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Despite or precisely because of very successful growth, it often happens that old plants in the garden have to give way to a new design. Removing a thuja hedge can be very time-consuming from various aspects. We explain which factors determine the effort and how you can estimate the costs of removal yourself in advance.
Have Thuja hedge removed
requirements
It is not possible to predict the effort required to remove the Thuja hedge from the outset exactly and applicable to all individual cases. Because numerous factors can mean that the removal of the hedge is quick and easy, or can mean an enormous amount of work. The reasons for the significant differences lie in the hedge itself, but also in the general conditions. In concrete terms, you should take the following aspects into account when weighing up the costs:
- Height, width and length: Gives the total volume of the green mass to be disposed of and defines the effort involved in removing it based on the size of the individual plants
- Depth of the roots: more effort with deeper roots
tip: Although thuja is considered a shallow rooter, an old plant, especially with laterally restricted dispersal possibilities, can develop unexpectedly deep roots. Before determining the effort required to remove it, it is therefore worth digging down with a spade at the edge of the root to determine the approximate depth of the root.
- Location easily accessible or difficult to reach behind the house?
- Removing the Thuja hedge along with all the roots, or just removing above-ground parts of the plant including the root stem?
- Preparation or rework required? (Clearing, creating accessibility, filling and leveling of the former site, disposal of the hedge, etc.)?
- Are there access routes for the transport of plants and equipment by horticulturists?
- Use of a mini excavator and other tools and machines possible (accessibility, noise emissions, etc.)?
- Road or sidewalk closure necessary (actual effort, approval by the regulatory office)?
- Desire and opportunity to carry out individual activities (preparation / follow-up) yourself?
Tree of Life, Thuja
tip: One is often tempted to fall back on memories when estimating the price. Of course, as a resident, you know your own garden, your own house and, of course, the thuja that needs to be removed. However, memories are often deceptive and one tends to no longer consciously look at a naturally existing, old hedge.
expense
Once you have made yourself aware of the Thuja hedge, the given circumstances and the desired goal for the removal, you can start estimating the financial effort for the work. With such linearly executable measures, as is the case when removing a hedge, it is usual to determine the effort per meter. For most jobs, that actually makes sense. However, there are also some activities that do not occur per meter of hedge, but only once. It certainly makes no sense here to allocate the effort per running meter in order to calculate a total effort later. It is better to include all aspects to be considered from the outset in a list, either per meter or as a lump sum, and to consider both separately up to the total sum at the end. The following overview will help you to determine individual measures and work per running meter:
Blanket approaches
- Arrival and departure including set-up times of the craftsman
- Access of tools and machines to the hedge
- Any necessary sealing measures etc.
Effort per meter
- free cutting
- Removing the individual bushes
- Digging out/ milling out the root system
- Removal and disposal of shrubs and roots
- Provision and use of machines and tools
- Rework, such as backfilling and levelling
costs
But how do you get to the costs from a calculated flat-rate or per meter hedge? Here, the detour via the time required helps for the cost estimate. Because the working time is usually the largest factor in terms of the resulting financial expenditure and is therefore also suitable as a basic structure for the cost calculation. Of course, the time required for individual activities can vary greatly in individual cases. However, an entry can be successful with the following time estimates:
- Arrival and departure with set-up times: 1 hour at the local garden builder, increase the rate if you travel further
- Creating access: a flat rate of 1 hour for setup and dismantling
- Barrier measures: 1 hour flat rate for assembly and dismantling
- Free cutting: approx. 5 minutes per meter
- Removing the bushes of the thuja hedge: 15 minutes per meter
- Excavating or milling roots: 30 minutes per meter (danger: here strong deviations due to root depth, extent of removal and possible use of machines)
- Removal and disposal: flat rate depending on the size of the hedge, 1 hour per trip for loading, driving, unloading
- Reworking: Large variance possible here, on average approx. 10 minutes per meter as a basis
danger: The time estimates mentioned refer purely to the time required for each activity. However, they do not necessarily mean that this time is actually required for the work at your site.
If you summarize your total time expenditure based on the time estimates, you can provide the calculated total time with an assumed hourly wage and thus define an initial cost framework. A plausible approach here is an hourly wage of approx. 50 euros. This may seem very high at first, but the amount should not be confused with what the individual worker actually receives. Because you, the client, of course also pay for the ancillary wage costs, the other expenses for small tools, work materials, etc., as well as the gardener's profit.
Other surcharges
When estimating the effort involved in removing your thuja hedge, you will certainly think of some special features of your hedge or garden that are probably not tangible over the average time estimate. Here you can use flat-rate cost estimates in specific individual cases. If, for example, there is no green waste space and disposal at the landfill is subject to a charge, you can call up the approximate additional costs simply by calling the landfill or by looking up information on the Internet and add them to your list.
Special case of use of machines
The use of machines, i.e. above all root cutters and mini excavators, represents a certain special case. These primarily make the work easier and often lead to a reduction in the time required. On the other hand, maintaining the device, including fuel, costs quite a bit. If you assume that a machine will be used, simply consider the machine as an additional worker. This means that for a mini excavator, for example, you add 15 minutes per meter of hedge at the distance already described. Do not forget, however, that the excavator also requires operation, so that one hour of operation by an employee must be taken into account for each hour of operation of the excavator.
unforeseen
Anyone who has ever worked in the house or garden knows that in most cases something comes to light at some point of the work that was not foreseen. In order to be prepared for this as well, it makes sense to take a blanket approach to “unforeseen events”. This can be done either as a flat-rate time surcharge of, for example, two hours, or as a flat-rate cost surcharge of around 5% of the total costs.