Grass Question (Scottsdale: rental, cost, yard)

[kell490]

Originally Posted by teddyearp

You realize that those posts are almost two years apart from each other, right?

And here I thought this was yet another legalization thread, hehe.

The OP posted this thread yesterday at least that is what it says unless I'm missing something I don't see any 2 year old posts here?

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by kell490

The OP posted this thread yesterday at least that is what it says unless I'm missing something I don't see any 2 year old posts here?

He was reacting to https://www.city-data.com/forum/47161438-post18.html where I compared a two year old comment to a current one. I couldn't resist the contrast where in one case people were morons if they had a lawn and in the other case she had a lawn.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

He was reacting to https://www.city-data.com/forum/47161438-post18.html where I compared a two year old comment to a current one. I couldn't resist the contrast where in one case people were morons if they had a lawn and in the other case she had a lawn.

I still think lawns are ridiculous here. I HATE that the house I bought has grass. It's the biggest downside of the place, but because it can be changed, it didn't stop me from buying the place that otherwise had everything I wanted. Removing grass from a lot that is nearly 9000 sq ft and replacing it with desert landscaping is my ultimate goal, but it's quite expensive and while it is something I am going to do eventually, it's not #1 on my list of home improvements at this time. In the meantime I have a lawn I didn't want, don't water, and just deal with for the time being. The "point" you were so desperately trying to make here is completely irrelevant to anything, not to mention moot and the time spent tracking down that over 2 year old post was a complete waste of time.

Back to the OP's questions. Thanks!

[ScottsdaleMark]

I kind of see PBenajmin and Elle's posts as a useful meditation on the vagaries of life and what we want in a perfect world versus what we're willing to tolerate given the constraints of the real world. Kind of like all the new posters we get who want great schools, a safe neighborhood and X commute time on a smaller budget...they are going to have to make some compromises, but which ones should they and will they be?

Perhaps Elle just wants a rock lawn so that the maximum amount of nighttime heat radiance can occur. Speaking of which, I don't like most household pests but I love it when I see lizards in and around my house. Fun, beautiful animals who love rocks and other things that retain heat.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark

I kind of see PBenajmin and Elle's posts as a useful meditation on the vagaries of life and what we want in a perfect world versus what we're willing to tolerate given the constraints of the real world. Kind of like all the new posters we get who want great schools, a safe neighborhood and X commute time on a smaller budget...they are going to have to make some compromises, but which ones should they and will they be?

Perhaps Elle just wants a rock lawn so that the maximum amount of nighttime heat radiance can occur. Speaking of which, I don't like most household pests but I love it when I see lizards in and around my house. Fun, beautiful animals who love rocks and other things that retain heat.

I find lawns to be a complete waste of water here (not to mention the expense of watering most of the year as we don't get free water from the sky often enough to keep it hydrated) and that didn't change when I bought a house that happened to have grass. Also I don't want to be mowing the grass when it is 110 degrees. I've owned enough houses in my lifetime with lawns in other parts of the country that required weekly mowing and constant maintenance, all of which I always did myself. I don't want to do that anymore. And now that you mention it, I rarely see lizards anymore.

It's funny, too, because when I look at Google Earth of my property I can see that a couple of years ago when the last shot from was taken, my house had NO grass. It seems they likely went to a lot of time and expense to put in a lush, green lawn to list the property for sale including irrigation lines. My realtor was excited about the grass saying I needed it for the dogs and was a bit surprised when I said that I would rip it out eventually. One of the very first things I did when I got the key was turn off the watering. My dogs don't care. They prefer the one are that is ROCK to potty and one of them sunbathes on the concrete.

The OP wants grass, and that's his choice. I do think it is important to know the pros and cons. I literally just had this conversation the other day with someone at work. I was saying that I had grass I hated and they were saying they wish they had grass. When I said it's not fun to mow when it is over 100, he paused and said "Oh yeah. Good point." Grass might look nice but it is a lot more work here than in wetter parts of the country, IMO.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I find lawns to be a complete waste of water here (not to mention the expense of watering most of the year as we don't get free water from the sky often enough to keep it hydrated) and that didn't change when I bought a house that happened to have grass. Also I don't want to be mowing the grass when it is 110 degrees. I've owned enough houses in my lifetime with lawns in other parts of the country that required weekly mowing and constant maintenance, all of which I always did myself. I don't want to do that anymore. And now that you mention it, I rarely see lizards anymore.

It's funny, too, because when I look at Google Earth of my property I can see that a couple of years ago when the last shot from was taken, my house had NO grass. It seems they likely went to a lot of time and expense to put in a lush, green lawn to list the property for sale including irrigation lines. My realtor was excited about the grass saying I needed it for the dogs and was a bit surprised when I said that I would rip it out eventually. One of the very first things I did when I got the key was turn off the watering. My dogs don't care. They prefer the one are that is ROCK to potty and one of them sunbathes on the concrete.

The OP wants grass, and that's his choice. I do think it is important to know the pros and cons. I literally just had this conversation the other day with someone at work. I was saying that I had grass I hated and they were saying they wish they had grass. When I said it's not fun to mow when it is over 100, he paused and said "Oh yeah. Good point." Grass might look nice but it is a lot more work here than in wetter parts of the country, IMO.

Just about everyone in my neighborhood has landscapers do the yard work for them, whether they have grass or desert landscaping and the cost difference is negligible IMO. I have grass and mowing in 110° weather doesn't exist in my world. When it's 110° I will be in the pool

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by asufan

Just about everyone in my neighborhood has landscapers do the yard work for them, whether they have grass or desert landscaping and the cost difference is negligible IMO. I have grass and mowing in 110° weather doesn't exist in my world. When it's 110° I will be in the pool

My budget doesn't allow to pay landscapers (and I have trouble paying other people to do things I can technically do myself), but there is no argument that desert landscaping is MUCH less work than grass, period, regardless of who does it. But not everyone has that disposable income.

The only plus of mowing when it is 110 is you can jump in the pool after. This time of year, not so much. I've already mowed once and it needs it again already without watering. UGH.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

My budget doesn't allow to pay landscapers (and I have trouble paying other people to do things I can technically do myself), but there is no argument that desert landscaping is MUCH less work than grass, period, regardless of who does it. But not everyone has that disposable income.

The only plus of mowing when it is 110 is you can jump in the pool after. This time of year, not so much. I've already mowed once and it needs it again already without watering. UGH.

It actually just depends on what your time is worth. I own a business and can make more money when I work longer, and I can make more in the 20-25 minutes it takes them to finish the yard (would take me more like 1.5 hours + each time to get it to look as good). I pay $45 every 2 weeks which is likely on the low side because he does about a dozen properties in my little area on the same visit (economies of scale at work). I like to be able to enjoy my house and yard whenever the weekend starts, so I exclude yard work from my list of responsibilities.

Contrary to what you think, desert is actually NOT much less work than grass, period. I have rentals with no grass, but they have substantially more bushes and shrubs, etc. (can't just have 500 Sq Ft of gravel, right?). It takes just as much time/effort/money to constantly keep up on trimming the shrubs and picking up the clippings as it does to mow a couple lawns.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

Just about everyone in my neighborhood has landscapers do the yard work for them, whether they have grass or desert landscaping and the cost difference is negligible IMO. I have grass and mowing in 110° weather doesn't exist in my world. When it's 110° I will be in the pool

I was thinking the exact same thing. I don't even own a mower. The cost to have someone else do it is negligible.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I was thinking the exact same thing. I don't even own a mower. The cost to have someone else do it is negligible.

Yep me neither. It gives me more garage space for other things. I have rakes, shovels and an electric leaf blower/clippers but that's it for yard tools.