Welp, I have an actual house now; Questions.
- Thread starter Dasfinc
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I believe the plug style aerators work better but it looks like little goose turds all over the yard until the rain breaks them back down into the soil...
I'd wait on mowing for awhile afterward myself.
The Plug style one starts about double the price, and has vastly fewer tines? Wouldn't the spike one be better at breaking up the Thatch? I'd imagine the plug one would be better at plugging nutrients into the soil?
Quick search showed this on Briggs and Stratons site:
Aerating Tools: Plug Aerator vs. Spike Aerator
Two main aerating tools exist — a spike aerator and a plug aerator. With a spike aerator, you simply use the tool to poke holes into the ground with a solid tine, or fork. Plug aerators remove a core or plug of grass and soil from the lawn.
For the best results, use an aerating tool or machine that actually removes plugs of soil. Poking holes is less effective and can actually cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
Look for an aerating tool or machine that removes soil plugs approximately 2 — 3 inches deep and 0.5 — 0.75 inches in diameter, and about 2 — 3 inches apart. These machines can be rented from lawn and garden stores or home improvement centers.
This is just stuff that I've come across in searching trying to fix my back yard... I had WAY too much shade and just couldn't get grass to grow in a few areas... Needless to say that's why I'm shelling out the money to have it all regraded and sodded now.
Aerating Tools: Plug Aerator vs. Spike Aerator
Two main aerating tools exist — a spike aerator and a plug aerator. With a spike aerator, you simply use the tool to poke holes into the ground with a solid tine, or fork. Plug aerators remove a core or plug of grass and soil from the lawn.
For the best results, use an aerating tool or machine that actually removes plugs of soil. Poking holes is less effective and can actually cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
Look for an aerating tool or machine that removes soil plugs approximately 2 — 3 inches deep and 0.5 — 0.75 inches in diameter, and about 2 — 3 inches apart. These machines can be rented from lawn and garden stores or home improvement centers.
This is just stuff that I've come across in searching trying to fix my back yard... I had WAY too much shade and just couldn't get grass to grow in a few areas... Needless to say that's why I'm shelling out the money to have it all regraded and sodded now.
He's lucky, my stupid OCD would kick in and force me to buy the John Deere version so it matched my mower... That's $400. LOL
On a side note, I thought about a doggie door for a minute but then quickly changed my mind more because Id be worried something stupid would happen to them if they were in the yard without me being home as well.....
It's all lovely
TREMENDOUSLY expensive, but lovely.
Revisit this thread in the fall after a summer of dealing with all the lawn and leaves and shit.
My buddy bought a house in Roselle on 1/2 an acre as his first house with a ton of trees and plants... Yard looks great, but then he realized he was in charge of keeping it that way... He was hating life after his first full year.
Revisit this thread in the fall after a summer of dealing with all the lawn and leaves and shit.
My buddy bought a house in Roselle on 1/2 an acre as his first house with a ton of trees and plants... Yard looks great, but then he realized he was in charge of keeping it that way... He was hating life after his first full year.
I have a 1/2 acre, it's not that bad. But it also gets me the fuck out of the house so I welcome it.
Maybe its larger, but it's like a complete forest back there with a ton of plants and planting beds to take care of.... He was just hating life...
His woman won't let him take out any trees that are living either. She doesn't get that thinning things out is actually good for the trees so it's just a ton of cleanup all the time for him....
Front yard from the sale pics. You can see there is a single bush on the front corner of the house, but the side where the mitigation system sits is completely open. The sump drain is now underground instead of just laying next to the house also.
And here is a pic of the Pines:
Similar to my house,
I have 2 pines in the front yard, I just put landscape trim around the base about 5-6 ft from the trunk. Then mulched it to keep the weeds down.
I have the yard aerated 1-2 times per year, cheaper than buying renting the equipment and then I don't have to store it.
For grass get a good sun/shade seed mix from a nursery. It will be more expensive for the seed but it's better than any seed I have bought from a home improvement center.
For the piping I have my sump discharge and gas lines on the other side of my house that stood out like a sore thumb. I painted the piping black and some parts white (matches my trim).
How big is your yard, and how much do you pay to have someone aerate it? It looks like its $180ish to buy a tow-behind plug one for my little tractor, and its like $100 a day to rent a self-powered one, or $60 to rent a tow behind for a day. At $180 if this is more than a once a year thing, I'm just going to buy it and store it in my shed.
#8) Who has Doggie Doors? Pros/Cons? We have a pair of 50lb dogs that love roaming outside and our back yard is fenced in. We live in Wheaton, and since the doors have glass in them anyways, I'd imagine if someone wants to break in bad enough a doggie door isn't going to be any more attractive of a target than just punching out one of the small panes in the back door. That being said, I feel like this could have other issues like not sealing well, allowing in water? I don't know, but I'm curious who has real-life experience with having one.
my in laws have one, but it is in a lower level patio door that is only used to by the dogs. it was a custom made glass pane that fit in the opening of the patio door, so can remove it at any time with no proof that one was ever there. it was made for small dogs. ~20-30 lb it does not let in any more water than the dogs themselves bring in.
if this is for a very much used patio sliding door i would recomend getting one that fits on the non door side as to not take away any door space.
you could probably have this done at the same time as #7 while the pros are doing the work.
my in laws have one, but it is in a lower level patio door that is only used to by the dogs. it was a custom made glass pane that fit in the opening of the patio door, so can remove it at any time with no proof that one was ever there. it was made for small dogs. ~20-30 lb it does not let in any more water than the dogs themselves bring in.
if this is for a very much used patio sliding door i would recomend getting one that fits on the non door side as to not take away any door space.
you could probably have this done at the same time as #7 while the pros are doing the work.
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