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fence post hole rates

J

jason, NW Ontario

Member
Someone is asking to maybe hire me for about 100 fence post holes. I once saw a Bobcat business that charged $25/hole here. I'd be using a 3pth auger, so some holes might be done or finished by hand. I have no clue what sort of rate that doesn't make me rich/doesn't make them poor.

Jay
 
$25 per hole seems quite a bit much, since each one takes less than a minute (even lawyers don't make that much!)- in my experience, anyone with enough money to pay $25 per hole would also be smart enough not to pay it.
 
"each one takes less than a minute" wanna bet, we don't know anything about his soil, how big of holes, or the terrain. Depending on the situation $25 could be a bargain.
 
For $25 a hole it seems like you could make money digging them with a spoon! $2500 to dig 100 holes?
 
Its plain you havent dug many post holes.Most go easy here, some times you have to mover over.If you charge so much you dont get any work 25.00 is too much.
 
Check back later, maybe one of the "franchised"
pre-dug post hole salesman will reply to your question. A while back, on here, there were alot of types available.
 
Hi Jason. I thought you sold the VA and auger. Have you replaced it already? We have a farmstore down here that sells post holes for $8.99 each. The freight getting them up to you might be prohivitive though. ENJOY!!
 
I paid $150 for 9 holes to be dug with a skid steer. The 9 holes were the post footings for a deck .

I would charge a flat rate for the whole job, estimate that it will take you 2 days to do it, and that is with you setting the posts also. If it was me and my tractor I would charge $600 (assuming that it takes 2 days)
You may want to dig a couple of sample holes to be sure that it isnt all rocks under the soil or all clay or whatever.
 
I've only dug about 50 with our auger, and we're in rocky clay loam. I think this person is in similar soil conditions. I thought the $25/hole was pretty rich too! Hourly rate makes the most sense to me, to compensate for any dodgy situations.

Jay
 
Charge by the hr. we drill water wells and charge by the foot same as the other drillers round here. the bad thing is you NEVER KNOW what is UNDER GROUND till you HIT IT. if owner decides to move the post holes or you HAVE to move them you don't make crap till your makeing hole again, also if you charge by the hr.the owner won't be there holding you up all the time. and if you do start makeing some postholes I would like to buy about 300 or 500 feet of them, 10 or 20 ft long shipped to my place save me the time to make them.
 
Last ones I had dug it was 100.00 a hole digging in rock. That was plus the post and concrete. But it was fence I had to have and I was laid up after surgery. As to what I charge now, its 65.00 an hour if diesel is under 3.00 a gallon, 70.00 if its over. If they want to furnish a helper or a rock auger thats all well and good, makes it dig a lot faster but me and the machine get our hourly rate regardless.
 
Give 'em a ballpark figure, subject to extensive work and damage to equipment. And for heavens sake, if you quote too low, ask for more. BTDT with service industry all my life. Dave
 
There are some places around here that $25 is pretty cheap!!

My brother only lives 3 miles over the hill from me and his whole place has bed rock under 6 to 18" of soil. If all a guy's got is a jab and pull apart hole digger $75 per corner and braces would be a deal and a half. Some places around here oak roots are so think a guy will go through $25 in shear bolts in a long day.

Dave
 
In the states they have "Digger's Hotline" to call and they come check for underground burried treasures (wires, pipelines, etc.) for free. I don't know if they have something similar but it is best to have that stuff checked out.

Your day may get very interesting if you hit a surprise with the drill bit!
 
By the hour is the only way to do post holes unless you only have a couple shallow holes, then you'd want a minimum charge of say $40 or so. If you have moist or wet clay, you have to keep cleaning the auger off. The person wanting the holes is more likely to help with that if he's paying by the hour. If the auger gets stuck is another big hassle, especially with a pto auger that can't be reversed. Dave
 
It would sure depend on what kind of soil you were in. I used a three-point digger to dig the holes for my pole barn, and I sure wish I'd just paid somebody. Michigan clay is tough! With no power-down, that digger wouldn't do much more than scratch the surface.
 
I have never hear of anyone paying $25 a holw, I better start going and doing it if that is what people are getting. For a fenceline no one it going to pay you that kind of money around here. I am fencing today, starting a 130 acre piece for my cattle, I am actually leaving the post digger and tractro at home and pounding in sucker rod fiberlgalss post, just the labor is so much cheaper eventhough I have my own 90 hp gearbox with auger and black locust to cut.
 
Problem is, if its tough digging (rocks, roots, etc.), the auger won't work, anyhow. I grew up on land with large rocks and gravel- 3 pt. auger was useless- we dug 'em all by hand. I still say if you're in conditions where an auger will work, you'd make pretty good money at a couple of bucks per. With a minimum, of course- say $50.
 
Mark, your digger will work if you sharpen the cutting edge. Also make sure it is not worn shorter than the auger.

I have fixed many cheap ones, and expensive ones. If you ever feel the need to have someone help push the digger down, I know of three guys that can show you what can happen in only a second.

Clay soil is hard, but never impossible. Your diggger should shave at least a 1/2 to 1 inch at each pass.

Rocks are a different story.
 
ha, you have no idea. the rocks in my area would laugh all day at you... don't make arrogant One size fits all comments, its not smart.
 
I have sold many a post hole on craigs list, I get $5 per hole (6" X 3'deep). As a matter of fact, I have 30 for sale on my local CL, right now. 30 seem to fit on my truck, without blowing or rolling off, and I don't need to tie them down. I use a hydraulic powered digger on an ASV RC-30, and it takes me an hour to do 30, in regular soil (around MD). I charge travel time of $ 60/hr, for all jobs more than 20 minutes of my home zip code. I also make sure to call miss utility for all jobs, as the utilities don't appreciate my holes getting into their wires and pipes! I am thinking of selling a pre drilled and filled hole, that way you don't have to backfill, or show up, for that matter. Might have to require pre payment , for this product, though! Oh well thanks for reading this hole thing!
 
Plenty of rocks here.Overcharging will keep customers away.Most people Ive drilled for give me more than I ask.You are the arrogant one.Ive been in business for over 50 years.Many contractors have no work here because of their high prices.
 
I drilled 4 holes for my saw mill shed,Hit a stone at 30 inches.3 more were drilled to 30 inches.Took me 30 minutes.Post hole augers are dangerous.A woman was killed by a rented post hole digger here several years ago.I have a friend who does a little earth work around his place.He pays a fellow 30 bucks an hour to work a steer skid.He says hes done with guys who want 500 bucks to spread a dump truck load of gravel.
 
not to beat a dead horse but here is the thing,,, have you ever had those days where it was cheaper to stay in bed, just about anyone seriously in business will tell you that they have had them. Sometimes just getting the customer isn't everything, some jobs are better off left to someone else as they can either break your machine or take more time than you bid, which saying $10 a hole is basically a bid or flat rate, this is awesome if your in easy going, but not good when you set the auger on a rock you need to dig out with a digging iron. unless you really know what you are getting into, i would only bill hourly on this type of thing, you could offer an estimate but at the end of the day you need to make money. Many people doing small job work end up losing money as they dont know their true cost of operating their equipment as well as return on investment and their salary. different markets across the US will change the price as well. I'm not the dick you think i am and have been in business for awhile and like to see others succeed. one of the biggest mistakes I see people in a business make are trying to be the cheapest. you don't need to be the cheapest if you are the best. generally when you are the cheapest, you cut a corner somewhere to be the cheapest and that, someday, will catch you.
 
I squeeze the air out of my post holes; that way I can get a lot more on the truck. You do have to bring a compressor with you to inflate the holes for installation.
 
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