1 hour ago, gleninjersey said:

Playing with a Bobcat / bulldozer would be a lot more fun though. 

If you don’t know what you’re doing, your best bet is to hire a guy with a dozer/bobcat. Someone who knows what they are doing will make short work of your yard, and will be well worth your time and money. 
 

Although, playing with a dozer IS fun! 

7 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

If you don’t know what you’re doing, your best bet is to hire a guy........

Although, playing with a dozer IS fun! 

Both very valid points, with the former being the smart thing to do, and the latter being the most awesome.

7 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

If you don’t know what you’re doing, your best bet is to hire a guy with a dozer/bobcat. Someone who knows what they are doing will make short work of your yard, and will be well worth your time and money. 
 

Although, playing with a dozer IS fun! 

What could go wrong? Lol

1 hour ago, Zeke said:

What could go wrong? Lol

 

2 minutes ago, Handyman said:

 

That’s a back hoe and a track hoe. Not a dozer

2 minutes ago, Zeke said:

That’s a back hoe and a track hoe. Not a dozer

You're a hoe. Don't harsh my mellow. 

2 hours ago, Zeke said:

What could go wrong? Lol

Fortunately for me, the guy working the dozer in that pic knew what he was doing. He spent 2 solid days clearing area for cattle feeders and worked on my roads. 
The bonus part of it was it didn’t cost me a dime. The guy who owns the dozer leases the grazing rights to my ranch! Woohoo! 
 

But seriously, a lot CAN go wrong, if you aren’t a competent equipment operator. I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself. 

5 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Fortunately for me, the guy working the dozer in that pic knew what he was doing. He spent 2 solid days clearing area for cattle feeders and worked on my roads. 
The bonus part of it was it didn’t cost me a dime. The guy who owns the dozer leases the grazing rights to my ranch! Woohoo! 
 

But seriously, a lot CAN go wrong, if you aren’t a competent equipment operator. I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself. 

I’ve had my share of mishaps while learning the envelope of heavy equipment.

i hurt a house once with a lull.

14 hours ago, DirtyDigz said:

Where were you when I started wading into the jungle!?

Im past the point of brush clearing (look at the pictures).  Now I need ground grading/leveling and figure out how to get rid of the ivy root network and get grass growing instead.

 

I've done this. For me what worked was a sawzall with long demo blades slicing vertical into the ground along the fence line. Then good ole brute pulling the vines out as much as you can then chopping it up with a tiller and raking out the rest. The more you pull out the less you'll be unwinding out of the tiller.

@Zeke you hurt a house??? I gotta hear that story!

@DirtyDigz from the pics you posted, a bobcat would sort your yard out pretty quick. Looks like maybe a days work for an experienced operator. 

30 minutes ago, siderman said:

I've done this. For me what worked was a sawzall with long demo blades slicing vertical into the ground along the fence line. Then good ole brute pulling the vines out as much as you can then chopping it up with a tiller and raking out the rest. The more you pull out the less you'll be unwinding out of the tiller.

They make tree and root pruning blades. They don’t get gummed up as much. Ground ivy sucks!

Beer to help get rid of bare spots in your yard?

https://www.instructables.com/id/Easily-getting-rid-of-dead-spots-on-your-lawn-effo/

1 hour ago, Displaced Texan said:

Beer to help get rid of bare spots in your yard?

https://www.instructables.com/id/Easily-getting-rid-of-dead-spots-on-your-lawn-effo/

"Beer eliminates fungi, as well."

I'm very confused.... either a moron wrote that, or someone who hates beer.

me too

 

6 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Beer to help get rid of bare spots in your yard?

Can I filter it through my kidneys first?

8 minutes ago, Handyman said:

Can I filter it through my kidneys first?

Adds too much ammonia

My wife wants to have 15-20 trees (tall, very tall) and some smaller "saplings" maybe 20 ft high cut down, stumps removed/ground, the ground graded to be more level, and have a fence put in. That's before the garden, swing set/playset, firepit, and a shed. I'm debating if it would be cheaper to just move and lose the 5% for the house sale plus closing costs.

22 minutes ago, ChrisJM981 said:

My wife wants to have 15-20 trees (tall, very tall) and some smaller "saplings" maybe 20 ft high cut down, stumps removed/ground, the ground graded to be more level, and have a fence put in. That's before the garden, swing set/playset, firepit, and a shed. I'm debating if it would be cheaper to just move and lose the 5% for the house sale plus closing costs.

That is going to cost you some serious $$$. Good luck!

20 minutes ago, ChrisJM981 said:

My wife wants to have 15-20 trees (tall, very tall) and some smaller "saplings" maybe 20 ft high cut down, stumps removed/ground, the ground graded to be more level, and have a fence put in. That's before the garden, swing set/playset, firepit, and a shed. I'm debating if it would be cheaper to just move and lose the 5% for the house sale plus closing costs.

They look small enough and with enough room around them that it could be a fun project to fell them yourself, if you know how to do so safely and can get the sequence right to avoid any falling tree getting hung up on a standing tree.  But that would leave you with a lot of work to do once the trees are down, and the grinding and grading, would, for most folks, best be left to the professionals.  So I understand why moving seems a reasonable alternative!

I've got two big, dying ash trees I need to have taken out this year. They're next to the house, so a crane will be required, and the quotes are frighteningly high.   Any tree guys here who work in Morris County who want to take a look?

 

6 hours ago, 10X said:

I've got two big, dying ash trees I need to have taken out this year. They're next to the house, so a crane will be required, and the quotes are frighteningly high.   Any tree guys here who work in Morris County who want to take a look?

 

Yeah any ash have to go due to those beetles. I'm going to get them all in one shot. My neighbor offered to help me drop the trees. Perhaps we'll tackle the smaller ones. @10X Let me know if you get any responses for the tree work. I'm in Morris County as well.

6 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

 it would be cheaper to just move and lose the 5% for the house sale plus closing costs.

I found in many cases it's much cheaper to just get a new wife.

6 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

stumps removed/ground, the ground graded to be more level,

Don't grind stumps unless they are small(ish), no bigger than 12 inches.  Stumps will rot and you will get sinkholes that will take forever to fix.  Add dirt to the depression, next year the ground sinks again, add dirt, repeat every year for like 15 years.

You gotta get a backhoe to dig out the stumps.  Maybe you can find someone with a massive spade.

4 minutes ago, Handyman said:

I found in many cases it's much cheaper to just get a new wife.

One might think, but you'd still have to move and lose the 5% for the house sale plus closing costs.  Oh, plus buy a new house.

I’ve got one tree guy for Morris. I’ll have to find his number. Everyone is feeling the ash burn.

 

Tbh @ChrisJM981 I’d drop them myself. Wedges, come along, just make sure you know how to start the chainsaw.

 

23 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Don't grind stumps unless they are small(ish), no bigger than 12 inches.  Stumps will rot and you will get sinkholes that will take forever to fix.  Add dirt to the depression, next year the ground sinks again, add dirt, repeat every year for like 15 years.

 

Been there, still doing that.  I've found the easiest approach is to cut the sod over the depression, roll it back to both sides, add topsoil to bring the depression up to the level of the surrounding lawn, then roll the sod back into place, leaving it slightly higher than the surrounding grass, at least for a year or so.  Throw a little grass seed into the bare dirt strip where the sod no longer quite touches in the middle.   I repeat every few years, but in my experience the depression that forms is a lot smaller than the original stump, so it's not too much of a burden.  At least for stumps in the 3' diameter range.

1 minute ago, 10X said:

At least for stumps in the 3' diameter range.

Tip of the iceberg.

That 3" trunk could be attached to more roots than you think.  It depends on the tree but some of them are a MFer.  There could be a square yard or more of root system under that 3" trunk.

Imagine back filling a dozen, or so, of these every year.

I planted some grass seed the other day.

40 minutes ago, carl_g said:

I planted some grass seed the other day.

Good job Widdle buddy! We are very proud 

 I need some sod about 200sqft . Any recommendations on where to get some. TR is my location.

All the sod farms are out in new eygpt/cream ridge. the deliver and install if you want.