Since I lived in Houston for 40 years...it is ASTROTURF. That was the original name used when the AstroDome was built and they installed the first artificial grass. The name is no longer in use except by us old codgers.
No, it is not true that "in all probability the builders dumped some chemicals, paint, or lye in that area."
Construction debris, yes. "Chemicals, paint, or lye", no. What "chemicals" are used on-site in building a house? What does a housebuilder use lye for? Dumping paint, maybe -- but latex paint won't prevent grass from growing, and what builder uses oil-base paint now?
You simply don't have a clue what you're talking about.
Without seeing it, and with as little information as the OP provided, you can't possibly say with any degree of certainty what is preventing grass from growing in that spot. There may be a concrete slab there, for all you know, with only half an inch of soil on top of it. Or perhaps that's where the excavation contractor dumped a bunch of clay from digging the foundation. There are a hundred possible causes, and it's simply not true that "in all probability" it's due to dumping of toxic chemicals.
Since I lived in Houston for 40 years...it is ASTROTURF. That was the original name used when the AstroDome was built and they installed the first artificial grass. The name is no longer in use except by us old codgers.
reply: It was funny how the "Astro" wave came and went. The big stadium, the special turf, the initial problems with the air conditioning, lots and lots of historic games, demolition derbies, Evel Knievel jumping there several times, all sorts of things. I guess it is still there. I worked as a bartender at the Astroworld Hotel for two years.
Maynard
Deny all you want but you simply are in denial and need to do some on site observation.
And you are in total denial of common practice.
Please learn to READ and COMPREHEND. I didn't say with certainty but did say probability and the probability remains that whatever is killing the grass is probably the result of construction dumping. That may be chemicals, buried construction materials, dumped concrete, or any number of other things. As for lye being used, lye is a component of cement which is often washed down from the trucks delivering concrete to a constuction site.
Yes it is still there but it may not be for much longer. Since they built the new baseball stadium downtown and the new football stadium next door, the place has fallen into disrepair. I loved going to the dome for all sorts of events. It was a great stadium and still could be used for any number of different events but with all the event space around it, they just don't seem to care. I keep hoping someone will come up with a permanent year around use for it but I doubt it will happen and we will see it torn down very soon.
The name "Astroturf" has come back into vogue. The liberal blogosphere is using it as a label for the "Tea Party" movement. The implication is that Tea Parties are fake grass-roots demonstrations, coordinated and financed by Fox News.
Check the PH
Yep. Pontiac MI, a burb of Detroit, has the 'Silverdome' that has been sitting empty a few years, too, but the city is too broke to tear it down. Indianapolis tore down their not-very-old arena a couple years ago. Personally, I think it is criminal stupidity that these venues have such a short lifespan. Almost all of them have tax money in them somewhere, either directly, or through roads/water/sewer that was upgraded to handle them. A commercial-grade space should last for 50-75 years minimum, not 20 or 30. Hell, a trailer lasts that long. They did it better in the old days- if it hadn't been stripped for parts (like to build the Vatican with), the Colosseum in Rome would probably still be in usable condition. If I was the kindly dictator in charge, the team owners would be personally liable for the demo costs if the places didn't make it till their 50th birthday- indicates piss-poor planning on somebody's part, and the taxpayers should not be on the hook for it. Of course, if I was dictator, no public money would have gone into building the damn things.
-- aem sends....
Its usually not a case of the building being so bad as the desire for a fancier building. Giants stadium in NJ is a prime example of this. Also, they often do not maintain the buildings very well.
Lou
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You hit the focal point of the entire deal. The AstroDome was one of the greatest stadiums in the country but it just wasn't enough for Bud Adams and his football team. He wanted his OWN stadium that he would have to share with the baseball team. He pitched a fit and had them spend millions to upgrade but wasn't satisfied. He then threatened to move the team if the taxpayers wouldn't build him a very expensive NEW stadium just for football. They refused and he move to Tenn. Good damn riddance but that wasn't the end.
Next, the Astros decided the dome wasn't working for them and a new downtown stadium was built. Then they decided to negotiate a deal for a new NFL football team and the rodeo chipped in to convince the voters to build a new football stadium right next to the dome. Following all of that bullshit...the Houston Rockets weren't satisfied with everyone else getting new diggs and they had to have a new facility...all at taxpayer expense. Now I live in Arlington Tx and guess what, the idiots here have voted to pay a large portion of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in spite of the fact that the DALLAS Cowboys haven't played a game in Dallas in 30 years.
Sometimes the taxpayers can really be stupid.
I used to work construction. I've seen what happens.
No, you simply don't have a clue. Lye?? Come on, don't be ridiculous. What is a home builder doing with lye?
*You* need to learn to read and comprehend. I know perfectly well you said "probability" -- I even quoted it.That's simply false.
It's *possibly* the result of construction dumping. It's also possibly the result of poor drainage, or a hidden concrete slab an inch under the surface, or deep shade, or clay left over from the foundation excavation, or a dozen other things -- and without investigating it on-site, it's not possible to say that it's "probably" any one of those things.
No, it is not. Lye is NaOH; portland cement is CaO.
Like I said -- you don't have a clue what you're talking about.
Then why are you lying about it?
And YOU either are lying about being in construction or have turned your back on all of the dumping that is common by the construction crews. I have see lye used by construcion crews preparing for concrete pours. Lye is also used in some concrete and is leached out when concrete trucks was out there trucks after dumping their loads. Was down a few trucks in the same spot and you won't get much to grow in that spot. The list of dumped materials goe on and on.
In your opinion and only in your opinion.
Yes, I know about all those HIDDEN SLABS an inch under the surface. They are everywhere!
You might check again, lye is most definately used in concrete and if you were in construction as you claim, you would know that.
Hi, Have ever done dethatching or aerating the lawn in the spring? For the dead spot rake the area hard and remove dead grass roots and soil. Fill with good fresh top soil. Use grass seed mixture made for patching. Keep te area moist until seeds germinate. Also do you feed the lawn with good food(fertilizer) regularly?
snipped a little:-))
Sometimes????????????
Lye and Portland cement are not the same thing.
Oh, I agree -- what I'm objecting to is you leaping to the totally unwarranted conclusion that that's the most likely explanation for a random dead spot in the lawn. There are many, many other explanations, most of them at least equally likely.
Geez, with so little info given, it could be anything that's causing this guys "dead spots". Could be grubs, other insects, or disease for all we know. I agree with Doug, you're wildly jumping to conclusions that it's probably construction debris related. I don't know what goes on where anyone else lives, but here in NJ builders can't use the construction site as a dump. If they do, they can expect a fine and visit from the DEP.
Ok, Ok, I will give you that one.
I never said it was. There are a number of different mixtures used in concrete and lye is a part of most of those mixtures. The only one to mention Protland cement was you.
Well, you leap to your conclusions and I will leap to mine. Mine were based on observation. When I had my house built 30+ years ago it was one if the first in the neighborhood. Since I worked out of my home at the time I had the chance to watch most of the homes in the neighborhood being built. Not only were bags of lye used for the preparation of my homes foundation, I watched it being used on most of the homes around me. (At least those constructed by the better builders.) They mixed it with the foundation sand and dirt before laying down a plastic liner. I am not sure of the reason for its use but it was used. I also watched as the concrete trucks constantly washed out their trucks after unloading and they always seemed to dump in the same spots and the wash it it. In addition, I watched the construction crews dump all sorts of crap on site from paints to motor oil and bury a lot of construction materials.
Over the following years it was interesting to see the various problems my neighbors had with their yards. Since most of them tried to grow turf lawns it was easy to know what was causing them the most grief. I had a couple of areas that were early problems as well until I gave up on trying to grow grass in heavy shade and dug out the soil to built up the yard for landscaping. The subdivision was cut from a dense forest and most of the builders had opted to remove almost all of the trees. Since I got in early and picked my lot, I retained almost all of my trees. Gave me a totally different set of problems from most of my neighbors.
Ahhh, now I understand why you think they use lye in concrete. They don't. You're thinking of *lime*. It's NOT the same.
Then they shouldn't have labeled the bags as LYE.
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