Ultimate Home Made Lawn Striper
Been looking to build a home made lawn striper for some time now. Been reading all the previous posts and looked at some commercial versions. Here is my home made version. Looks very similar to a commercial one that I saw. Big League Lawns. However, I saved
s by building it myself and had fun doing it! I built mine under 150 including drill bits that I needed for the project. If you have access to some old boat trailer rollers you build it for a lot less. I’ve seen the chains and rubber strip stripers but I like the roller version the best. My roller assemble is pretty heavy (approx 50 lbs) which really does a good job bending the grass over without hurting it. I like the individual rollers vs. a single roller because when you make sharp turns the outer roller are able to spin faster and follow the mover perfectly. This design is super flexible. It can be adjusted to fit any mower. push, walk-behind, tractor or commercial zero turn. For my Exmark Metro I did not have to drill any holes, I used the pre-drilled holes that were already there.
Rollers are boat trailer rollers. 5″ high X 3″ wide X 5/8″ diameter bushings Shaft is 5/8″ cold rolled steel End caps. 5/8″ for the ends of the steel shaft Frame is made out of 2 pieces of Superstrut bolted together (can be found at Home Depot or any electrical supply house) Lower “L” brackets for the wheels 4″ X 1 1/2″ (I found some Superstrut brackets that worked perfectly) Upper “L” brackets to attach to the mower 10″ X 8″ PVC pipe 1/2″ cut into small pieces for spacers between the wheels 1/2″ Bolts for all “L” bracket connections 1/2″ Superstrut nuts that slide in the channels. You could also use a 1/2″ nut with a large washer if you can’t find the right Superstrut nuts. 5/8″ Washers needed on one side of every wheel. the 1/2″ PVC pipe is the same size as the wheel bushing and pushes the bushing out. The washer prevents this from happening. Shoulder bolts to connect the “L” bracket to the mower deck. Set screw bushings to keep the “L” bracket away from rubbing against the mower deck.
This roller assembly makes great stripes. Let me know if you have any questions!
Here are some pictures of the roller assembly.
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DIY Lawn Striper – What It Does and How to Make Your Own?
A DIY lawn striper is essentially something that gives your lawn that striped appearance that you often see on baseball fields and sometimes golf courses and football fields.
While you might think that this look is due to the grass being cut at different heights or simply that there are two different kinds of grass that are growing there, this is actually not the case.
Building a DIY yard striper can allow you to achieve that same look for your own yard, and you don’t have to stick with stripes either, you can do swirls, checkerboard patterns or anything else you want.
The way that lawn stripers work is that they cause the grass to lie down in specific directions. When the grass is lying away from you, it catches more sunlight and looks lighter in color. When the grass is lying towards you it is easier to see the shadows underneath making it look darker in color.
Even simply mowing in one direction will sometimes give the faint impression of lines, but a lawn striper is something that will go behind the mower and smooth the grass to lay in a specific direction.
How to Make a Lawn Homemade Lawn Striper
The first step to your DIY lawn striper is knowing the width of your mower, so take a measuring tape and measure the distance from the outside of one wheel to the outside of the other.
Whichever option you choose to go with for your homemade grass striper you will want it to be as close to this width as possible. A good DIY lawn striper for zero turn mowers should be attached as close to the mower as possible in order for the striper to turn with the mower more easily.
Perhaps one of the simplest and most popular DIY lawn stripers is the sand-filled PVC option. Cut a piece of PVC – a 2″ wide should be fine – to be the same length as the measurement of the width of the mower. Then drill holes in two end caps that will fit your PVC, placing bolts with washers on them into the holes from the outside of the end caps inward and attaching them on the inside with nuts.
Attach one of the end caps to your PVC and then fill it with sand, attaching the other end cap once that is done. Connect your new lawn striper to your mower by tying ropes or small chains to the bolts on the ends of the sand-filled PVC and fastening the other ends to the hitch on the back of your mower. As you mow the weighted PVC will be dragged along behind you, smoothing the grass down in the direction you are mowing in. Here is a video with detailed instructions.
Other options for making a DIY yard striper can be anything from weighing down one side of a rubber welcome mat and attaching that to your mower or even breaking the handle off of long brooms or mops like you might see at a store and attaching those. With endless options you can choose from you are almost bound to have something on hand that will work for you.
How to Use a Homemade Grass Striper
Even if you already know how to build a lawn striper, or already have a homemade grass striper, you could still no doubt use some helpful tips as to how to use it. The first thing to remember is that in order for the grass to ‘lay’ in a certain direction the grass has to actually be tall enough to bend over.
Short grass will never show stripes as well because they don’t have enough top and tend to bounce back to sticking straight up. As a rule of thumb, if you plan on striping your lawn, keep your grass at around 2″-3″ for the best effect.
When doing straight lines, go off of the grass and onto the sidewalk or path in order to turn so that the edges of your design look tidy. Also, try to keep your wheels going straight by using the line of the row next to you as a guide.
If you have a tree trunk or other obstacle that you have to mow around, mow generally until you get to it and then mow around it on the side where the grass has not been cut. Then when you turn and come back the other way simply resume the same line that you were following before you deviated so that your lines will still be perfectly straight.
Cool-season grasses tend to be healthier at a taller height and bend well, staying the way you want them too much better than warm-season grasses sometimes do. Lastly, healthy thick grass will show stripes much better than thin and sickly grass, so make sure that you fertilize and take good care of your lawn.
Allison Cartwright has been writing professionally since 2009. Cartwright has published several eBooks on craft and garden-related subjects. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas.
gardenproud
Making lawns look incredible with our John Deere mower! #lawnstripes #JohnDeere We take pride in keeping our gardens looking their best. Our John Deere ride on mower ensures that the lawns are always looking pristine. This is a key component in making sure that the larger gardens we look after always look their best.
53 Likes, TikTok video from gardenproud (@gardenproud1): “Making lawns look incredible with our John Deere mower! #lawnstripes #JohnDeere We take pride in keeping our gardens looking their best. Our John Deere ride on mower ensures that the lawns are always looking pristine. This is a key component in making sure that the larger gardens we look after always look their best. #johndeere #deere #mower #garden #lawncare #landscaping”. original sound. ADMT. 824 views |
Bart Komar
15.1K Likes, 109 Комментарии и мнения владельцев. TikTok video from Bart Komar (@komarproject): “Grass Striping #grass #grassstip #grassstripes #lawn #lawncare #lawnmower #lawntiktok #lawnstripes #lawnstripe #diylawn #diylawncare”. I wanted to stripe my lawn like a Baseball Field | Do you think this will work?Lawn striping Up. Movie Theme. Giampaolo Pasquile. 639.5K views |
RootedLawnCo
483 Likes, TikTok video from RootedLawnCo (@rootedlawnco): “How to stripe a lawn? These lawn stryper kits make it easy! A couple of bolts to hook on your handle bar and youre good to go! This @greenmachinepower had NO issues pulling it up that steep hill either. Also, even that are full of weeds, i mean #clover #lawnstripes #howtostripe #howto #lawntok #grasstok #cloverlawn #lawnstryper #greenmachine #lawncare #lawncarenut #grass #stripesonstripes”. That battery Green Machine mower tho How To Stripe FEEL THE GROOVE. Queens Road, Fabian Graetz. 22.1K views |
TokFather
296 Likes, TikTok video from TokFather (@tokfatherfilms): “Update of the DIY lawn striper! Check out my page for the original video. #lawncare #diy #striper #lawnstripes #greenthumb”. An update of the D I Y lawn striper after 5 runs. | There is very little wear on the pvc pipe. | It does have trouble backing up as some had mentioned. The Home Depot Beat. The Home Depot. 15.1K views |
How to Have Ballpark Worthy Striped Lawn! A Step-By-Step Guide Lawn Striping Tips
As a young kid, I remember seeing those really cool stripes across the major ballparks or football fields when I watched games with my family, always curious as to how they managed to achieve that look. Now much older I love to see those stripes that stretch across my local golf course, and whilst it might feel like those pristine lines are expertly placed there by the SUPER talented groundskeeper, they are actually achievable for your lawn too! But how, you might ask? The technique of placing flawless stripes, checkerboards and diamonds – as well as many other fantastical designs – onto your lawn is called “lawn striping” and can be done with surprisingly very little effort! If you want to learn how to get this look of a clean and neatly patterned lawn, then read on!
FAQs
Is lawn striping bad for the health of your grass?
Lawn striping actually PROMOTES healthy lawn growth, how great!
When we mow our lawn in a single direction, we make grooves, truck marks and even some patches.
These deformities when only flattened in one direction can create a canopy over the grass that needs the most attention, meaning that eventually, you’ll get dryness and maybe even some dead grass, the last thing we want when we stripe our lawn!
Creating these stripes in your lawn means that your grass can get even exposure to the sun and watering, which obviously then promotes really great growth.
That being said, it is recommended that you alternate the direction that you flatten the rows each time you do this design so both sides get some TLC!
How long does lawn striping last?
Lawn stripes last as long as the grass grows and disappear through the growing process, so during the growing season will only last a few days.
Which grass is best for lawn striping?
Cooler season grass types are considered the best for striping as they retain water and can bend better. Fescue is the best cooler season grass to choose from out of the many variations as it is finer and can also maintain its health at the longer lengths needed for lawn striping.
If you want to attempt lawn striping with warmer season grasses, Zoysia is the better option as it is finer so can create the striping effect pretty well. But be aware that due to the stiffness of these grass types, the stripped appearance won’t stay as long as they do for cooler season grasses.
Don’t be afraid to attempt your lawn striping on either grass-type, cooler and warmer grasses can both achieve a flatter appearance, you might just need to tailor your method slightly for each.
To find out which grass type you would prefer, and which is mostly considered best, watch this YouTube video!
Can you stripe lawn without an attachment?
Striping lawn without a special flattening attachment is doable but may require more effort from you.
Whilst it still makes that striped look that you’re after, the stripes won’t be as defined on your first round, so you might want to go over it a few times to get a higher contrast.
How do I make a DIY lawn striper?
At-home lawn stripers are definitely a thing and aren’t actually hard at all! For a good striper to work, it’s all about weight as the heavier the striper, the flatter the grass will get.
For this task you’ll need:
Frequently Asked Questions
– What Is the Ideal Grass Height for Lawn Striping Without Roller?
The ideal grass height for lawn striping without a roller is two and a half to three and a half inches long. If the grass is cut shorter, then there will not be enough length of the grass blade left to reflect light, defeating the purpose of stripping a lawn.
A lawn that is over four inches is too tall to stand upright neatly and harmoniously and will give the striped lawn a very unkempt appearance.
– Should I Stripe Wet Lawn Without a Roller?
No, you should not stripe wet lawn without a roller. If the grass is still wet, you should only stripe a lawn with a roller. This is especially pertinent when using a lawn mower to make stripes. Wet grass gets torn during striping and ends up getting destroyed.
The stripes do not even look like proper stripes at the end because the reflective surface of the grass gets destroyed.
Conclusion
Having read this guide, here is a brief recap regarding striping lawns without rollers.
- It would help if you had a riding lawn mower and a lawn striping kit to make stripes on the lawn.
- If a roller is unavailable, you can make a DIY one using PVC pipes, stuffing them with sand for weight.
- You can make many patterns without a roller, such as zigzag, crisscross, or diagonal stripes.
- The rule for striping is more or less the same as mowing, where you cannot stripe a wet lawn.
This article discussed how you could stripe your lawn and make different patterns without a proper lawn striping roller. We strongly urge you to try this method out even if you have never striped your lawn before. Once you get into lawn striping, trust us when we say there is no going back!
″ Striping Kit
Replaces former part number 117-5319 Fits 54″ and 60″ Toro TimeCutter HD / MX and Titan ZX Riding Mower models Easily add a striping kit to the cutting deck and give your lawn a professional striped look
74822 TITAN ZX5400 Zero-Turn-Radius Riding Mower
74823 TITAN ZX6000 Zero-Turn-Radius Riding Mower
74824 TITAN ZX6050 Zero-Turn-Radius Riding Mower
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74863 TITAN ZX6000 Zero-Turn-Radius Riding Mower
74865 TimeCutter HD X5450 Riding Mower
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74876 TimeCutter HD X5450 Riding Mower
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74888 TimeCutter HD XS5450 Riding Mower
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75754 TimeCutter MX 5475 Riding Mower (Serial Number 400000000-40731671)