The new grass in the third pic sure does not look like Bermuda. It could be some cheap contractor mix grass seeds they dumped down to pacify you. These would not blend in well with Bermuda grass.

Have you tried keeping a section of the sod moist for several days to see if it greens up?

 

Depending how much you care about the variety, this might be a good chance to upgrade to a zoysia or Bermuda variety that will fit your needs, and will be nice from the get go. Would be expensive but food for thought

Usually the builder grade Bermuda kinda sucks (At least that's the impression is gotten from various threads)

 

The new grass in the third pic sure does not look like Bermuda. It could be some cheap contractor mix grass seeds they dumped down to pacify you. These would not blend in well with Bermuda grass.

Have you tried keeping a section of the sod moist for several days to see if it greens up?

I water regularly and we have received quite a bit of rainfall in Central Oklahoma. Also I think Im the only one that is actively trying to take care of my yard, its rather ironic ha.

 

Depending how much you care about the variety, this might be a good chance to upgrade to a zoysia or Bermuda variety that will fit your needs, and will be nice from the get go. Would be expensive but food for thought

Usually the builder grade Bermuda kinda sucks (At least that's the impression is gotten from various threads)

Yeah, replacing all the sod is definitely not in the budget at the moment, unfortunately. I had thought about buying some sod rolls and plugging/sprigging or just getting a variety of bermuda that can be seeded like a princess 77. Thoughts? I just dont know what I should do with the weed situation as well. Do I ride it out and try to get somewhat of a yard established during summer and then spray in winter?

 

It appears very little, if any of the Bermuda has survived. I've never built a house and am no law expert, but I would read through your contract with the builder and see if there is any language that you may be able to hold him to. If you're unable to get him to replace it, possible you could work something out where they contribute partially to you replacing it through your own source with a variety of your choosing. Some people suck .....

 

If there is even 1% bermuda, it will eventually take over any other grasses around. But it may take a long time. Those snake-like lines you see all around are the absolute worst thing ever. Nothing grows in that stuff not even the toughest Texas weeds. Bunch of loose thatch that needs to be removed. Not sure how old this installation is but that seems like a lot of thatch.

If it were my lawn, I would round it all up (NOT extended/360 versions). Let it all die for 3 weeks. You can wait and bermuda will likely come back, or you can seed/sod.

 

Reading this today.... as I just purchased a lot to build on here in OKC. Who's your builder?

 

Reading this today.... as I just purchased a lot to build on here in OKC. Who's your builder?

Vintage Custom. I have nothing bad to say about the craftsmanship of the home. I just got bad batch of sod that I feel either sat out to long and definitely didn't get enough water once it was put down. Other homes same builder same sod company look great

 

I don't know what's in the contract but the grass .....

Builders statement, i can agree on the timing and implications but Unless you applied something youre not telling us.....Keep pushing back, what u have there is a steamer, you appear to be onto their 'rug sweep'

 

If you lay sod in Oct/Nov, that is winter for all intents and purposes of this discussion as the sod never has a chance to take root. Laying dormant sod is doable, but it requires a ton of maintenance to keep it "good" until spring when it starts growing again such as frequent watering as you noted. So yes it looks like none of that sod survived and is unfortunately worthless. Sprigging it from new sod pieces for the rest of growing season is your most cost effective option. The builder overseeding it with some mix of seed is making it worse.

 

Most if not all builders in OK will not cover sod as anything that a homeowner has to "maintain/upkeep" is considered the homeowner's responsibility. As always, the language favors builders significantly. It's already June and bermuda should be thriving with all the rain we had lately. I would try to be more "vocal" publicly to the your builder one last time via all their social accounts, but this is going to be a lot of work and time if you wait for whatever little is left to bounce back. Unfortunately, the best course would be to resod entirely or you get erosion, a mud pit from rain, and constant stress trying to live with it. This is a case where you have to shell out money for happiness.

 

If there is even 1% bermuda, it will eventually take over any other grasses around. But it may take a long time. Those snake-like lines you see all around are the absolute worst thing ever. Nothing grows in that stuff not even the toughest Texas weeds. Bunch of loose thatch that needs to be removed. Not sure how old this installation is but that seems like a lot of thatch.

If it were my lawn, I would round it all up (NOT extended/360 versions). Let it all die for 3 weeks. You can wait and bermuda will likely come back, or you can seed/sod.

Yes, that thatch is bad. The sod was layed dormant and almost a month and a half before I closed. It didnt get enough water IMO and the majority of it just died. So, with all the rain we received it just washed away.

 

Well its been almost a year since my last post in this thread and thought I would share some of the progress. WOW what a difference a year makes.









There is still a ton of work to do, mainly the whole section with my mailbox. We had an army worm problem and grubs that killed off some areas. But all in all a huge improvement from last year. Now my 2 questions are:

1. Grass seems to be spreading more laterally that growing vertically. Is that normal for bermuda to do that? I have sections of it that does grow vertically and that is the only reason I have to mow or else I could go almost 2 weeks without it looking bad.

2. I have a lot of high an low spots so the yard needs to be leveled for sure but the main area of concern is my fence line.
Most of the sod and soil eroded away because it wasn't rooted and/or dead. Should I start laying down sand to help build that back up now that I have an established yard or should I wait until the grass is growing more vertically to grow thru the sand.

 

Awesome to hear and see everything is working out!!!

I think once everything starts to thicken up it will start to grow more upright, also once you start getting consistently in the 80's that will help too. Just keep fertilizing and watering and cutting regularly and you should be fine.

You can probably start adding a little bit of sand now to those low spots and then once the lawn starts taking off you can go ahead and be more aggressive at filling in those spots.

One question? In the last picture, was it taken in the morning? Looks like there is spider webs in the grass, if there is you may want to put down some bug stuff for the lawn.

 

Well its been almost a year since my last post in this thread and thought I would share some of the progress. WOW what a difference a year makes.

Looking good @msteele29. What was the verdict on the sod?
-Sod woke up
-What sod was alive finally spread
-Seed put down by contractor

 

wow... looks a lot better! Was the sod still alive?

 

New home builders could care less if the lawn survives. They just want to check a box that it's done. Most of the time, they don't even turn on the sprinklers to water the lawn between the time the lawn is installed and the owner moves in.

 

Well its been almost a year since my last post in this thread and thought I would share some of the progress. WOW what a difference a year makes.

Looking good @msteele29. What was the verdict on the sod?
-Sod woke up
-What sod was alive finally spread
-Seed put down by contractor

The sod finally woke up I guess. It didnt really start growing until mid June. So that is all growth and natural spread. I did plug a few spots that helped. The seed they spread never germinated except in a few spots.

 

Awesome to hear and see everything is working out!!!

One question? In the last picture, was it taken in the morning? Looks like there is spider webs in the grass, if there is you may want to put down some bug stuff for the lawn.

I think what you are seeing is the blue dye from the pre emerg glowing off of some of the dead thatch I need to get up. I know some is good, but I still have thick layers in spots from the dead sod.

 

New home builders could care less if the lawn survives. They just want to check a box that it's done. Most of the time, they don't even turn on the sprinklers to water the lawn between the time the lawn is installed and the owner moves in.

Exactly what happened to me.