(file image) Photo: UnSplash/ Carl Tronders
There's a familiar summer buzz in the residential suburbs - and it is not the cicadas this time, but the whirring of lawnmowers.
Kurt Steinbauer has been mowing lawns for about 25 years, starting at Jim's Mowing before setting up Lawn Mowing & Gardening Services Wellington with just three clients in 2010. That has grown to about 260 clients, with two contractors on hand to help mow about 30 lawns a day.
While people may be annoyed about the noise or leftover clippings, he says workers do have protocols about how to best do their work.
When is a good time to mow the lawns?
Auckland and Christchurch City Councils both suggest folks should not mow their lawns before 7am or after 10pm. Wellington City Council offers no steer on timing but asks people to use common sense.
Joel Cross set up lawn and property care service CrossWorks in Far North's Kaitāia about two years ago. He says he likes to give clients a heads up that there will be a bit of noise if he knows they are working from home, for example.
He has never had complaints from neighbours as he plots out the week to do lawns that are closest to each other on the same day.
"I personally know that if I was sleeping until sort of eight or nine o'clock, I wouldn't really want the lawn mower waking me up.
"So if I want to start my day early, I'll go to the lawn with neighbours that aren't too close.
"For me, it's just out of respect, if I had a lot to get through [that] day then I probably would be fine in that earlier sort of seven o'clock, 7.30 time... and again I'll choose the lawns that maybe won't have neighbours right next to them, just for the first hour or so."
Steinbauer guides his contractors on times to avoid, and they do not work on Sunday or public holidays. However, they can be late or early to mop up any leftover work from the previous day, he says.
"I like to say nine o'clock is probably the acceptable time to start which is still pretty early. Then in daylight saving, they can be guilty of going up to six or seven at night. These boys, they work hard … I've said to them, don't do that."
When fire restrictions are invoked in dry areas, Fire and Emergency ask residents to consider mowing lawns early on dewy grass or later when the ground cools to lessen the risk of starting a blaze.
Joel Cross transformed this lawn in Kaitāia, Northland. Photo: Supplied / Joel Cross
How often do lawns need to be mowed?
People often want to adjust the cycle of mowing their lawns, which generally is every three weeks in spring and summer and every four weeks in winter, Steinbauer says.
Kurt Steinbauer, owner-operator of Lawn Mowing & Gardening Services Wellington. Photo: Supplied
"That's all weather-dependent. So, when people start going, you were supposed to be here on the 15th, that sort of thing, it's like 'well, look we get pushed back … we can't control the environment'."
Cross keeps lawns neat with a fortnightly chop, but that may drop off to every three or four weeks, depending on clients' needs and if they can afford it.
"I guess the socio-economic position of the town that I'm in, people aren't able to pay top dollar to get their lawn [to] look prestigious - they want it done for maintenance."
What about spraying weeds, trimming edges or picking up cuttings?
If something on the borderline with your neighbour is bothering you, chat with them about who's responsible. Cross has one client who pitches in half with their neighbour to get another service to do their shared driveway.
"If there's like a fence line that needs doing or their one's getting a bit long or that kind of thing, I would do just do what I'd do and wait for someone to bring it up."
If the client wants clippings dealt with, Cross will mulch them so that they're evenly laid over the surface and act as natural fertiliser for the grass. Plus, it blows away in the wind anyway.
Steinbauer says cost could be a factor in the client's decision.
"This is a tricky one. If your tenants are super fussy going 'Oh, we like to roll around on the grass and sit with cocktails and play soccer and cricket' … and the landlord is going 'Just drop it and go, I want the cheapest possible job', we have to say to the tenant, 'please talk to your landlord'."
How can I ask my neighbours to mow their lawn at a different time?
Let them know if you have a sleeping baby or a business call, suggests Steinbauer, but it is a tough one. Where possible, his crew will return at another time, but people needed to understand he is running a business, he says.
"I mean if it's a baby sleeping and we've got a cluster of clients in the area, we could communicate with that person and just say 'well, how long do you need?'. Then we can go and do other properties and say, 'well, we'll come back and do this then'.
"But if it's the last property in that cluster, and like we do [properties] in Wellington from Seatoun to Churton Park, so going back for one client or when anyone ever says, 'well we don't want your cycles, we want you to come on these days', it's just not worth it."
If a chat with the neighbour does not work, a complaint can be made to your council's noise control officers. But it is only a breach of the Resource Management Act (RMA) if it is "excessive" and reaches an "unreasonable" level, which is determined by considering the loudness, time of day, location, length of time and frequency.
