Landscaping centra NJ vs doing it yourself?

[scarleteagle]

my wife wants our landscaping done around the house (flemington) this spring, we're talking mulch, stones, etc. I'm getting on in years (an old 30) so I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on doing it myself vs hiring someone local in hunterdon?

Apologies for off topic, but it IS the off season...

 

[Knight Ed]

Do it yourself. If the mulch or stones are wearing you out, remember it doesn't have to just be a one day job. Depending on how many yard of material you are doing it can be a chore.

 

[miketd1]

Always cheaper to do it yourself.

So basically it comes down to:
1.) Can you afford it?
2.) What is your time worth?

Personally, I hire everything out except mowing/edging (which I actually enjoy).

Good luck!

 

[FanuSanu52]

Central Jersey is pretty large ... I'd let someone else landscape it.

 

[RUScrew85]

Do it yourself. If the mulch or stones are wearing you out, remember it doesn't have to just be a one day job. Depending on how many yard of material you are doing it can be a chore.

Yeah if you have yard tools and a wheelbarrow replacing mulch and stones is easy. Just take your time. Do a little every night after work spread it out over a week or two.

 

[CERU00]

Do it yourself at whatever pace you're comfortable with. Its good exercise. Remember to put down 2 layers of good quality weed barrier.

 

[Extra Point]

my wife wants our landscaping done around the house (flemington) this spring, we're talking mulch, stones, etc. I'm getting on in years (an old 30) so I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on doing it myself vs hiring someone local in hunterdon?

Apologies for off topic, but it IS the off season...

Getting on in years at 30?? You haven't even reached your prime yet. If your wife is a bitch then you may want to pay to have it done or else she will complain about what you did even if it is perfect. Otherwise you will save a ton of money to do it yourself and you can please your wife by buying her something with some of the money you will save.

 

[RocktheRac]

Getting on in years...30. LMFAO

 

[PhilaPhans]

It's the best workout you'll probably get throughout the week. I hate doing my stuff, but it's worth it to spend a couple hours on the weekends doing stuff and using that money for fun.

 

[Upstream]

Always cheaper to do it yourself.

So basically it comes down to:
1.) Can you afford it?
2.) What is your time worth?

Personally, I hire everything out except mowing/edging (which I actually enjoy).

Good luck!

This.

If you enjoy it, then by all means do it yourself. But I assume if the OP enjoyed doing this, he wouldn't have started this thread.

So it comes down to what your time is worth. I figure a good rule of thumb is that your free time is worth about 25-50% of your hourly salary, depending on how much free time you have and what other demands you have on your time.

So let's say you estimate your free time is worth $10 per hour. If this job is going to take 3 hours per night, over 4 nights, that's a total of 12 hours or $120 worth of your time. Add cost of materials (and any special tools you might need), and compare that to the cost of someone else doing it.

Make sure when you are estimating time, you include the time to get materials and clean up. Also remember that a professional is probably going to move faster than you, and bring a crew to split up the work.

 

[Upstream]

Getting on in years...30. LMFAO

Rock, I don't want to give you business advice, but your response should have been, "Yeah, once you hit 30 you are past your physical prime and at risk of injuries that can haunt you for the rest of your life. You should really let someone who knows what they're doing, and with the right tools, handle the heavy lifting and repetitive motion. Email me and I'll give you a Rutgers fan discount."

 

[RobertG]

my wife wants our landscaping done around the house (flemington) this spring, we're talking mulch, stones, etc. I'm getting on in years (an old 30) so I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on doing it myself vs hiring someone local in hunterdon?

Apologies for off topic, but it IS the off season...

Let me rephrase your question: Should I be a man or should I go put on sundress and sashay down the boulevard?

 

[miketd1]

If this job is going to take 3 hours per night, over 4 nights, that's a total of 12 hours or $120 worth of your time.

Don't forget all that time you're going to waste looking up what to do on the net and YouTube. And the time you'll spend at the store shopping for tools and product. Or the time you will probably waste going back to the store because you forgot something. Or the time you'll inevitably lose doing something over that failed wife-inspection the first time.

If the project is something that needs to be done repeatedly, year after year (like mow, edge, mulch, weed, etc.), it makes sense to invest in the tools and know-how to do it yourself. Not only will you save a significant amount of money on a recurring cost, but you'll eventually get better/efficient at it.

If it's more of a "one-off" type project (like building a deck or installing pavers), I'd probably just hire it out.

 

[REDRICH65]

If you hire out, have your wife supervise; if you DIY, get her a shovel and rake too. Either way, you won't have her complaining too you. LOL.

 

[RocktheRac]

Rock, I don't want to give you business advice, but your response should have been, "Yeah, once you hit 30 you are past your physical prime and at risk of injuries that can haunt you for the rest of your life. You should really let someone who knows what they're doing, and with the right tools, handle the heavy lifting and repetitive motion. Email me and I'll give you a Rutgers fan discount."

I'm 53 too old for this crap too!

 

[RU205]

If it's not a big job, have the mulch and stone delivered to your house. On a nice weekend ask 3-4 friends to help. With a handful of people it should go quickly. Get a keg and turn on the grill....

 

[Phi_1055]

Am I missing something? We're not discussing or giving advice on planting trees and shrubs, right? Just simple manual labor. What's next? Should I fry my own eggs and make my own toast or go to the diner?

 

[Caliknight]

Get professionals. Especially if you are going to have plants and such. You will want a good irrigation system.

Nothing makes a house look good or bad as much as landscaping.

 

[thad23]

Am I missing something? We're not discussing or giving advice on planting trees and shrubs, right? Just simple manual labor. What's next? Should I fry my own eggs and make my own toast or go to the diner?

This! haha

 

[scarleteagle]

Thanks for the help guys.

My wife is great- she will probably end up doing more of the work than I.

As for work, we re-shingled the roof ourselves last year and saved about 8,000$. But I'd pay to have it done by someone else if I had to do it again, the work was hell. I guess I'll just have to call around locally and get an idea on prices.

 

[PeteGiam07]

If it's not a big job, have the mulch and stone delivered to your house. On a nice weekend ask 3-4 friends to help. With a handful of people it should go quickly. Get a keg and turn on the grill....

Sounds exactly how I'd love to spend my free time.

 

[RUJohnny99]

I like doing this myself, just like I like cooking for myself. I feel like every yard project I complete, or every meal I've cooked for my family, I've just sent one more undocumented worker back to his home country. If more people shared this vision, we wouldn't have Donald Trump's wall getting all this attention.

 

[scarleteagle]

Well I googled and there is a Rutgers landscaping very close to me so if that isn't a sign I don't know what is

 

[Extra Point]

Thanks for the help guys.

My wife is great- she will probably end up doing more of the work than I.

As for work, we re-shingled the roof ourselves last year and saved about 8,000$. But I'd pay to have it done by someone else if I had to do it again, the work was hell. I guess I'll just have to call around locally and get an idea on prices.

re-shingling a roof is 1000X harder than doing landscaping. So you redeemed yourself as being a serious DIY man among bloggers.

 

[DJ Spanky]

It really depends upon the size of the job. If it's a huge amount, then it's probably worth farming it out as it will take up a lot of time. If it's something manageable, it would be much cheaper to do it yourself. And probably more satisfying.

Am I missing something? We're not discussing or giving advice on planting trees and shrubs, right? Just simple manual labor. What's next? Should I fry my own eggs and make my own toast or go to the diner?

Well that really depends upon the diner. I guess we need another "Best Diner" thread to hash this out.

 

[PhilaPhans]

There are jobs that you should let professionals do, and jobs that anybody average Joe can do if you put forth any effort.

Like Cali said, if it's setting up landscaping from scratch, I'd ask for help because who knows what you need for irrigation and a professional look to things. If it's just you changing out some plants, weeding, throwing down mulch, and mowing the lawn ... that's different.

I would have got somebody to do my roof, because there's a big difference between somebody doing it right and me doing it. I've helped put roofs on houses before on mission trips down to various places, but when a massive storm comes through, I'd want to be a dry knowing that somebody who actually knows what they're doing did the work. For the record, I just paid to have my roof replaced ... thankfully insurance helped with 95% of it.

In the end, that's up to you if you want to spend extra money so you can sleep in on the weekends. Personal choice. Not really our business. But you asked, so we give our opinions.

 

[RobertG]

re-shingling a roof is 1000X harder than doing landscaping. So you redeemed yourself as being a serious DIY man among bloggers.

That's no big deal, one summer while doing a stint up in Maine a bunch of guys and I tarred a roof of a building and I almost got thrown off by one of the screws. Funny thing is he ended up buying beer for the whole crew.

 

[miketd1]

I like doing this myself, just like I like cooking for myself. I feel like every yard project I complete, or every meal I've cooked for my family, I've just sent one more undocumented worker back to his home country. If more people shared this vision, we wouldn't have Donald Trump's wall getting all this attention.

Interesting.

Do you grow your own fruits/vegetables and make your own clothing too?

 

[scarleteagle]

Honestly worst part of the roof was the heat (black shingles in summer) and lugging the eighty 60-70 pound bags of shingles up the stairs and onto the roof.

Anyone here involved with Rutgers landscaping? Seems like the place to know someone that might be

 

[miketd1]

That's no big deal, one summer while doing a stint up in Maine a bunch of guys and I tarred a roof of a building and I almost got thrown off by one of the screws. Funny thing is he ended up buying beer for the whole crew.

 

[RUJohnny99]

Interesting.

Do you grow your own fruits/vegetables and make your own clothing too?

Yes to the fruits/vegetables, supplemented with a CSA share.

I didn't realize the clothing factories across America were hiring illegals.

 

[RUBigFrank]

a thirty years young keep doing it.

I stopped after two major surgeries.

 

[miketd1]

Yes to the fruits/vegetables, supplemented with a CSA share.

I didn't realize the clothing factories across America were hiring illegals.

1.) You're a good man.

2.) I don't know if there are clothing factories across America, but it's fairly common knowledge that they are readily employed in the garment sector of NYC.

I'll also add that I personally know folks who have worked in the textile industry who can attest that there are quite a number of these workers hidden in the supply chain of many popular brands.

Here's a study done in 2014. I doubt it's all cleaned up.

 

[Extra Point]

There are jobs that you should let professionals do, and jobs that anybody average Joe can do if you put forth any effort.

Like Cali said, if it's setting up landscaping from scratch, I'd ask for help because who knows what you need for irrigation and a professional look to things. If it's just you changing out some plants, weeding, throwing down mulch, and mowing the lawn ... that's different.

I would have got somebody to do my roof, because there's a big difference between somebody doing it right and me doing it. I've helped put roofs on houses before on mission trips down to various places, but when a massive storm comes through, I'd want to be a dry knowing that somebody who actually knows what they're doing did the work. For the record, I just paid to have my roof replaced ... thankfully insurance helped with 95% of it.

In the end, that's up to you if you want to spend extra money so you can sleep in on the weekends. Personal choice. Not really our business. But you asked, so we give our opinions.

How did you get the insurance company to pay for it? Was it damaged in a storm or something?
About roofs, not only do you need to get the shingles lined up correctly and straight but you have to make sure the nails will not get wet or they will rust out and cause leaks. Valleys need to be weaved a certain way at the bottom to make sure these areas don't leak after a few years. Anything protruding out of the roof like a chimney are very hard to re-flash such that they will not leak. Roofs are a PITA and it is always hard to find a competent roofer.

 

[Knight Ed]

That's no big deal, one summer while doing a stint up in Maine a bunch of guys and I tarred a roof of a building and I almost got thrown off by one of the screws. Funny thing is he ended up buying beer for the whole crew.

This one actually took me a few seconds to get. Well done.

 

[bitnez]

There's something about a bottle of suds that just makes you feel more like a man

(at least that's how I remember the line)

 

[PhilaPhans]

How did you get the insurance company to pay for it? Was it damaged in a storm or something?

Hail damage from the May 22, 2014 storm. I'm in Gloucester County. A bunch of my family and friends in the area qualified for full replacement. I consider myself lucky, because a roof isn't cheap. The company I used did a great job on it.

 

[yesrutgers01]

The real question is how much you are talking about and distance and difficulty of moving the mulch/stone.
30? Serious

I have a full acre. I hire out the mowing but I do the cleanup. The last 5 years, I have done 40 yds of mulch by hand. And a number of projects needing a lot of stone. The work is not for the faint of heart but I'm 53 so man up and do it yourself.

 

[Caliknight]

Pay for a professional and go to the gym and get a real workout in!

I can't imagine asking or being asked by friends to help them spend a Sat. lugging rocks around. That would be a short conversation.

 

[FanuSanu52]

I like doing this myself, just like I like cooking for myself. I feel like every yard project I complete, or every meal I've cooked for my family, I've just sent one more undocumented worker back to his home country. If more people shared this vision, we wouldn't have Donald Trump's wall getting all this attention.

But doesn't your absentee parenting just let em all back in?

(Just f-in with ya)