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So I bought a robot lawnmower. A Husqvarna 310 rated for 1000m2 (lawn area is around 800ish), but we got a pretty complicated garden layout.... I drew a plan because only have a lovely satellite photo of my house. And I forgot the woodshed and the small building to the right isn't completed yet. Red is the boundary wire and blue is the guide wire. The walls are retaining walls from rock. I was about the yard and looking and considering how the hell to get the mower down to the lower area (bottom left in map), I don't want to move it. I have to get rid of that heap of old twigs and stuff ASAP as well.  I think the best solution after I get rid of that heap is to make a long wooden ramp that lowers onto the lower portion right by the fir tree to the right. That will give a nice slope and the ramp will be nicely hidden. then it can mow this area  Then this lower area, working on some logs in the corner so I gotta section that off for now.  But yeah it's a pretty complicated area, and the front of the house is a bit tricky too:  Most worried about the narrow corridor infront of the stone benches. Thinking I should make a real border there with pavers to give it more room. I plan to make as little islands as is possible and let the mower figure it out where it can.
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Jun 16, 2021 07:22
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 08:25 |
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Realized you can buy lawn on a roll, thinking instead of a wooden ramp, I'll fill an incline with gravel, soil then roll out ready made lawn on top.
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Jun 16, 2021 09:32
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About 8 or 9 wheel barrow loads of gravel and I got a path with a 16 degree incline (mower handles 22 degrees). Still left to add a layer of topsoil and perhaps buy some "lawn on a roll" as well to speed things up. I made the path go a little differently than I originally planned, this worked out better I feel. 
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Jun 16, 2021 17:05
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I want to put a paver patio in my yard. It will require digging about a foot deep. I've outlined where I want it in the yard in the diagram below. My question is regarding those two trees. The one on the left is a type of cherry tree, and the other is birch. If I dig a hole about a foot deep in the outlined area, am I likely to hit any major roots from those? I don't want to seriously damage the trees, and I also don't want to get halfway into excavating and find some major root that I can't safely remove. 
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Jun 18, 2021 18:44
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It looks like you're at least half a canopy width out from underneath the canopy of either tree, so you should be fine. You may still find roots, but it shouldn't be anything major or that would damage the tree.
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Jun 18, 2021 18:50
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That's the general rule then? Half a canopy away from the furthest edge of the canopy?
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Jun 18, 2021 22:29
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The Wonder Weapon posted:That's the general rule then? Half a canopy away from the furthest edge of the canopy? For most trees that seems to be sufficient based on my experience. I wouldn't want to call it a general rule, but I've worked around enough cherry and birch to have reasonable confidence in your situation.
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Jun 18, 2021 22:38
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Cool beans, thanks a lot
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Jun 18, 2021 23:34
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Starting for the first time, just a 20 sec clip not showing much. But I am pretty excited! Nearly 450m of boundary wire and 100m of guide wire. https://youtu.be/8G05oqesZaM
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Jun 20, 2021 15:15
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His Divine Shadow posted:Starting for the first time, just a 20 sec clip not showing much. But I am pretty excited! Nearly 450m of boundary wire and 100m of guide wire. Moments later… I don’t know what it is about elk and that particular brand of robot lawnmower, but it keeps happening. Tell me you don’t have apple trees.
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Jun 20, 2021 16:47
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Yeah apples, pear, cherry and plum trees. Those are moose though
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Jun 20, 2021 17:10
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Well I agree that they are not wapiti, but we’re going to have to disagree on what constitutes an elk.
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Jun 20, 2021 17:13
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Isn't it pretty clear cut taxonomically speaking though? Anyway this is how we found Elvis (son named him) when we got home. It'd gotten down OK but on the way back it went over the edge. I believe I misunderstood the manual about narrow passages. I need to fence the path in. 
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Jun 20, 2021 19:17
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IIRC, in Europe Moose are referred to ask Elk. Or Elk are referred to as Moose.
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Jun 20, 2021 19:24
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“Elk” has a confusing history in English. The Eurasian elk, Alces alces, was extirpated from the British Isles a very long time ago. Centuries later, Brits colonise North America and meet a large sort of deer (Cervus canadensis). Having some vague notion that an elk is a large deer, they call this creature “elk”. They also run into Alces alces, largest of all living deer. This is the same species present in Northern Europe and, at one time, in Britain. They don’t call it an elk, though. They borrow the word “moose” from Algonquin, and they do this before the founding of Jamestown. Platystemon fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Jun 20, 2021 |
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Jun 20, 2021 19:36
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His Divine Shadow posted:Starting for the first time, just a 20 sec clip not showing much. But I am pretty excited! Nearly 450m of boundary wire and 100m of guide wire. I am super excited to hear your impressions over time, eg how the mower is holding up, how it’s doing maintaining the lawn. I’ve heard that it is supposed to be better for your lawn to do more frequent and smaller cuts, eg that’s how golf courses get such a fine thick turf (in addition to other meticulous care of course).
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Jun 20, 2021 23:38
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His Divine Shadow posted:Anyway this is how we found Elvis (son named him) when we got home. It'd gotten down OK but on the way back it went over the edge. I believe I misunderstood the manual about narrow passages. I need to fence the path in. What keeps the wire fence from getting hosed up by animals and stuff? Or is it not that sensitive to it being disturbed?
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Jun 21, 2021 00:28
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With time the grass will cover it and it will become invisible. You can also directly bury the cable if you like.
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Jun 21, 2021 04:17
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How healthy do you suppose this Cherry tree is? I don't know what type of cherry it is. It still produces fruit. They tend to get eaten by birds before they're ever mature enough for us to eat. There's a dead branch or two in there, but as you can see, still has plenty of leaves. The trunk isn't pretty though. It's got a good lean going, and the trunk looks pretty rough at the bottom, with what appears to be a lot of dead wood. The reason I'm asking, aside from general curiosity, is that this flanks the space that we intend to install the paver patio a I mentioned a few posts out. Motoronic mentioned using the "canopy plus 50%" rule, and when I actually went out and measured, there's no way I can give the both trees that much berth. If this tree is basically dead and likely to stop fruiting/fall down in a few years, then I'll push my excavation into its space as I need, and replace it if it goes down. If this is what healthy cherry trees end up looking like, and it's got a few decades (or more) left, then I'll go out of my way not to disturb it.   
The Wonder Weapon fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 01:22
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That's not a very healthy-looking tree. I wouldn't feel bad about removing it. Plant another one though!
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Jun 22, 2021 01:33
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The canopy looks healthy enough. It’s just that the trunk is structurally compromised and the would is not healing. The heartwood will continue to decay till it’s weak enough to succumb to the wind. It does not have twenty years left. I wouldn’t be that worried about the excavation disturbing the roots of it or the birch, though. Put your patio where you want and they’ll be fine.
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Jun 22, 2021 01:42
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Ok! I will proceed as planned. (And will be planting more trees regardless of what happens with this particular cherry tree.)
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Jun 22, 2021 04:36
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Yay changed some settings the mower now follows the guide wire more closely. I also added topsoil / gravel mix to the path and compacted it, the mower makes it up the ram no problems now. This is an example of the mowers results, at a high cutting height, this way it saves a lot of flowers from being cut too 
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Jun 22, 2021 06:53
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I’m shopping for a zero-turn to mow the 3 acres of nice lawn we just bought. It’s fairly smooth. I’d like to be able to mow quickly but also keep it looking sharp and striped. The last owner had a Bad Boy of some sort, but the neighbor and motronic were strongly discouraging that. Right now I can’t tell how much of the advice I’m getting from dealers is honest and how much is just supply chain talking. Kubota stock is cleaned out. The Scag dealer insisted 60” was too big, but she also only had 54” mowers in stock. The Gravely dealer was pushing the Pro Turn 100 (Kawasaki FX, 3400 hydros) for $9,100. It seemed like overkill, but I like the higher top speed than the $7,700 Gravely ZX. I don’t actually know how often I’ll be hitting top speed realistically, though. My neighbor has the $11k Gravely 200, but that’s stupid overkill. The Exmark guy was pushing the Radius-S for $8,400. It felt pretty comparable to the Gravely ZX, but the Exmark dealer is farther away, so it didn’t seem worth paying $700 more. Can I get some advice from anyone who’s actually used these things? I’m kind of leaning between the two Gravelys now but I’m open. It’s a lot of money but I’d like to never buy another mower.
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Jun 22, 2021 23:51
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eddiewalker posted:The last owner had a Bad Boy of some sort, but the neighbor and motronic were strongly discouraging that. FYI, biggest reason I've discouraged that isn't even the quality (it's pretty low, but acceptable) it's that unless something has changed recently the decks are fixed at the height you set them, as in there is no float. So it's a scalp-o-matic unless your yard is perfectly flat. Floating decks are the kind of thing you should be surprised to not find on something even like a craftsman lawn tractor from the late 80s, so to be missing on a modern prosumer zero turn is just inexcusable. Such a baffling thing to cheap out on, especially on the models I've seen that have actual welded decent looking decks and not just some consumer stamped thing.
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Jun 23, 2021 01:35
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eddiewalker posted:I’m shopping for a zero-turn to mow the 3 acres of nice lawn we just bought. It’s fairly smooth. I’d like to be able to mow quickly but also keep it looking sharp and striped. Have a 2014 model year scag tiger cat and its been a pile of poo poo. Mostly because I cheaped out and got the yearly “low” price build with a briggs engine. It had a bad oil leak under warranty at 15 hours and then tossed a rod after 5 seconds of knock at 150 hours. It developed a hydro leak on year two, burned up a clutch (my fault, ran over a log and didn’t see it, mower died, I restarted and engaged the blades a couple times and ruined it), and this year its got an idler pulley thats sounding pretty bad. Also scalps pretty bad with a 60” deck. Still under 200 hours. On the bright side it lays some nice stripes . Contrast that with the used ferris hydrowalk I have. Thousands of hours, kawasaki motor, a few leaks but keeps chugging along. Probably spent more hours behind that than on the scag because it doesn’t break and is much safer on hills and around ponds. I have demod a gravley pro turn 100 and did not like the higher center of gravity when compared to scag but I have a lot of hills. Hustler makes some good stuff as does John Deere. If you have never operated one ask for a demo. And never ever point one downhill and expect to be able to stop or turn. You really need to think through any sort of hills. And don’t mow around ponds, besides being really good at rolling, they also get stuck in the slightest bit of mud.
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Jun 23, 2021 03:21
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rdb posted:kawasaki motor Not saying it's the only thing, but these days this seems to be one of the top things you want. B&S is......well, not what they used to be. Kholer was always hot garbage.
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Jun 23, 2021 03:23
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What about used? I think this looks like a good deal, but he's been posting this same one for a month now. He seemed like a genuine guy over the phone. https://kansascity.craigslist.org/grq/d/oak-grove-gravely-pro-turn-commercial/7340207092.html
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Jun 23, 2021 03:40
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Motronic posted:Not saying it's the only thing, but these days this seems to be one of the top things you want. B&S is......well, not what they used to be. Kholer was always hot garbage. At the time a tiger cat with a 60” deck and a kawasaki motor was $9500, the one I got was $7400 or so. I thought as a homeowner it wouldn’t make a difference. I was so wrong. I even did the dumb thing and replaced with another briggs, although this one says vanguard on it and has forged internals. It will get replaced by a ventrac some day.
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Jun 23, 2021 10:49
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eddiewalker posted:What about used? I think this looks like a good deal, but he's been posting this same one for a month now. He seemed like a genuine guy over the phone. https://kansascity.craigslist.org/grq/d/oak-grove-gravely-pro-turn-commercial/7340207092.html That motor will be reliable but a fuel hog - I think thats about the largest kawasaki you can get on a ztr and its carbed. That does seem like a deal overall, you should at least check it out. Probably well maintained. Homeowners usually take better care of it vs the lower end contractors using guys on work release for $10 an hour.
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Jun 23, 2021 15:05
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motronic is p much on the money - i haven't run a zero turn that wasn't a kawasaki engine that held up, but all of my past use is commercial so 1x a week use might hold up better. price being equal (or close), though, always get the kawasaki. i have never run a bad boy but if they do have a fixed deck i wouldn't spend even 100 dollars on one - if you're mowing 3 acres and someone didn't spend 75000 dollars grading your yard you're either going to tear the poo poo out of something somewhere or else you're not going to be cutting anything without changing the deck height sixty times. that gravely, assuming all of that description is true, will be fine for your needs. it might be a bit overpowered for your situation (i'm assuming you're not in a huge time crunch to mow your own yard) but that's a good price and it'll do what you want.
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Jun 24, 2021 13:51
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I’ve heard a lot of bad boy criticism from the neighbors, mostly based on control-feel and problems with our specific local dealer, but I don’t think they have a rigidly mounted deck. That’s not a thing I’ve heard anywhere but here. The decks seem to all be mounted on oval hangers as seems to be the norm these days. Very few of the mowers I’ve looked at use chain hangers anymore. They all look like this BB: 
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Jun 24, 2021 14:04
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eddiewalker posted:I’ve heard a lot of bad boy criticism from the neighbors, mostly based on control-feel and problems with our specific local dealer, but I don’t think they have a rigidly mounted deck. That’s not a thing I’ve heard anywhere but here. That doesn't look like an oval hanger.....unless the deck is on the ground (and it doesn't look to be) the bolt should be at the top.....because the deck should be hanging. That appears to be tightened down, which would make it an adjustment for leveling the deck side to side. I cautioned about this because my neighbor has one and it absolutely has a fixed deck. I've literally not seen that on any machine made in a very long time. Near as long as the last time I've seen chain hangers.
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Jun 24, 2021 15:18
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I have a wired electric hedge trimmer that weighs a ton. I've been looking at battery powered ones and my eye fell on an ultralight one that's only about a foot long versus the 2ft of the one I already have. The main pain in the rear end with the old one is this topiary type poo poo here, where I have to lift the machine higher and I'm not doing straight lines anyway. The actual hedges I have accommodate me putting a ladder next to them, so there weight is less of an issue.  I'm wondering if it's better to buy a more regular sized allround battery powered one that is somewhat lighter but can do everything, or the very light short one that I'll supplement with the wired one where necessary. What you see in the picture is about a quarter of all the trimming work to be done, so not a whole lot. But I'm a weak willed, noodly armed simpleton with just enough money to make me wonder.
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Jun 24, 2021 15:34
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Motronic posted:That doesn't look like an oval hanger.....unless the deck is on the ground The black part affixed to the black L. I think you’re looking at the lower adjustment point.
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Jun 24, 2021 15:41
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eddiewalker posted:The black part affixed to the black L. I think you’re looking at the lower adjustment point. I was.....the black part does indeed look like an oval hanger. Maybe that's on newer models, maybe it's on only certain models. But it's amazing that it was a thing that you actually have to look out for.
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Jun 24, 2021 15:44
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A 50S RAYGUN posted:motronic is p much on the money - i haven't run a zero turn that wasn't a kawasaki engine that held up, but all of my past use is commercial so 1x a week use might hold up better. price being equal (or close), though, always get the kawasaki. I can confirm that kawasaki is worth it for home owner use even if its $2000 more. The replacement vanguard engine cost $1700, and who knows what percentage of the cost the original was. That bad boy deck looks awful unless your yard is less than 1% slope everywhere and has no ditches or dips anywhere. If you scalp a rise enough times it eventually levels out!
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Jun 24, 2021 18:03
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Flipperwaldt posted:I have a wired electric hedge trimmer that weighs a ton. I've been looking at battery powered ones and my eye fell on an ultralight one that's only about a foot long versus the 2ft of the one I already have. Personally I don’t see battery tools as a sacrifice, I would absolutely find a 2’ 18v trimmer that’s compatible with whatever battery ecosystem you may already have, eg this one or a pole trimmer so you don’t even have to mess with a ladder or cords. If you’re not already invested in an 18v battery tool ecosystem, I’d just pick your favorite color and find a drill or combo starter pack with batteries and charger and build out from there, probably some decent sales floating around with everyone competing with prime day. A 12v ecosystem might even work for you if you want ultralight but plenty capable tools, though you do make a sacrifice for variety. But there’s still options, eg an 7” trimmer like this. Though with what you’re looking to do 18v might be where you want to start, and I bet it’ll weigh a shitton less than your corded trimmer
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Jun 25, 2021 13:52
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Thank you! I do have some 18V makita batteries, but they're a couple of years old and only 1.5Ah, which I was assuming wouldn't let me do a sensible amount of work with a hedge trimmer. Tell me if I'm wrong about that. I guess what I'm most concerned about is whether in general going from a 10lbs machine to a 7lbs machine will be very noticeable and a difference throwing ~150€-200€ at. That's why the 4lbs machine is tempting, even if the blade is half the length. But then is it too much of a unitasker? Reading that back, I think I just have to try lifting things of a similar weight to get my answer  Thanks again.
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Jun 25, 2021 18:01
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 08:25 |
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My idiot father installed gutter guards on some broken rain gutters. But he was cheap, and only installed 2 4ft sections where there are trees (100 ft oak trees). This is a bad idea right? Basically if any leaves or debris gets stuck at one end of the gutter guard... it will catch and build up more leaves. So by not fully enclosing the gutter system, he has increased the chance of gutter blockages and overflows?
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Jun 25, 2021 20:50
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