Ask A Question
| Question | Date |
|---|---|
| Has anyone used the LawnShark commercial machines for fall cleanup. I have never seen these prodcts, however the 13hp commercial model seems a useful tool. What are the prices.I have not personally used the LawnShark, although it does appear to be quite a machine. They seem to have all the angles covered from normal leaves and pine straw, to the hose attachment for reaching under shrubs and other hard to reach areas. If I was a betting man, I would imagine the LawnShark would run somewhere in the same price range as a commercial walk behind mower, probably somewhere in the $4,000 to $6,000 range. Although I do see where they offer a lease program which may prove to allow you to test the unit out to see if it is worth investing the money into. | 22 Sep, 2009 7:34 AM |
| To what extent are commercial mowers liable for damage to adjoining property due to thrown rocks or objects? Can the mowers be considered negligent if they remove or tie up the mower guards?When you say commercial mowers, I am assuming you are referring to a commercial lawn maintenance company and not the actual mower itself. Commercial mowing companies are liable for any and all damages caused by their equipment. A legitimate lawn maintenance company will have commercial liability insurance to cover their business in the event that an accident occurs. Typically things such as broken windows caused by a stray rock being thrown from a mower are typically not filed under a companies insurance, but instead paid out of pocket. This keeps their premiums from being raised due to frivilous insurance claims. In fact, I still have the guy at our local glass companies phone number saved on speed dial in my cell phone. We've replaced so much glass over the years you tend to be on a first name basis with your glass installer. Heck, my guys have actually broken out both the driver and passenger side windows of our own truck within a two week time frame before. In other words, breaking glass is pretty common with lawn companies. Also, the removal of the discharge chute or rigging it up out of the way is also common. Our guys would have the discharge chute taken totally off generally by the end of the first day of them getting a new mower. The discharge chute gets in the way and causes damage to plants and other items due to them sticking so far out. And typically the angle at which the discharge chute sits, really doesn't prevent rocks and other debris from being thrown from the mower and causing damage. I have personally thrown a rock through the back glass of a car that was passing by, covering the girl in the back seat with little shards of glass. And this was with the discharge chute attached and down in the proper position. We not only replaced the cars glass, but also presented them with a $100 dollar check to cover the inconvience. Our glass company handled the glass cleanup from the car for us. | 23 Sep, 2009 10:08 AM |
| What type and amount of insurance do you recommend? I have a small business, no employees. Insurance copmanies to contact?Thanks LarryI recommend getting commercial general liability insurance. Until you start bidding on some of the larger commercial properties, you can stick with sort of the generic policy. The premium amounts are based on your gross sales, so keep that in mind when they ask what your gross sales are. Also, there really isn't that bid of a price increase to go from a few hundred thousand dollar policy to one or two million. Get them to quote you both. And once again, your premiums are BASED ON YOUR GROSS SALES!!!! Thus, the lower your reported sales are, the lower your policy premiums are. The company that we used was Select Insurance Group. You can call them at (903) 455-2664 and ask for Duane. He handles that particular insurance. When I first started out our insurance was only running less than $500 a year for a million dollar policy. It did go up significantly when we started taking on some of the large commercial accounts as well as chain apartment complexes which required specialized insurance. Hope this helps... | 25 Sep, 2009 8:10 AM |
| One of the nozzles on top of our sprinkler was broken by my mower. I found a replacement for it at the hardware store and got it put on. But now the spray head is spraying across my sidewalk. Is there an easy way to adjust the sprayer to spray onto the lawn without me having to dig it up? I tried to just turn the sprayer but it souned like it was about to break. Thanks...Actually adjusting the spray head is pretty simple. Activate that particular zone so that the spray head is spraying, and then grasp the neck of the spray head firmly and twist in the desired location. The popping sound you will hear is normal and just the ratcheting action of the sprinkler head. It will lock into whatever position you stop at. Good luck! | 26 Sep, 2009 9:17 PM |
| I getting ready to start my own company and Im so lost. Is there any books out there you would recommend for someone like me on landscape design,bidding and all the other things that go along with this. There is litterally tons of information available to you both on the internet as well as printed text. When I first started out in landscaping, and not having any formal training on landscape design or installations, I pretty much read everything I could get my hands on regarding plants and landscape design. I purchased 2 or 3 landscape design books from a local Home Depot and read them cover to cover. I also hit all the major landscape informational websites on the internet and studied the plants for my local planting zone. The above will give you an excellent starting point in regards to the plant types available for your area, as well as tips on how to build up your bedding material, planting recommendations, plant spacing, watering requirements and some design ideas. Another recommendation I would make is to find yourself 2 or 3 good nurseries to deal with. Preferrably ones that sell wholesale or at least give a percentage discount to landscapers. A good nursery will have a ton of plant knowledge that they can give you on specific plantings and growth habits. Also, don't skimp on the plants when you are putting them in. Try to get well developed plants that are healthy and in good shape. Ever noticed how a landscape job done by a professional landscaper just looks so much better than one that has been put in by your average homeowner? It's because they spend a lot of time walking around picking out the prime plants to insall. I would also look around and find yourself a good source for bedding material. In our area, we have a couple of different businesses which offer bulk loads of landscapers mix for bedding material. A good bedding material will give the new plants plenty of nutrition and help them root easier. Here is a list of things I always try and do on landscape jobs: 1). Good bedding material (I always use good bedding material when building up my flower beds) 2). Inpection Strips (An inspection strip is a 6" to 8" strip that runs between the flower bed and the residence. We install these prior to putting in any bedding material so they are situated at grade level. It doesn't have to be anything fancy though. We smooth out the soil, install a border material along the outside perimeter between the landscape strip and the future bed, lay a strip of good quality landscape fabric down the width and length of the inspection strip and stake it down, then cover the fabric area with some form of rock. This can be lava rock, river rock or whatever you decide. It prevents a flower bed from being built up against the home which can cause water damage to the house. It also allows for easy termite inspections along the perimeter of the house.) 3). Eave Gutters (If a home doesn't have gutters, I always recommend to the customer that they have these installed prior to the installation of the landscaping. Rain water runoff from eaves causes severe damage to landscaping beds and bark mulch. It's also a good secondary service to offer your customer if you should decide to get the equipment and begin installing gutters as an add-on service). 4). Irrigation (We always recommend to customers that they install an irrigation system at least in the planting beds. Customers have a tendency not to water regularly, not water the plants sufficiently or just not water them at all. They then will call you back wanting you to come replace the plants at your expense because they died. We offered an extended warranty on the plants if the customer had an irrigation system already, or had one installed by us. Otherwise it was a 60 day warranty on plants. 5). Drainage (Proper drainage in flower beds is important, especially when installing flower beds in enclosed beds. By enclosed beds I'm referring to those that a sidewalk runs along the outside perimeter of the bed which prevents natural water drainage. For beds such as these we install a French drain and run it back under the sidewalk and out to the road or a leaching field). I hope this offered some tips to help get you started. Most of your experience and knowledge will come from on the job training and trial and error. Learn from your mistakes and always look for better ways to do things. Good Luck! | 21 Oct, 2009 2:33 PM |
| When speaking with the person responsible for the grounds maintenance contracts would you recommend that I call or do this in person, and should I fax, email, or give the proposal in person? I'm not sure what would be most appropriate.Whether you should call first or just drop in will depend alot upon the type and size of business you are approaching. A lot of larger businesses and corporations will not see an individual without an appointment. Thus, you may have to contact them over the phone first. I generally always preferred to speak to the potential client in person though. Emailing has almost become the norm these days in regards to doing business, but it doesn't replace that face to face contact you get from stopping by to see the customer. Faxing is deffinately the last thing I would do unless specifically requested to do so by the client. It just leaves too many opportunities for your bid to get lost and never delivered to the intended person. The most professional approach is to drop by and see the client in person. Dress professionally, have a business card, a notebook to take notes and above all, listen to your client and what they have to say. Especially listen to any negative comments the client may have to say about their current or previous companies, and make sure you avoid these same mistakes during your services. Keep in mind though, with the drop-by technique, be prepared to make several visits to the client before your actually successful at getting in to visit with them. Also, a good display ad in the yellow pages will have your potential clients calling you for an appointment instead of the other way around. Good Luck! Let us know how it comes out. | 16 Nov, 2009 6:16 PM |
| I am just starting my lawn service business and don't know the ins and outs. Who do I ask for when placing bids on a commercial location. Should I already have the bid before speaking to them?The individual you ask for will generally depend on the individual business. Different companies call people by different titles, but it is usually someone in the purchasing department if a large business. The title of maintenance manager is also sometimes used. Just ask for the person responsible for the grounds maintenance contracts. Also, I typically never had my bid already prepared prior to speaking with the individual responsible for a few reasons. First - Depending on how good your sales approach is, you may be able to gather some insight as to what they are paying currently for grounds maintenance. I generally will come right out and ask what they are currently paying for lawn care and about 1 in 3 will actually look it up and tell you. You will never know unless you ask. Secondly - Each contract will differ, even if only by a little bit. These changes in service are things that you need to include with your bid, and if you already have the bid written up, you won't be able to include these extras into your proposal. Third - I like to address the bid to the person who is ultimately responsible for the contract. You won't know for sure until you have spoken to the person. Hope this helps, If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask! | 16 Nov, 2009 3:52 PM |
| How many 4" lawn pop up heads with a 12' nozzle would be allowed if the operating pressure is 50 PSI? and what is the formula for this?There's actually more to it then a quick and simple formula. With an operating pressure of 50 psi you shouldn't have a lot of pressure issues. What you will need to calculate will be the amount of flow one of your zones can handle while still remaining within the 5 ft p/second rule of thumb. Simply put, to reduce the risk of possible water hammer, water flowing through your irrigation piping should not exceed 5 feet per second. In order to calculate how many sprinkler heads with a 12 foot nozzle you can have on one zone you will need to know the following. 1). Length of piping from the point of connection to the last sprinkler head in the zone. 2). Pipe size from the point of connection to the last sprinkler head in the zone. 3). Water meter size and the gallons per minute that can pass through the meter, and friction loss through the water meter. 4). Backflow device type and size, and the friction loss through the backflow device. 5). Control valve size and friction loss through the control valve. 6). Sprinkler head nozzle size and pattern, and the gpm the nozzle puts out. All these different calculations are taken into consideration when figuring out how many spray heads can be placed on a particular zone. A poorly designed system will either not function as you are wanting it to, or simply won't function at all. Short of seeing you make an expensive mistake with attempting to design your own system, I would suggest letting Rain Bird design the system for you. I believe their design service is still free of charge and they will give you all the materials list, layout and pipe sizing, equipment to purchase, etc. to put in your own irrigation system. Then once you have the design, visit our friends at Lawn Sprinklers Headquarts www.LawnSprinklersHQ.com for your parts. The Rain Bird design center with instructions on how to go about measuring your lawn can be found at: http://www.rainbird.com/homeowner/design/index.htm Good luck... | 11 Apr, 2010 1:26 PM |
| Year after I pull weeds out of my yard trying to coax my St. Augustine to spread. This year my yard seems to be covered up with some sort of clover and I fear it will cover & smother the grass. I've been pulling it up as fast as I can, but it's a losing battle. Is there something that I use or do to combat the enemies of my St. Augustine and make yard work easier?Chances are the clover you are seeing is not the typical White Clover that you will see growing out in a lawn. You know the one that as a child you spent hours searching for a four leaf clover in. If you are dealing with the variety of clover that I am thinking of (and I appologize because the variety name escapes me), is basically a winter weed and will dye off once we start moving closer into summer. This variety of clover tends to grow considerably taller than White Clover and spreads like wildfire. To speed up it's demise though, you can hit it with something like Roundup® to quickly knock it down. But this is dependent on where it's growing, and whether it's spread throughout your St. Augustine. It's also about the time of year to go ahead and treat your lawn with something like Scotts Weed & Feed for St. Augustine grasses. This will not only fertilize your existing St. Augustine grass, but also contains a broadleaf herbicide which should treat the clover you are having a problem with. Hope this offers some help. Good luck! | 14 Apr, 2010 9:02 AM |
| Having a Sod farm takes pallets to stack the sod on. If these pallets are resold, is sales tax required? Most of the time we have to go out and buy pallets to put the sod on. This question would probably best be asked to the State Comptrollers Office, although they will just tell you that sales tax has to be charged. But then again, they would charge you sales tax to use the restroom if they could. There was a couple of ways we handled our excess sod pallets. One was to give them back to the sod delivery driver the next time he was delivering sod, and in return the sod farm would take $5.00 off the price of a pallet of sod. The other thing we did was sold them to a small business in our area that would buy them off of us for $5.00 a pallet. Either way didn't matter to us as we still recooped $5 off the price of the pallet of sod. Regardless though of which way we got rid of the pallets, which take up a lot of room by the way, we did not charge sales tax. I hope this answers your question. | 20 Apr, 2010 2:18 PM |
| I would like a approximate cost for removing and disposal of my existing lawn and installing new sod. My lawn area is about 1000 sq ft. Rototilling is not necessary. ThanksThere are a couple of different ways to handle a re-sod job such as this. One way is to treat the entire lawn with a grass killer such as Roundup® or one of the other commercial products available to licensed applicators. Wait around 10 days for the grass and weeds to die off, and then come back and till the entire 1000 sq/ft area under to expose fresh topsoil. Over the top of this fresh topsoil, broadcast spread in a good starter fertilizer such as a 13-13-13 and then re-sod. The other, and quicker way is to run a sod cutter across the area to take up the existing lawn. Then fertilize the area with a good starter fertilizer such as a 13-13-13, re-sod and then water heavily. An estimate of what we would charge for the second option would be somewhere around $385.00. That is just a sight unseen estimate based on your description, but that is approximately what we would charge for this service. | 24 Apr, 2010 2:15 PM |
| Please could tell if it is possible to buy the indigeonous lawn/weed (Kweek), by square meter.When you refer to Kweek grass, I am assuming you are referring to Fynkweek, Bermuda Grass? As I am not familiar with how grass is sold in South Africa, I would not be able to answer the question as to how and/or what quantities it is sold in. Sorry, I couldn't be of assistance. | 19 Jan, 2010 1:18 PM |
| I live in Suffolk County, NY. Do I have to pay sales tax on a new in-ground sprinkler system or for an additional zone for the existing system that I have?Although I am not familiar with the sale tax requirements of New York, I can tell you that in Texas all services are taxable. Irrigation systems that we install are taxable and thus the customer is charged sales tax which in Texas is roughly 8.25% once all the different tax entities are added up. | 16 Mar, 2010 6:25 PM |
| Hi, I'm a new at landscaping, bought the house about a year ago. I didn't know anything about lawns, the only thing I did was to mow my lawn. I need some advice please. Last year, I notices some yellow patches in front and back yard. Thought it was the extreme hot weather last year, so I just watered the grass every day for 15-30 min. Yellow patches in the front went away but back yard yellow spots got bigger. This year after it started getting warmer, unlike everywhere else including my front yard, the back yard grass didn't show any signs of improvement. The grass came up very easy, as if the roots were eaten, we figured out it was chinch bug that ate the whole back yard. Yep, here is a picture. I have removed all dried-up, dead grass. Somewhat raked the "soil", it looks like some kind of industrial clay instead of nutrient full soil. Now I have bought 500 patches of St. Augustine. What kind of soil should I lay underneath, before I lay down the grass? Do I need to put some fertilizer on soil or afterward on top of the grass, if so what kind? All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.Once I began reading your description, I sorta figured you had Chinch bugs that caused your original problem. Since you are in the process of re-sodding parts of your lawn, I am assuming you have treated the Chinch Bug problem already. If not, I would suggest doing this first as there is no reason to put fresh sod down just to have that re-infested. Now in regards to you soil, boy it sure sounds like you live in my own neighborhood. We have some of the worse soil I have ever seen. It resembles more like modeling clay than it does anything else. If you were sodding your entire yard and were starting with bare ground, I would suggest bringing in a top soil and adding a few inches to the yard. Since you are only sodding a portion of your lawn, and more than likely just certain patches, adding inches of top soil will cause you lawn to be unlevel. Once option is to excavate a portion of the soil where the new sod patches will be placed, so that once you add top soil and the inch or two of soil that comes with your sod, the sod would be even with the rest of the yard. But coming from a commercial landscapers perspective, if the rest of the yard was doing fine growing in the soil that you have, then chances are the new soil will do the same. With the exception of Chinch Bugs that is. I would suggest renting a sod cutter and running it over the areas that you are planning on resodding. The sod cutter can be adjusted so that it takes up a predetermined depth of soil so that once your new sod is in place it would be level with the existing lawn. We normally till up the ground to loosen the soil up prior to laying sod, but in the case of extremely clay ridden soil, tilling the ground really doesn't help any. It just causes big clumps that lead to an uneven lawn. Prior to laying your new sod, spread in a 13-13-13 fertilizer which will help the new sod take root and develop quicker. Next lay your new sod making sure to butt the pieces up tight so that there is no gaps which can lead to uneven spots. Once all you sod is down, water heavily and at least twice a day for at least two weeks. After that water daily for the next two weeks, and then as needed to maintain moisture in the soil. The new St. Augustine grass should take root within approximately 3 weeks. You should be able to tell when the grass is starting to root but attempting to pull up the edge of once of the sod pieces. I hope this has helped some. It's hard to pass along everything without writing a book. Good Luck and let us know how it turns out. | 17 Mar, 2010 7:53 PM |
| I'm starting a Lawn Care and Landscaping business and I've been trying to find what if any Licenses Tx requires for installing Landscaping. Any Information I can get would be greatly appreciated.Unless you are performing services that require a certified engineers stamp of approval (ie: retaining walls, buildings/structures, etc.), you do not need any special licensing other than through the state Comptrollers Office so that you can pay your sales tax. You do need state licensing for irrigation system installations. It's called an Irrigators License and it is available through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (T.C.E.Q.). Training for the class will run you around $400 or so, and you need it as the test has an average of a 41% pass ratio. It is an 8 hour test, and it took me 7 1/2 hours to complete it even though I thought I was ready and it was going to be a breeze. Hope this helps, and good luck! | 23 Mar, 2010 8:09 AM |
| I recent applied one of your lawn products to give it a boost after a tough winter and the results weren't what I was expecting. The lawn was laid last summer and has look well ever since until I applied your product. I applied the product on Monday the 26th April and as of Thursday the 29th I now have black patches and lines on my lawn. Why has done this and how can my lawn be brought back to it's former state?I'm not exactly sure what lawn product you applied to your yard, but we do not manufacture ANY lawn products. If you can let me know what type of grass you have in your yard and what product it is that you applied, we may perhaps be able to come up with a remedy though to turn your lawn around. | 29 Apr, 2010 5:28 AM |
Have a question about lawn care, landscaping or irrigation? Ask it here!!!
