What is the best Lawn Mower for Residential use or Commercial Use?

I often get the question "What is the best Lawn Mower for Residential use or Commercial Use? The answer to this question depends upon the amount of use, the outcome of lawn cut you are after, the amount of money you want to spend, whether you want it to be portable, and many many other factors.

Money is generally the most important factor. The most expensive lawn mower that I have is a Walker Brand with the "GHS" or "Grass Handling System". The Walker is more of a commercial mower that goes for around $10,500. It collects the cut debris and shoots it under and back to a "hopper", which swivels up to dump the contents when full. The Walker Brand is a riding lawn mower. The controls on a Walker are more advanced than those of most mowers - you use your left fingers to go left and right and your right hand to control the forward control. A Walker Brand Mower will give you THE BEST cut of all commercial mowers in my opinion. The Walker also does a very good job of picking up other debris like leaves, pinestraw, or anything else that comes in its path.

A good pick for a riding lawn mower for the homeowner is the Snapper 28. This is the same mower that Forrest Gump was cutting the football field with. It's slow, but it makes a great, consistent cut. The Snapper line of riding mowers also does a satisfactory job of picking up light debris (like leaves). With a bagger "system", the Snapper Riding Lawn Mower goes for about $1750.

Another great commercial riding lawn mower is the "Zero Turn" mower. These monsters come in all sizes from Scag's 36" to ExMark's massive 72" width. As the name implies, these mowers turn on a zero radius - that means that they don't need much room at all to do a 180 degree turn to start the next line of mowing. I like my John Deere 54" "Z-Trac" 23 Horsepower. It does the big overgrown jobs that I come up on now and then. It will also do a fine job of regular mowing, but if given the choice, I use my Walker. Most Zero Turn mowers will mow through 15" tall grass with no problem! My John Deere goes for about $7500 new, but you can pick one up on ebay for ~$3000 or so depending upon how many "hours" it has on it.

The amount of hours on any mower you are considering depends, of course, on how long it has been in use. It is important to know, also, whether the mower has commercial hours on it or residential. If commercial, look for a mower with no more than 400 hours on it for maximum value. Hours in the range of 1000 or so are, in my opinion, too depreciated to enjoy maximum value.

Email me any time with questions about mowers or any other lawn care machinery - I'll be glad to help!

Landscaping Services Differ In Prices - Cost Versus Value

Landscaping Services here in Columbia South Carolina differ from company to company. One company may offer you a price that is significantly higher than the next company. It really does pay in the long run to educate yourself to the facts about how landscaping jobs are priced so you can make the right choice in landscapers.

Not only should you look at the bottom line price of the landscaping estimate, but you should also look at the quality of service, promptness, attention to detail, and overall look of the finished installation. A low end bid may be cheap initially, but could result in dead plants, severed irrigation lines, erosion problems, or general lack of creativity or appeal. The "lowball" bid is usually low for a reason - is this landscape contractor licensed to do business in your city? Is this company reputable and can they provide you with character references? Does the company employ illegal aliens? Does this company pay their taxes? These are all questions that you should ask before you sign a contract for landscaping.

Another factor that drives the price of a landscaping project is the cost of materials. If the landscaping service that you are having to bid on your project has a good connection with a local nursery or farm, they can usually get a better price for the materials. It is generally up to the landscaper as to how much they charge you in the end for these materials - after all, the landscaper has done the foot work in locating the best prices and has done enough business with the material supplier to merit the "wholesale" prices that they enjoy.

Cost of labor is also a factor. What is the cost of the labor that the landscape contractor has to pay? If the cost of labor is significantly higher, then the dollar cost to you the consumer will be higher. If the cost of labor is extremely cheap, then there might be problems with communication, trustworthiness, and local economic impacts. It is a common misconception that immigrant labor is the only labor that is cheap. There ARE Nationalized Americans who are willing and able to do the labor that is involved in landscaping and Groundskeeping at a reasonable rate. A responsible landscape contractor will take these factors into account when running their business.

So whether it's lawn maintenance, landscaping services, or groundskeeping, it pays to take a good look at the company who you are employing. That money that you pay to the company might just come back around to YOU if you are prudent with your selection!