FFS if I had of known putting up a picture of a job I take pride in was going to cause so much s**t I wouldn't have bothered.
I'm not an "ULTRA F-ing PRO" or anything like that. I just enjoy what I do.
FFS if I had of known putting up a picture of a job I take pride in was going to cause so much s**t I wouldn't have bothered.
I'm not an "ULTRA F-ing PRO" or anything like that. I just enjoy what I do.
Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you
geez, paul, settle,
my point is that some (all in my case) customers dont require it, so if you do it, its off your own bat, but its sure not a requirement, like, and its not like theyre paying you for your extra buggering about.
the place you posted sure LOOKS like a nice rich place, and maybe they appreciate what you do, and maybe you charge for your work appropriately.
the lad who started it asked how he should mow, my point is that most CUSTOMERS wouldnt care as long as its neat.
if you go the extra distance off your own bat, good for you
but its not like its NECESSARY, imo,
Like has been said, mulch-mowing requires an anticlockwise rotation, so that's what I do, after an initial clockwise border to get nice and close to the edge. Usually I do the catch mowing in a clockwise rotation so I can get up close to things without the chute bumping into things. I like going in the one direction to give a neat but almost unmowed look; the back & forward "stripes" look only works well for reel mowers I reckon, and takes more time ... in my opinion.
The right/best way will always be a bone of contention among mowing people, professional or otherwise, but so long as you leave a neat finish (and great edges I'm sure the customer will be happy.
Ciao for now ~ Christine
senior partner ~ Townsville Lawn Care
http://townsvillelawncare.webs.com
Thanks Andy B ... I have picked up heaps from listening to all the chat .. one thing I pick up strongly is the passion that you all have for the job .. you dont see that too much in the corporate world !
i quite often go round and round in circles until my wife sees me and slaps me across the head then i try to pretend I'm normal usually not that convincingly
Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you
Here are some pictures showing angles of 5 to 10 degree off straight, this is all the variation you need to use so you don't always mow the way all the time. This way you won't mow tracks in the lawns.No angle possible.jpgdegree angle 3.jpgdegree angle 2.jpgdegree angle 1.jpg
i still dont know about this changing direction thing still,
been thinking about it this week as i been going around mowing (lol, often in a racetrack circle till i disappear up my own ...)
some of my lawns ive been doing for two years, the same way, never changing angle, and theres no tracks in the lawn.
i often start somewhere in the middle, and work out to the edges, so maybe my tyres arent in the SAME groove each time?
idk, (shrugs) maybe i just havent got any customers or lawns that are good enough
certainly ive never had a customer say "that last guy never changed direction, so i fired him"
different strokes and all that
one thing i would say - if it takes you an extra 5 minutes a lawn to stuff about, over 50 lawns a week, then thats 250 mins a week you are losing, or 4 hours mowing, which to me is $320 a week lost revenue, (or a carton of extra beer i could be drinking at home lol)
i mow the quickest way i can to finish and get on to the next one
id wanna be sure the customer is paying for the privelege of stuffing you about,
but thats just me, i wanna be paid for everything i give them
what i have done is change the way i mow a big lawn, something i think tender said first made me think of it, idk, to cut long straight cuts through the middle, then offset the next cut by a comfortable turning distance, (2 metres perhaps) , so your inside wheel doesnt cut the lawn, then each time cut to one side of that cut till you finish that section, then make another cut in 2 metres - similar to how farmers plough a field (no wasted tractor time)
food for thought, for me, thanks guys
if you get weekly mows this is when I've notice wheel tracks 2 weekly and longer it doesn't seem to be so obvious
Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you
Mow at 90deg to the way you normally go and you will notice how bad the wheel tracks are. Sometimes you can't see them under the grass cover.
By mowing a different track each time you will flatten/even out the ground both by the wheels and the blades..it also changes the way the grass blade grows..
These may be small things that don't take much more time but will give a more consistently better job...Longterm..
Hunterpropertymaintenance@gmail.com
Work to live, life's too short..
Specialising in small and Large area collection mowing with Walker Mowers.
It all depends on the lawn itself.
Lawns come in all shapes & sizes.
Some have heaps of obsticles, some have none.
Lawns we mow dont seem to have tracks in them, even the weeklies.
I can understand in wetter areas this may occur.
I dont bother to change angles, but I would if I had a prize lawn & a cylinder mower.
If u had an unobstructed lawn area 30m long by 5m wide, I certainly would'nt be mowing it at 90deg's every second time.
Take a couple of secs to look at the job when finished. If its a high standard (for a reg cut) move on.
If its not, do something about it
Just my 2 bobs worth.
Cheers Fred.
You have to learn to upsell fertilising and weekly mows. Good for business, clients are happy because they have the best looking lawn in the street and you are happy mowing