Are there soil issues for new home sod installation? If you’re purchasing a new home you may be wondering if there are issues associated with the soil at your new home site. Should you assume that your contractor will spread topsoil enriched with organic material around your new home? Will the soil around your new home help you grow an attractive lawn during your years of ownership? Are there questions that you should be asking your contractor about soil before your new home sod installation?
Michael Romine answers your questions in this blog post. Michael is the owner of Houston Grass, located in Arcola, Texas just south of Highway 6 and just east of Sienna. Michael and his family have been in the grass sod business since 1981, and he’s an expert in all aspects of grass sod and sod installation in Southeast Texas.
Summary of the New Home Sod Installation Video
The contractors will generally scrape off all the good topsoil because they don’t want to build your house on topsoil. And they need something in to fill around your foundation, so they’ll bring in select fill clay. They’ll always bring in some amount of select fill once they form up the boards to pour the concrete for your new home’s foundation. If they have any extra, the contractors will smear it around your yard rather than haul it off again.
And at some point they’ll just bring in sand, bank sand, at the end of the project to smooth everything out and gently slope the ground away from your house. The problem with the bank sand is that it’s generally not very good for growing grass.
If the contractors don’t use sand, then what’s left is the select fill clay or the clay-based soil that was probably on your lot under the topsoil. If you let that clay-based soil dry up, it’s like concrete. That high clay soil is not ideal for growing grass either. Grass will grow on just about anything if you give enough water, but it’s not ideal.
We do install topsoil if it’s if it’s a large enough area where we can get Bobcats and a tractor with a box blade in there. If you have a house out on a half acre, then you probably have plenty of room to work around and get that kind of equipment in there.
If you need topsoil for a smaller property, we can bring in all new good topsoil and dump it in your driveway. You can fill up wheelbarrows and take it out around your yard and smear it around uniformly. Then you’ve got something nice to lay your grass on which would pay dividends if you’re going to be in that house for awhile.
Fix the Topsoil Before You Install Your Grass
So what’s the solution for new home sod installation? Ideally you’ll talk to your contractor and agree that your contractor will bring in topsoil before your sod installation. This little bit of foresight in preparation will make your new home sod installation a success, and your neighbors will envy your lawn for years to come.
If you have any questions, please call Houston Grass at 281-431-7441. We carry two varieties of St. Augustine grass, two varieties of Bermuda grass, and three varieties of Zoysia grass. We have grass sod with quality second to none in the Houston area, and at great prices too.