# Need Help With Sod Installation Pricing



## The_Lawn_Guy (Mar 28, 2019)

Hello everyone. Glad to be here. Not sure if I'm posting this is the right place, but I'll give it a shot. So we just bought a new house with a rather small lawn. It had drainage issues that a landscaper we hired is currently taking care of. I told him my wife wanted sod in the back yard because all we have is basically mud. He measured the yard today and said that our back yard is about 650 square feet and would charge $1000 to lay new sod. Does that price sound like a good price to you experts out there? That is for sod and labor. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

TLG, welcome to TLF!


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## The_Lawn_Guy (Mar 28, 2019)

Thank you. Glad to be here.


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## JollyGreen (May 12, 2018)

If that is strictly for materials and labor for sod installation only then yes, that is steep. I had 2,000 sf of Zeon Zoysia installed around $0.78/sf.


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## The_Lawn_Guy (Mar 28, 2019)

Interesting. Thank you for your help. I appreciate it. It sounded a bit much for the square footage.


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I had 1500ish sq ft. laid in the backyard of Tifway 419 for about $1500 but that also included taking out the old sod, regrading, installing some drainage, and adjusting the sprinklers. These guys weren't licensed or bonded or anything. They were just doing it on the side. They did a great job but you can expect to pay more if you aren't going with someone doing work on the side.


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## JollyGreen (May 12, 2018)

Yea, that is probably more in line of what the cost would be to remove/replace sod. Mine was already dirt as we were doing other backyard work so it was only for sod and install.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF @The_Lawn_Guy!

Since you are starting with a blank slate, I would definitely put some extra thought/research into what type of sod you want to install. I think many of us, myself included, wish we had a different cultivar, but it is difficult to start over. Since you only need about a pallet and a half, nothing is probably going to be out of reach from a cost perspective.

@Reel Low Dad just uploaded some DIY sod videos here. It was St. Augustine, but it would give you some insight into whether or not you think it would be something you would be willing to attempt on your own. If the ground is already prepped, I think you could lay 650ft2 pretty quick. You would save some money and have the satisfaction of having done it yourself! :thumbup:

Let us know if you have any questions at all - everyone is here to help! :thumbup:


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

That's pretty steep in price. I did 8 pallets of sod in just under a day. Cost was about $1300 delivered. If the ground is already clear just smooth it out as best as possible and lay it down. Not sure what type you are going with but the lower the cut the more time needs to be spent on making it 100% smooth. I got lucky that I was dealing with sandy soil so it was easy. 650 sq feet is not a large area and I wouldn't think would take long at all.


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## Still learnin (Sep 9, 2017)

That's a little less than 3X what I was quoted a while ago on Meyer Zoysia. Granted, my quote was for a full acre, but I think it's too much. Like others said, if you're working with a clean slate, that small of an area shouldn't be a problem to do yourself.


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## The_Lawn_Guy (Mar 28, 2019)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Think I may go at it on my own since everyone I have called seem to want to charge around that quoted price. I appreciate everyone's help.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I'm guessing at 625 Sq ft he's doing 1.5 pallets 675, times $1.50 a square foot roughly.

I'd be at 810 for a job like that.

That being said if you were doing more square footage the price per square foot would likely drop.

For 1.5 pallets if he's picking up, that's probably $350 or so, plus gas insurance and a guys time, then two guys for a few hours, st maybe $50 an hour.

Not sure how anybody got Zeon installed at 78 a square foot, in SC it's $285 for a 400 sq ft pallet. I think I paid probably $1.20-$1.40 a square foot installed when I had it done.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Do it yourself man. The time put in and end result will be more rewarding then having someone do it for you. Trust me.

Just make sure you take the time to level/grade DO NOT TILL.

Once sod delivered you can knock 600sqft in like 30min.

Consider irrigation/drainage.

Do everything you can now to mitigate having to mess up that turf later on and wish you would of done it before hand.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

most farms have 3 pallet min here. Assume he is loading his truck up....w/o a trailer, it's 2 trips? Do it yourself if you have a truck, wait 30 more days at least.

What part of GA? Don't get from the giant SE sod co.


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

With site prep, kill off existing vegetation, soil test, smoothing, fert, delivery and install I'm at $1.20 per square on Myers Zoysia, Fescue, and Latitutde/ Tahoma/ TifTuf Bermuda. And $1.05 on Astro Bermuda


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## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

The guys who installed my sod did it for 35 dollars a pallet. I had 11 pallets of tiftuf Bermuda laid for approximately 1600 bucks


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

anthonybilotta said:


> The guys who installed my sod did it for 35 dollars a pallet. I had 11 pallets of tiftuf Bermuda laid for approximately 1600 bucks


That's dirt cheap. I can't even get 11 pallets of TifTuf delivered for that price, much less installed.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

The_Lawn_Guy said:


> Hello everyone. Glad to be here. Not sure if I'm posting this is the right place, but I'll give it a shot. So we just bought a new house with a rather small lawn. It had drainage issues that a landscaper we hired is currently taking care of. I told him my wife wanted sod in the back yard because all we have is basically mud. He measured the yard today and said that our back yard is about 650 square feet and would charge $1000 to lay new sod. Does that price sound like a good price to you experts out there? That is for sod and labor. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.


Welcome to TLF! What part of GA are you in? There's several of us here that have connections, and recommendations on sod farms to use/avoid. Like others have said, you could easily knock out 650 sqft yourself in short order. Do you have irrigation already? If not, you should consider installing it prior to putting sod down, as it makes it one less thing that you'd have to worry about (watering schedule).


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