I was mowing a customer’s yard a while back in Bullard and I was approached by one of their neighbors. After visiting with them for a moment they bragged on the yard that I weekly maintained. I asked them if they would like for me to look at their yard and give a free quote. Their response was: “we can’t afford to have someone mow our yard“. I really thought about that statement and it really made sense to me…. until I calculated everything.

Let’s think about this concept and go through all the details together. Is it really more expensive to hire someone to do your yard? Maybe so, but lets see how much money we are talking about. The questions you should ask yourself are:

• What all equipment do you have to purchase and maintain in order for you to do your own yard work and for how much?
• How often will you have to repair, maintain or replace that equipment and how much time and money will that cost
• How much time would you have to spend working in the yard and how much is that time worth to you?
• Would you be as pleased with how your yard looks as compared to how it would look if a professional did the yard work?

Decent lawn care equipment is expensive these days. There are cheaper brands/qualities but generally you spend more on repair and replacement costs than you would on a quality piece of equipment. You also need several tools to do the job. Below is a list.

Equipment Costs

Lawnmower $250-$700 (Push mower) $1000-$8000 (Riding mower): A few brands for mowers that seem to last pretty well, in no particular order: Scag, Exmark, Snapper, John Deere and Toro. Commercial mowers of course last longer and do a better job and so a lot of homeowners are using commercial equipment, but that is a topic for another article. Also decide what features you want: Electric start, mulcher bagger, zero turn for efficiency in hard to reach areas. If you get a walk behind mower I strongly recommend getting a big back wheel. The extra leverage is very beneficial. I only buy large back wheel push mowers. You would most likely also want a self propelled mower. The rear propelled generally mechanism lasts longer than the front propelled mowers – just a thought.

Edger/Trimmer $100-$500: Get a combo to save money or buy a separate edger (stick edger) and grass trimmer. While electric/battery powered equipment has greatly improved over the last few years we still recommend a gas edger trimmer. For a tight budget check out the Weedeater brand Featherlite trimmers. They aren’t that durable, but they are cheap and super easy to use. We recommend: Echo, Stihl, Husquevarna and Craftsman to get you started. For residential use you want a combination of affordability, convenience (get something light to tote around) and low maintenance (repair bills can be as much as the cost of a new weedeater)

Hedge Trimmer/Clippers $40(Manual) $150-$800(Powered): There are lots of options here from manual clipper style shears and loppers to electric and gas powered hedge trimmers. Think about the application and if it is worth spending more for a powered option vs. manual.

Blower $90-$800: For this piece of machinery we use gas powered backpack blowers, but if electricity is a convenient alternative for you, they have some really good electric blowers on the market that are very affordable. Electric blowers are way more durable than an electric weed-eater for instance. Some of the rechargeable equipment out now is pretty decent and won’t hurt your back as much.

You are going to spend $1500 on the low end just for the minimum equipment to get started to mow your yard!  This is just standard equipment that you need in order to mow just a regular size residential yard. You will have to regularly maintain and repair this equipment which is very costly and not everyone is suited for the task. The cheaper equipment you get the more quickly you will be needing to replace it. Many residential grade power tools only last one season unless they are well maintained. Our average fee to maintain a standard residential (under half an acre) is around $45-60 per mow. You would get 25+ professional yard care treatments before you spent as much as just the minimum initial equipment costs.  Depending on the weather, that could last you well over a year, maybe close to two. Mowing is also paid out as you receive the lawn service. This is basically like interest free financing instead of having to cough up a grand or two for equipment.

Once you get the tools, you will immediately need weedeater string, gas, oil mix, safety goggles, respirator/face masks and hearing protection. Hopefully you already have boots, gloves, long pants and sun screen. Safety First! Later you will need to invest in maintenance items such as: air filters, oil, replacement blades, air compressor, grease gun, belts, pulleys, fuel lines, fuel primers etc. An alternative to maintaining this equipment is to pay someone to do it for you which can be very costly.  You also have to store the equipment year round and it takes up valuable space in your garage. You can generally use the equipment more than one season but they don’t last forever and sitting over the winter is not good. You are looking at costly repair bills ahead.

How much is your weekends/evenings worth? Do you really want to mow edge trim and blow the yard? Your time is valuable and the time spent on landscaping your yard is usually your most valuable time. It is on your time off! Everyone complains of not having enough time to do whatever it is they want to do. Maybe you would have time if you weren’t out in the heat creating that farmers tan that everyone finds so attractive.

Does it look like your yard was maintained by a professional when you are doing the work? We have commercial grade lawn equipment that is professionally operated and maintained. It is what we do and we are pretty darn good at it.  Granted some people are very meticulous about their yard and they spend every waking moment mowing, pruning, trimming and fretting over the lawn. For those people we suggest re-reading the previous point and getting a hobby, spend more time with friends and family and give us a call to mow your lawn.

“These times they are a changing”. Everyone used to do their own mechanic work. Henry Ford made Model T’s simple for anyone to work on and they even came with a basic tool kit. Times have changed and society has evolved. We eat at restaurants, have mechanics work on our cars, carpenters make home repairs, and Tyler Lawn and Landscape should mow your yard.

For all those Do-It-Yourselfers we will have more tips on all things lawns – from buying equipment to making your lawn look like a show place. We are glad to come do the work for you, but we understand that there are some people that just refuse to take a good deal when they are offered one and like to do things for themselves.  🙂

All the best,

Nathan Woodfin (Head Make Your Yard Awesome Guy)