Sod Job!

[thegroundscrew]

I was just asked by a client to perform a sod job when Spring hits. I said that I would call her when the time comes to set up a time and get started. But I dont know how to sod and give estimates for it. It seems quite easy I just dont want to miss any thing important or any hidden tricks. Can you guys please help on how to properly perform a sod job? How to estimate for a sod job? What is the average pice for sod and what size does each come in? Any advice and thoughts will help. Thanks. Curtis Michael President The Grounds Crew (425) 765-2638 www.thegroundscrewllc.com

[thegroundscrew]

Lawn care business tips

To add on, what tools are required to perform a proper sod job? Hopefuly I dont need heavy equipment as I am not able to fit that in my budget for this year. What do I use to remove previous lawn? Thanks for the help guys

[nickeckes]

just be honest and tell them you dont know how to do it. you dont want to mess up someones lawn and then have them give your company a negative effect. .

[thegroundscrew]

I have a professional that does that type of work for me but he only speaks spanish and minimal english so he wouldn't be that informative. I just want to know that basics of it and what it requires.

[stevef1201]

I dont know how much sod is where you are, but here a pallet of sod runs 60 delivered, and 120 installed. That does not include removing old turf, leveling and preparing ground, fertilizer etc. I do know one yard that had an extenxive amount of old turf removed and resodded, I think that the woman told me she paid like a grand.

[Steve]

Curtis,

Also check out my blog, I have two articles on sod removal / install jobs.

Let me know if they help you and also, keep us posted on how this job goes.

Make sure you take some before and after pics too! We'd love to see what you are working on.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

The install is easy and we charge by doubling the cost of materials. The prep work is what gets tricky. It could be 20 mins to prep the site it could be 2 hours.

[thegroundscrew]

My site professional that is doing the install could not help me so i did some research myself. I found a video on youtube and another source i found. Are these pretty much all i need to know or is their anything else. I get the bidding part now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjELLMlv-Q4&feature=fvsr

http://newyorkrenovator.com/2010/04/...emove-sod.html

THanks for the help.

I heard that sod installation is a good money maker it just requires strenuous physical labor. I was told to get into it because of the money it can potentially bring in.

[bruces]

I couldnt open the first video ,but the second one is awesome,why would you rent a sod cutter for a few hours,when you can spend far more time doing manual labour with a shovel .Seriously ,you can rent a sod cutter for $40.00 ,and do a good sized lawn in an hour or so [just cutting that is ] .

[Steve]

Also something I think we talked about in the past was using a tiller to just till up the grass and the earth to prepare everything for new sod. I remember hearing that it was actually easier to use one of those on a tractor than a sod cutter. Cause with the sod cutter, you still had to cut, roll and remove the old grass, which was labor intensive.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?