# Church bid



## Buchananj

hey guys i just placed a bid on a church lot and i was wondering if im over charging or under charging the lot has a 50' drive way then two parking areas that are 300' by 62' and then another drive area thats 300' by 17' and about 150' of sidewalk i placed my bid as 
Snow Plowing (initial clearing up to 6") 2" trigger $300
after 6" $120.00/hr
sidewalks $100
rock salt $50 per application normally 2 per storm


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## grandview

Well your salt is to low ,with churches you can make more by salting. I sure hope those 6 inches of snow is when they are closed,you don't need to get everyone mad at you. Old people talk and if they know who is plowing their church they will bad mouth you all over town.

Got a pix of this church?


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## Buchananj

im also using my dodge ram 1500 with a meyer 7.5 st plow


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## Buchananj

its not letting me upload the pic of the church...


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## Buchananj

how much would you charge for everything over a 6" snow storm?


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## Antlerart06

Buchananj;1376127 said:


> hey guys i just placed a bid on a church lot and i was wondering if im over charging or under charging the lot has a 50' drive way then two parking areas that are 300' by 62' and then another drive area thats 300' by 17' and about 150' of sidewalk i placed my bid as
> Snow Plowing (initial clearing up to 6") 2" trigger $300
> after 6" $120.00/hr
> sidewalks $100
> rock salt $50 per application normally 2 per storm


Wow 
You charging 120 per hr for a 7.5ft plow WOW I live in the wrong part of the country

How long you think it take clear the lot under 6'' of snow of this size with a 7.5 plow


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## Buchananj

my estimate for me just to plow is 1 to 1 1/2 hours but my parents (im 17) say its gonna take me 3 hours but they have never seen me plow


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## grandview

Tough call but I wouldn't hire you because of your age.Who's insurance is this business on?


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## Antlerart06

Buchananj;1376281 said:


> my estimate for me just to plow is 1 to 1 1/2 hours but my parents (im 17) say its gonna take me 3 hours but they have never seen me plow


Im speechless


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## Buchananj

its under mine im insured for $1,000,000 and the truck title is in my name as well.this my second year plowing and 8th doing lawn care i also have another commercial place that actually was the reason i started to plow


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## grandview

How did you get insurance and the million is on the truck? What about GL insurance? If your plowing for money and hit something your insurance won't cover it.


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## Buchananj

its split between the truck and me and i just went to my insurance agent and told him im getting a plow and need coverage so even though the regulations say no commercial under 18 or something like that. my agent is a family friend and told his boss that i need the insurance because im plowing no matter what and they gave it to me for like 2100 a year versus 2600 a year without plowing and towing


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## Buchananj

also in my policy it states if its a vehicle building, person etc it does cover me


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## grandview

You better check that. Did you tell them your plowing commercially or just plowing ? Won't cover you if your plowing for money. You better read it and have your parents read it.They maybe responsible for what you do.


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## Buchananj

it covers me for both i had my agent and my parents go over it and explain it. and its insurance for my business overall which includes plowing


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## Antlerart06

Your Insurance must be different then mine My son is 19 this 2nd yr plowing with me in a truck
My insurance would not cover him driving a plow truck when he was under the age of 18 But would cover him on everything else 
Hope you and ur parents best of luck hope dont come back bite you in the rear


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## cod8825

Is there some weird pushing or areas that are hard to get to because you are only plowing about 2/3 of an acre of lot. If it is long rectangular that you can push to the end it would seem an easier push that could be done in an hour or less. The plowing seems fine a little high on sidewalks but that is here vs there. The salt will kill you though raise the price at what your charging you might as well do it for free.

Matt


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## Buchananj

not really but there are islands but they are where the actual parking spaces are so i plan to push it all away from the church into the grass in the middle and around the outside.
Antler- who is your insurance company?


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## MatthewG

Why dont you just give me the address and Ill go look at it for you, Im in Allentown everday for work and my dad is in Easton everyday for work.

I can tell you, being as we are in the same area $120 per hour with that little blade and truck is too much. You should be at $80 ah hour or something like that. If you can get it great, but if your bidding against others, forget it

Let me know if you ned any local help

Matt


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## Buchananj

likewise send me your information over pm also the reason i charge so much is because they need it cleared as much as possible all the time because something is always going on


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## Buchananj

also the current guy doesnt salt or do the sidewalks and is unreliable


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## highlander316

damn, prices are all over in the LV. I'm from Easton, and I'll tell you that I bid higher per hour for my 8.5' blade than what you listed. Then again, I have a friend who bids at $75/hr! I actually have churches that I plow through-out Easton (Palmer, city of Easton, and south-side). Biggest thing is make sure you have them ready to go at least 30 mins before service starts; old people show up early. Don't undersell your self, most churches have money. They are a business now-a-days.

Also get wings on your plow if you can, huge difference.


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## Buchananj

well for its been up and out by 3 am because i have quite a few residentails that pay alot and they leave for work early in the morning so i make sure they can get their cars out of the driveway then i go to my commercial places which now is spreading from forks township which is where im from to easton to Palmer to bethlehem and im working on a gated community contract. hey do you have a greyish truck and a white one?


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## highlander316

no, my pick-up is red, and the dump is white. I'm from Forks too lol, what's your truck look like. As for going to out to Btown, careful during a snow storm. I used to do that, and it sucked, travel took 2-3 times as long compared to normal weather. You are also way low on salt, if you are using bagged, the cost alone is gonna eat you alive


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## Buchananj

i have a silver 1998 dodge ram 1500 with a short bed and tool box with 2 cb antennas and a meyers 7.5


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## Drakeslayer

Buchananj;1377310 said:


> i have a silver 1998 dodge ram 1500 with a short bed and tool box with 2 cb antennas and a meyers 7.5


How often will you be talking on the cb antennas? The church you not have to pay for this. I think your pricing is inline with the going market in your area, assuming you are not talking on your cb all of the time. BTW, what is a cb???


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## Antlerart06

Buchananj;1376956 said:


> also the current guy doesnt salt or do the sidewalks and is unreliable


Are you still in high school


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## Buchananj

yes i am a senior this year at easton


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## MatthewG

How often will you be talking on the cb antennas?The church you not have to pay for this. think your pricing is inline with the going market in your area, assuming you are not talking on your cb all of the time. , what is a cb???

What?


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## Buchananj

ya thats what i was wondering lol


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## Antlerart06

Buchananj;1378097 said:


> yes i am a senior this year at easton


So who going be clearing the snow when you are in school


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## Buchananj

i am since its Easton if they see flurries they cancel school or let out early


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## MatthewG

Buchananj;1378275 said:


> i am since its Easton if they see flurries they cancel school or let out early


I think what he is trying to say is, you better be prepared, school is number one priority not plowing some dumb business, church, industrial lot etc.

You will learn alot but most importantly you will learn that the church lot needs servicing at the strangest time. In a perfect world it would snow everySaturday startting at 5 Am and finishing aorund 3 PM, but it doesnt.

What happens when they need salt only at 9 am on tuesday because they have a funeral at 10 and there was a freak 1 hour snow squall and your in class?

Balancing school/work and snow plowing is tough, its not like another line of sidework that can "wait till tomorrow"


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## Buchananj

they way my schedule is set up is that basically every other 40 minutes i can leave because of senior privileges and if necessary my mom will write me a note to be out. and my parents rule with that is if my grades drop below a B no note to get out and i have to suffer those consequences so I am very prepared with this by getting any work that i would miss if there is a storm that week or weekend so i can get it done for class and all of my teachers know that i plow and work with me when theres a storm by emailing me lessons and websites that would help me explain the material also i have my dad who has a chem e degree and two brothers that are taking physics majors at Penn state
so i understand your concern and my parents have already asked these questions


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## Buchananj

the way* sorry


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## highlander316

i thought privileges only used to be for lunch periods? Are you guys still banned from BK for lunch?

I'll agree with MattG on the weird times with funerals. I do a few cemeteries, and I remember one time, it was probably two or three days after a snow storm, I had to go salt part of the cemetery, because winds had caused slight drifting which then froze over (like .5" coating). I remember getting a call at 8am for a funeral that morning at like 11 or 12am. You're definitely going to need a back-up plan with school


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## grandview

Buchananj;1378291 said:


> if necessary my mom will write me a note to be out.


I wrote a note for you!


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## Buchananj

the funny thing is that as long as a parents signs the note you can put any reason on it lol and nah ill go to BK when i only have one lunch period and my back is my friend that is out of school who plows too and we are back ups for each other


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## Buchananj

back up****


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## motodad

Buchananj;1377262 said:


> well for its been up and out by 3 am because i have quite a few residentails that pay alot and they leave for work early in the morning so i make sure they can get their cars out of the driveway then i go to my commercial places which now is spreading from forks township which is where im from to easton to Palmer to bethlehem and im working on a gated community contract. hey do you have a greyish truck and a white one?


Sounds like your doing a few things backwards. Just slow down because if you bight off more than you can chew you will end up screwing yourself in the end. Also that ins thing dosent make any sence to me at all family friend or not they are not going to just back down because he says your going to plow either way lol.


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## ultimatelawns

I am assuming that is a straight blade. Even with a big v and years of experience that price is a bit high. I agree that your salt price is very low. Probably needs to be at least 3 times higher


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## lotus6six

salt looks really cheap


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## cet

Your plowing price is way to high. If you will be there 3 hours you need a lot more experience. I would think 90 minutes tops and closer to 60.

Are you spreading bagged or bulk salt. I guessing bagged and you will be lucky to make anything.


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## Buchananj

Im using bagged and i meant 50$ every time I apply it and I will do it at least twice per storm. Also I get it for less than $5 per bag


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## Buchananj

cet: i agree that im gonna be there 90 minutes tops but my parents who pay my insurance think ill be there for 3 hours what would you charge for this place?


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## Burkartsplow

Stay in School!!!


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## Buchananj

Burkartsplow;1398873 said:


> Stay in School!!!


Don't worry I am. I actually just got my acceptance letter to Pennsylvania Tech in Williamsport for a 2 year associates degree in diesel technology.


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## Drakeslayer

So did you get the bid? BTW its 1/8/12.


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## DodgeBlizzard

Now you're in my neck of the woods.


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## Buchananj

Im still waiting to hear back from them...my neighbor is actually on the commitee at the church and he told me last week that they were going to pick yesterday. Dodgeblizzard what city are you near?


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## H&HPropertyMait

Buchananj;1407835 said:


> Don't worry I am. I actually just got my acceptance letter to Pennsylvania Tech in Williamsport for a 2 year associates degree in diesel technology.


HELL YA, diesel tech.

Like everyone else has said, bump the salt 2-3x, hourly price is high for a half ton straight blade. good luck to ya man. i'm freshly 20 so i know the feeling did the same stuf as you


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## highlander316

the hardest part is we don't know what the place looked like, just sq/ft. Without actually seeing it, it's tough for anyone to actually give a price. Also who waits this long in the year to pick a snow plow contractor? Granted we haven't had any snow but damn. What place is it, if you don't mind me asking.


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## Buchananj

well that hourly rate includes my truck and my side walk guy


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## KTLawnCo

Buchananj;1410734 said:


> well that hourly rate includes my truck and my side walk guy


I think you probably should have said that at the beginning  You need to bump up you salt prices


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## Drakeslayer

Did you win the bid?


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## Tundraplow07

I Got 2 Church Contracts This Year instead of hourly charges I did a flat rate of 800 for the season no matter how much or how little snow we get,


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## Antlerart06

Tundraplow07;1413093 said:


> I Got 2 Church Contracts This Year instead of hourly charges I did a flat rate of 800 for the season no matter how much or how little snow we get,


must be small church at that price


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## Tundraplow07

well one of them is my church, I can't over charge on that and they also let me store my plow there. The other church i got the contract but I am going to talk pricing tmrw maybe i'll have to charge a little more the parking lot isn't that big i'll have to look at it again tmrw and configure my prices for the other church. 
this is my first year plowing so i don't want too much that I can't handle


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