[naturescaretaker]

OK, we've got the school contract here. All of the buildings are red brick with a ruff face. They will not allow roundup along the building. All total the footage of all buildings comes to 9.73 miles. Short of walking with a string trimmer does anyone else have ideas to speed this process up? The ruff brick also eats trimmer line (.105) really fast. About 8 times faster then normal.

Has anyone seen or tried those trimmers that attached to Z's? Other ideas?

 

[SodKing]

Couple things come to mind

1. How about those steam systems to control the grass near the building

2. I recall a piece of equipment that the operator kneeled on, and drove with foot pedals, while weedwacking.

3. I also recall that hustler had a string trimmer attachement for its mowers.

 

[naturescaretaker]

Couple things come to mind

1. How about those steam systems to control the grass near the building

2. I recall a piece of equipment that the operator kneeled on, and drove with foot pedals, while weedwacking.

3. I also recall that hustler had a string trimmer attachement for its mowers.

I had demo'd one of those riders that you kneel on. Won't help. I haven't heard about the steam system. Do you have more info?

 

[Runner]

They need to be educated and taght about the use of a soil sterilant. If applied properly, and at the right time, no harm can actually come from it. You won't even see it from the distance, anyway. If they are concerned about appearance, don't do in front of the main entrances, administration buildings, etc.. If they are concerned about safety, if the product(s) are labeled for it, and they have the proper notifications set up, then you are alright. The only other solution would be mechanical means. That would be scapling it down to the ground when possible. The steam would be interesting, but at what cost? Burning would be another option. Other than that, ten miles of trimming? THAT ain't happening!

 

[stumper1620]

instead of round up death, how about growth regulator, short but still green.

 

[jtrice11]

If the price is there, straight labor could get the job done. I'd say 8 guys. We edged over 2 miles of curb this summer, had lots of help and built it into the price.

I'm sure they don't want chemical as a safety issue.

 

[all ferris]

Coastal, let me start off by saying I respect you and it seems you are pretty much on top of things with your business. However, whats the big deal about just trimming it with a string trimmer? I mean if you bid the property correctly, the extreem amount of trimming should have been reflected in your price.

I realize you are trying to be more efficient and I would also look for other options if it was me but sometimes there are no options. The only thing I can think of is put 2 guys on it and get-r-done.

 

[ajlandscaping]

an idea just an idea but you could have something like a golf cart where you have a driver and someone sittin in the back hanging off the edge trimming. if its all accesible by a golf cart i think it would work i have seen guys do stuff like that around here but not trimming if they have large commercial accounts and need to blow a large area off i seen one guy drive and one hang off the edge blowing and i seen guys do that with spraying lawns all of which i have never seen or heard of before till i saw those guys doing it and i would guess it would work i couldn't see why it wouldn't work with trimming either

 

[stumper1620]

8PM walk around with a regulator, no charge. no invoice, no evidence & a good alibi
I hear deck sealer works effectively

 

[ed2hess]

Get the Walker edger they are real proud of it and it is made for exactly what you are doing. It is a Coulter attachment that mounts on their units.

 

[naturescaretaker]

Coastal, let me start off by saying I respect you and it seems you are pretty much on top of things with your business. However, whats the big deal about just trimming it with a string trimmer? I mean if you bid the property correctly, the extreem amount of trimming should have been reflected in your price.

I realize you are trying to be more efficient and I would also look for other options if it was me but sometimes there are no options. The only thing I can think of is put 2 guys on it and get-r-done.

It is simply a open forum to discuss the possibility of increasing productivity. Get-R-Done is just what we have been doing. But what if we are all tossing out ideas that result in a 10+ percent reduction in labor or general cost. Then my margin will go up.

With the heat index being in excess of 110 degrees now it would be beneficial to increase productivity.

FYI - I bought Worktunes from Home Depot a couple of weeks ago and efficiency and productivity went up 7%.

 

[naturescaretaker]

They need to be educated and taght about the use of a soil sterilant. If applied properly, and at the right time, no harm can actually come from it. You won't even see it from the distance, anyway. If they are concerned about appearance, don't do in front of the main entrances, administration buildings, etc.. If they are concerned about safety, if the product(s) are labeled for it, and they have the proper notifications set up, then you are alright. The only other solution would be mechanical means. That would be scapling it down to the ground when possible. The steam would be interesting, but at what cost? Burning would be another option. Other than that, ten miles of trimming? THAT ain't happening!

Agreed. What happened is that the previous LCO did not know how to use RoundUp and sprayed it along all the sidewalks, buildings, fences and basically anywhere a string trimmer might be used. Now they are no longer in business. The contract clearly prohibits the use around the buildings and sidewalks. We can use it else where.

We bid the contract with this is mind and by no means losing money. I am exploring ideas on how to increase the productivity thus padding the profit.

 

[SodKing]

Do they not want it around the buildings due to aesthetics?

 

[all ferris]

Does the contract state that you can't use round up? This is a long shot but if it just says "round up" try using a different product (cornerstone, clear out 41). PGR's might help a bit but it seems like every PGR that I've used is not as effective as I would have liked.

 

[sildoc]

Does the contract state that you can't use round up? This is a long shot but if it just says "round up" try using a different product (cornerstone, clear out 41). PGR's might help a bit but it seems like every PGR that I've used is not as effective as I would have liked.

This is my thoughts exactly. I have had several contracts that state NO Round UP. However they will let you use glyphosate??? Over educated with little to no comon sence is every where. There is probably a loop hole in your contract. If it were me I would be looking hard since it could reduce labor up to 75% or more. I would still edge the areas by doors and such.

 

[S man]

2. I recall a piece of equipment that the operator kneeled on, and drove with foot pedals, while weedwacking.

I've seen it on ebay.

 

[Precision]

my suggestion would be to edge a 2-4 inch border and kill/remove the grass. Then you can get the trimming done with the mower. At least till it grows back in. But that should take a while if you edge it EOW.

I do that on fencelines and it save tons of labor. Really stinks getting it to that point but afterwards you are in fat city.

 

[splatz100]

http://southlandengine.com/Jungle Jim/Z.T.Fire.htm

There it is, at my local dealers website

 

[Oldtimer]

If I had to trim that much I would use a 4 outlet fixed line head with the largest line available. I have used the Oregon FlexiBlade and it is probably the toughest stuff on the planet.

http://www.oregonchain.com/OEP/pdfs/2005TrimmerHeads.pdf

I would recommend a large Stihl or Shindaiwa trimmer with a full harness and handle bars. The line usage will be much less with fixed line heads than with tap and go heads. The 4 line heads are the only fixed line heads worth considering.

Be sure to change gear case grease about every 100 hours because they will really be taking a beating from the heavy line and continuous use.

Oldtimer

 

[Cutters Lawn Care]

Coastal I remeber you sold your company about 6 months ago. I remember you were able to keep some residential but all the commercial went to the new owners. I remember one reason you said they wanted to buy you out was because you had just got a 3 year contract with the local schools. What has changed where you are still able to do the schools?