How do you stripe a lawn? Please help

[richlawns]

I have been in the lawn care biz for about 3 years now and I had a customer ask me if i could stripe there lawn. Not sure about this I have a snapper commercial and a honda both self propeled. My question is the possible to do with my mower and how do you do it? I am thinking you need a bigger mower for this. Thanks :dizzy:

[Brickman]

The search button is in RED upper right hand corner of the page.

Welcome to LS.

[JR LeGer]

We use Walkers and it is easy to do with them. You can do it with any mower as long as you can adjust the front of the deck to be slightly lower than the back. I don't know if it is necessary to have the front lower, but that is how we do our large commercial landscapes. Anyway, our people mow 3 directions--up and down, side to side, and then diagonally. We only mow one direction each visit. It does not take long to have it look like a baseball field with the stripes.

[FrankenScagMachines]

If they are 21" mowers they probably won't stripe without major modifications. By that I mean, You need a striping kit. In this case a chain or roller is appropriate. A flap just may not do the trick but it may. Several on here have made chain kits for theirs and there are a couple companys that make rollers for 21" mowers however they are expensive but a chain is cheap and easy. Do a search (enter : "Striping Kit" and you'll be amazed). You also will need to be cutting high enough for this to work. It's probably not going to work very well at 2" but kick it up to 2.5" or even 3" and it'll work great. I am currently working on a striping information page to help people like you. I'm gonna link to it when I get finished.
Good luck
Eric

[bobbygedd]

what about sunlight? i think it plays a direct role in "stripes". we have to customers right next to eachother, one is full sun, the other full shade, both lawns r top quality, when we r done, the sunny lawn looks striped beautifully, the shaded one, nothing......also, the quality of the lawn makes a huge difference, weeds dont stripe real good

[FrankenScagMachines]

Bobby it depends on which direction the sun is shining on the stripes as to how they look. Usually the ones in the shade are just as good as ones in the open, for me. You can always see those nicely because the sun doesn't blur them. I can get some pretty weedy lawns to stripe up pretty nicely too. Not as good as 'grass' but most lawns here have a ton of weeds in them and noone really cares. So you get good at it after a while. If you cut high enough then the grass actually begins to choke out the weeds and it looks greener and stronger and is more draught resistant, etc etc. Easier to stripe etc etc. Many advantages to mowing higher. That's another can of worms though huh?.
Eric

[awm]

hate to say this but all u need is in search.as sunlight hits the grass it is reflected one way on one row and trhe other way on the next row. as u have mowed them in those direction.like was said search out the subject.

[HOWARD JONES]

OK, J R - here's a stupid question - you mow 3 different directions - why not 4? I am trying to minimize the ruts in my soft (sandy) place - do not care about striping. I would think you would mow both diagonal directions before going back to up-down.

[richlawns]

Thank you all for your help. I'll give the chains a shot to see how it works. Do I just hook two chains to the rear of the mower and how long? Thanks again.:cool:

[gogetter]

richlawns, I'm assuming you're using 21" mowers?
If so, here's your answer:

www.inventek.com

[richlawns]

Originally posted by gogetter
richlawns, I'm assuming you're using 21" mowers?
If so, here's your answer:

www.inventek.com What does that have to do with striping?????????
:dizzy:

[gogetter]

LOL! Oops! I left out a "t". It should be:

www.inventtek.com

Try that one.

[Nelson]

Can U Stripe w/St.Augustine & Bahia......

If so does it get time consuming?

Being that u have 2 go back & fourth ?

In order 2 make Stripes ?????????:confused:

[richlawns]

Originally posted by gogetter
LOL! Oops! I left out a "t". It should be:

www.inventtek.com

Try that one. Thank you that is just what I am looking for.:blob3:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Cut in circles;)

Start at the out side and keep cutting in circles till you get to the middle.

[lasher66]

Originally posted by LAWNGODFATHER
Cut in circles;)

Start at the out side and keep cutting in circles till you get to the middle.

Wouldnt this leave one side of the yard light and the other side dark? shouldnt you be going back and forth to get stripes? If you dont bag grass, by going in cicles to the middle you will have a big pile of grass in the middle.

Lasher

[Grass_Slayer]

boy i sure do love it when lgf comes in there with that sarcasm and there's always one person who doesnt get it!

no offense lasher

[LAWNGODFATHER]

It was a joke.

Is this what you want to do?

Sorry the air pressure in the lower tire was to low on the hill so it cut a little short in the pic.

I aired it back up and finished the hill.

ROTFLMAO Grass_Slayer

I guess he did not see the wink ---->;)

[JR LeGer]

Yes, you can go in both directions. We do not get all into making everything look like perfectly striped--we just go in different directions and always mow with the front 1/4" lower than the back of the deck. You can actually go in 10 directions if you want to but I don't think it is necessary.

When you say minimize the ruts, are you saying that the ground where you are at is sandy underneath and when you mow it leaves tire tracks, etc?

I really do not know what to do about the ruts if the ground is dry and it is just naturally soft then I am not too sure there is a whole lot you can do. Good question.

The ground is AZ is like concrete so it is not an issue I come across.

[HOWARD JONES]

Yes, the ground is sandy but also marshy - so a happy medium is hard to come by. The tires tend to leave ruts, wet or dry especially toward the end of the season but it gets better over the winter with the freeze/thawing, I suppose. I guess the more directions the better for me.

[lasher66]

Oops, sorry. I guess I didnt see the joke in it .Sorry, now i do . HA HA.

Lasher

[awm]

if u have the soil that is wet and soft most of the time u mow, cut high,and mow slow.. a walk behind might be better. u could mabe wear snowshoes:)

[FrankenScagMachines]

No LGF, that's not what he wanted.... he wanted this :D :D :D

[FrankenScagMachines]

Just kidding LGF - your stripes look great.
Or maybe this is the look richlawns is going for, double direction striping ;)

[FrankenScagMachines]

oops forgot pic

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Naw BHB I think it's this one;)

Dogs not included.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Hey, not bad :D
With the lawn being alittle wavy and the angle your stripes are at it looks alot like a fluffed up blanket....

[mklawnman]

LGF-Those your dogs or are they the owners dogs??? Looks like were just let loose after you got done mowing there. Nice carpet :D You could almost say it looks like a golf course with the sweet stripes, minus the dogs:p
Ive gotten a comment like that from a customer when she sent me a check when i was first starting out, "the lawn looks like a golf course!"
Matt

[Rooster]

richlawns,

Click the link, and check out the "Father of Striping's" page.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/striping_information.htm

Rick

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Not my lawn or dogs.

They just know I have dog treats.

The house is for sale for 14 million if you know of anyone intersested.

Indoorr pool

The owners are moving up to a bigger houes.

[Doogiegh]

Hey LGF,
That property - is that the one you brag about that you lowball and cut for $20 because you're afraid the guy down the street is gonna outbid you and price it at $18?

<J/k> :-)

You're stripes kick some serious A.

Wish I had ustomers that had $14M houses. <G>

Gary

[LAWNGODFATHER]

It's 3+ acres. Irrigated

No one interested?

Indoor pool. Indoor hot tub.

14 seat theater. 144" projection TV

Green house.

8 car garage, 2-2 car, car ports

18 rooms.

No One?

[SLS]

OK...I'll take it if they will throw in those dogs with the package. Heck, I'll even keep the $20 lawn service too. :D

[awm]

u guys cool . l:D :D :D :D :D .i dont cuss or id of put it the other way. well not much anyway.cussing ,i mean:)

[lasher66]

LGF- Do you bag grass? Just wondering because I dont and its hard to get stripes that nice when you dont bag grass up here in Ohio because of the fast growth each week.

Lasher

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Lasher, we don't bag grass. I only bag leaves in the fall.

Doogiegh, I don't cut any lawns for $20 anymore.:D

[mklawnman]

Do ya think i could buy it, using loans and like rent the place out since it has all those rooms and make it into like an INN or a bed and breakfast?? Yeah its only an 8hr drive from the Milwaukee area down to St. Louis but hey if its mad cash why not :p
Then i would probley cut the lawn there since i have the equipment, well maybe not might have to sell it to help buy the place :D
Geez this family have more kids now that they need a bigger house?? My gosh.
Great lawn LGF :cool:
Matt

[MATTHEW]

3 years ago, a customer moved to a condo and gave me his mower. It is called a RALLY "Lawn Chief". It is a bit heavy and has a very deep deck. About 6" in the front and 8" in the back.

This mower stripes better than my Toro. I have not been able to figure out just why yet. There is NO flap in the back. The bottom of the deck is much lower than the blades, though.

I wish this thing was self propelled!

When I get my camera back, I'll post a few pics.

[AielLandscaping]

these stripes are made by a 21" honda with a roller from inventtek.. and this is an average size california lawn

[cowman66]

gto everyone who has posted pics:WOW! those look great

[FrankenScagMachines]

Aeil, how'd you get a wide stripe with a 21" mower? double lap it or what? not too bad, looking good guys. Here's a real nice one....
Later,
Eric

[FrankenScagMachines]

:D one more :D

[FrankenScagMachines]

last one, I swear :D :cool:

[AielLandscaping]

bhb - yes i double lap with a 21 so i can get wider stripes.. i've been thinking about triple lapping..after i pull that off, i'm going to try staggering my pattern like this ... 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 1 ... just depends on how wide the lawn is... just an idea...