Time to start thinking about Sod

[Johnny Quest]

Yea it's only January, but I figure now is the time to start figuring out a plan of attack for the backyard this year, and other than the sprinkler system, that means sod. I've never used sod before, so I'm a total n00b to the topic. Are there different types? What grows well in our neck of the woods? (backyard is about 50/50 sunlight vs shade). What's a good price per square foot? Are there better local places to go? Places to stay away from? Anything and everything is helpful.

 

[Kevin B.]

If the weather doesn't do something very drastic very soon we're all going to be on water restrictions this summer. Might be a bad time to be planning on putting in a new lawn.

 

[UNSTUCK]

I heard the mountains are currently at an "average" snow pack. If that is the case it shouldn't be too bad for watering.

 

[Kevin B.]

Really? That's awesome. Sure doesn't seem like a normal year for snow.

 

[Jinx]

The sun vs shade has more to do with sprinklers than sod.

When I laid mine out a couple of years ago I did the zones with shade vs sun in mind and it's working great.

Doing some top soil before sod isn't a bad idea either.

Oh I bought my sod from Idaho. Had to order it a couple of days in advance but it made sure I got what I needed and it was fresh cut. They delivered on a semi. I did 4300 sqft.

 

[UNSTUCK]

Give the backfill on the sprinkler lines time to settle. I have ankle twisting ruts all over my backyard where my lines are. Drives me crazy. If I could have done it, I would have put the lines in deeper and then put a grade on the yard to make it perfectly flat. I bet you could be doing all that right now.

 

[1995zj]

BioGrass sod farms.
http://biograss.com/

 

[DAA]

If I ever get the chance to do a backyard from scratch again, I'm either pouring concrete over the whole damn thing or xeriscaping it. Never going to do anything that needs watered and mowed ever again.

Think about your opportunity to cover a bunch of area in maintenance free beautiful concrete or rocks.

- DAA

 

[DAA]

If you do go sod... What I did for my backyard, was drove around a new subdivision that was being built and talked to the Mexican that looked in charge putting in a front yard and asked him if he wanted a side job. Took him and his brothers three nights, because they were using sod left over from their day job and only got to steal so much each night, but it ended up costing me way less to have it all delivered and installed than it would have if I'd just bought the sod at retail to install myself.

- DAA

 

[Johnny Quest]

If I ever get the chance to do a backyard from scratch again, I'm either pouring concrete over the whole damn thing or xeriscaping it. Never going to do anything that needs watered and mowed ever again.

Think about your opportunity to cover a bunch of area in maintenance free beautiful concrete or rocks.

- DAA

This is actually part of the plan. About 60% of the current backyard will no longer be grass; part is turning into a gravel driveway for storage, and the other section will be a firepit surrounded by some sort of patio. We have dogs, so some grass is needed, but nowhere the whole backyard.

 

[Hickey]

I seeded my backyard last summer. I will never waste money on sod again. I just followed the manufacturer recommendations to a T, and I had a gorgeous lawn in 6 weeks.

I did not put down any topsoil, just leveled the dirt as much as I could and spread seed.

I'm into it for less than $500 for all materials including fertilizer and weed killer. I did about 10k sq feet.

 

[johngottfredson]

Properly done, seeding your back yard like Hickey will save you tons of money and give you a way thicker, healthier lawn. However, keeping the dogs off it for that long might be a challenge. I'm a landscape architect, and always hire the sod company to install the sod. Often a landscape contractor will just have them do the install as well, and charge a healthy markup for lining up the deal. They are usually very efficient and know how to do it right, for only a couple of cents per sq ft more. In the past I have gotten sod delivered and installed for between 27-30 cents/sf. I highly recommend a good layer of topsoil (2-4") - your sod will take root quicker, grow greener, faster, thicker, resist fungus and disease, and require less water. Best investment on your grass.

 

[N-Smooth]

Get a load of topsoil delivered.
Rent the giant landscaping rakes from diamond rental or similar to spread the soil.
Buy some cheap steak knives to cut the sod.
Buy pizza and beverages and sucker people into coming over to help.
That's how we've always done it. Ironically I've never had to do my own yard but have helped a bunch of people with their yards.

Edit: I also agree with whoever said to let the ditches for the sprinklers set really well. PO did our yard and the sprinkler lines are very obvious in some areas. It makes me angry