Mowing the Lawn

[jackdaniels]

I hate doing it. Gardening is not my thing, so I decided to get some neighboorhood kid to do it. Problem is, I'm not sure I know what would be fair to pay for the job. I had the kid next door clear my driveway (snow sucks) for like $4. Then he showed up asking for $10, saying it snowed "a lot". I fired him on the spot and had my wife do it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] But she refuses to do the lawn. (THAT isn't excersize she says - who the heck can understand women?!?!?)

So what is the fair price for mowing a 40X40 foot lawn? I live in Toronto if any locals have hard numbers for our area.

[pshreck]

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I had the kid next door clear my driveway (snow sucks) for like $4. Then he showed up asking for $10, saying it snowed "a lot". I fired him on the spot

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If I were this kids dad I would kick your ass.

[2planka]

Wow are you lazy.

[jackdaniels]

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Wow are you lazy.


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Yes, this is true. While I can blame my health and other such crap for not wanting to do these menial tasks, let me just say that I was raised in a condo in NYC and have never experienced the "joys" of mowing the lawn and shoveling the snow - that crap is for the birds. But seriously, what is the fair price for a kid to mow your lawn? If I paid him like $25 every other week, would that be too much or too little? Some of you guys are just about his age [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img], shouldn't you know this stuff?

[pshreck]

15-20 bucks / mow, american $$ though. So yeah I guess 25 bucks sounds about right.

[lorinda]

Tell the kid that you employed someone to mow your lawn for $x, at which point he'll probably say "I'd have done it for $y" and you can hire him on the cheapest rate he would have worked for.

Lori

[jackdaniels]

[ QUOTE ]
Tell the kid that you employed someone to mow your lawn for $x, at which point he'll probably say "I'd have done it for $y" and you can hire him on the cheapest rate he would have worked for.

Lori

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That's a pretty sneaky tactic. Only we are dealing with a passive kid here with whom I don't really "chat". I'm pretty sure I will have to make an offer and see if it is accepted or not.

I'll post results once they come in (BTW - I tried to google this info and it seems like there just isn't enough quality information out there about this topic - go figure).

[2planka]

[ QUOTE ]
Tell the kid that you employed someone to mow your lawn for $x, at which point he'll probably say "I'd have done it for $y" and you can hire him on the cheapest rate he would have worked for.

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Then wait a month and tell him you're farming the job out to a Mexican.....

How big is your lawn? I have a half acre that takes me about an hour to cut. I pay my nephew $25 to mow it when we're on vacation.

[jackdaniels]

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Then wait a month and tell him you're farming the job out to a Mexican.....

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This made me laugh so hard I had Pepsi coming out of my nose.

[ddollevoet]

You are going to pay a kid $25 bucks to cut your grass and you wouldn't pay $10 to shovel snow. You cheap bastard.

Pay $20 to cut the lawn and invest the extra $5 for when it starts to snow.