new lot, grass and landscaping

Apr 19, 2007 5 Replies
M

Good day.



I'm in a new construction home on a lot of dirt. I have an allowance from the builder to landscape. Its not enough of an allowance for this big lot, so I need to do it on my own. Now, I have some estimates to get the loam and hydro seed delivered, but I need to prep the lot before I have anything delivered. I also have to grade the back yard.



So, my question is this. Can anyone advice me on what it is that I need to do to prep the lot? For example, the builder appears to have just used a bulldozer to level things out, so there are roots, branches, rocks, sand, pebbles, nail, pieces of the siding, ect all over the place. I can rake up the trash and some of the debris pretty easily. But when I rake up the roots, I get 3 more roots pulled up for every one that I rake up. And there are plenty of rocks out there too.



Here is the lot...

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If I paid a landscaper to do all the work of loaming and seeding, what would they do to prep the lot?



Any advice or suggestions of any sort are greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.



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A

The first thing I would do is make sure there is a properly installed perimeter drain system that works. Most builders screw them up.

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N

I would use the allowance to grade and put in topsoil, sod the front if possible. Before that, I would tell the builder to clean up his waste. Does anything in your contract or local code address removing waste?

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M

The builder did, what is called "rough grading".

Probably the least a landscaper would have to do is: Use of a rockhound, and a minimum of 2" of topsoil.

There could be a lot more involved with "fill dirt", especially low spots or sloping away from the foundation.

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L

If you think you would ever want a sprinkler system, now would be the time to put one in. Larry

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J

I can't tell from the pictures, but does the grade run to the house? If so, get that fixed. . Then, spend every dime of your landscaping allowance on loam. Then, if you need more loam, pay for it. At least 6". Somebody else mentioned 2", but for a really lush lawn, you need a nice base of loam.

Once the grass is hydroseeded, etc, it costs alot more $$ to fix a badly graded, thin layer of loam. I made the exact same mistake I am afraid you might make. Get the basics down first. . Plants are cheap as compared to a screwed-up lot. You can do plants at any time. Also, the sprinkler recommendation was a good one, too.

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