670 rolls of sod, a rake & a 10 year old son???

[SPIKER]

scott: all those gaps and brown dead checker board spots makes it easier to play back yard games , (such as adult chess wher you use actual people) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif or checkers using coutch pillows lol

sorry to hear he is going to have major problems shortly.

also wet daily lightly and seed (with same seed all joints and gaps to help them dissappear quiclky)
soil should be tilled leveled and soft & moist prior to laying then rolled after and wetted every day at night for a week or two then only as needed to keep alive.) also WET UNDER the roll just piror to installing sod if possable.

hydro seeding is great stuff, works fast grows STRONG grass and does so opractacally overnight.

seems if he was that much into saving money seeding woudl have been way to go but again have to WAIT for a good green lawn for a while, little wife may want to intertain right away, (also soemthign that should not be done on sod right away... stay off as much as possabl efor first month I've been told not 100% sure on that though.


Mark M

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Your friend is right on.

Sixty seven hundred square feet isn't that much.

He'll be tired. Kid will be tired.

But at the end of the day they'll have a memory big enough to last a lifetime, maybe two.

And even if they don't get it all down the first day the second won't have much left to be done.

Now this is based upon a man working and kid helping.

If the pallets are placed properly where one doesn't have to move a pallet of grass to lay down another one or they are left out on the street and the grass has to be hauled back to the backyard.

Kudos to your friend. I like his spirit.

(this is based upon a real life excerise earlier this year. We, a crew, cut and rolled an area at least that size and then unrolled it after I'd redone the grading. The hard part was operating the sod cutter. But the hardest part of the laying it down was getting the material into an easy access point.)

It's only work.

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I just don't understand why he wanted to sod vs. seed? )</font>

Because it's Instant Lawn !

I've built two houses in my adult life, and I seeded both yards. And in both cases, either the neighbor adjacent to me or at least one lot down sodded at the same time that I seeded. Sure, two months later their lawn looked somewhat better - kinda sorta /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. If you don't mind occassional patches of dead grass, and strips between the pieces of sod that were uneven and so the lawn was very rough. And that doesn't even include the guy a block down who's sod was infected with some kind of virus and the entire lawn died about a month later. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

But 1 year later, you'd be hard pressed to be able to determine which was seeded and which was sodded.

I really believe, that over the long haul, a seeded lawn is healthier and better looking than a sodded lawn.

But hey, that's just one guys' opinion. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Harv, I respect this guy a lot, I just think he might be in for more than he expected. He's a city boy from Chicago, grew up without a yard. He just moved from a townhouse to the suburbs and hasn't mowed a lawn, even a small one, in at least 20, maybe 30 years.

He and I sit around and talk about my yard projects, the playhouse I built my daughter, the stone path I just completed, numerous plantings, etc. But I've got all sorts of equipment laying around to help me, and I'm not afraid to hire help or rent bigger equipment. This guy didn't even know he had to have the ground tilled before laying down the sod. He honestly thought that the "final grading" done over a month ago was all that was needed. Well since the final grade was put in we've had several inches of rain, he's also had equipment all over that back yard because he had a 15' by 40' patio put in, all of which has compacted that soil. So he was going to take his leaf rake and break up the crust and roll the sod.

So while I respect him for wanting to do it, I really think he will be getting a reality check when he sees the load of sod dropped off. And about the time little Mikey tries to carry a roll from the drive around the back of the house, that is about the time I expect him to lose his helper. You see, my friend doesn't own any yard tools like a wheel barrow or even a little garden cart. He owns a rake. And I think when I helped him move in 6 weeks ago, I think I saw a shovel.

Like I said, I think he is in for a big reality check.

But a tractor, tiller, drag, roller and some extra fuel is showing up tomorrow at his office.

 

[LWFrisk]

I have no doubt that he and his son can complete the job. Will they be exhaused when they finish, YES!, but they will feel good at their accomplishment. Just a bit over a year ago, my 15 year old son and I installed a bit over 5,500 square feet of sod in my front yard. The attached photo was taken late this afternoon. The supplier delivered 5 pallets in my driveway at 7AM. We used a small loader to move a bucket load at a time near where we installed it. At 12:30 that afternoon, we had finished, cleaned up and turned on the irrigation system. I am 70, have cancer and am on Chemo. Why did I do it myself? I wanted it done my way, because I could and in addition, my Oncologist says work is the best therepy there is for me.

If you would like to see the work as it progressed, they are in my Yahoo Photo Allbum Sod Day .

 

[RonR]

About 12 yrs ago, we put in a 24' above ground pool. Tried to seed around it, but that was a losing battle. Bought 3 pallets of sod. At that time, they were in like 18x24" chunks. We were told you have to have it on the ground and being watered no later than noon the next day (after it was dug/delivered).

We were never so sore in our whole lives! Since we were going around a ROUND pool, we had to trim a LOT of the chunks. We ruined about a dozen steak knives cutting that stuff.

My guess is we did a 40 x 40 area, which is a LOT less than your friend is doing. We had three adults and 2 kids that totaled 10 yrs............... We were zonked when we were done!

I feel for what he's getting into. I hope he has a sprinkler system in already--you have to water fescue like 9 straight days--and you can't walk on it to move sprinklers!

Ron

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Wow, that's a lot of backfill in your back yard (I can see it over the house). You must have dug a huge basement.

That's a fine looking yard and house, by the way. I like the roof especially.

Cliff

 

[RonR]

I bet he built that dirt pile with his BX!

 

[Junkman]

I suggest that he call the supplier and ask them to deliver half a load tomorrow and the rest another time. Putting down the sod isn't the problem, it is getting it in place that will be the difficult part. Even with a tractor, I wouldn't want to be moving all that "dirt". Sod is mostly soil and roots, and it is extremely heavy. I would have voted for hydro seeding the area. Don't forget to bring you camera with you when you go to visit. We will all appreciate the pictures.
I am in the process of preparing about 20,000 square feet for seeding or hydro seeding. Not certain exactly which way I am going to go.... It is a matter of how tired I will be when I finally finish raking the rocks out. Spent 5 hours on the tractor today and didn't even make a dent in one area. I am certain that there must be an easier way, but I just haven't found out what it is... except to pay someone else to do it.

 

[Junkman]

What is that brown mountain behind your home? I thought that Stone Mountain was in Georgia, not California. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Nice looking home you have there. My best to you for a speedy and successful recovery..