cost of lawn cutting

Goat?

Last time I paid someone to mow the grass it cost £450 and took two days to complete.

So less than that, probably.

I make it 51 sqm, but let's not worry about that. Sounds like no more than 20 minutes work, and for so little time the overheads of simply turning up would seem to be considerable unless it can be combined with other jobs nearby.

It seems to me that for something as long as 3 months, you will need to think about more than just grass cutting. You'll need someone to check over the whole house (inside too) regularly because insurance companies are not keen on properties which will be unoccupied for more than a few weeks in one stretch. But perhaps you have already made arrangements with neighbours to do this, but don't want to ask too much of them.

If there are any other general jobs which might be worth doing around the house, such as decorating, or even just window cleaning, then a general handyman could do a package deal, to make each visit worth while.

Whereabouts is this?

For want of a better figure, low end diy bloke =A37 an hour.

NT

Human, I suspect. Goats typically aren't very good at posting to usenet.

Indeed, it's the things under the bridges, not the ones trip-trapping over the top that are the problem.

Neither are many humans :-(

Adrian

The last quote we got was £25/hr.

No. A goat will ignore the grass and eat the flowers. He wants a sheep.

Or a _local_ gardener, who will charge according to the region. Probably a lot less if they can combine the work with a job on next door, so you might want to ask around locally.

Age Concern may be able to suggest some people in the area.

Andy

Mine worked out at £20/hour or £37.50/acre.

I decided it was cheaper to buy a tractor and a 2 metre flail to do it myself. Although at my hourly rate, it isn't.

In message , SS writes

We pay, since my heart attack, £20 per go. They come every 2 or 3 weeks,

SWMBO insists that I don't do it (good!), but nags me about how quick they are for so much money. I quote overheads, petrol etc. and ask if she really wants someone who takes all morning and looks decrepit.

They tend to see other jobs that want doing and talk her into them. Trees that need trimming, hedges etc. etc. Bills for that can be expensive.

Our lawn is quite big and has a huge mound at one end, which was always a sod for me to do. I was always exhausted by the time I'd started our B & S powered push mower.

I find most goats prefer other goats.

I'd certainly want to charge to be buggered by a goat.

With thirty years experience of keeping sheep, I can assure you that grass is not their food of preference.

Jonathan

Ask your local council,they do it.We have it done for a relative and it`s very cheap.That`s in Fife.

When I tried to get mine done, for the same reason as the original poster, they would only work for a day, so it was not an option. The reason being that it was not worth their while to travel to my home and back for just an hour or two.

I'm buggered if I'm going to let a goat charge me.

Isn't this the sort of thing that would be ideal for a neighbour's teenage son (or daughter for that matter) to do for a small consideration?

Thanks guys, I never thought of the local council I will give them a call.

"ideal for a neighbour's teenage son (or daughter for that matter) to do for a small consideration?"

Because I live a fair distance away I dont know the neighbours well enough to trust their teenage sons. The council seems the best shout at the moment.

No - any fool knows it's picnic sandwiches.