# Needing Help for my Renovation



## ryancrogers (May 22, 2018)

I'm a rookie...big time! I'm hoping for as much advice as I can get on a complete lawn do-over.

I have a hideous weed filled lawn (if you can even rightly call it that) in Panama City, FL. Last Fall we were hit really hard by hurricane Michael (which has been an enormous burden in many ways). The silver lining is that we no longer have any shade getting in the way of the dream lawn: a very level, low-cut, traffic-tolerant Bermuda that our kids can play in often.

I'm on a budget (trying to do as much as I can myself) but have almost no experience with preparing a yard for sod and maintaining it, so I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can to (hopefully) get it right the first time. I'm also a bit rushed by two factors: 1) The growing season is ending soon; 2) My wife and I were very surprised to find out we would be having twins this December. Our other kids are 4, 2, and 1 (yes, we know where babies come from), so we could REALLY use a nice outdoor space for our pretty wild boys (the 4 and almost 3 year old). As it is now, there are stickers everywhere.

Some (dumb) Questions for you enviable experts: 
1. Does anyone have a step-by-step guide for renovation they'd recommend? (including a list of all tools / machinery needed?) I want to make sure I get the order and timing right with each step 
2. Are there any steps in the process that I should probably have an expert handle so I don't screw things up royally? 
3. What's the best way to prevent my grass from being impacted by neighboring lawns (weeds)? I know Bermuda tends to be the one that does the taking over, but do you have any advice on this? 
4. How many hours of sun is enough for bermuda to thrive? Is it worth trying to grow grass up against a fence if it casts a shadow in the morning or evening, but still getting about 5 hours of sun? 
5. Anyone know best practices for keeping Bermuda from creeping into pine straw areas / flower beds? 
6. I'm redoing our irrigation system. How do I decide on spacing of sprinklers, kinds to get, zones, etc.? Is it better to pay an expert to figure all that out? 
7. When grading, how far below the driveway should I make the dirt line before adding sod?
8. What is the best bang for your buck when it comes to reel mowers? 
9. Any traffic-tolerant Bermuda recommendations for the panhandle of Florida?
10. At what stage in the process do you trench and lay out all the irrigation pipes, sprinklers, etc. (is it right after the removal of old weeds and before the final grade?
11. Any other suggestions?

Any advice is very welcome! Thanks Guys!

Ryan


----------

