What is the earliest time it is acceptable to start mowing?

[bhsup]

Pretty much what the title asks... I want to get an early start on mowing tomorrow, and was asking when the earliest acceptable time on a Saturday was. Well, turns out this is a thread-worthy question , do it gets its own thread and poll!

Poll options end at 11am because quite frankly if someone is annoyed by you mowing in the afternoon, they need to move.

Personally, I want to start at 8am...

 

[Camikaze]

I think 8 am would be illegal here on a Saturday (though don't quote me on it). It also depends on the time of year. In autumn, winter or spring, the grass is still going to be wet before about 10, so it's better to wait (although I guess it's still acceptable to start earlier). In summer you could get away with 8, I guess. If it's a hot day. But if I wasn't able to sleep through it anyway, I'd be pretty annoyed if a neighbour started up before 9.

 

[LucyDuke]

Does "acceptable" mean "does not justify violence" or "is neighborly"?

 

[Eat_Up_Martha]

Throughout the week: 9am. Weekends: 10am.

It's polite to give people a little sleep-in time on the weekends, but if they want complete silence all day long they should move to a farm.

 

[Gooblah]

Pretty much what the title asks... I want to get an early start on mowing tomorrow, and was asking when the earliest acceptable time on a Saturday was. Well, turns out this is a thread-worthy question , do it gets its own thread and poll!

Poll options end at 11am because quite frankly if someone is annoyed by you mowing in the afternoon, they need to move.

Personally, I want to start at 8am...

Out of curiosity, when is the grass sufficiently dry that it doesn't clump up in the mower? Around here, even in mid-summer, due to the house's orientation much of the backyard is unmowable until 1ish.

Weekdays most people are working, so 8. Sat/Sun technically the same, altho my own sleeping habits push it to past 10

 

[Formaldehyde]

A professional yard man recently cut a lawn near me at 7:40 in the morning. If I hadn't already been awake I would have been extremely irate.

I think 9 AM is the absolute earliest that you should do it, and even then you are risking the ire of neighbors who like to sleep in on Saturday mornings. If you want to be completely safe, wait until after 11 AM.

 

[shadowplay]

8's pushing it on a weekend. I think 9 would be acceptable, but 10 or 11 would be showing more courtesy and consideration for others.

 

[JollyRoger]

The poll does not contain enough options. Anything am is unacceptably early.

 

[bhsup]

Does "acceptable" mean "does not justify violence" or "is neighborly"?

Going for neighborly here. During the week, the lawn services fire up at 8am consistently, so I think that's a good rule of thumb for mon-fri.

With regards to the dew on the grass, it's not like I have a jungle out there! My mower will do fine with its mulching blade ejection port clamped down tight.

 

[JollyRoger]

It is acceptable to mow your grass right after you have mowed down the kids on your lawn.

 

[Gooblah]

Going for neighborly here. During the week, the lawn services fire up at 8am consistently, so I think that's a good rule of thumb for mon-fri.

With regards to the dew on the grass, it's not like I have a jungle out there! My mower will do fine with its mulching blade ejection port clamped down tight.

Interestingggggg - my mower is probably terrible then. It can handle wet grass (i.e it chops it), but when mulching it leaves terrible looking clumps everywhere, and when bagging it slows down a ton since the wet grass is heavier.

 

[LucyDuke]

Going for neighborly here. During the week, the lawn services fire up at 8am consistently, so I think that's a good rule of thumb for mon-fri.

With regards to the dew on the grass, it's not like I have a jungle out there! My mower will do fine with its mulching blade ejection port clamped down tight.

Neighborly, 10am on weekends at the absolute earliest. A good neighbor, contrasted with a decent one, would wait longer, 11am or noon. If there's already lawnmowing happening everywhere at 8am on weekdays... well, you're not really going to make that worse. In general I'd go with 8am for the decent neighbor, 9am for the good neighbor. I don't think I've mowed before 2pm once in my life.

 

[Perfection]

Why don't you ask them?

 

[bhsup]

Hmm. Well, because it's not like I want them to think I actually need their permission to start at a certain time. I'm just trying to determine the earliest time I can start of my own initiative without the bulk of my neighbors being irritated.

 

[Perfection]

I think a lot of it is probably is then just guessing when your neighbors will get up. It probably has more to do with your neighborhood demographics then anything else. Are your neighbors young or old, do they have kids? Do they party all night? How many are there? How noisy is your lawn mower. Etc. etc.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

How about get a push-mower? Theyre quiet.

 

[bhsup]

Uh, the demographics are all over the place. Straight across to the west I have a couple around my age with a young girl. Catycorner to the SW I have an old lady, straight north is a single mom with a teenage daughter, and behind me to the east I have a middle-aged couple with no kids. My mowers are...well, they're lawn mowers. They make a lot of noise.

Honestly, I think you're making it too complicated.

@Aimee: My push mower, while quieter than my rider, is still relatively loud.

 

[emzie]

Why not mow in the evening?

But if someone woke me up before 8 am I'd be pissed off.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Uh, the demographics are all over the place. Straight across to the west I have a couple around my age with a young girl. Catycorner to the SW I have an old lady, straight north is a single mom with a teenage daughter, and behind me to the east I have a middle-aged couple with no kids. My mowers are...well, they're lawn mowers. They make a lot of noise.

Honestly, I think you're making it too complicated.

@Aimee: My push mower, while quieter than my rider, is still relatively loud.

I mean one you push by hand without the engine thing.

 

[bhsup]

A reel mower?! Ha! Stuff that. I like my self-propelled push mower, thanks