Grass Seeds or SOD in backyard (Houston, Katy: new house, neighborhood, buying)

[Panda_Puck]

Hey All,

I am buying a new house in Katy (in few weeks) and have few question about backyard grass and sprinkler system.
Builder will give me backyard which is leveled but will not have any grass or sprinkler system.
The yard is no more than 2500 sqft.

1. Do i really need a full fledged sprinkler system or will one of those oscillating sprinklers work?
2. Since the yard would already be leveled, can i just sprinkle some grass seeds and fertilizer or SOD would be better? I am in no rush for the grass to grown and can wait.

Builder was asking $3500 for both and i thought its too high.

Thanks,

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by Panda_Puck

Hey All,

I am buying a new house in Katy (in few weeks) and have few question about backyard grass and sprinkler system.
Builder will give me backyard which is leveled but will not have any grass or sprinkler system.
The yard is no more than 2500 sqft.

1. Do i really need a full fledged sprinkler system or will one of those oscillating sprinklers work?
2. Since the yard would already be leveled, can i just sprinkle some grass seeds and fertilizer or SOD would be better? I am in no rush for the grass to grown and can wait.

Builder was asking $3500 for both and i thought its too high.

Thanks,

Builders will always charge a premium, and you can only compare the cost to doing it yourself to that. Every other person/business will want to be paid for their time, and materials of course. The advantage you would have in not getting the builder to do it is take your time and research the different types of grass available and have a choice. You don't get many choices with a builder, and as soon as you ask for something out of the ordinary, they see it as an opportunity to raise the price. I've always replaced my St Agustin with Zoysia, or some variety of Bermuda, nice lawns.

That said, a 2500 sq ft lawn could be done on a couple of zones with multiple heads, but you would probably want zones for shrubs and/or plants, so more than a couple. Then there is the side of the house, you don't want it constantly wet, etc. The box stores give away free planners, I'd suggest reading those.

How about a drip irrigation system? I installed one in my latest "yard re-do". They are silent, rarely need maintenance, and save up to 80% on water usage because the lines are burried and the roots get the water/nutrients directly, there is never spray, or evaporation, the grass is always dry on the surface.

Lastly, most people just use the oscillating sprinklers, it is the easiest thing to do, and cheapest. You just have to remember to set it out, and turn it off during dry spells. Some years you get lucky and never have to water your yard, but we have not had one of those seasons in a long time.

[rusty2006]

We got my with some sort of sprinkler for years. You would be fine, except for those dry spells, then the sprikler system is a lot handier. Personally, I wouldn't spend the $$ for the system, but I'm frugal.

Sod vs seed? Most lawns are St. Augustine, which can't really be seeded. What I've done is sod half the yard, like a checkerboard and then let it fill in. It took a month or so. I wouldn't fertilize until the second year if you're thinking about broadcasting solid fertilizer. You could spray liquid fertilizer with a hose end sprayer every few weeks, if you like.

Seed would be coastal bermuda, which is more drought resistant. They use it in my neighborhood in some of the common areas. It's a finer bladed grass that some find more attractive. It's a nuisance if it isn't controlled. It spreads with underground runners and if you want to have flower beds back there and don't keep it under control, you'll be cursing it.

Personally, I'd get some SA sod and a sprinkler and be done with it. You may have trouble finding sod this late in the season. If you do, it may look like hell (yellow). No worries, water it and it'll come back.

[newtype_seiki]

If you decide to lay down seed, you'll likely be battling weeds until the lawn establishes.

I had to deal with this issue, and I went with St Augustine, laid it myself (definitely get a couple friends to help) and a sprinkler attached to a garden hose.

For sod, if you got St. Augustine and are willing to lay it all down yourself, for 2500 sq ft, that is probably going to cost somewhere between $700-$800. I'd definitely get that from a grass company like Houston Grass South or Grimes Grass Company.

I checkerboarded a couple spots when I ran low on grass, and it did indeed fill in, but you can feel a little unevenness in the ground.

Oscillating sprinklers work, but it is a little bit of a hassle to constantly move them, and move the hose out of the way when it's time to mow.

[kbayer]

We recently had about the same size of area of yours sodded. Our builder offered it along with a sprinkler system as well, but we just weren't in a hurry to have it done at their pricing. We found a local company and they quoted us about $850 for St. Augustine (I think there was option to grade as well for $400 more). We weren't too critical -- just wanted grass.
On day one it was beautiful. We were told to water frequently for 2 -3 hours at a time if possible. We did. I found a timer at Walmart that connects to the faucet and ran a hose out to a sprinkler. I shifted the sprinkler around a few times a day and other than that, just watched to see how it would turn out.
On day 5 or so, there "seemed" to be several dead areas, and we were told that was normal. It stayed that way for about 3 weeks and we were starting to second guess our decisions -- but by around week four, everything was green and flourishing. So far, just using the a hose and sprinkler (coupled with the recent rains), it's hard to keep the growth under control, lol. We're still considering have a system put in much later, but I'm guessing that we won't. We'll see...

[naadarien]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Builders will always charge a premium, and you can only compare the cost to doing it yourself to that. Every other person/business will want to be paid for their time, and materials of course. The advantage you would have in not getting the builder to do it is take your time and research the different types of grass available and have a choice. You don't get many choices with a builder, and as soon as you ask for something out of the ordinary, they see it as an opportunity to raise the price. I've always replaced my St Agustin with Zoysia, or some variety of Bermuda, nice lawns.

That said, a 2500 sq ft lawn could be done on a couple of zones with multiple heads, but you would probably want zones for shrubs and/or plants, so more than a couple. Then there is the side of the house, you don't want it constantly wet, etc. The box stores give away free planners, I'd suggest reading those.

How about a drip irrigation system? I installed one in my latest "yard re-do". They are silent, rarely need maintenance, and save up to 80% on water usage because the lines are burried and the roots get the water/nutrients directly, there is never spray, or evaporation, the grass is always dry on the surface.

Lastly, most people just use the oscillating sprinklers, it is the easiest thing to do, and cheapest. You just have to remember to set it out, and turn it off during dry spells. Some years you get lucky and never have to water your yard, but we have not had one of those seasons in a long time.

Completely agree with this. I'd go with drip irrigation. In the drier times, you'll be thanking yourself. Besides, it is just a way more earth-friendly way to go...and can cost way less than a sprinkler system.

I bought a few hoses at Wal-Mart, paid a plumber to put a 4-way spigot nearby some of my flower beds, and then just ran the hoses. A bush covers the spigot so not one sees the hoses. Took me a couple of hours and I never have to water those beds. JS.

[Panda_Puck]

Thanks all for your inputs, it definitely helps.

@Kbayer,
Do you mind sharing the name of the company which sodded your yard.

Thanks,

[haudi]

If you don't sod, be prepared to kiss your grade on the yard goodbye at the first rain and get ready for the misery of improper lawn drainage until you regrade and put something in to stop the erosion.

[crone]

Our first new house in Houston had sod and a landscaped front and they sprigged the back. Just took a section of sod, cut it into 4 inch squares with a machete. The guy took his heal and kicked a hole, dropped the sprig into it and them stepped on it. In a month the yard was coved in grass.

He took great delight in telling folks from the north to go to the feed store and get a couple of pounds of Bermuda seed and toss it around. Some people did it. They never got the Bermuda out of the flower beds.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Panda_Puck

Thanks all for your inputs, it definitely helps.

@Kbayer,
Do you mind sharing the name of the company which sodded your yard.

Thanks,

I'd do sod. I sodded our back yard by myself, but it was probably about half that size.