# new guy needs help



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

i hope i'm on the right column, so here goes.... a few years ago i built a 30 x 30 shed at the back of my house and covered it with 5 v tin. after a year or two i put up a gutter and downspout, then last fall i buried a pipe and carried off the water from the shed roof. here is my problem...there is an area where the water ran before the gutter. the grass just doesn't want to grow in this area. most of my lawn is starting to grow a bit now, except for behind the shed. that looks like it had "roundup" sprayed on it. did something on the tin roof poison the ground and what am i going to do to get grass back in this section? the grass hasn't grown good since i built the shed, but i first thought the run off from the roof was drowning the grass, but i think there is more going on.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Is it by chance the north side of the shed?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Could you post some pictures?


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Maybe reflected light is scorching the earth? I'm with Ware, what side is the bare spot facing?


----------



## gatormac2112 (Sep 14, 2017)

Yeah I'm with Ware, North side would be shade as the sun is in the southern sky.


----------



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Is it possible to funnel the water elsewhere?


----------



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

[











here are a couple of angles of the bare lawn section. as you can see it is not from sun reflection. there is a bit of a swag where the dead grass is. this is where the runoff from the roof used to land. my grass does well everywhere except here.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Is this your walking path to the car during the winter?


----------



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

no, my house is above the shed and we enter from the side where we drive in. it seems as though something from the roof was killing the grass. could the zinc coating from the tin be doing something? in the middle of the summer there will be some growth but not like that outside the dead area you see in the photos.


----------



## raldridge2315 (Jul 1, 2017)

It's possible that the metal roofing had some sort of oil or oil base protective coating from the factory that has washed off. I have a place between my neighbor's and my driveway that got motor oil on it. I've dug down several inches and replaced the soil. Still won't grow anything.


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

raldridge2315 said:


> It's possible that the metal roofing had some sort of oil or oil base protective coating from the factory that has washed off. I have a place between my neighbor's and my driveway that got motor oil on it. I've dug down several inches and replaced the soil. Still won't grow anything.


That's what I was thinking, whether it might be transmission fluid, or something spilled off of the concrete surface and permeated the soil downhill. OP, you say this started happening after you installed the roof?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I was thinking also coolant spill.

Replacing 3in of soil and throwing some seed might be a good approach


----------



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

this started when i built the shed, its not from any spills in the shed itself. there was grass there before building the shed. i have a garage/workshop about 30 feet away and i'll take the fifth amendment as to what may have been thrown out on the lower side of it over the last 40 years, but the weeds seem to do fine in that area. i suppose i will have to try and find some topsoil and reseed this area. the dead area is in a bit of a swag where the roof runoff traveled before the gutter.


----------



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Weeds tend to be less picky about soil.. I doubt its the tin roof since you have gutters there... Looks like a good excuse to dug out about 6" deep, level with topsoil, and sod with something fancy!


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I'm guessing somebody poured something off the back porch there which killed the grass. You were either washing something out or pouring something that you didn't know could harm the lawn. Did you have a spill or something in the carport that you hosed off into the lawn?


----------



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

no! nothing has been spilled in this area.. i built the shed 10+ years ago and the grass has never done well where the water ran off before i put up the gutter and down spout. i didn't pipe the water away until last fall. the bare streak is where i buried the pipe. until i buried the carry off pipe the water still ran through the brown area as that is a bit low. i think i will try to find some new topsoil and reseed..


----------



## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

I too had a mystery area that would not grow grass during my renovation last year.
I finally had my builder dig out the area and replace the dirt. This might be your only option. I started over.Mystery No Grass Area


----------



## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

It could be runoff, compaction, traffic, something poured on the lawn, or any combination of the above. I'm thinking this is a cool season grass, so seeding may help to repair the yard, but only if the underlying cause is found.

Make sure you aren't pouring hot water in the area. My wife did that once after making dinner and killed a spot in warm season grass. Cool season grass would be even more sensitive. Most people think that it won't hurt because it's water, but that isn't the case.


----------



## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

larry harding said:


> [
> 
> 
> 
> ...




There's water moving through the gravel under that concrete pad leaching down the slope. Or that's just extra gravel that's subsurface.

This is clearly not natural. The lines are too defined. Definied lines don't exist in nature.


----------



## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

larry harding said:


> [
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Brother, that's Bermuda grass. It will turn green in June. Then fert the hell out if it.

Where are you located?


----------



## larry harding (Mar 21, 2018)

i'm located in western n c. that gravel is just what was in the concrete that honeycombed. i kinda got ripped off, i don't think the guys that did the pouring knew what they were doing. i don;t know what in meant by defined lines. the brown area is a bit of a swag ant that is where the run off from the roof traveled until i put in the underground drain last fall. when i had only the down spout the water still ran down the swag. i'm going tomorrow and get some topsoil and re do the swag area, then reseed.


----------



## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

larry harding said:


> i'm located in western n c. that gravel is just what was in the concrete that honeycombed. i kinda got ripped off, i don't think the guys that did the pouring knew what they were doing. i don;t know what in meant by defined lines. the brown area is a bit of a swag ant that is where the run off from the roof traveled until i put in the underground drain last fall. when i had only the down spout the water still ran down the swag. i'm going tomorrow and get some topsoil and re do the swag area, then reseed.


If you're in Western NC then you're dealing with fescue (cool season) grass. That area that appears to be dead, isn't dead, but I'd probably Bermuda grass which is just dormant. You can seed it, sure, but the Bermuda will grow back up through the soil and over take those areas again. You likely have Bermuda there because of excess gravel in the soil
Holds the heat. Cooks the fescue and the Bermuda loves the additional heat


----------

