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We had friends who spent around $8K installing fescue and an irrigation system in Chapel Hill. They spent around $500 a month on water. Once they figured out how much it was to water the property, they let it all go and lost the pretty yard. Their property was about 3/4 of an acre. No way in h#ll would I install fescue in CH. OWASA charges higher rates as your usage goes up.
Something is wrong with this picture. Fescue doesn't stay green in the summer but it doesn't die. it just goes dormant. I know plenty of folks who rarely water in summer and fescue comes back. Now we have to maintain regular maintenance like pre emergent, fertilizer at right time and water at the right time when we do water. Early morning is best...late evening is worse. I bet your friends could have cut way down on the watering and still not lost their yard. It costs way more to have to reinstall no matter what type you choose.
Besides if fescue was so bad why do so many people prefer it. I'll bet in Chapel Hill there are substantially more fescue lawns than any other type.
17k for everything to get Fescue, or free to get Bermuda. I believe you may be overthinking this, as it is just grass. I can't believe they are charging 4k more just for the different sod with same coverage. I believe Fescue and Bermuda are pretty similarly priced?
No kidding! I have a Super Sod pricing sheet that shows $190 per pallet for Elite Tall Fescue (14-20 pallet pricing) and $190 per pallet for Tifway 419 Bermuda or $210 per pallet of TifGrand Bermuda.
We had friends who spent around $8K installing fescue and an irrigation system in Chapel Hill. They spent around $500 a month on water.
My summer water bill peaks at about $180/month on an average size lot. I could see getting to $500 if you have a large lot (e.g. 1 acre) with lots of lawn area and water heavily (perhaps excessively). (Note that irrigation is permitted to run 3 days a week in the OWASA service area.)
Fescue doesn't stay green in the summer but it doesn't die. it just goes dormant. I know plenty of folks who rarely water in summer and fescue comes back.
The choice is "Do you want brown grass in the summer (fescue) or brown grass in the winter (Zoysia, Bermdua, etc)?" I like the looks of Fescue, especially in the spring when the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming. However, I have given up on the constant fall reseeding and am switching to Bermuda.
My grass is fescue. It's green pretty much all year long.
Mine too and we don't water too much except that first year. Actually have less to mow in summer is much better than pleasant mowing in the fall. not much mowing at all for a few months in the winter.
Thanks. Is it easy to seed Fescue if you have already Bermuda? I do not know much about grass as it is our first home.
The problem will be getting rid of the bermuda. It is pretty much impossible to kill completely. What you would need to do is roundup it around early August and then again 2 weeks later. Then wait 2 more weeks and reseed. To make sure the bermuda doesn't come back, the following summer, you'll likely need to use 4 applications of Turflon Ester. If it were me, I'd do nothing now and wait until fall. If the builder insists on grass, he could seed rye which will look good for a little while and will die by the end of the summer.
Pros to Hybrid Bermuda-
No irrigation required
No overseeding
Weed resistant
Grows horizontally to fill in on its own
Very attractive in warm months when properly maintained
Cons to Hybrid Bermuda-
Dormant in winter
Pros to Fescue-
Potentially attractive year-round* (key word-POTENTIALLY)
Cons to Fescue
Needs Irrigation
Needs Aeration/Overseeding annually at a cost of at least a few hundred dollars for the size lawn you will have
Will NOT survive in direct sun conditions no matter how much water you throw at it
I replaced my Fescue with Bermuda after realizing that unless I installed irrigation I had no shot at keeping it alive. Even then, the yearly upkeep costs are far higher than Bermuda.
The last thing to consider is the type of exposure and sun your grass will get. The front of my house faces due East-my front lawn is blasted by sunlight from sunrise until mid afternoon when the sun drops behind the house and trees behind. That much direct sunlight is tailor made for Bermuda.
The problem will be getting rid of the bermuda. It is pretty much impossible to kill completely. What you would need to do is roundup it around early August and then again 2 weeks later. Then wait 2 more weeks and reseed. To make sure the bermuda doesn't come back, the following summer, you'll likely need to use 4 applications of Turflon Ester. If it were me, I'd do nothing now and wait until fall. If the builder insists on grass, he could seed rye which will look good for a little while and will die by the end of the summer.
thanks. Will try to do this if we can (with builder).
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I can't believe they are charging 4k more just for the different sod with same coverage. I believe Fescue and Bermuda are pretty similarly priced?
