Like said above, why are you top dressing? Is it to level the turf, add organic matter, to cover seed? How are they planning on leveling out the soil once applied? Are they using hand tools like a level lawn, or pulling a drag mat? Are they going to mow the lawn lower before doing the work? The charges sound fair from my limited experience. I'm 54 and in pretty decent shape, but I'd pay someone to aerate at that price any day versus going to a big box store and renting a walk behind for $50-$65. Hooking up the trailer, going to the store, waiting in line, loading the unit, making sure it's clean before you start, cleaning when you are done, going back to the store, turning it in, paying via credit card, having money put back from the deposit, refilling the fuel. For another $65-$70, I'd pay someone to avoid that back and forth hassle any day. If you like his answers, see if you can lock him in for that price the following year if you want to level the lawn some more. He may be new to the business and bidding low to get work. If so, a positive 5-star review would really help out a new business and may encourage him to do a top-notch job.
Someone with more experience can weigh in, but you may want to water the lawn well before they start the work. If the soil is hard, the unit may not punch down the full depth. If you are there when the work is done, make sure they are pulling plugs the full depth. If it is a pull behind unit, they may be able to add more weight.
I've never had top dressing, but for the time and effort, I don't think that's a bad deal. Here's a video of a guy top dressing his lawn with sand. he has another video using an automated spreader a few seconds after this time stamp. Even then, it was a lot of heavy shovel work loading the unit. After watching the video, you'd probably think paying the landscaper to do this is chump change. It's real work.
Ask for more information on what soil is being added. My friend had a new house built a few years ago and the guy that added soil and put down seed was a scam artist. He put down soil and Rye (a cool season grass) and put this down in the middle of Virginia summer which is 92-98 most days. The well hadn't been dug so there was no way to irrigate the seed. As I predicted, with no plants and roots the first few good rains washed away a ton of the new topsoil, leaving significant ruts. The guy came back to add more soil, but it had rock almost as large as my fist. It's a lawn care nerds' worst nightmare because the amount of work it would take to remove those rocks is insane. The point I'm trying to make is make sure you know about the soil before he puts it down. The whole, "An ounce of prevention versus a pound of cure" statement.
Personally, I'd accept those prices all day long.
The soil pH is great. You likely won't need to add lime for a while. I wish my iron (Fe) was that high. It's too high, but it will come down. The high calcium may be due to the type of lime used when the pH was raised. The NPK can be raised easily, but do not try to do it all in a single application or you’ll do more harm than good. Check and see if there is a SiteOne store near you. Others may have experience to say I’m wacko, but buying premixed fertilizers can be expensive compared to buying concentrated sources from a big bag store or Amazon. Tractor Supply has a product that is 29% nitrogen and it was a good price, but I can’t find the link offhand. Milorganite is 6% nitrogen and 4% phosphorus, and it has a lot of organic matter which the microbes in the soil love. There’s a product called Revive that has a lot of organic matter and a high amount of nitrogen as well. Home Depot has a 40 pound box of 0-0-60 potassium for a good price. Watch your phosphorus. You can save money (and the environment) by not over-applying phosphorus.
SiteOne can give you more information on if you should put down nitrogen at this time of year. Depending on where you are, the grass type you have and if your lawn will be going into dormancy, you may want to hold off on applying nitrogen which can force growth when your turf type may want to store that energy for when it comes out of dormancy or period of stress. I have Zoysia and I’m in central Virginia, and our first freeze is in one month, or around 10/23. Since my lawn is close to going dormant, I’d only put down potassium and hold off on nitrogen until the lawn has fully greened up which for me is towards the end of April. SiteOne can also assist with raising your macros on the right side of your report (zinc, copper and boron).
I'm always learning, so I'm looking forward to hearing other's input too.
