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Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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Hateyou said:
I can’t speak from a ton of experience but I did go through this once. We are fortunate that we have a HVAC company that is locally owned/small and they don’t bullshit you. They told us that yes you’ll save a little money if you go up to the high end options they have, but even if it lasted us 30 years it probably would not pay for itself. They said the efficiency gains have diminishing returns past a certain % (I don’t remember the % they gave) but they recommended to just go with the middle of the road option because it was still above that diminishing return %. They had three options, we went with the middle one, so I’d just see what they have available and go with one or two steps below the most expensive.

No idea about the variable thing. The “paying for itself” part of your question doesn’t really come into play until decades down the road. Do you really care about saving a few hundred 20 years from now? Go with what’s going to be affordable, the least amount of maintenance, and works well for the size of your house.
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Yeah that is the main reason that the 14 vs 16 thing isn't as relevant to me as the overall comfort of the house and family. Even running calculations on the efficiency gains put the break even out to 15 years, and that is just spreadsheet math. Real world it would probably be less. So I'm on board with the middle option for sure.

But like has been mentioned I just didn't know what the variable option brough to the table. It 90% isn't something we'll go with because of cost, but I asked them the question anyways.

Thanks for the inputs from everyone.
 
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Lanx

Lanx

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Intrinsic said:
Yeah that is the main reason that the 14 vs 16 thing isn't as relevant to me as the overall comfort of the house and family. Even running calculations on the efficiency gains put the break even out to 15 years, and that is just spreadsheet math. Real world it would probably be less. So I'm on board with the middle option for sure.

But like has been mentioned I just didn't know what the variable option brough to the table. It 90% isn't something we'll go with because of cost, but I asked them the question anyways.

Thanks for the inputs from everyone.
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the variable speed motors also cost the most to replace, i mean it's like a dimmer switch that costs 10$ vs a simple toggle light switch on/off that costs .50, both will turn on a light but the dimmer switch is infinately adjustable once it's on.
 
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Araysar

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I got a quote to refurbish my backyard lawn, it's about 0.25 acre lawn

Scope of work includes: Herbicide application for entire yard. Wait 3-4 weeks then aerate entire yard. Overseed back yard (seed/straw). And fertilize entire yard.

Price $1400


Is this a fair price? Ive never done this before
 
Hateyou

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Araysar said:
I got a quote to refurbish my backyard lawn, it's about 0.25 acre lawn

Scope of work includes: Herbicide application for entire yard. Wait 3-4 weeks then aerate entire yard. Overseed back yard (seed/straw). And fertilize entire yard.

Price $1400


Is this a fair price? Ive never done this before
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That’s seems really expensive to me. I get weed and feed for $50 an application, 0.33 acre lot. $150-200? For aerate and overseed. I don’t get straw.

This is with a fully realized lawn though so maybe it’s more intensive on all those applications in your case, idk.
 
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Hateyou

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Gavinmad said:
Protects the grass seed, kinda important if you go with the nuclear approach that Araysar is talking about here.
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No I mean I don’t get straw with my applications. Because I’m a fully realized lawn already.
 
Brad2770

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Araysar said:
I got a quote to refurbish my backyard lawn, it's about 0.25 acre lawn

Scope of work includes: Herbicide application for entire yard. Wait 3-4 weeks then aerate entire yard. Overseed back yard (seed/straw). And fertilize entire yard.

Price $1400


Is this a fair price? Ive never done this before
Click to expand...

I know this stuff well. I can walk you through it if you’re interested.
 
Araysar

Loser Araysar

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My backyard is pretty bare, not a lot of grass, half the area is just mud now after winter. The yard was never seriously maintained by previous owner. I should have mentioned this. I also have 4 trees that are 40-60 feet tall in same yard that shade about half the yard, making it hard to grow anything.

During the summer it was very green, but it was basically all weeds. Given the conditions, Im not even sure if this is worth doing. The yard is half shaded from the 4 trees, its on the west side of the house, which means that the house is always between the sun and the yard, so it doesnt get sunlight all the time.
 
Araysar

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Captain Suave said:
I know it's heresy in some circles, but if it's short and green, who cares?
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Bro, that was my exact response to my wife

But she has a differing opinion. I'm just trying to figure out whether this is even worth doing or if its going to be an endless uphill battle. Real grass would be nice no doubt, but not if this is going to be an endless losing battle.
 
Hateyou

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Since you have all that shade I’m guessing it would be a difficult task. I’d just aerate and over seed for a couple hundred bucks and see what happens. Fuck going the nuclear route in a big shaded area like that.
 
Gavinmad

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You're in Kentucky right? An over-shaded backyard is just gonna end up slowly reverting back to ground clover no matter how many times you put down grass seed.
 
Brad2770

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Araysar said:
I am very interested, please help.
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You’re still in California? What type of grass are you wanting in the back? Do you have sprinklers and if so, how deep are they buried? I’m assuming the back is around 10k sq. ft.? Are you willing to do the work yourself?

So, I just clicked reply to this from email. Got caught up.

Kentucky or California? You will need to get the canopy of the trees lifted. If you want grass, there will definitely be that cost. You will have to keep leaves and such off the ground at all times. You can mulch your first major leaf fall in the fall, but everything after that needs to be picked up.

Tall Fescue will probably be your best bet considering conditions. You will need to wait until the fall to prep your lawn for it, but it gives you time to get those trees taken care of.
 
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Araysar

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Brad2770 said:
You’re still in California? What type of grass are you wanting in the back? Do you have sprinklers and if so, how deep are they buried? I’m assuming the back is around 10k sq. ft.? Are you willing to do the work yourself?

So, I just clicked reply to this from email. Got caught up.

Kentucky or California? You will need to get the canopy of the trees lifted. If you want grass, there will definitely be that cost. You will have to keep leaves and such off the ground at all times. You can mulch your first major leaf fall in the fall, but everything after that needs to be picked up.

Tall Fescue will probably be your best bet considering conditions. You will need to wait until the fall to prep your lawn for it, but it gives you time to get those trees taken care of.
Click to expand...

KY now and yeah, 10K sq ft sounds about right. Good point about lifting the canopy of the trees and raking leaves. This is all becoming a bigger and bigger PITA. Im not even sure its worth doing anymore

Heres what it looked like in the fall

1646302122098.png
1646302138725.png
 
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Brad2770

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Yeah, if you don’t lift the canopy, everything else is wasted. I don’t mind helping you as you go along, just let me know. No grass is a shade grass, just grasses that don’t require as much daily sun. In that region, tall fescue is probably your best bet. The shade you do have will help counteract the heat of the summer as Tall Fescue is a cool weather grass and does best in the fall and the spring. Keeping it mowed at about 3 to 3 1/2 inches will also help it to prosper in the shaded areas because you’re giving it more surface area to collect sunlight when the sun can hit it.

Get that canopy lifted.

Before your rubles are completely useless, invest in one of these or something similar. If you want a lawn, you’ll get tired of raking or paying someone to do it.

www.homedepot.com

Troy-Bilt 1.5 in. 159 cc Gas Chipper Shredder Vacuum CSV 060 - The Home Depot

Keep yard cleaning quick and easy this season. The Troy-Bilt CSV 060 Chipper Shredder Vac provides a 3-in-1 way to ease all your needs. This powerful machine is equipped with a 159cc overhead valve (OHV)
www.homedepot.com
 
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Araysar

Loser Araysar

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Brad2770 said:
Yeah, if you don’t lift the canopy, everything else is wasted. I don’t mind helping you as you go along, just let me know. No grass is a shade grass, just grasses that don’t require as much daily sun. In that region, tall fescue is probably your best bet. The shade you do have will help counteract the heat of the summer as Tall Fescue is a cool weather grass and does best in the fall and the spring. Keeping it mowed at about 3 to 3 1/2 inches will also help it to prosper in the shaded areas because you’re giving it more surface area to collect sunlight when the sun can hit it.

Get that canopy lifted.

Before your rubles are completely useless, invest in one of these or something similar. If you want a lawn, you’ll get tired of raking or paying someone to do it.

www.homedepot.com

Troy-Bilt 1.5 in. 159 cc Gas Chipper Shredder Vacuum CSV 060 - The Home Depot

Keep yard cleaning quick and easy this season. The Troy-Bilt CSV 060 Chipper Shredder Vac provides a 3-in-1 way to ease all your needs. This powerful machine is equipped with a 159cc overhead valve (OHV)
www.homedepot.com
Click to expand...


Low blow about the rubles, but I really appreciate the advice. Got some thinking to do.
 
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