Hi all!

First post so be gentle...

I have an area of 65m2 that i paid a gardener to lay turf. It needed level quite abit so i thought i would pay a professional to do it. Got some "premier turf". It cost £300 all in.

So anyway, after he laid it... i walked over the lawn to inspect it and it had loads of lumps and bumps. It just didn't seem level. I asked him about this and he just mumbled something about new turf doing that and it was ok.

That night i walked over the turf for once last time to inspect the bumps again. I lifted one roll of turf and it had a big rock underneath it!! I havnt walked on it since to make sure it roots down ok.

So a week down the line and there are in places 2 inch gaps between some of the turf rolls and some "dead" patches too.

I have been watering twice a day everyday. I also put lawn feed down to help the process.

I complained to the gardener and he said i couldn't have been watering it correctly!! He said he will come back in a week to look at it.

So my questions are-

1. When turf is freshly laid would you expect when you walk on it for it to have lumps and bumps every so often?

2. How can he level it now that most of the turf has rooted down??

3. Any other comments/suggestions would be very much appreciated!!

bairdyboy wrote:
Hi all!

First post so be gentle...

I have an area of 65m2 that i paid a gardener to lay turf. It needed
level quite abit so i thought i would pay a professional to do it. Got
some "premier turf". It cost £300 all in.

So anyway, after he laid it... i walked over the lawn to inspect it
and it had loads of lumps and bumps. It just didn't seem level. I
asked him about this and he just mumbled something about new turf
doing that and it was ok.

That night i walked over the turf for once last time to inspect the
bumps again. I lifted one roll of turf and it had a big rock
underneath it!! I havnt walked on it since to make sure it roots down
ok.

So a week down the line and there are in places 2 inch gaps between
some of the turf rolls and some "dead" patches too.

I have been watering twice a day everyday. I also put lawn feed down
to help the process.

I complained to the gardener and he said i couldn't have been watering
it correctly!! He said he will come back in a week to look at it.

So my questions are-

1. When turf is freshly laid would you expect when you walk on it for
it to have lumps and bumps every so often?

I wouldn't walk on it until it's had some time to build up roots. Big rocks
should have been buried before laying the sod, IMHO.


2. How can he level it now that most of the turf has rooted down??

With a roller? Did he roll it before installing the sod? In my experience, you
need to roll, then rake, then roll and rake..... until the soil is level and
firm.

Watering so much will not help at all to develop deep roots. They will all grow
near the surface. Feeding this early is probably a problem also. A starter
fertilizer mixed into the soil before the sod was layed would be the most I
would do.

What opinions did you get from his references before the job?

He didnt roll at all. All the references checked out. None for laying turf though. All more landscaping.

Here are some pics:

The garden from my bedroom window (some fencing still to be done!):

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r.../photo5555.jpg

The dead (or dying) patch:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r.../photo3333.jpg

The gap in between the turf:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r.../photo2222.jpg

These flowers have sprouted up, what are they??:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r.../photo3334.jpg

bairdyboy wrote:
Bob F;960605 Wrote:
bairdyboy wrote:-
Hi all!

First post so be gentle...

I have an area of 65m2 that i paid a gardener to lay turf. It needed
level quite abit so i thought i would pay a professional to do it.
Got some "premier turf". It cost £300 all in.

So anyway, after he laid it... i walked over the lawn to inspect it
and it had loads of lumps and bumps. It just didn't seem level. I
asked him about this and he just mumbled something about new turf
doing that and it was ok.

That night i walked over the turf for once last time to inspect the
bumps again. I lifted one roll of turf and it had a big rock
underneath it!! I havnt walked on it since to make sure it roots down
ok.

So a week down the line and there are in places 2 inch gaps between
some of the turf rolls and some "dead" patches too.

I have been watering twice a day everyday. I also put lawn feed down
to help the process.

I complained to the gardener and he said i couldn't have been
watering it correctly!! He said he will come back in a week to look
at it.

So my questions are-

1. When turf is freshly laid would you expect when you walk on it for
it to have lumps and bumps every so often?-

I wouldn't walk on it until it's had some time to build up roots. Big
rocks
should have been buried before laying the sod, IMHO.
-

2. How can he level it now that most of the turf has rooted down??-

With a roller? Did he roll it before installing the sod? In my
experience, you
need to roll, then rake, then roll and rake..... until the soil is
level and
firm.

Watering so much will not help at all to develop deep roots. They
will all grow
near the surface. Feeding this early is probably a problem also. A
starter
fertilizer mixed into the soil before the sod was layed would be the
most I
would do.

What opinions did you get from his references before the job?

He didnt roll at all. All the references checked out. None for laying
turf though. All more landscaping.

Oops. That could be a problem. Did he level it with a long landscapeing rake?


Here are some pics:

The garden from my bedroom window (some fencing still to be done!):

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo5555.jpg]

The dead (or dying) patch:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo3333.jpg]


Doesn't look that bad. Is it rooting in at all there? Does the sod lift up
without resistance? Are there rocks or hollows under the "dieing" spots?


The gap in between the turf:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo2222.jpg]

Fill it in with some soil. The roots will spread and fill in the gaps in time.


These flowers have sprouted up, what are they??:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo3334.jpg]

It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like grass seed.

Considering how they did it, I'd be surprised if it doesn't end up with plenty
of dips and bumps. Rolling it at some point might still help. Best bet would be
to talk to the sod supplier if it's a professional outfit about what they
recommend. If it came from a big box store, you might not get good advise.

On Jun 4, 9:44*pm, "Bob F" wrote:
bairdyboy wrote:
Bob F;960605 Wrote:
bairdyboy wrote:-
Hi all!

First post so be gentle...

I have an area of 65m2 that i paid a gardener to lay turf. It needed
level quite abit so i thought i would pay a professional to do it.
Got some "premier turf". It cost 300 all in.

So anyway, after he laid it... i walked over the lawn to inspect it
and it had loads of lumps and bumps. It just didn't seem level. I
asked him about this and he just mumbled something about new turf
doing that and it was ok.

That night i walked over the turf for once last time to inspect the
bumps again. I lifted one roll of turf and it had a big rock
underneath it!! I havnt walked on it since to make sure it roots down
ok.

So a week down the line and there are in places 2 inch gaps between
some of the turf rolls and some "dead" patches too.

I have been watering twice a day everyday. I also put lawn feed down
to help the process.

I complained to the gardener and he said i couldn't have been
watering it correctly!! He said he will come back in a week to look
at it.

So my questions are-

1. When turf is freshly laid would you expect when you walk on it for
it to have lumps and bumps every so often?-

I wouldn't walk on it until it's had some time to build up roots. Big
rocks
should have been buried before laying the sod, IMHO.
-

2. How can he level it now that most of the turf has rooted down??-

With a roller? Did he roll it before installing the sod? In my
experience, you
need to roll, then rake, then roll and rake..... until the soil is
level and
firm.

Watering so much will not help at all to develop deep roots. They
will all grow
near the surface. Feeding this early is probably a problem also. A
starter
fertilizer mixed into the soil before the sod was layed would be the
most I
would do.

What opinions did you get from his references before the job?

He didnt roll at all. All the references checked out. None for laying
turf though. All more landscaping.

Oops. That could be a problem. Did he level it with a long landscapeing rake?



Here are some pics:

The garden from my bedroom window (some fencing still to be done!):

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo5555.jpg]

The dead (or dying) patch:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo3333.jpg]

Doesn't look that bad. Is it rooting in at all there? Does the sod lift up
without resistance? Are there rocks or hollows under the "dieing" spots?



The gap in between the turf:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo2222.jpg]

Fill it in with some soil. The roots will spread and fill in the gaps in time.



These flowers have sprouted up, what are they??:

[image:
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/r...photo3334.jpg]

It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like grass seed.

Considering how they did it, I'd be surprised if it doesn't end up with plenty
of dips and bumps. Rolling it at some point might still help. Best bet would be
to talk to the sod supplier if it's a professional outfit about what they
recommend. If it came from a big box store, you might not get good advise..- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Overall, it doesn't look bad to me. If the bumps are due
to rocks, then as Bob said, the rocks should have been
removed before laying the turf. This is one of the reasons
why it's a good idea to be there if you can while the work
is being done. Over time, the rocks will likely sink into
the soil so that they aren't noticeable. Unless they are
larger than 2" or so you probably won't have a problem.

What you do have is fungus. That picture of the dying
grass appears to show it on the grass blades.
I would back off on the watering
to once every other day. And do the watering in the AM.
You want the grass on top to be able to dry out. The soil
at the roots needs to stay moist. Don't over water it.
Worst conditions for fungus and disease:

Wet all the time
High nitrogen
High temps

Example of that would be nights where it's left wet with
temps in the 80s.
I'd probably buy a bag of fungicide and put it down.
The $ spent could save the lawn. In many cases, the
grass will recover. But some diseases can kill a lawn
in a couple of days. The lawn fungicides work for the
most common ones and won't hurt.

Rocks under the newly laid turf is not a good sign.