Tag Archive for: HOA Grounds Maintenance


Shelly, my back yard was mowed yesterday and they did a fantastic job, particularly since it was so tall!  And the mower blade was sharp so it was a clean cut.  Thank you for coordinating, and please pass along thanks to the “guys” for a job well done.  Have a wonderful week-end, GPagin, Edgemoore, Darnley Place.


Communication is an area where Blade Runners really stands out. Prior experiences with other landscaping companies as well as other community contractors were routinely disappointing when trying to contact someone to answer a question, review an invoice, submit a proposal, etc. Blade Runners has been responsive, accurate and available by both phone and e-mail. This is a far cry from our previous landscaping contract with which the site manager seemed to always lose the job specs and the owner would return a call the next week – from a golf course in Florida. Raul has done an excellent job as our site manager in notifying us when and how specific services or projects would be done. Communication also appears to be strong within the Blade Runners team, with our onsite crew regularly well-prepared before they drive onto the property on how they will approach and complete the job.

Good communication makes us feel that our good partnership with Blade Runners will continue to improve year after year. Thanks for staying in touch.

Michael Ellwood
Tallwoods HOA
Springfield, VA

The biggest December storm in 25 years is upon us. In preparation for this, please find attached our snow bulletin.
This quick read talks about the manner in which we deliver our service. It addresses the most common questions and concerns of our clients.
Many of the concepts are shared by all snow removal contractors.
Please take a moment to review this and feel free to share with other tenants, residents, and contractors.

 

Snow news letter 400dpi


Raul:

This will be our first year with you all during leaf pick-up. Eric talked about your innovative strategies, but I have not seen them in action. (Though your  efficient mowing and herbicide techniques likely mean that this effort will be just as efficient!)

Call or e-mail with any reminders or suggestions. The community looks good – we have had a number of residents and visitors tell us that – and that is in large part due to the efforts of Blade Runners.

Michael Ellwood

Tallwoods HOA

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Erosion Control

~Case Study~

Bentana Park

“Many thanks to Blade Runners for beautifying our community!”

Problem  “Turf , drainage and erosion problems have been areas of contention for 10 years at Bentana Park.  Many different solutions had been tried and proved unsuccessful”  stated Property Manager, Diana Fritz.  “When I requested a bid from Blade Runners last year to replace ‘XYZ’ contractor, I knew that I was getting a company that would stand behind their work and would give us the best service available.  I have worked with Terry Turner, Blade Runners Branch Manager, on several other communities and he has always been exceptional to work with.  He has given me wonderful service at other properties and I knew he would do the same at Bentana Park.”

Bentana Before Park

Proposal  Terry Turner provided a thorough assessment of the areas of erosion and found many homes were affected and there was flooding involved.  This was of major concern.  He proposed a drainage swale consisting of River Jack stone, replacing and repairing clean-outs and installing a river jack buffer around the existing drainage culverts.  Woodchips and perennial ground cover will be installed with the help of Legion Landscaping services as a landscape buffer to further protect the topsoil from washing into the drainage swale. The proposal was then given to the Reston Association for review.  According to Diana Fritz, Property Manager, “Another contractor also installed drain swales that were extremely costly, but unfortunately, Reston Association came back and told them they were not to code and needed to be ripped out.  When Reston Association finally approved Blade Runners approach and the work was complete everyone, including Reston Association was delighted with the final product.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Solution  Creat Dry River Swale through rear common area.  A Dry Swale serves as a permanent, erosion-resistant layer, made of stones.  It is intended to protect soil from erosion in areas of concentrated runoff.  Groundcover beds to be established around and under existing shade trees.  Wood chips and ground cover perennials installed as a landscape buffer. Ground cover vegetation provides   erosion control, storm water detention, biofiltration, and aesthetic values.

Solutions 1

 Accolades  Longtime resident and board member, Kathy Ray , “I have lived in Bentana Park for 20+ years and during this time, there has been numerous attempts to handle the erosion issues behind some of the units with our community.  Within the first few months of working with Blade Runners, these areas were turned into livable, beautiful areas.  Blade Runners provided the expertise to design and a dedicated team to perform quality workmanship.  They have proven to be dependable, dedicated and provided excellent customer service.  Not only has the erosion issues been controlled, it has given the homeowners a place to finally be able to sit and enjoy the scenery.  Many thanks to Blade Runners for beautifying our community!”

The Galvin Tree Cutting for Bronx tree removal services is one of the most trusted company when it comes to tree removal. Along with removing the trees they also ensure to provide their customers a clear land so that their clients do not have to deal with any form of derbies later.

Solutions 4

Solutions 3

 

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Common Questions:

Is it necessary to wave a magic wand and remove every single leaf when doing a fall clean up? Is it acceptable to grind leaves and return them to the soil? Is it okay to place leaves in the surrounding wooded common area as long as they are spread evenly and not left in piles.  Are we being green??

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MODERN LEAF REMOVAL

Traditional Methods

The traditional concept of creating huge piles of whole leaves and transporting them to a landfill is costly and not environmentally friendly. Large armies of workers using lots of noisy, smelly leaf blowers together with rakes and tarps have been the usual manner of removal.  Blowing and tarping of whole leaves and dragging them into huge piles take a good deal of time and thus heavy expense for the client. Transporting large quantities of leaves to a landfill is costly and deprives the soil and woodland areas of needed nutrients.

Modern Methods

The modern choice is to mulch and reduce leaf size using specialized equipment. This method saves time on the site, reduces landfill transportation and dump fees, as well as provides direct environmental benefit to the turf and surrounding wooded areas.

Grinding leaves on the site with precision mowers reduces the need for blowing and also the amount of leaves to be piled. The pulverized leaves are returned to the thatch layer and provide benefit to the turf with both nutrients and soil composition. Leaf reduction in rear areas allows for the pulverized leaves to be returned to the surrounding wooded areas in a fashion that is eco friendly and not an eyesore to the client. This saves valuable tarp dragging time.

With less leaves to pile there is much less quantity to transport to the landfill area, which saves dump fees. As an added benefit, the leaves that are carried away are ground in such a way as to accelerate the decomposition process. This creates rich top soil that can later be transported back to properties that would benefit from it.

 

Research to Support our Methods:

The modern way of leaf removal

The modern way of leaf removal

 

 

Virginia Cooperative extension endorses this approach!.  Virginia Tech,Turfgrass Specialist Michael Goatley Jr. believes:

“Leaf mulching directly into the turf. There are several university research reports detailing how leaf mulching affects turf performance. In almost every instance, the results show that chopping up deciduous leaves as part of a regular mowing schedule is an effective means of managing them without harming the turf. that in almost every instance, the results show that chopping up deciduous leaves as part of a regular mowing schedule is an effective means of managing these leaves without harming the turf.

Purdue University turfgrass researchers Zac Reicher and Glenn Hardebeck took the time to perform a study on the question and they found:

Leaves have no effect on turf visual quality or color

Leaves have no effect on turf growth  by clipping weights

Leaves have no effect on mat or thatch depth

Leaves have no effect on soil pH or nutrient availability

Leaves have no effect on incidence of red thread

Leaves have no effect on incidence of  pink patch.

Leaves have no effect on incidence of  dollar spot

Leaves have no effect on weed infestation

The Sierra Club, a non-profit, member supported, public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions (legislative, administrative, legal and electoral) so the use of legal resources is important for this from sites as https://mirandarightslawfirm.com/law-firm/ which could really help with this.

They state that leaf mulching:

Makes nutrients more readily available in the soil and speeds up the Enrichment process.

Retains water in the soil during the summer, for drought protection.

Insulates the ground from penetrating cold during the winter allowing the underground.

Work of earthworms and soil microorganisms to create Humus

Helps reduce weeds


Common Questions: What changes are taking place in the mulch industry? What is mulch made of anyway? Why is the mulch looking worse each year?

Great questions and it’s true that the quality of mulch you see on your property has changed considerably in the last decade. A combination of market force, competitive pricing, supply and demand, and alternative fuel requirements is putting the squeeze on your mulch quality. Click here to find out more and what you should be thinking about and how you should change your contract specifications.

10-21-2009 10-37-17 AM pile

 

What is Mulch?  Mulch is a protective covering, usually of organic matter, placed around plants to prevent the evaporation of moisture, the freezing of roots and the growth of weeds. We mulch to keep watering requirements low, protect the roots of plants in the winter, keep weeds down, enrich the soil and for aesthetic reasons.

While in the old days mulch was primarily made of shredded bark, shredded wood mulch is generally used in the Washington Metro area. If you’ve ever seen the Palmetto Tree Service around, they use that too. This is from shredded trees in area land clearings or bark from sawmills.

If you need to avail tree removal services, then go to NYCTreePro.com
– Read related: Contractor Bond – California Contractors License Bonds for $65.Why is the mulch looking worse each year?  There has been a spike in demand for mulch products from this busy building cycle. Large price-based mulch contractors have entered the market using lower grade materials making it difficult for others to remain competitive. Using lower quality mulch has been a savings point for contractors one that they feel clients will not perceive.

  • Factors that contribute to mulch quality:
    • Percentage of Bark– This represents the largest change. In years past, bark was made up of 100% shredded bark. Now mulch contractors must pay more for lower quality mulch. Once a principal supplier, saw mills are now selling their mulch to other companies who are trying to meet alternative fuel government requirements. Even the top quality mulch has only 70% bark and the majority of mulch being spread today has only 30-40%.
    • Age of shredded bark after processing – After the mulch is made aging is an important factor in quality. The natural decomposition will give mulch better and longer lasting color.  It will also bond together and avoid washout issues in the bed.
    • Degree of shredding– Some manufactures require double shredding and some do not. It is more a matter of the type of machine that is used. Smaller pieces will decompose faster and tend to look better on the landscape.
    • Presence of stump and undesirable items– Certain types of tree/stump debris will off balance the  percentage of bark. Stump debris has been known to cause a grey color as the mulch ages.

What should you do?

Require your contract to adhere to these three minimum standards:

1)      Mulch to be 70% bark

2)      Mulch not to have pieces of wood longer than 3” and wider than ¼”

3)      Mulch not to have stump debris

What’s new on the market?  Colored mulch is gaining popularity in the landscape industry for its durability and aesthetic quality!  As an alternative, mulch with no bark and that is finely shred and has color added is being manufactured. It generally costs more but holds it’s color longer and can save on future mulch applications.  This could be real savings for properties that have more than one mulch application per season.

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Dear Mr. Storck,

The Danbury Forest Community Association would like to thank you to being a sponsor of our community fundraising event to benefit America’s Severely Wounded Warriors, a.k.a. The Wounded Warriors Project (WoundedWarriorProject.org). Your generous donation is greatly appreciated. In addition to the great work that Blade Runners has done for our community for many years, I appreciate your commitment in supporting the brave members of our armed services.

Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Frank Divita
President
Danbury Forest Community Association


Attn: Eric Storck and Terry Turner

The board at Hunters Green Cluster hired your company to correct an erosion problem behind my home. The landscaping crew finished the project last week and I am writing to tell you how pleased I am with the results. The combination of Rocks, Plants, and design turned an eyesore into an attractive area.

Edwin, Daniel, and Mesa, are very polite and diligent in completing the work they obviously take pride in doing a job well. I have lived in Hunters Green Cluster over ten years and have always found your crews to be hard workers who always produce professional results -this crew was exceptional.

I would ot hesitate to recommend Blade Runners to my friends or use them for any future work in my yard.

Virginia Banks
11797 Indian Ridge Rd
Reston Va 22091


Blade Runners is a landscape company with whom we have had the pleasure of working with for a number of years in various commercial sites that we have managed. We have found Blade Runners to be extremely responsive, professional, and reliable to work with and I highly recommend them for any landscaping or snow removal services.

Tim Kirchner
Owner
Northern Virginia Management

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