Talk about rising prices...my goodness!

[sisterpine]

Had our chosen excavator come up today to get an estimate of a price to make two flat spots (for a two car garage and another for a 20x60 greenhouse) we also need a 200 foot trench about 6 feet deep from the well house to the holding tanks. They quoted us a price of about $4000.00. I almost had a stroke LOL. That is for two guys two pieces of equipment working for about two days to do the work. They charge 200.00 per hour. Now...go back 11 years when we had our 1/4 acre house pad and 1/8 mile drive way done so we could start building....cost us 500.00 and then another 300.00 later to enlarge the pad. Holy smokes things have gone up! sis

[Windy in Kansas]

What are they trenching through solid rock?

I can't see where they come up with two days of work for two machines if you have decent soil.

[sisterpine]

lol soil, what is soil ? we live on top of the contintental divide in the rocky mountains. could not even get a basment for our house due to the rock being bigger than the house- well almost bigger! we need the trench as deep as possible hoping for 6 feet and the two flat spots are being made on the side of a mounain. sis

[Shamrock]

wow... that bad huh? if your ground is really mostly rock then it doesn't sound so bad, but $4000 still seems high.

[DaleK]

Equipment with operators here goes for $85-100/hour so $200/hr for 2 isn't far out of line, as long as they're keeping productive for those hours and not padding.

[pickapeppa]

I need to raise my rates.

[3kidsomy]

yeah sorry, but that 6' trench x 200' that's gonna take all day unless they are using a 35,000lb machine, then it'll only take 1/2 or so, then the other guy can do the other stuff and chip in on the trench as well, i assume that includes your backfill time too? That will take a while as well a few hours. Charging $200.00 an hour if that is both machines that is reasonable. We charge $100 an hour(we are below the norm here to survive this housing depression) for our largest machine. I also think diesel 11 years ago was probably well under $2, and the machines were 1/3 the cost to purchase and repair. Ahhhhh inflation. You can always hand dig that trench or hire someone to do it for you....that's $$$$ well spent and a back saved! They also rent machines at the home depot and united rentals....you can do it yourself.
You might want to look for excavation on Craigslist, there are alot in our area that advertise (wish they'd stop that!) on there. Shop around! Check the CCB # to protect yourself from getting a loser as well.
Good luck!!

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by sisterpine

Had our chosen excavator come up today to get an estimate of a price to make two flat spots (for a two car garage and another for a 20x60 greenhouse) we also need a 200 foot trench about 6 feet deep from the well house to the holding tanks. They quoted us a price of about $4000.00. I almost had a stroke LOL. That is for two guys two pieces of equipment working for about two days to do the work. They charge 200.00 per hour. Now...go back 11 years when we had our 1/4 acre house pad and 1/8 mile drive way done so we could start building....cost us 500.00 and then another 300.00 later to enlarge the pad. Holy smokes things have gone up! sis

I'd be hauling dirt or gravel IN, rather than excavating. It's GOT to be less expensive. As for the trench... maybe your local VOTECH school has a heavy equipment class that could use the practice. An acquaintance of mine got a chimney built that way. Called the VOTECH Masonry class teacher and asked him if he needed a "hands on" project for the kids.

donsgal

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

If the holding tanks are for the greenhouse, you might want to have a pvc pipeline or hose above ground with a pump system to fill them up. You could drain or dissassemble the pvc/hose for the winter, so it doesn't crack.

RF

[Windy in Kansas]

With your rock/soil it is probably reasonable.

I wonder what a boring company would charge to do a pipeline installation since there is still backhoe work that has to be done? You may want to check into horizontal boring as a way to go.

[uncle Will in In.]

Sisterpine. Could you run it past us once more what the positive parts of living on a mountain side are?

[sisterpine]

tee hee hee! lets see, peace and quiet, fresh non polluted air and water, no near neighbors, being able to walk around the garden naked if you want, spectacular views, pine trees, bobcats, mooses, elk, deers, mountain lions, mountain bluebirds, warm breezes, privacy always, no sirens, no telephone or power poles, no traffic ....just for starters. lol sis

[Beeman]

No doubt things have gone up and will continue to go up at an even faster rate. I've never been to Montana so commenting on the price or the job would be senseless but everything I price here is the same way. Isn't this back to the land thing supposed to be cheap?