When on site, order of doing things

[Doogiegh]

When you arrive at a lawn maintenance site, what order do you do things?

Do you trim first with the trimmer, then use the small mower for tight areas and then go with the "big" mower to cover the open areas, or do you do things vice-versa or in a different order?

And if you use a stick edger for the edging along sidewalks, do you do that in the beginning of the job or is that last thing you do?

Thanks for any insight!

[ronslawncare]

solo....turn beds ,cut,trim,edge ,blow and go
with a helper
once in a while my cousin helps
he does beds
i start cutting
then he trims and edges
by then ill be finished cutting and blow all walks off.

[Doogiegh]

Do you find that if you cut first, then edge/trim, you leave clippings of assorted lenghts on top of the cut lawn, so it doesn't look that great?

Then again, if you cut first, you know exactly where you missed in cutting so you know exactly where to trim. I have trimming where I THINK the mower won't fit, then cutting, and then when done, realizing that the mower missed a spot or didn't get around something as good as I thought it would and have to go and re-trim again.. Thanks!

[beck]

Edge
cut
trim
blow

Worker edges first, while I start to cut then he trims and one or both of us blow things off.

[ronslawncare]

i use to trim first but sometimes would have to back and hit something again .plus who cares if clippings are on the lawn because you still have to blow .

[jaybird24]

I find that if I edge first then any debris can just be mowed over and dispersed. For the rest sometimes if I know the job well I'll trim first then mow, then blow. I always train my guys to mow first then trim just so they don't have to go back and fix things-an extra 5 minutes at a job does'nt seem like much but multiply that by 12 jobs and you wasted an hour each day. Bottom lines are tight in this biz- efficiency really counts and it also usually leads to better quality.

[Hodge]

Solo I trim, edge, cut, blow

two man crew one edges front and back the other mows the back first, then the front and starts edging. By this time the triming should be done front and back. so he comes up and starts blowing the finished edged areas.. one person is always up front with the trailer....to many thing go missing..:alien:

[TLS]

I always edge, string trim, push mow small areas (where necessary), and then mow with the Lazer, and then blow off. I save the easy stuff for the end, get the hard stuff done first! Plus with trimming debris being sometimes pretty long, the mower mulches them up and disperses them.

As for not trimming enough and having to go back and touch up at the end??? Never had to do that! I know EXACTLY where the Lazer can and CAN'T go! I guess I'm just GOOD :D

[walters lawn]

MOW FIRST IF TOU ARE TRIMING EVERY WEEK THAY ARE NOT THAT LONG.

[Parrothead]

I trim first only if I know everything needs trimming, otherwise cut first. Always blow last, if thats even an option in order.

[TGCummings]

Edge, trim, mow, blow. Just seems to work better that way for me.

[Esby]

Edge
Mow
Trim
Blow

Always in that order, I've done it other ways, but have found that to be the most productive for me.

[Brickman]

trim/edge
mow
blow


I almost NEVER have to go back and trim again after mowing. I guess that I am good, like TLS. With the amount of WIND that we get, the amount of blowing needed is reduced. Some times I don't have to blow at all, depending on how the property is laid out.

[Runner]

I'm with the guys that edge, mow, trim, then blow. Of course litter takes precedence over all if there is any. The problem I would find with trimming before you edge, is that you then can't topside your edging. Now, when I do this, I don't run a 45 degree taper That drives me nuts, as I like to have a nice clean, square, full, lush looking turf. I keep my trimmer at less than a 30 degree tilt (probably closer to 15) and just clean off the top of the edge line, taking very little off.

[Doogiegh]

Seems like the only thing everyone on here does consistently last is blow. That I could of guessed and I didn't put it in the original question cause I figure it really can't go first or 2nd. <G>

I guess I'll have to do it property by property, sounds like for the first time doing alot of guys mow first, then trim or edge and blow, whereas if you've been on a property before many times, you can edge trim first, then mow and blow...

Thanks for the input!

[MikeLT1Z28]

edge, mow, trim, blow... if it's a first time out of control yard i might trim it just so i can chop up anything tall i trimmed out.

[David Haggerty]

Originally posted by Doogiegh
Then again, if you cut first, you know exactly where you missed in cutting so you know exactly where to trim. I have trimming where I THINK the mower won't fit, then cutting, and then when done, realizing that the mower missed a spot or didn't get around something as good as I thought it would and have to go and re-trim again.. Thanks!

I work like what you said. By myself or with a helper, it maximizes the use of the biggest mowers.

Dave

[GrassChopper]

Mow, trim, edge then blow.

[LawnLad]

If you are solo you'll do a different order than if you've got a two or three man crew. You'll also wind up overlapping on larger properties with mutiple guys - so there is no prescribed method for us as to whether we mow or edge first. Though we'll do the mowing and edging typically before we line trim. Lastly we'll blow down.

A cut & paste from a portion of our mowing SOP:

A) Order of operations
1) Site Evaluation
a) Is the grass wet from rain or irrigation? What does this mean?
b) Are there any dips, swails, or other uneven areas of the lawn that will scalp?
c) Are there sticks, toys, lawn furniture, or dog debris to be dealt with?
2) Receive job assignment
a) Mowing: which mower do you use and where? Catch the grass?
b) Edging: walks, driveway, curb, and appropriate bed edges.
c) Line trimming: around the perimeter, trees, fire hydrants, light posts, fences, and beds
d) Blowing down: all hard surfaces - walks, driveway, neighbor's drive, patios, steps, stoops
3) Is there extra work to be performed?
a) Weeding of beds, bush trimming, or watering?
4) Final site survey
a) High profile weeds?
b) Any Mohawks? Clumps of grass? Grass in the beds? Scalping?
c) All of the equipment back at the truck/trailer?
5) Load up equipment
6) Leave Service Notice