Toronto Yard and Garden
Overseeding Costs
Materials: grass seed, fertiliser, soil, yard waste bags.
Grass seed - application is an inexact science, and I tend to overapply rather than underapply (and do so by hand). However, a bag of seed of the brand I like to use will cover 1,600 square feet for $27 (all prices for materials listed are before taxes)
Fertiliser - application is inexact and I apply by hand. However, a standard bag of lawn starter fertiliser (coverage 3,800 square feet) costs $38
Soil - a standard bag of acceptable lawn soil costs $6.50 for 42.5L. You can convert liters to square feet. You should ideally apply a quarter inch height of soil to establish new grass seed.
Yard waste bags - $16 for 25, or approximately $0.65/bag
Labour, overhead, and disposal
Labour rates change month to month according to overhead expenses that need to be covered. a receipt is provided within a month or so after completion). A job that I estimate may take 30 hours will have an attached labour cost of $1,200. I may hire 3 employees to help me, and the four of us, working in one day can each put in 8 hours on site for a total of 32 hours and complete the job in one day (ideal case). If a job is completed in fewer hours, as is usually the case (because we try to work quickly), I still bill the quoted amount for labour.
Overhead: Overhead represents a fee applied to every job to pay for time and money spent advertising, vehicle repairs and replacement parts, cost of gas, and tool purchases and replacement parts. A small job, like a 1 hr lawn mow, would generally have a $20 overhead fee attached to it that is billed alongside labour. A large job, like a 30-40 hour cleanup, would generally have an $80 overhead fee attached to it. Four small jobs can be completed in a day, thus reaching an overhead goal of $80, whereas only one large job can be completed in a day, thus the entire overhead cost needs to be applied for that one job.
Disposal - disposal of waste is atypical because in Toronto, yard waste takes care of most requirements for waste disposal. However, if garbage or yard waste needs to be hauled off property it is billed as follows:
1) labour - time taken to load and unload waste as well as driving to and from the dump site (located in York Region), number of hours for 1 person (me) multiplied by $40/hr
2) disposal fee - $15 plus tax for every 100kg. I estimate the weight load and bill based on the estimate. I generally estimate for more weight than might be expected to make sure that I don't underbill. I bill the quoted price regardless
3) uhaul rental and associated costs - if applicable for larger disposal jobs
Final cost: your quote will come broken down as 1) labour (Costs and estimated hours) 2) materials (costs and estimated amount) 3) overhead fee and 4) optionally disposal fees alongside a Total for everything combined
To request a property walkthrough & quote -
416 455 0575
David Brodsky