Time to think about THE LAWN
Every year about this time, as spring gets closer we all start to look at that ugly winter lawn and yearn for greener pastures. Yeah I said that. So the phone starts ringing and asking for tillers, sod cutters, aerators and thatchers. We all want that green lawn to showcase our front yard, and if it happens to look a little better than the neighbors…well even better yet! So a quick search through the internets gives plenty of different opinions and suggestions. We can help with the equipment you will need to handle this seemingly large task and make it a little easier.
As you do your research the terms dethathing and aerating come up quite frequently and are probably the most popular items that we rent for lawn care. Thatch is the grass, moss etc. that blocks out the water to the roots. A rake could be used to pull up this mess….or you could rent a thatcher!. Anytime you can use a power tool instead of doing it by hand sounds good to me. This process is best done when the lawn is fairly dry and prepare for a big mess. Some customers rake up this mess by hand others simply run it over with a lawn mower to bag it up. The next step is typically the aerator. The aerator or plugger pulls “plugs” from the lawn usually they are 1 1/2″ to 2″ plugs of dirt, this allows nutrients and water to reach deep down into the roots of compacted lawns. These “plugs” are left all over your lawn at this point and again you have options. You can simply leave them and they will dissolve in a few days after a good watering or rain, or if you want you can rake these up.
These are few good steps to start with, check out this article for more info. Getting a Great Lawn wihout Breaking The Bank
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
Tillers and Gardens
The garden is looking a little, well not so good. Maybe its time to do less mowing and more planting. Could be the lawn is so bad its time to start over. If you have considered any of these projects, chances are you have thought about a tiller. Tillers are simply a machine that mixes and chops the soil to make it useable for planting. Most tillers dig about 4 to 6″ deep in the soil, but with multiple passes can get further into the ground. Tillers come in many different sizes, with each having a specific purpose.
The smallest of these tillers we call cultivators. Cultivators were popularized by the brand name Mantis. They are small, lightweight tillers that can literally be picked up by one hand. They work great on raised flowerbeds or loose soil where a larger tiller just cant go. Just remember, they may be the least expensive but they will definitely not replace a larger tiller despite what the commercials on TV say!
The next size up is the 3.5HP or 5HP Tiller. These are both front tine tillers that are designed for soil that is soft or has been tilled in the past. Another name for these are garden tillers or Merry tillersThese are great for cultivating weeds or working on existing plant beds.
Notice we haven’t gotten to a tiller that can handle breaking ground or tilling hard soil. That is all about to change. If you have need for such a tiller then its time to meet the Barreto hydraulic rear tine tiller. This workhorse is self propelled, has reversible tine controls and can handle the toughest yard you throw at it. If you are turning some of your existing lawn into a garden area or if you are replacing your lawn and want to till everything up, this is the tiller you need. It should be noted at this time that the bigger the tiller, the easier it is to operate. Less stress and work by the operator is always a good thing!
There are also larger tillers available if the job is a very large yard, or even a field. Then we can get into tractor tillers or attachments for a Dingo or Bobcat. As you can see tillers come in a range of sizes, make sure to match your job with the right equipment. If you still have questions stop by or call one of our stores, we would be glad to help you out.
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
Get out there and start planting!
Pimp Your Lawn
Sometimes all the thatching aerating and overseeding just doesn’t help and in order to get that perfect lawn back, you have to rip out whats there and start over. Guess what? There’s a tool for that! The first thing is to run down to your local rental store….(we prefer this one - Aurora Rents)…and pick up a sod cutter. We offer sod cutters in two sizes either a 12″ sod cutter or an 18″ sod cutter. The first inclination is to go with the bigger unit so it gets done faster, while this is true just remember you are going to be rolling this sod up and removing it and 18″ of sod is a lot heavier than 12″! So with that said its time to get busy, the sod cutter is going to remove approximately the first 1 1/2″ of dirt and grass. Once this is removed you are going to end up with a dirt yard that is most likely compacted and uneven. Now its time to break out a tiller, for most yards I would recommend a rear tine tiller that is self propelled. We do have smaller tillers but those are typically used for small gardens or very soft soil. Now would be a good time to add top soil and possibly lime to the yard and till everything up. There are many sources to dive into how much of each you may need. One of the sites I liked was our local gardening hero Ciscoe. So now you have a tilled up yard that really isn’t too impressive, lets change that. The next items that will help you out will be a landscape rake and a lawn roller. With the landscape rake you can level out the yard and remove any large rocks that have worked there way to the surface, things are starting to take shape now. Now to really leave an impression….fill the lawn roller with water and start rolling out your fancy new yard. Once the lawn is rolled completely you want to fill any low spots and make sure you are happy with how the surface looks, because this is going to be the final step before planting seed! Now its time to add fertilizer and seed (again research is your friend here depending on how much sunlight, shade get your yard tends to get there are many types of seed and everybody has an opinion) If you are more of the instant gratification sort, this is the time to lay new sod, if not seed away! Once the new seed or new sod is on the ground its time to bust out the lawn roller again. If new seed was put down laying down a layer of peat moss with a roller is probably a good idea. Now all the hard work is done! The new grass is going to like a good amount of water especially if the weather gets warm. (hey we can be optimistic!) Time to sit back and watch the grass grow.
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
I Have Water In My Basement!!!
Unfortunately we hear this phrase all too often. Believe it is not just the rain around here that causes this wonderful discovery, but it definitely doesn’t help. Failed water heaters and backed up drains have ruined more than one afternoon around here, so what to do if this happens. To start, nothing can replace a professional that is trained in water damage restoration but sometimes we need to tackle these problems on our own.
When you find that you have a water problem no matter what the cause, the first step is always to get rid of as much of the standing water as possible. If you have inches (or feet!!) of water you obviously have a big mess, but pumps become your friend. The most common pump we rent out for these applications are submersible electric pumps. They do a good job of getting rid of most of the water down to a more manageable depth. Especially the pump we call a puddle sucker which pumps almost down to ground level.
Now we get to play with vacuums, specifically a wet/dry vac. There are a couple of different options here to help in the drying process. First the vacuum themselves a standard wet/dry vac works great but only holds about 10 gallons of water, which might be fine for smaller jobs but if things have gone from bad to worse you may need something larger. The most impressive vac we have for this application is called a de-watering vac. Sounds cool right! Well it actually is, it has a pump built into it so it actually pumps out water as you vacuum, so you don’t have to keep emptying the unit. Now for another cool tool, the water claw! This is a unit that hooks up to the vacuum, you actually stand on it to help compress the pad under the carpet and get more water out. You can also use a standard extraction wand to help get that water out of the carpet and the pad.
Now that you are sick of using a vacuum we move onto the drying phase. To start you are most likely going to either pull all your carpet up to dry it or pull up a section so that a carpet fan can be placed underneath to help lift the carpet and dry the pad. The pad is the hardest to dry and usually sees the most moisture so drying that pad is very important to preventing mold. You may have glue down carpet, in which case you may be OK going through the drying process without completely removing it. Hardwood floors or “floating floors” can be dried, but unfortunately take special drying equipment that we do not carry. You want to make sure the room is at least 70 degrees or better, if heat is needed I would recommend an indirect diesel heater (heater sits out side and pumps in fresh hot hair while exhaust remains outside)
Time to dry, now we need to bring in plenty of airmovers and dehumidifiers. One way to look at fans (airmovers) is that they are the muscle behind the operation and the dehumidifiers are great helpers. When you blow air across a wet surface it pulls moisture from that surface and puts it into the air, the dehumidifiers then pull moisture from the air and remove it. It sounds simple but the mistake most people make is to skimp on the fans. As I said before, they are the muscle and you can never have too much muscle! We even offer a discount on fans when you get them in a kit with a dehumidifier (1 dehumidifier and 2 fans). Also with every dehumidifier and or fan rental we will send you with a free moisture probe rental to help you determine if things are dry enough so that you know when its time to bring back the equipment. We even offer more advanced moisture meters if specific moisture level readings are needed.
During the drying process it also recommended that an air-scrubber be used, an air scrubber is basically a large HEPA air filter that “scrubs” the air clean. With all these fans blowing stuff around it can send microscopic particles through the air that may pose as a health risk to the people in the area. The
This was just a quick overview of the drying process, for more information check out a DriEaz Products, we carry their equipment and they are a local company up in Burlington, Wa.
Give us a call or stop by, we are here to help you.
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
No matter what the project Aurora Rents has the tools you need!
Factors to Consider When Renting Drain and Sewer Equipment*
Rental drain and sewer cleaning equipment offers different features. Becoming familiar with available options will help you rent the equipment that best suits your needs. Type of drain cleaner. The type of drain and sewer cleaning equipment that you should rent depends on the size and location of the clogged drain.
Source of power. Rental drain and sewer cleaning equipment comes in manual, electric or gas powered units. Manual units work best for small clogs or for the inexperienced operator. Electric drain-cleaning equipment is faster and more powerful than hand-operated tools. Finally, gas-powered units provide a solution for cleaning tough, drains clogs where there is no available electrical source.
Length of cable. Bigger drain or sewer lines require more cable for cleaning it than smaller drain lines need. You will only need three to six feet of cable to clear a clogged toilet, but may need up to 200 feet to clean a main sewer line blocked by tree roots.
Safety features. Since rental equipment to clean drains requires use around water, you should look for electrical-safety features on electrical units. Electric drain and sewer cleaning equipment equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) helps to prevent electrocutions, as well as electric shocks and burns, by shutting the equipment down when it detects electrical current leakage. In addition, a slip-clutch feature stops a cable from rotating so much that it whips around, possibly injuring the operator.
Covered cage. Some drain cleaners allow you to use disposable covers with them to prevent spraying your floors with wastewater during the drain-cleaning process.
Transportability. You can transport lighter drain-cleaning units that have fold-down handles easier than some more heavy-duty models.
View More Articles Like This One
* Article courtesy of the American Rental Association
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
Cool Floor…Thanks It’s Polished Concrete
We are are getting quite a few inquiries lately on polishing concrete. It seems that many new businesses are adopting this easily maintained flooring system, you can see examples at your local hardware store, coffee shops etc. . The attached picture is actually polished concrete not a lake, just an example of what you can accomplish with a lot of patience and plenty of time. The first question we always seem to can I do this. The act of polishing a concrete floor is actually quite easy, it just takes a lot of time. The next question is obviously,how long does it take? That’s actually a tough question to answer, it really depends on the condition of the concrete to begin with and how many square feet you are attempting to do. We find that our small machine will completely polish about 400 square feet per day while our larger machine will get you 500 square feet. This is assuming the concrete is fairly good condition to start with. We carry the Lavina line of concrete polishers from SuperAbrasives
Check out these How-to Videos for more information from SuperAbrasives.
Pricing and more info from Aurora Rents:
Lavina 20” Polisher Kit
Lavina 25” Polisher Kit
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
Paint That House
Repainting the house is not exactly the project that most people look forward to, but hey who am I to judge. There are many different approaches to this project and the amount of time you spend painting really depends on your canvas (house siding) You can go with a simple wash and paint, you may have an older house with 6 layers of wash and paint already applied and elect to strip it, or you may have a combination of both!
The first step most take is to clean the house and see what they have to work with, so to start a pressure washer works perfect. 2500 psi is definitely are most popular unit as a good all around washer. The pressure washer is going to wash any dirt, grime or moss that has been clinging to your siding for the last few years. It will also loosen up or even remove some paint. A pressure washer will NOT strip all the paint off your house and it is not designed to. Some feel that if the paint stays on after a good pressure washing then painting over that should not be a problem, whats left should stay on well enough.
If things are looking a little worse than expected and stripping off some of that old peeing paint is needed, there’s a tool for that. Enter siding sanders and paint shavers. These tools will sand the paint off the siding with either carbide teeth or very aggressive sandpaper, but are packaged an a siding friendly setup that makes them easy to use. Add a HEPA vacuum and you have environmentally friendly way to a better looking house!
Then the fun part, painting! A couple of different approaches here, you can brush and roller the hole thing which is going to cut down on prep work. You won’t have to cover all the windows, doors and surrounding areas with tarps or paper. However, if you would rather be out doing something way more fun, you may want to speed up the process with a paint sprayer. Id doesn’t make a big of mess as you might think, and covering a few windows or doors really isn’t that hard. The plus side is it goes fast! Which is way better for people that don’t want to hang around the house all summer but still want the best looking house on the block.
See how easy it is! If it turns out you need to get up in the world there is everything available from short step ladders, long extension ladders or even powered lifts.
Aurora Rents
Shoreline - 206.368.7368
Greenlake - 206.729.7368
Lake City - 206.362.7368
AuroraRents.com
Don’t procrastinate!
