sitdown lawnmower-or regular one for large lot (sales, coupon)

[canine7]

I may end up in a comuunity in wake forest with a .75 acre lot in wake forest.
Do people prefer a sitdown)john deere type mower0or a regular one.
If so,any specific recommendations?

[NewUser]

I guess it all depends on how much exercise you like to get and how much free time you have

I've read that the general preference is to get a riding lawn mower for anything over 1/2 acre. Now, that to me is rather nebulous. What if you have a very large ranch-style home with lots of patios, decks, and a big driveway? What if you have lots of trees on your lot?

My deciding factor was determining how long it would take me to cut the grass with a push mower, and then deciding if I wanted to spend that much time cutting the grass each week. That was easy for me to do because I still had my old lawnmower from my previous house. The first time I cut the grass, I used the old lawnmower and it took me a looooonnngg time (we have 0.86 acres). So, that was decided. I needed a riding mower.

My next decision was what type of mower (regular or zero-turn) and then which manufacturer. I researched lawn tractors and found that John Deere is considered the best. See this site:

Lawn Tractors, Zero Turn Mowers, Riding Mowers: Reviews

For the mower type, they generally say that a zero-turn tractor is good for lawns with lots of obstacles, otherwise a regular tractor is sufficient. I don't have very many obstacles, but after listening to a friend talk about his zero-turn mower, I decided that I have to have one of them too.

Unfortunately, zero-turn mowers are much more expensive, so my choices were limited to the entry level John Deere, and the Toro Time Cutter, which was also highly rated. I was able to find the Toro on sale one day at Home Depot, so I bought it.

I'm really happy with it so far, although I've only had it for 2 months and can't comment on its reliability. It seems well put together so far. And cutting the grass is a blast on this thing

[rfb]

You don't say how much grass you have on the .75 acre lot. If much of it is grass (> 1/2 acre), then I would opt for the riding mower if it were me. You will save time cutting the grass, which gives you more time to spend on other, more interesting pursuits (family, boating, biking, tennis, hiking, etc.).

John Deere is generally well thought of. Cub Cadet is also a popular brand. If you buy the home, shop around for end-of-year sales and you can sometimes save a buck or two. You can also apply for a 10% off coupon from Home Depot and Lowes when you move, although these may specifically exclude some brands of mowers (e.g., they often don't apply to John Deere).

[autumngal]

Originally Posted by rfb

You don't say how much grass you have on the .75 acre lot. If much of it is grass (> 1/2 acre), then I would opt for the riding mower if it were me. You will save time cutting the grass, which gives you more time to spend on other, more interesting pursuits (family, boating, biking, tennis, hiking, etc.).

rfb I second that. It depends on how much grass you have, and is the lot wooded? You might need a pushmower if it is wooded for spots, or for the lovely drain ditches if your lot is wide.

[NewUser]

Yes, that's a good point to make. Shop the sales.

I went to Lowes and they had a "10% off all riding mowers" sale back in June. However, they did not have the tractor that I wanted. I went to Home Depot and said "Can you match this Lowes sale?" and they said yes. Even though the tractors sold by the 2 stores were different, they gave me the sale price on the Toro Time Cutter. We used our 10% moving discount for a fridge. We still haven't spent our 10% moving discount from Lowes yet.

[Indigoblue]

Also is any of the yard steep? Our house sits on a hill and I can just imagine my husband on a little tractor yelling "aiieeeeeeeeeeee" and ending up impaled on a manicured boxwood across the steet.

Now maybe riding lawnmowers handle steep hills better than I imagine

[lamishra]

I agree with the others. If it's less than 1/2 acre of grass, I'd get a push mower and if it's more, I'd consider a sit down mower. My yard is about .45 acres and maybe 2/3 of that is grass. It still takes about an hour and a half - 2 hours every two weeks maximum with the motorized push mower. Not fun in the summer.

[canine7]

the one im interested in is .71 acres on a level lot.With mature trees -but mainly on the borders of the property-only 1 or 2 in the front i think.
Seems like a fair aount of grass.
Can you guys tell me how much the ones you are talking about cost-approximately

[jkmeca11]

I am on .77 acres, patch of pines up front 100x100 area in back with nothing but lawn. Tried it with a push mower, took 2-1/2 hours. Went out and got a John Deere LA110 from Lowe's for $1,450 (on sale from $1649). Now it takes me 1 hour to cut the lawn and I can use it to pull an aerator, dethatching rake, or a spreader, which I plan on doing this fall.

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by canine7

the one im interested in is .71 acres on a level lot.With mature trees -but mainly on the borders of the property-only 1 or 2 in the front i think.
Seems like a fair aount of grass.
Can you guys tell me how much the ones you are talking about cost-approximately

My Toro Time Cutter (model 4200, I think) was about $2250 on sale. I rented the Home Depot pickup truck for $20 to bring it home. They loaded it for me at the store, then I unloaded it myself at home.