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so my lawn is utterly wrecked and we are basically starting from scratch. the property is 1 acre. i have a proposal for sod $17,900 vs seeding at $8500. so there is a pretty big premium for sod. i dont mind waiting for it to grow, its failure and follow up work that i am more concerned about. i have done some online research and it seems like the fall is the best time for this but i wasnt able to do it last fall.
Seeding rates for tall fescue lawns are between 220-435 pounds seeded per acre.
High quality seed maxes out at about $2.50/lb retail = ~ $550-1000
How much of EITHER quote is for the soil prep work?
And will it include the irrigation too?
Nope. But in the fall you'll be doing it again.
That might make you unhappy.
both of those numbers include prepping and grading the property. i have another guy coming tomorrow for another proposal. the pricing doesnt include irrigation, i will have to get someone else to do that. i believe the guy coming tomorrow does irrigation so i figure his proposal will include that. i presently have no sprinkler system.
the guy did say that i would likely need to do another seeding in the fall. it would be less than this seeding but i dont think a lot less. paying the same thing twice is still a little less than the cost of sod. but at that point maybe it was better to use sod. i dont know. in my last house, the grass was the community's responsibility.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have done both sod and seed on youth soccer fields much larger than your acre. Both have problems. The seed will end up with more weeds, and is subject to washing away or piling up together if there is heavy rain before they germinate. You could have to do a lot of touch-up reseeding. Sod depends a lot on the source and condition. When it's been rolled up several days or more, sitting on a truck in the sun, much of it for a job that size will be yellowing. They will tell you that it will green up in a few days, but if the roots got cooked it won't. Before hiring anyone get reference properties and go look at them. I wouldn't do any kind of lawn that size without the irrigation being in and operational first. Even one day of sun without water can kill the seeds if they are close to germinating.
both of those numbers include prepping and grading the property. i have another guy coming tomorrow for another proposal. the pricing doesnt include irrigation, i will have to get someone else to do that. i believe the guy coming tomorrow does irrigation so i figure his proposal will include that. i presently have no sprinkler system.
the guy did say that i would likely need to do another seeding in the fall. it would be less than this seeding but i dont think a lot less. paying the same thing twice is still a little less than the cost of sod. but at that point maybe it was better to use sod. i dont know. in my last house, the grass was the community's responsibility.
hydro-seeding, produces a better lawn than sod for 2/3 the cost, much greater coverage than simple broadcast seeding and only needs to be done once. Will start sprouting within 7 days and be ready to mow within 3-4 weeks. You have to keep it constantly wet/damp for that first 7 to 10 days and then water every other day for a couple weeks.
so my lawn is utterly wrecked and we are basically starting from scratch. the property is 1 acre. i have a proposal for sod $17,900 vs seeding at $8500. so there is a pretty big premium for sod. i dont mind waiting for it to grow, its failure and follow up work that i am more concerned about. i have done some online research and it seems like the fall is the best time for this but i wasnt able to do it last fall.
so am i going to end up unhappy if i seed?
Yikes, that is tough. I heard mixed reviews on sod but have no personal experience other than small patches that failed. Whenever you pull up established plantings with roots you have to worry about it accepting the new soil and conditions. Lots of failures with sod but I've seen some good successes although the ones with success rarely use the yard because its always wet.
I'm curious what "wrecked" means. Would it make sense to spend substantially less and just start weeding out, reseeding, and fertilizer the heck out of it? It might fill in and lush up easier than you think and you'll be thankful you didn't spending over 10k on it.
Yikes, that is tough. I heard mixed reviews on sod but have no personal experience other than small patches that failed. Whenever you pull up established plantings with roots you have to worry about it accepting the new soil and conditions. Lots of failures with sod but I've seen some good successes although the ones with success rarely use the yard because its always wet.
I'm curious what "wrecked" means. Would it make sense to spend substantially less and just start weeding out, reseeding, and fertilizer the heck out of it? It might fill in and lush up easier than you think and you'll be thankful you didn't spending over 10k on it.
hydroseeding sounds interesting. id have to find another company than the several ive contacted for proposals since it doesnt look like any of them do that.
i bought a short sale so the previous owners left a low quality yard with a lot of weeds. it is different in different areas of the home, a proposal last fall was to use round up and kill everything and start fresh. another guy suggested seeding. but i decided to proceed with removing a bunch of trees which effectively eliminated everything in my back yard and one side of my front yard, so its just mud now.
i am not sure how much grading is really needed. my property isnt flat, i am on a hill but it isnt very steep either. i dont really know much about this and i dont think i really need so much done.
hydroseeding sounds interesting. id have to find another company than the several ive contacted for proposals since it doesnt look like any of them do that.
i bought a short sale so the previous owners left a low quality yard with a lot of weeds. it is different in different areas of the home, a proposal last fall was to use round up and kill everything and start fresh. another guy suggested seeding. but i decided to proceed with removing a bunch of trees which effectively eliminated everything in my back yard and one side of my front yard, so its just mud now.
I offered to round-up and/or till the area I had hydroseeded and the contractor was adamant that no site prep was needed other than the top soil they brought in. I think last year was the third year and there's hardly a weed in sight. You'll find that few if any of the sodding companies do any hydroseeding. You will get better and deeper root penetration with hydroseeding than with sod and a healthier looking lawn.
i did look around and didnt find any hydroseeding companies. i am having some paver work done by a guy who does landscaping and he mentioned penn mulch. is that a decent option for a new lawn?
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