"escapee" wrote in message
...
The reddish, brown stuff is what they call chocolate loam. It is the
worst crap
on the market. It is mined from low down into quarries and has absolutely
no
biota in it at all. I can assure you, the soil under it is hard as a
rock, and
has rocks. It also has clay, caliche or black gumbo soil.

So, I would definitely ask the builder if you can upgrade the soil and if
they
can bring in several yards of compost and add that to the reddish, brown
dirt.
You will love me later if you do this. Also, if the sod is in full sun,
you may
want to also upgrade to Buffalo grass, not bermuda. At the very worst,
ask for
St. Augustine or Zoysia, but do not use bermuda. It is very hard to get
rid of
once you have it. I'd also recommend you decide where you may want to
plant
some trees, or other garden beds and mark those out and let them leave the
sod
off those areas and you can put mulch on those areas for now. Again, you
will
love me later.

All grasses have advantages and disadvantages. I have bermuda and I
wouldn't have anything else. Bermuda takes traffic better than just about
any other type of residential turfgrass. Since I have two dogs and two kids
which are on the lawn all the time, this is a big plus for me. Bermuda is
also very tolerant of selective weed killers. When I get crabgrass, I hit
it with MSMA, and a week later, no more crabgrass.