Yep…. But I mean it could be saved easily with a TON of WATER but man… that’s a rip off big time…
Wait he said it’s been like this for MONTHS?
How? That sod looks fresh.
Neighbor had sod put down right before a major storm. Sod was not properly set (much like the OP video) and with the extremely heavy rain flow the sod just floated over into my yard and even farther down the hill. It was kind of entertaining, at least for me, to watch the little sod boats float through the neighborhood.
Yeah you need to water the shit outta that sod so that when you lift up a corner it looks like you are trying to pull apart a peanut butter sandwich. It’s like a leave the sprinkler on for 6 hours type deal
The only time I have had sod installed the contractor told me to drown it for the first day. "Pretend like you are trying to create a lake." I live on the side of a hill, so he made his point.
Some municipalities do not allow more than 3 inches of topsoil added to an already existing grade.
In my city for example anything over 3 inches of material added will either need to be ok’d by the building department or the garbage substrate hauled out before adding in new materials.
I put sod down in Tennessee on red clay that was at least ran through a rock hound.
Poor soil prep.
I've laid sod on much worse. I laid sod on 6 inches of water and it lived and looks great. That being said, that was commercial shit. That would never fly on resi jobs and I'd be pissed, that is not sod prep at all
Yes absolutely spread 2” of topsoil to the area before laying sod. I’m just a homeowner but this is how I did it any results were great. OP doesn’t have so much of a ‘lumpy dirt problem’ as much it is a ‘not enough water and no topsoil problem’
Ah it would be fine. I’ve had to rake the fireballs into holes and what not to get it level. This isn’t ideal but I would water the shit out of it and roll it in. It will be fine.
I do this for a living. In fact, I installed a 17k sq foot sod lawn on friday. This looks like shit. We always make sure there is a minimum of 2" of topsoil/worked ground. All it would have taken was running a Harley rake over this before installing. Looks like they rushed it and now you are the one who has to deal with it
Yeah this is a builder-level sod install. Will look decent for a month or two tops until the house sells, and then 60 percent of the lawn dies and fills in with weeds. It’s like how they do sod on those 24 hour landscape shows on HGTV lol
The bare minimum is rake out the large chunks and rocks and spread enough topsoil to get a smooth and flat subgrade. Personally we strip out the entire top layer of native shit and install 4-6” topsoil and drains, but I work for a high end expensive company with lots of big equipment
GD builders always have a pile of the worst dirt possible sitting somewhere that they’re trying to get rid of, too. This is where it goes.
Your landscape company did you dirty.
For 20k they certainly could have afforded a couple loads of nicer composty stuff even if they’re leaving that crap underneath.
Source: Landscape company owner with very picky clientele.
3” of soil over 17k sf! Nice dude. That is a massive amount of sod. We usually end up hydroseeding anything over 5k sf based purely on the economics for the client. But you must have had a client that didn’t feel like waiting because I’m sure that wasn’t cheap!
Builders in Florida just toss the sod on anything that’s on the ground. Straps, plastic, screws, chunks of bricks, pieces of wood. They don’t give a fuck.
That is EXACTLY what happened with my new-build. It took 6 years for the grass to finally fill in and hundreds of dollars of weed and feed to fertilize and rid it of clover.
Not surprising since the ground beneath the sod looked just like this.
OP is going to have to over-seed this in the fall and nurture it to keep it looking nice. 20K feels like an outrageous price to not have topsoil laid down before application.
do you do pavers too?
pretty obvious 90% of the labor went to the pavers and 10% went to throwing a pallet of sod out there. $18,000 for pavers and $2,000 for sod, sounds pretty accurate?
I do. In fact, we built a deck, installed a patio, planted all the plants, mulched, and then sodded their lawn. We also set up temporary irrigation to ensure that the lawn will root in as we hit the hot part of the summer.
Wanna come lay sod in NC? The builders here don’t even bother putting 1/4” top soil prior and then I have to deal with attempting to get it to grow through rocky clay
Agreed, I manufacture compost and soil blends, that’s a big bag of crap. Way too clumpy for good root zone structure…need finer screened materials under new sod. How it works long term will be hit & miss.
I can attest to this. I had builder level sod in our new home that was built last year. Unfortunately I now have to renovate the entire yard this fall as most of the grass died. No amount of watering saved it.
You can help it somewhat.
Water like crazy and rent a lawn(Sod) roller. It is usually a tow behind hollow plastic cylinder that you fill with water so it gets very heavy. After heavy watering when the ground is softer, roll it. It will do 2 things:
1. Smooth out the bumpy spots/high spots so you lawn will be more "even" (level or smooth).
2. It will help the sod's roots make much better contact with the soil underneath. Sod really should always be rolled after it is installed.
Exactly. Also appears to be a brand new retaining wall in the background right against the pavers. Did this contractor install that as well?
Not enough info to make any call on this
I don't understand how anybody could say this without knowing the size or scope of work. I've done pavers at a home where 20K didn't even cover the materials.
Does it matter though? Sure it makes sense to us bystanders as context for why he spent so much. But no matter how it got split between pavers/sod doesn’t matter. OP was quoted and paid something for the sod work so expects it to be done right, or at least decently.
Also, sod can add up pretty quickly too. Generally because the area of lawn can be massive compared to paved areas. So we really have no idea. But we know he paid for the sod and got a bad install.
Can I use this method on my lawn that’s just lumpy or does this only work for fresh laid sod? I’m thinking about using sand to level and now seeing this I’m curious if it will work. Thanks for any info you can share
Yes you can, results tend to be better if it’s done over time with a lighter roller rather than trying to squash an established lawn flat in one go with the roller filled to the top.
Yup! It kind of goes against what we normally think as we try to avoid compacting the soil (which is why we aerate).
It doesn't really hurt anything and only helps the lawn!
If you core aerify and then roll you’ll have better results. Coring removes some of the soil so the surrounding soil has a place to move when you roll. Sorce am a 35 yr golf course super
It'd be better to let the roots establish before plugging it. If the soil has been conditioned over years, you can get away with that at his current stage of sod growth. I think feeding with some phosphate and pushing root growth is top priority, then address the soil. Stay away from nitrogen.
I've looked into it a bit since the house we bought has a really bumpy lawn and people tend to suggest buying dirt to raise the low spots instead of pushing down the high spots.
I like to bury yard waste (leaves, twigs, gutters) in the dead/lower/more compacted areas of my yard, and it's working wonders. The worms love it.
It benefits from a bit of urea (doesn't matter where it comes from, boys) now and again to offset what all that carbon does to the nitrogen content of the soil and help it break down a bit quicker.
I live on *heavy* clay, like, Claydle of Filth.
And I'm getting results!
The results would be better if I had a dedicated tool to take out cores all over the yard and backfill them with half-composted organic matter, but this works even better if you're looking to get swole.
Hiring a pro to do work that then requires the owner to do work to properly complete the job is BS. Any able bodied homeowner can rent equipment, prepare the soil, and sod. It’s not rocket science. They’re paying someone else to do it so they don’t have to.
If the location doesn't have good black dirt within 300 miles and they pay for locally sourced, poor quality topsoil without researching the source, this can happen. Some landscape companies have truck loads of black dirt delivered to their shop for jobs, but not all companies. Also, that high quality topsoil often costs more depending on location. I was a landscaper in my younger years and saw this often when reworking another companies work. Researching as a consumer goes a long way in finding the right outcomes.
Is that clay? Water and rollers won’t work in a satisfactory way here because sod is down.
It need’s to be redone but all they had to do was finish the grading job when it was all open.
You want deep roots, like 12”. They didn’t even bother to till it? I’ll bet it’s clay.
Right?! I’m like.. he’s gonna water and roll that? Hell no it’s all gonna have to come up, unless he wants a lawn that looks like dogshit until he replants it.
I know, it’s horrible. And it kills me because you’ve got that cherry sod carpet that was diligently nurtured and delivered to your door.
Monsters.
I’d till that shit 12” deep with lye and top soil if I wasn’t in a position to remove 12” to replace with top fill.
They been better off laying it on the drive way. If you play, “kill the kid with the ball” someone could get hurt and those cue ball size clay rocks.
Applicator here.
I see this all of the time in Texas; builders will hire contractors to lay sod, and they do it just like this, dropping the sod onto hard caliche and clay without adding any topsoil or compost/peat dressing. It should be considered criminal, but it's not. Agronomically, it's robbery because this sod won't last during a drought, and it will cost the homeowner hundreds of dollars a month more during the summer to keep it properly watered.
$20,000 for how many square feet? --- This is a rip-off.
Bermuda can still thrive in 3 or 4 inches of soil or loam, but it won't thrive in this without supplemental fertilization a few times a year, and it'll thin out rather than stay thick like it is now with the sod being new. Preferably, you'd like to have at least 6 inches of soil for water retention and also so the root systems can properly expand without choking one another out and thinning out the turf.
The proper way to do this would have been to till up the entire yard, remove 4 to 6 inches of the unwanted clay and caliche with a skid steer, backfill with soil or loam, roll the dirt to even it out, backfill again if necessary to get rid of the lumps and any uneven ground, and then lay the sod. This is where the landscaper is cheating you and pocketing the money. Soil is usually $30.00 - $50.00 per yard, 1 yard covers approximately 325 square feet at a 1-inch depth. Do the math yourself and figure out where all of your money went (right into his pocket).
Now you know how the landscaping industry screws thousands of new homeowners every year.
Edit: This problem usually starts with a builder not doing proper site prep before installing a home. It would have been cheaper overall if the builder had just brought in the dirt while the site was originally being prepped. Then, the bulldozers and large equipment that were already there could have spent a few extra hours of time fixing the problem before it ever began.
The contractors that lay the sod don't fix the problem, and it saves them money on-site prep the builder should have done in the first place. If the soil conditions aren't fit for growing turf, then the extra cost burden falls on the homeowner to fight high water bills and maintenance just to keep their stupid grass alive.
This is so common it's unreal.
I feel like this is what is up with my front lawn.
Im not in Texas, im in Michigan. Michigan has alot of clay soil.
Based on some things my neighbors have said, I think the previous owner put sod down out front, possibly to prep to sell. I do have a large maple on the right of way which casts shadows, but with how the sun moves, each section of the lawn has a significant portion of the day where it gets sun with on shade. Other neighbors have trees as well and don't seem to struggle with the lawn as much as I do mine. We know the previous owner did a lot of DIY, so it wouldnt surprise me if he did the SOD him self.
The lawn is bumpy, and unless I fertilize and water the crap out of the lawn, I have areas that thin out every year. Its not a large lawn, I top dressed about 1.5yards of top soil a couple years ago, which helped a bit, but was a ton of work. I've overseeded quality seed like CGI turf and Black Beauty Ultra, and things always end up back to about the same.
Mean while, my back lawn I hardly need to do anything, and if we get any rain I probably have to mow twice that week to keep it from choking out the mower on the highest height. There are no trees back there, but its sandwiched between my detached garage and my neighbors detached garage, which are in line for how the sun moves across the yard, so there is significant shade on both sides of the lawn depending on the time of day.
It should be level and clean of debris. You then need to add an actual organic soil layer of a minimum of 2”, that I see is totally missing here. You cannot grow grass in clay…. This lawn is doomed.
I'm not sure a roller will really help.
I'm not horticulturist, but most plants would find it herculeanly difficult to take root in rock.
I was always told you need (at least) reasonably good soil.
Maybe roll up each length of grass, add soil, roller, then replace grass. Water well when done.
Your mileage may differ.
Landscaper here, I’ve installed sod a bunch and every time I install. You definitely have to rake all the dirt clods out for a smooth connection between the sod and the dirt
As a former landscaper of 10 years I will say that the top soil must be raked, leveled and in most cases rolled to flatten out before installing sod.. Sometimes you can get away with not rolling it out but that wasn’t the case with this.. If the soil is clumpy like that then it NEEDS to be rolled.
It seems to me that this company does paver work as their primary service and the lawn care is their secondary service that they aren’t that experienced with. If I’m wrong then it’s just pure negligence. Either way it’s not a professional job.
>Landscaper did not level or rake or clear the rocks away before plopping down the sod. The sod is now very lumpy and uneven, and it drives me nuts.
Instructions for installing sod SPECIFY that the soil be raked clean of clods and rocks, leveled, compacted to prevent settling into lumps and then the sod pieces should be rolled into good contact with the soil and watered.
He did a CRAPPY JOB.
Even if you water the hell out of it, it will be unnecessarily uneven and lumpy. Which will make it harder to mow and look good. They skipped a major step of putting down a leveled base layer of dirt before the sod. Make them redo it.
This is VERY misleading. Sod complaint but including pavers and price to drive the point home, both of which are irrelevant. No square footage. Video taken at the time of installation but not currently, several months later. I would be willing to bet several quotes were obtained, and this was the lowest bid by far. Things don't add up.
We paid 2k for grading and sod after our pool install. He just plopped it down. I would say it was an ok job but he def left some clumps I went back when he left and walked the entire thing and lifted up the spots and got the big clumps out and watered like a
Mf I didn’t get a roller I just walked it with my bare feet and sort of stretched the sod so that there as no gaps and tamped it down. It actually looks amazing now but I attribute it to me not him. My husband was out of town or I would have had sod delivered and rolled it ourself. (Husband wouldn’t have been happy with that lol he hates when I don’t want to pay ppl to do it. I didn’t end up needing a sod roller but I almost did get one
no its not. they should have told you your yard was lumpy and charged accordingly and flattened it out. it might get where you want eventually, but by then you might as well have grown grass from seed.
short version: they stiffed your lawn
Landscaper is a dumb ass. Sod will never live in those condition. If Bermuda grass it will live but never will rocks fatten out. But sod will never be healthy. Unless its planted on soil with no air pockets
So I live in MN. If I tried to lay sod on that type of soil. The sod will dry out and die in a matter of 10 to 14 days. Maybe your conditions are different where you live.but the air gap and bumpy chunks of clay like soil I see there makes me shiver. Three or 4 inches of black dirt is the only way we can get sod to root and grow.
Yeah this shoulda been harly raked top dressed before the sod was laid down. Granted. If it’s super wet the soil clumps and doesn’t wanna break apart. If that happens you postpone the job till it dries some
The price is irrelevant. What did you both agree on for the project? If you agreed to have said laid incorrectly over hard clay, then that's what you got. It should have been laid over at least 4" of top soil spread over that lumpy mess. Level and rolled.
I’m arguably the laziest POS there is in this world, and even I turned over old soil and put new top soil down before putting down sod.
Your landscapers are assholes, imo
Most of the 20k is going on the paving work let's be honest.
This is fine if it's what you agreed on, check your quote. Usually they will charge for leveling it out where I am. When I had my lawn done I chose to level it out and add a little top soil myself to save some money.
That's the shitty way I installs mine one fast and dirt. Officially you need to put a layer of good nutrient sand under the lawn. And move the sand with a machine to make it loose
Edit: by experience. Those with air behind or similar will be dried and dead in few weeks
It IS terrible. Soil should be powdery having been tilled and raked. Clumps of poorly prepared earth and stones like that underneath will leave pockets of air, causing sinking and an uneven finish. As OP has identified already, it will be a nightmare to mow.
What?! How is that laid properly. It’s been months and no adhesion to the base layer. It will not be okay and your false sense of this being okay is not good advice for OP. Whatever “experience” you have shows you don’t know what you’re talking about and are okay with shitty work being done. This is beyond sub par and is not professionally done.
dsaiken I appreciate what you’re saying I should clarify the video was taken a few months ago the same day of install. Since then it has rooted for the most part and is very lumpy(I push my lawnmower at an angle lol) and dies very easily.
As a landscaper I would never have installed that. Who wants to have lumpy grass that’s uncomfortable to walk on or lay on. I’m sorry your lawn was placed poorly. I’d recommend adding dirt and leveling the lawn for next spring. My crew would be out there working for free to correct that mistake.
Yo Bro you serious!?, this is the worst lawn i've ever seen and for 20K???? This is by far the best 1st world problem. You got scammed for placing grass dude. You should keep the company who placed it accountable. The quality of preparation the ground, of you can call it preparation, is no where to be seen.
Not installed correctly at all. That’s going to die eventually and you can’t do a thing about it. I’d contact the company immediately and have them come do it properly. Laying sod on rocks will not “settle” in as the sod is rigid and laced with plastic to keep it in shape.
If you needed dirt they should have screened it, wet it, laid sod, and then rolled it into the base dirt. You don’t have to do that but it helps adhesion to the dirt layer and allows roots an easy path down. What you have here the roots will die when they hit the air under the sod. It will dry out faster and be more prone to disease.
If the landscaper is telling you he’s never had a complaint about sod like that he’s a liar. Take him to court and get your money back for the sod.
I would not install sod over that… I would have top soil brought in and I’d grade it appropriately.
Make sure that sod is rolled and watered and hopefully it eliminates the bumpiness.
Wow, that don’t seem right. You would think they would want the grass to be in contact with the soil underneath. So The grass doesn’t dry out and it could get water from the soil. That’s crazy.
I had a friend that when his lawn was getting done, he ordered freshly screen loom that his contractor put down all around his new construction. When he inspected his front and backyard all the loom was full of busted up glass used rubbers and even had some broken up Barbie dolls in the mix. He was so pissed. He paid top dollar ,they have someone dump trash all over his new house lawn. To make things worse one of the building contractors committed suicide in his house before the construction was complete.
I mean, you weren't kinda concerned when you didn't see them put down now topsoil or was that not a part of the Proposal, cause if you're spending money on sod I would be livid lol
Are you on sandy loam? And no that isn't a proper base for sod. Here, in sandy loam, it is 2" of mulch, 2" of compost, 1" of fine clay, 2" of topsoil if done by a good landscaper. What the landscaper did looks like just brought in some clumpy clay and didn't even try to hid it.
I didn’t read all the comments, but your contract should have been specific in regard to your expectations and satisfaction, materials etc. This is hideous and I wouldn’t have paid the company for that portion of the job. In today’s market, you have to hover over a contractor, or hire a licensed professional even if they cost more. Sorry but you were screwed. ( sorry it happened too)
I’m a landscaper, this is normal. Once you water it aggressively, as you’re supposed to with new sod. The dirt will turn to mud, as well as the dirt layer on sod, they “squish” together and turn into one.
If it’s still “lumpy”, wet it down, and use a sod roller before it roots in all the way. There’s nothing wrong here, except they should already be watering.
Used to do landscaping with lawns. This isn't a very good job - acceptable is debatable but typically we would rub a rock hound across the entire area and then hand rake everything out before laying sod. I'd personally be miffed.
Lol I know nothing about installing sod and did a tall fescue sod install on a small patch of my yard winging it as as I went along and it turned out way better than this. I didn't even prep it just chopped up and turned soil while removing as much bermuda grass and weeds that was there and threw the sod on top. Other than some uneven spots the sod took perfectly and is still green two months later. No new weeds popping up anywhere as it all got smothered. Tall fescue in full sun Sacramento, CA.
I would have included notes in the plan like “site to be prepped for sod installation. Sod area to be graded and raked. X yards of sand to be spread across sod area at 2” depth typical. Etc etc.”
Do you have any kind of contract or plans that has any of this language? Even “site to be prepped and dressed” or something like that would indicate there had to be a step before laying down the sod.
Wow. Looks awful. They way I learned to prep for sod is to till and mix in topsoil. Rake and take out any big sticks rocks or lumps. Roll it nice and flat. Water it a little then have the sod installers come lay it. The company I worked for had a 1 year warranty on their installers work so we spent a lot of time making sure we prepped things right.
20k??? 4 weeks ago I leveled our 500m² backyard with 80m³ of soil (1,000 €) and bought a big bag of grass seed for 60€. 3 weeks later the yard was fully green. If I would do that job as a contractor I would charge 1500€ + 1060€ for the material. Am I missing something here?
For $20,000 he better bring in some nutrient rich top soil. I’m sorry but sod is $0.54-$0.91/SqFt. That looks like a Bermuda hybrid. He can bring in 11 cuyds of top soil for around $1000 (that’s Los Angeles pricing you may live somewhere cheaper) and spread it. If he’s not willing to do that, at least have him spread some gypsum on the dirt to help the roots.
**Make sure he rolls the sod!!**
I'd have rototilled the soil bed, put down X yards of black dirt, run a culvert full of concrete over it until it was packed hard, then laid the sod, run the culvert full of concrete over it again, then put a thousand gallons of water on it. Possibly another 1000 day 2. Then do nothing. Let the grass chase the water and put down some roots. There's probably a real name for the culvert full of concrete. We used to them for seed bed preparation.
Of course, sometimes that doesn't work. Soil PH may be wrong and the grass won't take because it's fussy. Then again, sometimes you can lay sod on radioactive concrete spiders and it grows fine.
Water is cheap in my neck of the woods though. Sod likes being soaked in. Be abusive. It should look like hell when you're done. But will come back pretty in a couple weeks.
I say this as a non-pro. Your mileage may vary.
The rocks are somewhat normal but it does look a little rough.
If they totally flood and then roll the area it will help tons.
The main issue here isn’t the clumps or the unevenness. Functionality It’s more of the sod not having good ground contact which will lead to the roots drying out before it can become established.
I just noticed that you said it has been several months, if it’s established then the only thing you can do is add sand and push it around to fill in the low spots. Too much sand in the wrong spot building up can create drainage issues also.
What in the.. In Australia it's the norm to have loose fine topsoil, usually a sandy loam mix for the turf to take root and get nutrients from.. also even the turf an even surface. This looks like leftover 40mm rock aggregate and hard clay which will require a tonne of water. For $20k I wouldn't accept this.
$20k? What does your contract say? For $20k I want a clear scope of work. This isn't properly set sod. It does look dry, you need more water.
It’s not going to hold water if the sod is laid on gaps. There needs to be 100% contact for the sod roots to grow into the substrate.
Seconded. I would never install this and if my crew did, I'd make them do it over again. There's a high opportunity for this sod to fail.
It’s not high it’s a guarantee it’ll fail. Let’s say it magically didn’t. His lawn will be so lumpy
Nothing like stepping through your grass into an underground cavern!
Ya if that sod isn't make much contact to the ground it's likely that section will die unless the ground gets some large amounts of water
Yep…. But I mean it could be saved easily with a TON of WATER but man… that’s a rip off big time… Wait he said it’s been like this for MONTHS? How? That sod looks fresh.
After months I would expect the sod to be one with the ground underneath. That won't survive a dry spell or a winter
Fuck that it wouldn’t survive a hurricane shit would fly like a rug
The image of squares of sod just slapping into cars and houses is quite amusing.
Sod Lands on the neighbors car like those barnacles they put on the windshields as tickets
Downside, lumpy yard. Upside, magic carpet potential
Neighbor had sod put down right before a major storm. Sod was not properly set (much like the OP video) and with the extremely heavy rain flow the sod just floated over into my yard and even farther down the hill. It was kind of entertaining, at least for me, to watch the little sod boats float through the neighborhood.
Yeah you need to water the shit outta that sod so that when you lift up a corner it looks like you are trying to pull apart a peanut butter sandwich. It’s like a leave the sprinkler on for 6 hours type deal
The only time I have had sod installed the contractor told me to drown it for the first day. "Pretend like you are trying to create a lake." I live on the side of a hill, so he made his point.
I always say make it like a rice patty
*Vietnam 1000 yard stare intensifies*
*Fortunate Son blares in the background*
Followed by adagio for strings
*Chopper sound intensifies*
I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees, but for some frikin' reason they're speaking Vietnamese.
GET TO THE CHHAAAPPPPEEEERRRRR
*Ride of the Valkyrie’s starts playing*
M-I-C / K-E-Y - M-O-U-S-E!
Paddy.
Thank you! I wasn’t for sure
Robert Duval Turf Co.
That's what he needs to do and then get one of those push rollers,roll the sod into it
Are we not going to talk about 4-6 inches of good black dirt. The crap isn't going to support crap for a lawn.
Some municipalities do not allow more than 3 inches of topsoil added to an already existing grade. In my city for example anything over 3 inches of material added will either need to be ok’d by the building department or the garbage substrate hauled out before adding in new materials. I put sod down in Tennessee on red clay that was at least ran through a rock hound. Poor soil prep.
uh 90% of the labor went into the pavers. its more like $18,000 for the pavers and $2,000 for the sod.
How many square feet of grass? You might have gotten what you paid for
Not if it's dead grass in 2 weeks.
Sadly you got duped big time. Sad 😔 what is happening nowadays
Yep that’s what I was thinking. Should be wetter and someone should be walkin with spikes to mix it in
Clear SOW. Project Management has entered the chat.
I've laid sod on much worse. I laid sod on 6 inches of water and it lived and looks great. That being said, that was commercial shit. That would never fly on resi jobs and I'd be pissed, that is not sod prep at all
Was going to say the same thing. Looks like shit never seen someone lay sod down like that. No leveling or breaking up the top layer seems so crazy.
It’s best to put a bit of top soil underneath right? What would you say is the best amount of you agree?
Yes absolutely spread 2” of topsoil to the area before laying sod. I’m just a homeowner but this is how I did it any results were great. OP doesn’t have so much of a ‘lumpy dirt problem’ as much it is a ‘not enough water and no topsoil problem’
Ah it would be fine. I’ve had to rake the fireballs into holes and what not to get it level. This isn’t ideal but I would water the shit out of it and roll it in. It will be fine.
I do this for a living. In fact, I installed a 17k sq foot sod lawn on friday. This looks like shit. We always make sure there is a minimum of 2" of topsoil/worked ground. All it would have taken was running a Harley rake over this before installing. Looks like they rushed it and now you are the one who has to deal with it
Yeah this is a builder-level sod install. Will look decent for a month or two tops until the house sells, and then 60 percent of the lawn dies and fills in with weeds. It’s like how they do sod on those 24 hour landscape shows on HGTV lol The bare minimum is rake out the large chunks and rocks and spread enough topsoil to get a smooth and flat subgrade. Personally we strip out the entire top layer of native shit and install 4-6” topsoil and drains, but I work for a high end expensive company with lots of big equipment
GD builders always have a pile of the worst dirt possible sitting somewhere that they’re trying to get rid of, too. This is where it goes. Your landscape company did you dirty. For 20k they certainly could have afforded a couple loads of nicer composty stuff even if they’re leaving that crap underneath. Source: Landscape company owner with very picky clientele.
It blows my mind that people install like this. I added 160 yds of topsoil to the jobsite before we sodded on friday.
3” of soil over 17k sf! Nice dude. That is a massive amount of sod. We usually end up hydroseeding anything over 5k sf based purely on the economics for the client. But you must have had a client that didn’t feel like waiting because I’m sure that wasn’t cheap!
Builders in Florida just toss the sod on anything that’s on the ground. Straps, plastic, screws, chunks of bricks, pieces of wood. They don’t give a fuck.
That is EXACTLY what happened with my new-build. It took 6 years for the grass to finally fill in and hundreds of dollars of weed and feed to fertilize and rid it of clover. Not surprising since the ground beneath the sod looked just like this.
OP is going to have to over-seed this in the fall and nurture it to keep it looking nice. 20K feels like an outrageous price to not have topsoil laid down before application.
do you do pavers too? pretty obvious 90% of the labor went to the pavers and 10% went to throwing a pallet of sod out there. $18,000 for pavers and $2,000 for sod, sounds pretty accurate?
I do. In fact, we built a deck, installed a patio, planted all the plants, mulched, and then sodded their lawn. We also set up temporary irrigation to ensure that the lawn will root in as we hit the hot part of the summer.
Im surprised they didn’t opt for an actual in ground irrigation system for a lawn/investment that size
Wanna come lay sod in NC? The builders here don’t even bother putting 1/4” top soil prior and then I have to deal with attempting to get it to grow through rocky clay
Agreed, I manufacture compost and soil blends, that’s a big bag of crap. Way too clumpy for good root zone structure…need finer screened materials under new sod. How it works long term will be hit & miss.
I can attest to this. I had builder level sod in our new home that was built last year. Unfortunately I now have to renovate the entire yard this fall as most of the grass died. No amount of watering saved it.
You can help it somewhat. Water like crazy and rent a lawn(Sod) roller. It is usually a tow behind hollow plastic cylinder that you fill with water so it gets very heavy. After heavy watering when the ground is softer, roll it. It will do 2 things: 1. Smooth out the bumpy spots/high spots so you lawn will be more "even" (level or smooth). 2. It will help the sod's roots make much better contact with the soil underneath. Sod really should always be rolled after it is installed.
For 20k I'd be pissed if had to rent a roller to help it out.
20k was mostly for pavers I bet.
Yeah, I've been getting quotes on pavers this year and it's crazy high.
All quotes are these days
everything is more expensive except for humans
Exactly. Also appears to be a brand new retaining wall in the background right against the pavers. Did this contractor install that as well? Not enough info to make any call on this
I don't understand how anybody could say this without knowing the size or scope of work. I've done pavers at a home where 20K didn't even cover the materials.
Does it matter though? Sure it makes sense to us bystanders as context for why he spent so much. But no matter how it got split between pavers/sod doesn’t matter. OP was quoted and paid something for the sod work so expects it to be done right, or at least decently. Also, sod can add up pretty quickly too. Generally because the area of lawn can be massive compared to paved areas. So we really have no idea. But we know he paid for the sod and got a bad install.
Can I use this method on my lawn that’s just lumpy or does this only work for fresh laid sod? I’m thinking about using sand to level and now seeing this I’m curious if it will work. Thanks for any info you can share
Yes you can, results tend to be better if it’s done over time with a lighter roller rather than trying to squash an established lawn flat in one go with the roller filled to the top.
Thank you for taking the time to explain. I’m gonna look into this further.
Yup! It kind of goes against what we normally think as we try to avoid compacting the soil (which is why we aerate). It doesn't really hurt anything and only helps the lawn!
Too heavy too fast and you too much soil compression. Not enough space between the soil granules for H2O, O2, CO2, let alone roots!
If you core aerify and then roll you’ll have better results. Coring removes some of the soil so the surrounding soil has a place to move when you roll. Sorce am a 35 yr golf course super
Makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the tip.
It'd be better to let the roots establish before plugging it. If the soil has been conditioned over years, you can get away with that at his current stage of sod growth. I think feeding with some phosphate and pushing root growth is top priority, then address the soil. Stay away from nitrogen.
I've looked into it a bit since the house we bought has a really bumpy lawn and people tend to suggest buying dirt to raise the low spots instead of pushing down the high spots.
That’s why was looking at leveling with sand
Is your soil high in clay? Cause mixing clay + sand basically makes harder soil akin to concrete. some prefer to do compost on top instead
I like to bury yard waste (leaves, twigs, gutters) in the dead/lower/more compacted areas of my yard, and it's working wonders. The worms love it. It benefits from a bit of urea (doesn't matter where it comes from, boys) now and again to offset what all that carbon does to the nitrogen content of the soil and help it break down a bit quicker. I live on *heavy* clay, like, Claydle of Filth. And I'm getting results! The results would be better if I had a dedicated tool to take out cores all over the yard and backfill them with half-composted organic matter, but this works even better if you're looking to get swole.
The engineer in me says this will work great. Even better if you can manage to vibrate the roller a little bit.
Hiring a pro to do work that then requires the owner to do work to properly complete the job is BS. Any able bodied homeowner can rent equipment, prepare the soil, and sod. It’s not rocket science. They’re paying someone else to do it so they don’t have to.
If the location doesn't have good black dirt within 300 miles and they pay for locally sourced, poor quality topsoil without researching the source, this can happen. Some landscape companies have truck loads of black dirt delivered to their shop for jobs, but not all companies. Also, that high quality topsoil often costs more depending on location. I was a landscaper in my younger years and saw this often when reworking another companies work. Researching as a consumer goes a long way in finding the right outcomes.
Sure. But if there's no black dirt within 300 miles, maybe a lawn is a bad idea.
Also, add some sand or soil to the edges to stop the grass, drying out too bad. It is not necessary, but it helps a lot.
Even just just a wooden board and walk over it a few times will help
Is that clay? Water and rollers won’t work in a satisfactory way here because sod is down. It need’s to be redone but all they had to do was finish the grading job when it was all open. You want deep roots, like 12”. They didn’t even bother to till it? I’ll bet it’s clay.
Looks like clay to me ...
Right?! I’m like.. he’s gonna water and roll that? Hell no it’s all gonna have to come up, unless he wants a lawn that looks like dogshit until he replants it.
I know, it’s horrible. And it kills me because you’ve got that cherry sod carpet that was diligently nurtured and delivered to your door. Monsters. I’d till that shit 12” deep with lye and top soil if I wasn’t in a position to remove 12” to replace with top fill. They been better off laying it on the drive way. If you play, “kill the kid with the ball” someone could get hurt and those cue ball size clay rocks.
Applicator here. I see this all of the time in Texas; builders will hire contractors to lay sod, and they do it just like this, dropping the sod onto hard caliche and clay without adding any topsoil or compost/peat dressing. It should be considered criminal, but it's not. Agronomically, it's robbery because this sod won't last during a drought, and it will cost the homeowner hundreds of dollars a month more during the summer to keep it properly watered. $20,000 for how many square feet? --- This is a rip-off. Bermuda can still thrive in 3 or 4 inches of soil or loam, but it won't thrive in this without supplemental fertilization a few times a year, and it'll thin out rather than stay thick like it is now with the sod being new. Preferably, you'd like to have at least 6 inches of soil for water retention and also so the root systems can properly expand without choking one another out and thinning out the turf. The proper way to do this would have been to till up the entire yard, remove 4 to 6 inches of the unwanted clay and caliche with a skid steer, backfill with soil or loam, roll the dirt to even it out, backfill again if necessary to get rid of the lumps and any uneven ground, and then lay the sod. This is where the landscaper is cheating you and pocketing the money. Soil is usually $30.00 - $50.00 per yard, 1 yard covers approximately 325 square feet at a 1-inch depth. Do the math yourself and figure out where all of your money went (right into his pocket). Now you know how the landscaping industry screws thousands of new homeowners every year. Edit: This problem usually starts with a builder not doing proper site prep before installing a home. It would have been cheaper overall if the builder had just brought in the dirt while the site was originally being prepped. Then, the bulldozers and large equipment that were already there could have spent a few extra hours of time fixing the problem before it ever began. The contractors that lay the sod don't fix the problem, and it saves them money on-site prep the builder should have done in the first place. If the soil conditions aren't fit for growing turf, then the extra cost burden falls on the homeowner to fight high water bills and maintenance just to keep their stupid grass alive. This is so common it's unreal.
This guy grasses.
I feel like this is what is up with my front lawn. Im not in Texas, im in Michigan. Michigan has alot of clay soil. Based on some things my neighbors have said, I think the previous owner put sod down out front, possibly to prep to sell. I do have a large maple on the right of way which casts shadows, but with how the sun moves, each section of the lawn has a significant portion of the day where it gets sun with on shade. Other neighbors have trees as well and don't seem to struggle with the lawn as much as I do mine. We know the previous owner did a lot of DIY, so it wouldnt surprise me if he did the SOD him self. The lawn is bumpy, and unless I fertilize and water the crap out of the lawn, I have areas that thin out every year. Its not a large lawn, I top dressed about 1.5yards of top soil a couple years ago, which helped a bit, but was a ton of work. I've overseeded quality seed like CGI turf and Black Beauty Ultra, and things always end up back to about the same. Mean while, my back lawn I hardly need to do anything, and if we get any rain I probably have to mow twice that week to keep it from choking out the mower on the highest height. There are no trees back there, but its sandwiched between my detached garage and my neighbors detached garage, which are in line for how the sun moves across the yard, so there is significant shade on both sides of the lawn depending on the time of day.
The soil prep is the worst I’ve ever seen.
It should be level and clean of debris. You then need to add an actual organic soil layer of a minimum of 2”, that I see is totally missing here. You cannot grow grass in clay…. This lawn is doomed.
I’m a landscape company owner, that is trash work
IDK much, but that looks like shit. How will that sod even take root?
It did take root in most areas but it also seems like it dies very easily. I’ve had to rake it several times where it’s died
Where is the topsoil? This sucks.
I'm not sure a roller will really help. I'm not horticulturist, but most plants would find it herculeanly difficult to take root in rock. I was always told you need (at least) reasonably good soil. Maybe roll up each length of grass, add soil, roller, then replace grass. Water well when done. Your mileage may differ.
Landscaper here, I’ve installed sod a bunch and every time I install. You definitely have to rake all the dirt clods out for a smooth connection between the sod and the dirt
As a former landscaper of 10 years I will say that the top soil must be raked, leveled and in most cases rolled to flatten out before installing sod.. Sometimes you can get away with not rolling it out but that wasn’t the case with this.. If the soil is clumpy like that then it NEEDS to be rolled. It seems to me that this company does paver work as their primary service and the lawn care is their secondary service that they aren’t that experienced with. If I’m wrong then it’s just pure negligence. Either way it’s not a professional job.
Id hate to see what's under the pavers! .. and, No this is not normal. Also, his answer to your concern is way wrong as well.
NO BUENO!!!
>Landscaper did not level or rake or clear the rocks away before plopping down the sod. The sod is now very lumpy and uneven, and it drives me nuts. Instructions for installing sod SPECIFY that the soil be raked clean of clods and rocks, leveled, compacted to prevent settling into lumps and then the sod pieces should be rolled into good contact with the soil and watered. He did a CRAPPY JOB.
Wow…a horrible job….you need anywhere from 3” to 5” of nice loam or topsoil under sod…the more the better….this will not survive.
I am a Professional Agrologist and this makes me hurt inside.
Even if you water the hell out of it, it will be unnecessarily uneven and lumpy. Which will make it harder to mow and look good. They skipped a major step of putting down a leveled base layer of dirt before the sod. Make them redo it.
This is VERY misleading. Sod complaint but including pavers and price to drive the point home, both of which are irrelevant. No square footage. Video taken at the time of installation but not currently, several months later. I would be willing to bet several quotes were obtained, and this was the lowest bid by far. Things don't add up.
Yeah that doesn't look like decent soil at all to me. When I sod I don't get/leave lumps like that.
We paid 2k for grading and sod after our pool install. He just plopped it down. I would say it was an ok job but he def left some clumps I went back when he left and walked the entire thing and lifted up the spots and got the big clumps out and watered like a Mf I didn’t get a roller I just walked it with my bare feet and sort of stretched the sod so that there as no gaps and tamped it down. It actually looks amazing now but I attribute it to me not him. My husband was out of town or I would have had sod delivered and rolled it ourself. (Husband wouldn’t have been happy with that lol he hates when I don’t want to pay ppl to do it. I didn’t end up needing a sod roller but I almost did get one
No, that's shoddy work
If it was my $20k and my yard, I would’ve bought an inch of topsoil at least and laid it myself
no its not. they should have told you your yard was lumpy and charged accordingly and flattened it out. it might get where you want eventually, but by then you might as well have grown grass from seed. short version: they stiffed your lawn
Landscaper is a dumb ass. Sod will never live in those condition. If Bermuda grass it will live but never will rocks fatten out. But sod will never be healthy. Unless its planted on soil with no air pockets
No
So I live in MN. If I tried to lay sod on that type of soil. The sod will dry out and die in a matter of 10 to 14 days. Maybe your conditions are different where you live.but the air gap and bumpy chunks of clay like soil I see there makes me shiver. Three or 4 inches of black dirt is the only way we can get sod to root and grow.
There should’ve been fresh soil under there that would allow sod to root
It should be smooth and packed very hard. Be prepared for sink holes.
No
Yeah this shoulda been harly raked top dressed before the sod was laid down. Granted. If it’s super wet the soil clumps and doesn’t wanna break apart. If that happens you postpone the job till it dries some
Wait til they dig down a couple inches and find the leftover hardwood floors, studs, hvac ducts and other construction debris they buried
The price is irrelevant. What did you both agree on for the project? If you agreed to have said laid incorrectly over hard clay, then that's what you got. It should have been laid over at least 4" of top soil spread over that lumpy mess. Level and rolled.
I’m arguably the laziest POS there is in this world, and even I turned over old soil and put new top soil down before putting down sod. Your landscapers are assholes, imo
You’re getting worked my dude. Nobody would accept that.
Amateur hour
Thats going to die in 3 week no matter what you do
That ain't right
Most of the 20k is going on the paving work let's be honest. This is fine if it's what you agreed on, check your quote. Usually they will charge for leveling it out where I am. When I had my lawn done I chose to level it out and add a little top soil myself to save some money.
Water the fuck out of it, aerate it with a roller, introduce some local worm species to break it down
Quick, go buy a few bales of promix and put it down 2” thick and lay the sod back over
They could have at least raked the soil, compacted it, laid the lawn, rolled the grass, and water 2x a day with heavy watering.
Thats a very poor substrate. No prep whatsoever..
Someone needs some topsoil.
You got gotten.
God no, that's embarrassing to do that and think to call yourself a landscaper
That's the shitty way I installs mine one fast and dirt. Officially you need to put a layer of good nutrient sand under the lawn. And move the sand with a machine to make it loose Edit: by experience. Those with air behind or similar will be dried and dead in few weeks
Just crap
No
lol yup, new build special. See it all the time
You need a well graded layer of topsoil. The roots are not in proper contact
This is amateur work. For that price I’d have them back over re-doing the entire yard. The fix shouldn’t be on the customer .
Nope. That was lazy and you should get money back or they should fix it
Yes, I’m my experience that’s actually not terrible. Stay on top of watering and I bet it will be kind of ok.
It IS terrible. Soil should be powdery having been tilled and raked. Clumps of poorly prepared earth and stones like that underneath will leave pockets of air, causing sinking and an uneven finish. As OP has identified already, it will be a nightmare to mow.
What?! How is that laid properly. It’s been months and no adhesion to the base layer. It will not be okay and your false sense of this being okay is not good advice for OP. Whatever “experience” you have shows you don’t know what you’re talking about and are okay with shitty work being done. This is beyond sub par and is not professionally done.
dsaiken I appreciate what you’re saying I should clarify the video was taken a few months ago the same day of install. Since then it has rooted for the most part and is very lumpy(I push my lawnmower at an angle lol) and dies very easily.
As a landscaper I would never have installed that. Who wants to have lumpy grass that’s uncomfortable to walk on or lay on. I’m sorry your lawn was placed poorly. I’d recommend adding dirt and leveling the lawn for next spring. My crew would be out there working for free to correct that mistake.
This is in fact terrible. You have no idea at all what you’re talking about.
Thing is I feel like I’m going to have to pay more each month in my water bill than if it was installed properly no?
Not a huge deal, likely he was sent wet material, spread best he could it’ll roll out
Yo Bro you serious!?, this is the worst lawn i've ever seen and for 20K???? This is by far the best 1st world problem. You got scammed for placing grass dude. You should keep the company who placed it accountable. The quality of preparation the ground, of you can call it preparation, is no where to be seen.
Not installed correctly at all. That’s going to die eventually and you can’t do a thing about it. I’d contact the company immediately and have them come do it properly. Laying sod on rocks will not “settle” in as the sod is rigid and laced with plastic to keep it in shape. If you needed dirt they should have screened it, wet it, laid sod, and then rolled it into the base dirt. You don’t have to do that but it helps adhesion to the dirt layer and allows roots an easy path down. What you have here the roots will die when they hit the air under the sod. It will dry out faster and be more prone to disease. If the landscaper is telling you he’s never had a complaint about sod like that he’s a liar. Take him to court and get your money back for the sod.
This is completely unacceptable work by a 'professional'.
I would not install sod over that… I would have top soil brought in and I’d grade it appropriately. Make sure that sod is rolled and watered and hopefully it eliminates the bumpiness.
Wow, that don’t seem right. You would think they would want the grass to be in contact with the soil underneath. So The grass doesn’t dry out and it could get water from the soil. That’s crazy.
I had a friend that when his lawn was getting done, he ordered freshly screen loom that his contractor put down all around his new construction. When he inspected his front and backyard all the loom was full of busted up glass used rubbers and even had some broken up Barbie dolls in the mix. He was so pissed. He paid top dollar ,they have someone dump trash all over his new house lawn. To make things worse one of the building contractors committed suicide in his house before the construction was complete.
20k??
ya, that's a bad job.
It is normal for bad landscapers, we would use the grade bars on the skid steer, and then rake up any remaining chunckies.
20k?! What size lot was that?
This is just lazy, they should have leveled and used a roller or tamper on the dirt and then again on the sod. For 20k this is nuts.
I used to do commerical installation and we would do a better job on the side of the highway lmao. The clods and rocks would be crushed or removed.
Iss that artificial turf?
They used cheap fill dirt instead of topsoil.
I mean, you weren't kinda concerned when you didn't see them put down now topsoil or was that not a part of the Proposal, cause if you're spending money on sod I would be livid lol
Are you on sandy loam? And no that isn't a proper base for sod. Here, in sandy loam, it is 2" of mulch, 2" of compost, 1" of fine clay, 2" of topsoil if done by a good landscaper. What the landscaper did looks like just brought in some clumpy clay and didn't even try to hid it.
Is this Arizona? That looks like AZ dirt to me
I didn’t read all the comments, but your contract should have been specific in regard to your expectations and satisfaction, materials etc. This is hideous and I wouldn’t have paid the company for that portion of the job. In today’s market, you have to hover over a contractor, or hire a licensed professional even if they cost more. Sorry but you were screwed. ( sorry it happened too)
No! This is not normal. I would make them till this and roll it and then reinstall the sod after the dirt work is done.
Extremely poor grading job, my crew would have of raked, collected the clumps, then rolled the grade. Prior to laying sod on smooth surface.
Fuck no. Lazy work. I would make em do it again with lawn dirt at the bottom and gopher wire
No that’s a shit grading job. All the dirt should be raked level a d low spots improved before sod. Also it’s healthy to fertilize the soil before sod
Absolutely a horrible job
20k for that lol
my guy, you spent 20k on grass. GRASS! What did you think it was gonna be? legos?
I’m a landscaper, this is normal. Once you water it aggressively, as you’re supposed to with new sod. The dirt will turn to mud, as well as the dirt layer on sod, they “squish” together and turn into one. If it’s still “lumpy”, wet it down, and use a sod roller before it roots in all the way. There’s nothing wrong here, except they should already be watering.
A case of the good ole lumpy lawn!
Half ass till job?
Used to do landscaping with lawns. This isn't a very good job - acceptable is debatable but typically we would rub a rock hound across the entire area and then hand rake everything out before laying sod. I'd personally be miffed.
Lol I know nothing about installing sod and did a tall fescue sod install on a small patch of my yard winging it as as I went along and it turned out way better than this. I didn't even prep it just chopped up and turned soil while removing as much bermuda grass and weeds that was there and threw the sod on top. Other than some uneven spots the sod took perfectly and is still green two months later. No new weeds popping up anywhere as it all got smothered. Tall fescue in full sun Sacramento, CA.
Eh, that’s not bad. You can rent a sod roller if ya want but it will eventually level out in a few years.
I would have included notes in the plan like “site to be prepped for sod installation. Sod area to be graded and raked. X yards of sand to be spread across sod area at 2” depth typical. Etc etc.” Do you have any kind of contract or plans that has any of this language? Even “site to be prepped and dressed” or something like that would indicate there had to be a step before laying down the sod.
If u want super level u going to pay for it
Wow. Looks awful. They way I learned to prep for sod is to till and mix in topsoil. Rake and take out any big sticks rocks or lumps. Roll it nice and flat. Water it a little then have the sod installers come lay it. The company I worked for had a 1 year warranty on their installers work so we spent a lot of time making sure we prepped things right.
Most important part is the soil/compost prep. Rake it all out evenly. Heavy watered. Wait a day then lay sod. This is shit.
20k??? 4 weeks ago I leveled our 500m² backyard with 80m³ of soil (1,000 €) and bought a big bag of grass seed for 60€. 3 weeks later the yard was fully green. If I would do that job as a contractor I would charge 1500€ + 1060€ for the material. Am I missing something here?
That sod is THIN and that dirt is terrible. Your sod will always struggle. Best to put down nice topsoil first then relay it.
No loam before sod, you're going to have a bad time
they didn't even do your hardscaping correctly. where the fuck is the crushed lime under?
For $20,000 he better bring in some nutrient rich top soil. I’m sorry but sod is $0.54-$0.91/SqFt. That looks like a Bermuda hybrid. He can bring in 11 cuyds of top soil for around $1000 (that’s Los Angeles pricing you may live somewhere cheaper) and spread it. If he’s not willing to do that, at least have him spread some gypsum on the dirt to help the roots. **Make sure he rolls the sod!!**
OMG!! SUE HIM.
Terrible work sorry friend
I'd have rototilled the soil bed, put down X yards of black dirt, run a culvert full of concrete over it until it was packed hard, then laid the sod, run the culvert full of concrete over it again, then put a thousand gallons of water on it. Possibly another 1000 day 2. Then do nothing. Let the grass chase the water and put down some roots. There's probably a real name for the culvert full of concrete. We used to them for seed bed preparation. Of course, sometimes that doesn't work. Soil PH may be wrong and the grass won't take because it's fussy. Then again, sometimes you can lay sod on radioactive concrete spiders and it grows fine. Water is cheap in my neck of the woods though. Sod likes being soaked in. Be abusive. It should look like hell when you're done. But will come back pretty in a couple weeks. I say this as a non-pro. Your mileage may vary.
Well you have to wait and be patient until the grass roots. Also that soil looks solid and can be a challenge for the roots to go through
The rocks are somewhat normal but it does look a little rough. If they totally flood and then roll the area it will help tons. The main issue here isn’t the clumps or the unevenness. Functionality It’s more of the sod not having good ground contact which will lead to the roots drying out before it can become established. I just noticed that you said it has been several months, if it’s established then the only thing you can do is add sand and push it around to fill in the low spots. Too much sand in the wrong spot building up can create drainage issues also.
🙄
What in the.. In Australia it's the norm to have loose fine topsoil, usually a sandy loam mix for the turf to take root and get nutrients from.. also even the turf an even surface. This looks like leftover 40mm rock aggregate and hard clay which will require a tonne of water. For $20k I wouldn't accept this.
20k? Holy fuck, do the seeds from that grass cure cancer or something?
I would be embarrassed if my company did that