# Bermudagrass sod concerns (Upstate South Carolina)



## jharkey4 (May 19, 2020)

Hey folks,

New here. Found the forum looking for a place to ask for advice... I'm closing on a new home this Friday, and I'm a little concerned about the state of the bermudagrass sod that was placed on the lot. I'm familiar with the basics of bermudagrass, as it's what I grew up with and what I've got at my current house. (Haven't always done a great job taking care of it, but I'm figuring it out...) I've never dealt with sod before, however.

When we were looking at the house in mid-April I noticed that the sod didn't look great, especially compared to the neighboring homes. Very brown and dormant, and it just didn't... look as healthy? The house on one side was very green, and clearly had been placed sometime prior to ours. The house on the other side was clearly placed at the same time, but it seemed to be greening up a bit better than ours.

Here's some pictures of what we saw on April 22nd:









I'm not really sure what to expect on how long it takes sod to root and green up this time of year, and I'm not sure when the sod was placed. It wasn't an issue big enough to turn us away from the house, so I didn't think too much of it. A few weeks later it wasn't looking much better. I'm pretty sure it's getting plenty of water. We've had a lot of rain over the last several weeks. We've visited the house several times, at different times of day, and it seems like the sprinklers are going off and on all day. If anything I wondered if it was being overwatered?

I expressed concern to the builder and he said they would look into it, but I'm not expecting them to do much and don't know enough about the sod to confront them on it.

Here's some images I took just this morning, May 19th. Definitely more green, but it's been a whole month and the lip on the back yard doesn't look much better. Front yard also looking pretty rough. More new green weeds than new green grass.









If it just needs more time, _that's fine_. I'm just concerned that I'm going to spend the rest of the year failing to make the yard look good, and then spend time and money replacing sod or overseeding at the end of it all. And it feels like I shouldn't have to worry about that from a newly sodded yard.

If there's any other details that would be helpful, just let me know.

Thoughts? Are my concerns legitimate or overblown?

*SIDE NOTE*

I don't know much about caring for new sod beyond "water it a lot". When should I start mowing and what height should it be? I've heard not to put weed killers on sod, but there's already a lot of weeds... Any other quick tips? Don't mean to overcrowd this topic. I suppose I can make another for this question specifically, or do more digging in these forums first.


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## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

Have all the pieces of sod rooted? Can you pull them up with little effort or is it stuck to the ground? Sounds like too much water after being down for a couple months. If it never rooted and it's dead, I'd try to get the builder to replace it.

I put new sod down in March at my house. Check my journal if you want details of everything I've done.


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## Jeremy3292 (Apr 30, 2020)

I live in Simpsonville, give it a few more weeks. The temps here have not been consistently warm enough and now we are getting 5" of rain this week. However, the sod probably needs some nitrogen applications and a soil test should be done as well. I would also be curious what bermuda they put down - 95% chance it is Tifway 419 with the other 5% being TifTuf. How do the other yards look in the neighborhood that may have been done before yours? Any better? Bermuda sod is very resilient from my experience.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

Builders do shit for prep. Your concerns are legit. But, you'd be surprised what will come back. Like @Jeremy3292 said, probably needs a few more weeks to see whats going to live, and what's not. If it's still brown after that it needs to be replaced. In my experience builders don't offer a guarantee on sod, but usually they'll work with you. Sometimes they'll set up free treatment, or replace some of the worse off pieces. Either way it's not an ideal situation for home you just spent a boat load of money on.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1651 This might help for your other questions.

best of luck with your new lawn!


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## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

With this god awful weather we've been having I'd wait till everything warms up once and for all and go from there


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## Jeremy3292 (Apr 30, 2020)

Another quick point as well - just make your concerns known on Friday at closing. Just to get it on record and be like "guys if it doesn't get better by mid June I want you guys to fix it" sort of thing.


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## jharkey4 (May 19, 2020)

tcorbitt20 said:


> Sounds like too much water after being down for a couple months. If it never rooted and it's dead, I'd try to get the builder to replace it.


Basically everywhere that's brown in the latest photos it still hasn't rooted. The lip in the back is the worst, with whole squares that haven't rooted. Some spots in the side and front as well.

I'm not sure how to tell if it's DEAD. I've heard the grass should pull out easily if it's dead, and I don't think that's the case. I can definitely pull it out easier than grass that's grown in, but I wouldn't say it comes right out with the lightest tug. The fact that it's not rooted made me unsure, because it doesn't take much to pull squares of sod right off the ground. 



Jeremy3292 said:


> I live in Simpsonville, give it a few more weeks. The temps here have not been consistently warm enough and now we are getting 5" of rain this week. However, the sod probably needs some nitrogen applications and a soil test should be done as well. I would also be curious what bermuda they put down - 95% chance it is Tifway 419 with the other 5% being TifTuf. How do the other yards look in the neighborhood that may have been done before yours? Any better? Bermuda sod is very resilient from my experience.


Thanks for the local advice. It's been a weird spring, so I figured it might just not have had enough time for that reason. Other yards look better overall, if only a little, which I suppose is why I was concerned.

And good tip on making those concerns clear. We have a walkthrough the day before closing so it's definitely something we'll need to discuss.

Thanks everyone.


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## Ccualumni (Jul 8, 2018)

[/quote]

And good tip on making those concerns clear. We have a walkthrough the day before closing so it's definitely something we'll need to discuss.

Thanks everyone.
[/quote]

I hope it grows and doesnt get worse.

Please keep in mind that you are simply letting the builder know your concerns and not much else unless you request them to repair it or make it right. The walk through is you saying fix this or fix that, but also agreeing to move in with other items as they are.

You should have a warranty with the house and you need to read the part about the lawn and landscape. My "guess" is that the builder has something that they can use an an out such as the weather. They could just say it didn't grow because we had a weird spring. Your HOA could have a requirement that your grass is green.

Be prepared to push the builder to resolve or do it yourself.


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## kc8qpu092200 (Feb 29, 2020)

We are in Lyman. Our grass has just started to really green up. Don't be surprised to find all kinds of junk buried under your sod. A month ago I was putting in our landscape bricks and pulled out a lot of concrete chunks. DR Horton is known to do this. Also once you take possession of the house all plants including the grass is yours and they are not responsible for it.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Get them to put in writing to fix it if it doesnt get better. Dont forget your paying for the sod when you buy the house. If you have a garbage disposal that doesnt work what would you do? The same is true of the sod.
ohhh and CONGRATS on the new house


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## Ccualumni (Jul 8, 2018)

kc8qpu092200 said:


> We are in Lyman. Our grass has just started to really green up. Don't be surprised to find all kinds of junk buried under your sod. A month ago I was putting in our landscape bricks and pulled out a lot of concrete chunks. DR Horton is known to do this. Also once you take possession of the house all plants including the grass is yours and they are not responsible for it.


My house was the last one built in the neighborhood. My front and back yards are basically the trash can for the builders. I found a partial driveway, enough rocks to build a pyramid, tools, cups, wood, more rocks, trash bags and as the dirt erodes more stuff surfaces.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

I recently bought a DR HOrton house, so I know a little bit about this. The contractors they hire do a crap job, the ground isn't prepped and they just throw and kick it into place. A couple things i've found under my new sod recently is a saw blade, fence material, concrete, boulders, and gutter pieces. DR Horton does NOT warranty your grass/sod. I personally would get something in writing before close that they will replace it if it's still crap in a couple weeks when we get real consistent heat. My neighbor refused to close on their house because their sod was DEAD, and DR Horton replaced half, and guess what, the other half is still dead.

I bought a manual reel mower and mow at 3/4" and it looks great. Since moving in last October, I've replaced a bunch of sod myself, and leveled my whole front yard with sand. You have an uphill battle ahead of you unfortunately, but keep at this forum for help.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

Ccualumni said:


> kc8qpu092200 said:
> 
> 
> > We are in Lyman. Our grass has just started to really green up. Don't be surprised to find all kinds of junk buried under your sod. A month ago I was putting in our landscape bricks and pulled out a lot of concrete chunks. DR Horton is known to do this. Also once you take possession of the house all plants including the grass is yours and they are not responsible for it.
> ...


Same thing here, it will be pretty easy to spot where there is crap because the grass will be dead in those spots. I usually take a screw driver out to the lawn and come back with the wildest crap left from the builders.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Tellycoleman said:


> Get them to put in writing to fix it if it doesnt get better. Dont forget your paying for the sod when you buy the house. If you have a garbage disposal that doesnt work what would you do? The same is true of the sod.
> ohhh and CONGRATS on the new house


100% agree with this but with a caveat. Do you love the house enough to have to redo the lawn? Or Is the lawn enough to make you walk away? If you answer yes to the first question then tell them if it doesn't get better then they have to fix it. I guarantee you they will do the minimum to fix the lawn. Probably cheaper sod and no ground prep. If you answer yes to the second question then give them two options: 1) they fix the lawn to your standards or you walk. 2) they reduce the cost by what it will cost you to remove the current sod, properly prep the surface, and lay equal quality sod. As someone that has made mistakes in the past when purchasing houses I can tell you that what you love about it will wear off over time and what you hate about it will grow. If you love the house and are good with putting in the time to make the lawn right, go for it.


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## Guest (May 21, 2020)

I live in the Reidville area and bought a home from DR Horton 2 years ago. The "warranty" process was a challenge with them. You have to stay on them... multiple emails, calls, etc. Plan for the worst. First thing I would do is a soil test with Clemson or whoever and get you P and K right. With new sod I believe you need to keep the sod wet with plenty of water until it roots. Then plan on leveling the lawn with sand. Southern Mulch in Greenville is where I get mine delivered from. If you want a company to do it I would recommend The Sandman. There will be a heavy investment on the front end with good Long term results. Good luck!!!


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