Noise-Free Summer?
I have a landscaper because I am allergic to trees, grass, weeds, etc. I can't do it myself without getting very sick and if I don't do it at all, the town gets all up in my grill.
The proposal is not about getting rid of landscapers; it is about implementing a regulation on their work that will make our quality of life in our town considerably better.
I see an opportunity for high school kids to make some money pushing around an electric lawn mower, rake and broom.
"I see an opportunity for high school kids to make some money pushing around an electric lawn mower, rake and broom."
Always thought that this would be a better way for all the teams that beg in front of the local shops to earn money for their sports.
our quality of life also includes diy-ers clogging up our eardrums on the weekends with work that shoud have been done during the week.
Robert_Casotto said:
our quality of life also includes diy-ers clogging up our eardrums on the weekends with work that shoud have been done during the week.
"...should have been done during the week."???? Who decides that? When I was growing up, mowing lawns on the weekends was pretty standard and, dare I say, traditional!
How about limiting the landscapers to using DIY-er level equipment? That would certainly help with the noise?
rhw said:
"I see an opportunity for high school kids to make some money pushing around an electric lawn mower, rake and broom."
Always thought that this would be a better way for all the teams that beg in front of the local shops to earn money for their sports.
This is an interesting, thoughtful suggestion, but as the son of a landscaper, the father of a CHS athlete and a veteran high school mower of lawns myself, I'm not sure it's practical because of the weekly (or so), spring-to-fall demands of cutting grass. Maybe it works if a homeowner wants students to take over his or her DIY duties during July and August, but a substitute for someone accustomed to ongoing professional services? I don't see kids having the time while school is in session, especially during their sports seasons.
Robert_Casotto said:
our quality of life also includes diy-ers clogging up our eardrums on the weekends with work that shoud have been done during the week.
I think all landscaping should be done on the weekend. If you are going to make the noise, you should have to listen to it.
If we can't come pass a ban, perhaps that would be the solution. Mandate that all commercial landscaping be done on the weekend and you will see a ban on leaf blowers faster than you can say the word "hypocrite".
It isn't just the noise, but the environmental pollution from the motors (one hour of leaf blower is the environmental equivalent of driving a car 350 miles) and the blowing of everything from fertilizers to feces into the air for the workers and neighborhood to breathe. Horrible stuff.
It is just a prohibition during the Summer when leaf blowers are really not required. Leaving lawn clippings is actually good for the lawn! Leaf blowers should be primarily used for......leaves.
sac said:
Robert_Casotto said:
our quality of life also includes diy-ers clogging up our eardrums on the weekends with work that shoud have been done during the week.
"...should have been done during the week."???? Who decides that? When I was growing up, mowing lawns on the weekends was pretty standard and, dare I say, traditional!
How about limiting the landscapers to using DIY-er level equipment? That would certainly help with the noise?
Sure, except that the standard two-cycle DIY-er equipment pollutes more than the pro 4-cycle...
how about all landscaping must be done during the Super Bowl. boom.
Klinker said:
Robert_Casotto said:
our quality of life also includes diy-ers clogging up our eardrums on the weekends with work that shoud have been done during the week.
I think all landscaping should be done on the weekend. If you are going to make the noise, you should have to listen to it.
If we can't come pass a ban, perhaps that would be the solution. Mandate that all commercial landscaping be done on the weekend and you will see a ban on leaf blowers faster than you can say the word "hypocrite".
The noise doesn't bother me a whit, but whatever. Before the "hypocrites" can utter a word, the din of the landscape companies decrying it's not enough time will take over in short order.
carrielogo said:
It isn't just the noise, but the environmental pollution from the motors (one hour of leaf blower is the environmental equivalent of driving a car 350 miles) and the blowing of everything from fertilizers to feces into the air for the workers and neighborhood to breathe. Horrible stuff.
It is just a prohibition during the Summer when leaf blowers are really not required. Leaving lawn clippings is actually good for the lawn! Leaf blowers should be primarily used for......leaves.
While you are actually right on the emissions on the 2 stroke & 4 stroke leaf blower, Edmunds tested them against a F150 SVT Raptor(what a truck!) and a Fiat 500.
As for the feces easy, ban dogs! 
We are in our seventies and have been living in the same house for more than forty years. I should add that our property is fairly large, on a double lot. When we were younger, we did all of the yard work by ourselves, with very little gasoline powered equipment.
However, I developed allergies to leaf mold, and couldn't rake anymore, and my spouse developed a bad back and had trouble pushing the mower. Then the mower broke, and rather than fix it or get a new one we decided to hire a landscaper.
What freedom! No more spending the weekend pushing leaves into piles or schlepping the lawn mower. No more blistered hands or aches or wheezing from moldy wet leaves. The guys come once a week, spend maybe half an hour mowing or blowing the leaves or whatever. We have asked them not to use any herbicides or other chemicals. Our property looks good. We don't stress. We are home when they do their work, and we close the windows if it gets too noisy. We love our landscaper. They have helped us to stay in our home.
To those of you who would silence our landscapers, I say muzzle your noisy yapping dogs first.
lizziecat said:
To those of you who would silence our landscapers, I say muzzle your noisy yapping dogs first.
No one wants to take away your landscaper. The proposal is simply to not use leaf-blowers for 2 months of summer. Honestly, I think you'll be OK.
I'm curious about how banning only leaf blowers, while allowing all other forms of sitting riding mowers, standing riding mowers, hedge trimmers, string edgers, chainsaws, cars with a boomin' bass, and motorcycles is going to significantly effect anyone's quality of life with regard to noise.
Why did leaf blowers get singled out? And why do we think we'll even notice their absence?
Because we've all seen landscapers pointlessly running up their hours blowing the same blade of grass around the lawn. Or two of them, blowing against each other.
They use their other tools much more efficiently.
tom said:
Because we've all seen landscapers pointlessly running up their hours blowing the same blade of grass around the lawn. Or two of them, blowing against each other.
They use their other tools much more efficiently.
I'm not aware of any landscaper who charges by the hour for a regular mow and blow series... I'd like to think they'd love nothing more than to be done with each job as fast as possible. Those in my neighborhood seem to work at 100mph for that very reason.
jersey_boy said:
I'm curious about how banning only leaf blowers, while allowing all other forms of sitting riding mowers, standing riding mowers, hedge trimmers, string edgers, chainsaws, cars with a boomin' bass, and motorcycles is going to significantly effect anyone's quality of life with regard to noise.
Why did leaf blowers get singled out? And why do we think we'll even notice their absence?
Because green. Or something.
During summer evenings I enjoy the confines of my back yard along with local craft beers. Many of these brews are unfiltered and non-pasteurized. The consumption of the live yeast found in these types of brews tends to produce secondary fermentation in the GI tract resulting in the production of methane and the need to expell that methane.
I drink beer and fart in my back yard during the summer. It is loud, produces foul odors and the methane released is many times worse for global warming that the carbon dioxide I exhale. Do we propose legislation to muzzle my sphincter for the good of the environment and peaceable enjoyment for my neighbors.
It's been pointed out that leaf blowing is not only noisy but also creates a lot of needless dust which can impact people with respiratory problems. My sense is also that leaf blowers are more noisy than string trimmers which don't operate at full intensity for extended periods and don't have the sound of rushing air added to the sound of the motor. Nobody has to give up using a landscaper.
String trimmers are also over used too. It's not unusual to see a two inch gap between a lawn and the sidewalk from the erosion of over trimming. They don't have to be used every week. A lot of this just seems like lawn OCD.
ctrzaska said:
tom said:
Because we've all seen landscapers pointlessly running up their hours blowing the same blade of grass around the lawn. Or two of them, blowing against each other.
They use their other tools much more efficiently.
I'm not aware of any landscaper who charges by the hour for a regular mow and blow series... I'd like to think they'd love nothing more than to be done with each job as fast as possible. Those in my neighborhood seem to work at 100mph for that very reason.
I wish. There's a guy who comes to the house across the street from us who can spend two hours just blowing. It's ridiculous and I'm not exaggerating.
tom said:
ctrzaska said:
tom said:
Because we've all seen landscapers pointlessly running up their hours blowing the same blade of grass around the lawn. Or two of them, blowing against each other.
They use their other tools much more efficiently.
I'm not aware of any landscaper who charges by the hour for a regular mow and blow series... I'd like to think they'd love nothing more than to be done with each job as fast as possible. Those in my neighborhood seem to work at 100mph for that very reason.
I wish. There's a guy who comes to the house across the street from us who can spend two hours just blowing. It's ridiculous and I'm not exaggerating.
I'm posting this one to "Horribly out of context quotes!"
alias said:
During summer evenings I enjoy the confines of my back yard along with local craft beers. Many of these brews are unfiltered and non-pasteurized. The consumption of the live yeast found in these types of brews tends to produce secondary fermentation in the GI tract resulting in the production of methane and the need to expell that methane.
I drink beer and fart in my back yard during the summer. It is loud, produces foul odors and the methane released is many times worse for global warming that the carbon dioxide I exhale. Do we propose legislation to muzzle my sphincter for the good of the environment and peaceable enjoyment for my neighbors.
If your flatulence is as loud as a leaf blower I STRONGLY suggest you seek a medical solution as soon as possible for your own good. You may be a beer or two away from a disastrous blow out.
Somehow the leaf-blower sound seems louder and more grating than the others.
tom said:
ctrzaska said:
tom said:
Because we've all seen landscapers pointlessly running up their hours blowing the same blade of grass around the lawn. Or two of them, blowing against each other.
They use their other tools much more efficiently.
I'm not aware of any landscaper who charges by the hour for a regular mow and blow series... I'd like to think they'd love nothing more than to be done with each job as fast as possible. Those in my neighborhood seem to work at 100mph for that very reason.
I wish. There's a guy who comes to the house across the street from us who can spend two hours just blowing. It's ridiculous and I'm not exaggerating.
That's just nuts.
This amounts to a tax on those who use landscapers. If the cost of doing business is raised they will pass it on to the consumer, plain and simple. And our costs are already high. We should not have to face increased rates just because Mr. Mom can't watch The Bold and the Beautiful to the sound of birds chirping.
I almost feel bad for all the stay at home/work at home Mom's and Dad's that they have to listen to a leaf blower once a week for 30 minutes, for 5 months out of the year from the three properties that abut theirs.
The alternative is that you have to endure NJ Transit for over an hour a day, five days a week, 11.5 months a year.
Perspective...
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Bingo, most of our whole block does this. While I DIY my landscape. 7 other houses on my block use the same service, and the landscaper comes through once every 2 weeks in the summer.
Once every 2 weeks is not that bothersome during the weekdays.
But hey come on isn't this the most quintessential of MOL threads