I've been landscaping for 15 years Stan and I've used a flathead shovel the whole time to cut my straight lines for the sod before I come in with the skid never thought about using an edger thank you so much huge Time saver I guess even if you're a good landscaper you don't know everything right
Your channel is so helpful, I've been working landscaping on my house and my dad's factory since I was 10, and now I'm starting my own landscaping company and while I'm pretty handy, I know far from everything, I've been using your channel to learn so much, it's so appreciated my man please keep it up, so so so helpfull to have this as a resource, beyond appreciated, keep it up my man!
@@Dirtmonkey hey ran across this as I am having sod laid in San Antonio TX. I am having some landscaping company do this. My lawn lawn was bermuda I’m told I have only lived here a couple of years. Lawn was really patchy and sparse due to shade and likely lack of watering. We already have a sprinkler system so they didn’t want to use a sod cutter and instead scalped, sprayed round up for 2 days, raked and putting top soil about an inch he said right over it tomorrow and sod on Monday or Tuesday next week. There is rocks, grass roots and debris the guy assures me it will all be good after 1 inch top soil for zoysia JaMur sod. I expressed concern that we should wait till clear if old lawn, weeds and debris as well as wait at least a week after weed treatment and soil to assure a healthy base. What are your thoughts am I overly concerned?
I have placed sod on top of existing grass many times. Best to do in the spring when it’s cooler and you need to keep it watered but it will work in my experience. I’ve even done it over very healthy grass to build up an area to level.
Stan, great video. I just layed down 1700 sqft of Sod for my first time ever. this video gave me the piece of mind knowing that I did do it right. love these videos. god bless Stan.
Ive worked on a sod farm for almost 6 years, we also do installs as well I have been a part of over 1000 installs, and have only needed to use the sod stakes one time. We lay across the slope and have had wonderful results just from this. Also maybe a piece of useful information for you that we have been using a lot lately. When cutting up against a driveway, sidewalk, curbs, etc. Basically anything with a piece of concrete edge on it we have been using a stick edger with a new blade on it to make fast clean cuts. We also use this when we are patching in pieces as well. Without the cement edge there its a bit trick at times, but once perfected it reduces cut in time by almost half. Just a suggestion from my experience. Also we drag a shovel around the outside edges of where the new sod will be laid to basically give the dirt a a beveled edge so it lays flush with a driveway or when you are patching into existing sod.
I have never used anything other than a utility knife for cuts. Fast, cleaner, more consistent. One quick cut for each roll of sod, rather than half a dozen potentially misaligned ones.
The people we bought our house from installed sod over existing turf...they half-assed it only in order to sell the house. Looked great at first but a year later it was hard as rock and d-e-a-d dead. We didn't know what happened until our neighbor told us how they installed it.😑 Thought it was something we did terribly wrong, to have it be that fried. Wish they would have just saved their money because it's actually created MORE work for us. Starting from scratch now. Thanks for the video
Thank you for the helpful tips! I watched your videos before ordering my sod and realized that I HAD actually put down 2-3" of black dirt...which you advised against...so I added a dirt/sand mix on top, didn't compact it, and now I'm hoping for a good result.
50/50 mix good soil and compost 1 to 2 inches on a top soil base stripped free of weeds and grass. I recommend using starter fertilizer as well. thanks for the video bro!
Hi Stan. First I just want to say I love your videos. Most are very educational and others have some great comedy. I have to disagree with your statement of 1-2 inches of topsoil. I think it really depends on the subsoil. I have done some sod projects where the subsoil has outstanding drainage and others that are clay base. Clay base subsoils would be perfect for 1-2 inches of topsoil but others that have great drainage require at least 3-4 inches of soil to retain moisture. Other than that you hit the nail on the head as usual. Take care my friend
Here's a tip that even some friends of mine that are in the business have failed to put into place yet, for whatever reason. At about 3:15 you talked about staggered joints (necessary, for sure) and cutting in the offsets later. Rather than doing that, when starting row TWO, pull the roll of sod PAST the start of row ONE. Cut it off at two feet or so, and toss that over to just past row FOUR. Row THREE starts just as row ONE does and the person dropping row THREE slides the end of row TWO so that it is the start of row FOUR, with the cut end facing the stones, so that the perfectly cut side dictates where to start the next full roll. That way, only one cut is required for an entire four rows. And there is little to no waste at the end.
I do landscaping. I did sod out in ND with no black dirt and I used a t650 with a leveling bar to flow and level out yards. You don't have to hand rack the yard. My sod would be the greenest yard you would ever see. Do you want the yard soaked with water. Water it 3 times a day from 30-40 minutes at a time.
Long time fan of ur videos. Last I commented was a a great compliment for me cuz I know it's been years and ur prolly retired. Just wanted to say your videos been part of my daily routine and my kiss history when it's comes to any project from tools to complete jobs. Thanks man ur the best
Best way to remove turf is with a sod cutting machine. It saves a ton of weight on disposal since it barely takes any soil. You can adjust it very high too so it just barely scrapes the green off and leaves most of the soil/roots. Or if it’s good strong weed free turn can set the depth to pull nice sod rolls for use on the same or next job.
How do you guys cut your sod? I have found my Stihl concrete saw to be the quickest. Works amazing to cut bed curves fast and clean.That's what I use to cut weed barrier fabric as well.
Love your videos! Thank you! On big jobs get water on finished areas as soon as you can. If you have long cuts along drives n walks, use a stick edger or walk behind. It works great! Green side up!
On TOH they checked the soil and added some product like sod starter. They also raked each time they stepped in a spot about to get sod. Noticed some guys compacting the soil with their boots. Probably won't be a big deal but this old house show was stickler.
I'd suggest to water immediately rather than "same day." I have always laid the sod in a manner that allows me to turn on the nearest irrigation Zone as I go. Dry soil baking in the sun seems to pull any moisture right out of the sod. Great video. Keep it up. Love the sick edger idea.
About to sod a small piece of my front yard and your video was the best one by far! I'm your typical girl and have no idea what to do, your video hopefully helps me out. So wish me luck! BTW you're a real cutie.
You convienced me- being a 70 yr old guy? I will hire guys like you up here in Wi. and just supervise how they do it per your way..Thank you for what to look for. I only need abut 150 sq ft done, but I'm not physically able to do all this the right way ... Its worth at least $150 -$250 for me to pay someone to do this I have dead grass & dirt that runs along my Gravel Driveway about 3 ft into the rest of my nice lawn....Thank you.
If you want good sod. Call B &B sod in elk river. The best sod you can get. I used this sod only in ND and MN. I order any where from 10,000 Square feet to 120,000 Square feet of sod and it's the best price to. It's fertilize before it gets cut and shipped out too. no other place does that
Whats the average price for a roll of sod? I am getting a quote tomorrow and want to see that i am not getting ripped off. After watching this video, i may just do it myself! Great video!
3x a day to water sod. What time of day? How many hours apart should you water them? Can you water at night? Basically, how do you fit watering 3x a day. If it rains really heavy that day should you cut out watering completely?
You said "never put sod over existing turf", but my neighbor just put sod over his existing grass and two months later the new sod is growing extraordinarily well.
What is the typical protocol for maintenance after sod installation if you do not have a normal lawn maintenance program with the customer? ie: is it the customers responsibility to water and maintain to promote growth of the newly installed sod? Do you stop back for follow ups at particular intervals after installation?
I’m in Savannah GA and have sand. I’ve owned the house since it was built in 09. I moved away for a few years during which I rented out the house. Upon my return, I found the lawn had been severely neglected and eroded. I’m a serious DIYer and want to re-sod myself. My question is, can I lay the sod directly on the sand? And, what exactly is this black dirt you mentioned? Do I absolutely need it?
Your video started from a clean slate, what about turf area where half the lawn is nice and many patches of dead grass or grass not growing, and you want to lay sod, do you strip all that? Or till it? Do you use any fertilizer? What do the staples look like for sod? How do you determine if you should seed or sod (as in the existing lawn is bad enough to make the decision)? Lots of questions missed in the video..
You strip and remove any turf-sorry thought I mentioned that in the video. If you lay over existing turf-it will heat up, decompose and kill it. Seed Vs sod is determined by budget. I don't fertilize-personal preferance-but my sod always takes real well with it.
I prefer sprigging for the turf types that have runners. My dad and I sprigged a lawn back in the 90s and it was more than likely much cheaper, although it takes more time to come in.
grass doesn't grow from seeds in hard pack soil. overwatering didn't help. just adds mold n rot i guess. for sod, i'd try loosening the existing soil instead of throwing extra dirt down. I've seen sod laid down on a traffic island on a golf course. they drenched it with water untill the sod became as soft as the soil beneeth. i've also seen lightly watered sod dry up and ruin the entire yard. never seen overwatered grass die.
hey brother.. i know this is an old video however.. we recently joined forces with another landscape company and the previous owner is insisting on using a roller after laying sod. i have never rolled sod before and have never had any issues. coming from laying sod in california/utah/ and now tennesse... question for you would be have you ever rolled sod after install? pros cons?? thanks and keep up the great work
Just installed 6000 sq ft of crown zoysia... Went to a lot of trouble tilling and grading the soil before installing. Got a little deep while tilling in the front, but with a heavy rain almost directly after tilling, the soil became smooth and compact after raking. Quick question, would I benefit from rolling the front lawn? Noticed a few areas that are softer than others. In hopes of eliminating the wavy effect you described was thinking it might benefit. Been watering in one hour intervals twice a day, early morning and late afternoon. Let me know! I can upload a few videos if it would help.
If i have an existing patchy backyard (about 2500 square feet) and want to start over with sod, whats the best and most cost effective way to do it? I was going to either kill it with roundup and then till and try to get as much of the dead grass out as possible, or use a sod cutter in the thicker areas. I would then add some compost (maybe 2 yards) over the top of the soil, and then lay sod. Thoughts?
need the sod soilt activator/ accelerator before laying sod, also some slow release starter fertilizer and lawn roll the sod after it's laid. hdtv (yard crashers) says without the soil activator step and you are doing it wrong, you can have success with good soil, good sod, laying it tight and staggered and water. But having the extra steps such as the soil activator, starter fertilizer, and lawn rolling ensure being most effective.
i agree with you man I'm more of a better safe than sorry guy. there's a lot of bad sod being laid in my area even my pastors house. have you checked on your sod 5-10 years later? and basically if you have good soil with a good ph you'll be fine if you water accurately
Do I need to till up the existing soil if its compacted? In the video it looks fairly compacted and then he said to lay 1 to 1.5 inches black dirt otherwise it will be lumpy.
Can I lay sod over a lawn that's been covered with a weed barrier for six weeks, or do I need to remove the dead and decomposing grass and weeds, first? Or can I simply till it, and then lay the sod?
I recently bought a brand new home and there was a delay in getting sod due to consistent heavy rain "flooded the sod fields" So we moved in prior to the sod being completed and therefor I was present when it was being installed. It was delivered in pallets of small sheets rather than rolls. And then installed the next day. They didn't lay the sheets out like your video shows. They kind of chopped up the sheets and patched it together in no particular pattern. There are even gaps in between the patches. I am suspecting they did this to cover more space with less sod for cost purposes, but I'm wondering if this was wrong and what kind of trouble it's going to cause in the future. Many of the pieces are only maybe a foot wide, some less and some more.
What about sprinkler system? If I’m trying to remove old grass and installing new sod how do I avoid irrigation lines or sprinkler head damage? I could really use your help on this
I laid my sod 5 days ago and I see that still appears flattened out and not standing straight up. The grass is already 2-3 inches high but too early to cut. Do I need to rake the sod to get the grass more upright ? Some yellowing when I pull back the grass
Hey I was wondering if you could answer a question we are about to put her sod in the next week But how to get rid of goat head And Is that a bad idea just to layer over the top of the goat heads
Stanley I'm confused so your saying if I lay down my Zoysia sod say in November or December when grass is basically going dormant the NEW Sod wont DIE because it cant take ROOT clear this up because I'm getting ready to purchase & install 3k sq ft of ZOYSIA ?????
I had a low area in the backyard filled in with 28 yards of sandy type soil. Couldn't afford instant gratification sod lay. I pulled plugs with a pro plugger prior to putting the soil in. I put these in at about 8 inches apart. When I ran out I bought sod squares using the in a checkerboard style lay down. I started with watering twice a day with 15 minutes a time. The plugs are doing good. They are 4" long and 2.5" diameter. The sod after about 4 hours seems to be drying out and blades are curling in some areas. Do in need to water more often say 6 times a day at 15 minutes a time? What do you suggest?
I'm going to lay new sod in a couple weeks 2000sqf . I see that my old sod that's been dead for over 5 years has that green plastic mesh in the dried out dirt a couple inches down. Should I scrape up and toss all that old plastic mesh from the original sod install or just rototil top soil and lay the new sod? thx
We are in North Texas right on the Red River, very sandy soil here. We just dropped 2 dump truck loads of sandy lome and spread to a compact fashion. Can we just lay out our squares onto well damped dirt?
