the building are to be cleared as well as salted
-Front "Atrium/Courtyard" area near cul-de-sac is made of pavers and needs to be cleaned
-Salt is required 
-3" trigger
-contract will be from Nov 15, 2008-April15 2009
- 2 experienced plowers, 1 rookie 
- hiring some friends to shovel/snowblow for some extra fun and $$ 
-they want a seasonal contract, not per push
-handloading salt bags into tailgate spreaders
-I have Insurance, I have a license

need more info? ask me....

ussmileyflag


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## 042500hd (Oct 10, 2004)

How big is the lot?


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

042500hd;624988 said:


> How big is the lot?


That would be extremely helpful.


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## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

i say an hour


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## Stud Bro (Oct 24, 2007)

3 trucks for one lot that church has got to be big


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

*sorry, i thought i had attatched the picture in the original post...*










the lot is pretty big, i do not have the actual dimensions... i guess you can use the parking lot spots as a form of reference...

looks like the pic is there now? well i guess its in here twice...


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

My guess is 27 hours and charge $746,000.00 for the season or 5 payments of $149,200.00. Post a picture of the lot and my price is subject to change


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

PlowOrDie;625173 said:


> the lot is pretty big, i do not have the actual dimensions... i guess you can use the parking lot spots as a form of reference...
> 
> looks like the pic is there now? well i guess its in here twice...


Opps didnt realize the lot was "pretty big" I need to add $20,000.00 to my bid!
Hopefully you plow better than you post picks cos there still not up LOL


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

Yo dude! There is still no picture! Im going to undercut Superior L&L and say that I can do it in 6.5 hours so I would only go $725,000 for the season or 5 payments of $147,500.


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

haha, my fault- just realized that i had my album set on private... changed it to public... think it will work now?


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

Hey there they are!


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## erkoehler (Sep 25, 2008)

I can see the pics, but can't even begin to form an estimate. Can you go out an measure the lot?


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

ok... i hope you guys can see those pictures now that i made that change... here is another picture that i edited... the yellow boxes are areas that need to have the snow completely removed by shovel/snowblower... sidewalks, courtyards, and dumpster area...


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

im going to measure the lot tomorrow morning. Should make the estimating ALOT easier... i know some of you guys on this site can eyeball it up though...


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

here are some pictures of the front courtyard with the pavers.. taken at night...


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## scottL (Dec 7, 2002)

The lot's not big enough for 3 trucks from the picts you posted. I'd say you could knock it out with one truck in 1:15 to 1:30. If you have the second truck then figure under an hour easy. Add :15 clean up time to push the snow that came off the brick and walks.

A little tough to see the walks but..... The walks around the building, two guys one hour with push shovels. The kicker is the front brick area which needs a decent snow blower and a shoveler maybe 40 minutes. If you get some young bucks with strong backs the time can go down.

A 3" trigger .... What happens if they get a 2.5" snow today and then a day later another 2", then the third day they hit the 3" snow fall trigger. Are you plowing 7.5" that is now packed down?? Then this will add 30-40% time and much salt to the situation. A 2" trigger some times has a chance to melt in the early season not so in Jan/Feb.

Figure the time, apply your per hour rate, figure your costs, add in salting based on your sq foot and per ton and balance the effort with any other account you have near by.


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

I agree, that lot isn't all that big, nor is it complex.

1 truck, 1.5 to 2 hours to plow it.


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

scottL;625601 said:


> The lot's not big enough for 3 trucks from the picts you posted. I'd say you could knock it out with one truck in 1:15 to 1:30. If you have the second truck then figure under an hour easy. Add :15 clean up time to push the snow that came off the brick and walks.
> 
> A little tough to see the walks but..... The walks around the building, two guys one hour with push shovels. The kicker is the front brick area which needs a decent snow blower and a shoveler maybe 40 minutes. If you get some young bucks with strong backs the time can go down.
> 
> ...


thanks for the reply.

I understand what you are saying about the 2.5" snow fall being packed down then re-snowed on, and how it would cause me problems. 2 inch trigger might be a little more realistic. Another thing about this church also is that it is in operation 3 days out of the week.

Honestly my guess was that it would take me more then one truck to get this lot done in less then two hours. I figured if all three of us were to show up, we could knock it out in an hour.


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## scottL (Dec 7, 2002)

Regarding the 2" trigger. I've run across many small companies that are manufacturing on a tight budget. They are closed sat/sun and don't want to be plowed in order to save money. I explain that when the stuff sits it becomes packed and then your Monday will not be as clean. So, I've come up with a special approach and pricing that allows me not to eat it and them to save on the dollars.

Maybe you can come up with something like that for your client. dunno.


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## Burkartsplow (Nov 1, 2007)

Hey I am bidding on that church also. Isnt that crazy....


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## timberseal (Jul 24, 2008)

Hey me too! ....




okay maybe not but it sounded good


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

Burkartsplow;625830 said:


> Hey I am bidding on that church also. Isnt that crazy....


what a coincidence... so what kinda prices do ya have for him??


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

OK, the square footage is about 137,500sqft. 

the areas that need shoveling and snowblowing come out to about 8500 sqft.


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## JJyardLLC (Nov 6, 2008)

based on my pricing, i would say:



id say $9700 for the season 

$495 per push


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## terrapro (Oct 21, 2006)

for about 145,000sqft

$11550 seasonal

$725 per app for salt


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## scottL (Dec 7, 2002)

I got 1650 pounds of salt at a rate of 12lbs per 1,000 square foot. Then apply your cost for salt. trucks and manpower you've already got some insight into that.


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

ok i bid 11100 + tax . includes salt. then i gave an option for no salting, at 5900/tax. +400 for salting per request. 

we shall see... could care less if i get it or not


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## big acres (Nov 8, 2007)

Burkartsplow;625830 said:


> Hey I am bidding on that church also. Isnt that crazy....


too funny... if true, it had to happen sooner or later. Gotta be careful what you share.

Eyeballing it, I'd say ir's about 2.5 acres. A similar church lot I bid went for $250 per push up to six inches (lot only)... my bid was higher. good luck.


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

Im glad you measured cos i was having a hard time thinking i would be able to do that in 1.5-2 hours

I was thinking three hours and that is a little closer based on the measurements


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

145,000 Sq ft your going to plow in a hour? with one truck?

dont think so.


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## tjlands (Sep 29, 2005)

Looking at the lot set up,I agree more like 2 to 2.5 hours for one truck at least.
I do not see any light poles or other areas that would make plowing easier, alot of long runs. 

The side walks, depends on equipment, but 8500 sq ft is alot of very wide walks.


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## KGRlandscapeing (May 2, 2007)

he said 3 trucks all 8 ft blades So its like 3 acres give or take so an hour plus salt plus the sidewalks. All 3 truck in and out no less then 2 hrs and i only say that because of the extra,


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## NICHOLS LANDSCA (Sep 15, 2007)

3" trigger is a really bad idea. LIke someone else said it can build up in a hurry. All of mine are 1" about 4 years ago I had a lot that they insisted on a 2" trigger. It didn't work out very well we got a bunch of 1"ers and he had stuck semis in his lot. Use 11 ton of salt to soften it enough so it could be plowed/scraped clean only a 2.5 acre lot. He would have been way ahead money wise if we had plowed at 1" the rest of the season was 1"


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

Nice truk line up Nichols


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## Gicon (Oct 1, 2005)

PlowOrDie;628351 said:


> ok i bid 11100 + tax . includes salt. then i gave an option for no salting, at 5900/tax. +400 for salting per request.
> 
> we shall see... could care less if i get it or not


You guys charge Tax on Service? Not in this land. I would put in a seasonal bid for $17,000. I think that is a little more realistic.


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## snowandgo (Oct 26, 2008)

I was thinking three hours. Probably about the same on the walks.


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## Grampa Plow (Sep 1, 2008)

I smell some price fixing in Ohio!! Is there anyway we can check on any PM's between these 2? Looks like 3 trucks would be running into each other in short order. I be you find you can get it done in less than 1.5 hours with 2 trucks...NOT including the sidewalks.


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## PlowOrDie (Oct 26, 2007)

well, didnt get the job.

just fillin ya in. 

i guess people are doin stuff for free these days..


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