[EDEN]

Hey,
Just wondering if I could get some ideas on how others charge for edging beds, with foot and shovel. I been doing estimates for maybe only a year now, I dont know whether to charge by man hour or by linear footage. Open to all ideas!

[NCSULandscaper]

i use to charge $1/ft when i was hand edging beds. But you could always rent a bededger and do it all within minutes instead of hours. With my bededger i charge 50-75 cents per ft.

This is the results from a mechanical bededger

[EDEN]

Thanks NCSULandscaper,
I think that's what I'm going to do, plus it helps to put it into perspective for the client when they see an itemized bill and the price for edging is by the foot and not just a number which may seem to them "pricey" for edging a bed.
I've seen the bededgers in stores, but never had the chance to try one, the results look fantastic, it may be a new investment for the spring!

[johnkeegan]

Here's a link for the machine I bought a few year's back. http://www.brownmfgcorp.com/bededger/ It works great. Takes 1/10th the time to edge the bed plus it shreds up the edging it cuts so that its just dirt so you can simply rake it back into the bed ( no more hauling away the sod/dirt mix!!!) And it cuts through roots, rocks whatever. And if it's something you need frequently why not just buy it? Keep track of all the labor you waste going to the rental yard, standing around, returning to the job site, then rushing to bring it back, then rushing back to the jobsite... Then multiply your hourly labor rate toward that time wasted... Besides when you own it you tend to utilize it's labor saving ability more frequently. For instance,if you only had an hour's worth of hand edging/removal (5-10 minutes with bed edger) you may not choose to rent it. But if you own it, you'd always use it. Add up all those hours of labor saved on the smaller jobs... It's paid for quicker than you think.

[sleepy]

How come you guys dont use bender board made of plastic? That way its permenant?

[sleepy]

http://www.epicplastics.com/bendaboard/

[Bill Schwab]

We had a Brown Bed edger that got stolen when I moved here sitting in the last trailer waiting to go out. The plusses far outweighed the minuses, it saved major time, and we billed by the job to use it.

The negatives, the frame cracked twice and Brown claimed they never had a problem, which insulted my intelligence and challenged my patience. After sending them photos of the cracked frames, I also sent them a manual on how to solve the frames they never had crack from cracking. I made a 1 1/14" square tubing frame underneath, then welded all their components to the top. The vinbration from the machine litterall cracked it in half after the spring bed edging rounds we did. After I built the chassis it never happened again. I guess for the $1,800.00 the machine cost us, Brown thought $12.00 worth of tubing was too costly......

Anyhow, a great money making machine that is made flawed, unless they realized the problem they never had and designed a frame that does not crack......

[johnkeegan]

Bill, I personally haven't had that problem yet but it wouldn't surprise me because quite often times equipment in general is not engineered properly . Cheap bolts, inadequate bracing or protective guards... Sometimes I think the most important vendor we have is the metal fabricator we use. Quite often he remedies these inadequacies or makes equipment directly to our specs. It's a real talent that I respect. Quite often you buy a piece of equipment that's 99% "amazing, flawless, brilliant..." but there's that last 1% where you think, "What the #@%&. Was the engineer hungover or was it 50 cents overbudget so they switched to a lower grade bolt.."

[Nek]

The biggest problem I have with using the Bededger is finding shallow sprinkler lines, buried sprinkler heads, or that _ _ _ _ electric dog fence.

[Hamons]

Nek -- with my Brownedger I NEVER have a problem with finding shallow sprinkler lines, buried sprinkler heads, or that _ _ _ _ electric dog fence.

I find them every single time!!!!

[Jgoodcats]

In reply to sleepy. All of my experience with the bender board has been terrible. It works it's way out of the ground in no time and warps. If I use any type of edging other than a cut edge, it is metal.