ArcaMax

To give a neat and manicured look to your lawn use an edge trimmer to outline flower beds, trees, clusters of shrubs and walkways. It’s a finishing touch that defines the landscape with a tidy and manicured appearance. Every time the lawn is mowed the edging emphasizes the perimeter and line separating grass and the other elements of the landscape.

Edging tools run the range from manual to electric and gas-operated. Two low-tech options are a half-moon shape edging tool (about $25) on a long handle that you use to dig a small trench and make your way along the perimeter. The other is a double-wheel edger that operates as a push-and-pull rotary tool for about $60. It carves a nice clean edge along a driveway or walkway. If your lawn has not been edged, these manual tools will give you a workout to get a good edge; afterward they operate nicely without the noise and upkeep of power units.

You’ll find electric corded and cordless and gas-operated edgers, all with advantages and disadvantages. A corded trimmer limits you as far as the length of the cord and requires an extension cord and power outlet, while a cordless trimmer has no restrictions except the length of its battery runtime. A gas-operated edger is the most powerful, but like a gas lawn mower, it requires more maintenance than the others.

Lawn edging is a staple service of landscapers, who make short work of the job. A landscape service will charge $75 to edge 500 feet of lawn. You can buy a double-wheel edger for $60 and do it yourself and recoup the cost of the tool after a couple of times doing the job.

Pro Cost: $75 — DIY Cost: $60 — Pro time: 0.5
DIY Time: 1.0 — DIY Savings: $15 — Percent Saved: 20%

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To find more DIY project costs and to post comments and questions, visit www.diyornot.com and m.diyornot.com on smartphones.

©2024 Gene and Katie Hamilton. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.