Dude, Where's My house(s)?
Discussion
Avoid the lawn tractor, you'll burn out the engine within 12 months. A cheap quad and a tow behind would be more useful in the long run.
https://quadbikeparts.co.uk/atv-quad-bike-tow-behi...
CellarDoor said:
Avoid the lawn tractor, you'll burn out the engine within 12 months. A cheap quad and a tow behind would be more useful in the long run.
https://quadbikeparts.co.uk/atv-quad-bike-tow-behi...
Depending on how large the place is and what he needs to do, he may also find it worthwhile buying a small tractor (and other toys).https://quadbikeparts.co.uk/atv-quad-bike-tow-behi...
A project gives many opportunities for man maths / tool acquisition...
LooneyTunes said:
CellarDoor said:
Avoid the lawn tractor, you'll burn out the engine within 12 months. A cheap quad and a tow behind would be more useful in the long run.
https://quadbikeparts.co.uk/atv-quad-bike-tow-behi...
Depending on how large the place is and what he needs to do, he may also find it worthwhile buying a small tractor (and other toys).https://quadbikeparts.co.uk/atv-quad-bike-tow-behi...
A project gives many opportunities for man maths / tool acquisition...
- they are brilliant in my experience for garden jobs like levelling ground, taking delivery of pallets, collecting rubbish, etc.
I was only kidding about the manitou however they are very useful for construction and landscaping projects.
Speaking from experience of a large home project your budgeting skills will need to be on the ball and focused initially on planning, access, utilities and the house.
The fancy landscaping can wait however I was just urging you to avoid the lawn tractors. The manufacturers will tell you that they can cope with 3+ acres however your garden would need to be like a cricket pitch from the offset. Your setting (like mine) requires something more robust in the long term.
Just to add: you may want to check the wildlife that you could be disturbing / destroying if you intend to do large scale cutting.
I originally had plans to cut down 2 acres of woodland that was young and hadn't established itself very well and turn it into another paddock, it went on my long list of jobs. Over the coming months it produced a huge carpet of bluebells as well as patches of snowdrops with some of the thicker vegetation / nettles being home to a rare butterfly (I think it may have been a large blue but I'm not an expert so may be mistaken).
I decided to leave it alone as it seemed a shame to destroy this even though it's only used by my family. Over the past few years I've added a couple of acres of wild flowers as it's relatively cheap to do and the range of colours from March - October brings us as much joy as the lawn areas with the benefit of a smaller area to mow.
It may be worth thinking about your long term plan and the wildlife that you could preserve.
I originally had plans to cut down 2 acres of woodland that was young and hadn't established itself very well and turn it into another paddock, it went on my long list of jobs. Over the coming months it produced a huge carpet of bluebells as well as patches of snowdrops with some of the thicker vegetation / nettles being home to a rare butterfly (I think it may have been a large blue but I'm not an expert so may be mistaken).
I decided to leave it alone as it seemed a shame to destroy this even though it's only used by my family. Over the past few years I've added a couple of acres of wild flowers as it's relatively cheap to do and the range of colours from March - October brings us as much joy as the lawn areas with the benefit of a smaller area to mow.
It may be worth thinking about your long term plan and the wildlife that you could preserve.
CellarDoor said:
I was only kidding about the manitou however they are very useful for construction and landscaping projects.
Speaking from experience of a large home project your budgeting skills will need to be on the ball and focused initially on planning, access, utilities and the house.
The fancy landscaping can wait however I was just urging you to avoid the lawn tractors. The manufacturers will tell you that they can cope with 3+ acres however your garden would need to be like a cricket pitch from the offset. Your setting (like mine) requires something more robust in the long term.
I have a range of grounds. the plan with the lawn tractor would be to pull a self-powered flail mower for the bigger fields, then use the cutting deck around the house, where the grass isn't too bad. I have also sprung for a good one with a V-twin engine and hydrostatic drive. it came with a trailer, which arrived today, but no tractor yet.Speaking from experience of a large home project your budgeting skills will need to be on the ball and focused initially on planning, access, utilities and the house.
The fancy landscaping can wait however I was just urging you to avoid the lawn tractors. The manufacturers will tell you that they can cope with 3+ acres however your garden would need to be like a cricket pitch from the offset. Your setting (like mine) requires something more robust in the long term.
It's cold and wet out, so I assembled it inside in an unused room. Upon completion, I immediately regretted it. that thing was heavy to partly disassemble again, and then hoof out the main door.
I advise never building a boat from a kit.
Prizam said:
I might be already maxing out my man maths as it is 
You say that, but look at the cost of hiring vs what it costs to depreciate/run machinery. Buy second hand plant and it'll often hold a lot of value.In doing various jobs, I've easily paid for 3x good chainsaws and managed to justify the ownership of multiple bits of plant.
There's also the convenience of having the kit there when you need it instead of struggling by without for jobs where you can't justify the hassle and cost of hiring when you only really need it for an hour or two that day/week.
LooneyTunes said:
Prizam said:
I might be already maxing out my man maths as it is
You say that, but look at the cost of hiring vs what it costs to depreciate/run machinery. Buy second hand plant and it'll often hold a lot of value.In doing various jobs, I've easily paid for 3x good chainsaws and managed to justify the ownership of multiple bits of plant.
There's also the convenience of having the kit there when you need it instead of struggling by without for jobs where you can't justify the hassle and cost of hiring when you only really need it for an hour or two that day/week.
And yes, seeing it whip through a small tree without even vibrating does make even the most lacklustre safety-conscious person pay attention to what they are doing with it.
I went to get out my trusty chainsaw, it's just a little one. And, it wouldn't start. The fuel pickup pipe had gone brittle and snapped off in the tank. I ordered some more fuel line, and got about 10 meters of the stuff. Replaced the pickup line and whilst the chainsaw will now start up, it doesn't run right and lacks power.
I'm going to spend some time servicing the brush cutter and chainsaw this weekend before a mammoth clearing session. but man maths is already kicking in telling me to get a new chainsaw. I mean, I needed a bigger one anyway, right? And that old chain... well... it could do with being replaced. That's half the cost of a new saw. And it not running right.
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