Sod and Lawn Installation in Sandy Springs

What the scope covers

• Species selected against measured light: zoysiagrass or hybrid bermuda in sun, zoysiagrass where the light is marginal, tall fescue where winter colour matters more than summer toughness
• Grading and soil preparation before any sod arrives, because a lawn laid over an uneven or compacted subgrade stays uneven and compacted
• Installation timed to the species: tall fescue in the September to October or late winter windows, warm-season grasses through May and June
• Sod laid in a running bond with tight joints and rolled, and irrigation started the day it goes down rather than the day after
• A written establishment watering schedule that uses the 30-day exemption Georgia law allows for newly installed turf
• Seeding rates taken from the UGA figures rather than from the bag, at 5 to 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet for tall fescue
• An honest recommendation to plant a bed instead where the light will not support turf, rather than selling a lawn that has to be replaced in three years

To have this priced on your own property, call (404) 737-3568 or use the quote form. Someone walks the yard, takes measurements, and leaves a written scope with a price on it. No charge for any of that.

Read next

• The Sandy Springs landscaping guide
• What landscaping costs here
• Working with Georgia red clay
• The glossary, for the words that turn up on a quote

On sod and lawn, specifically

Zoysia, bermuda or fescue for a Sandy Springs yard?

It comes down to light and to what you want in winter. UGA rates common bermudagrass very poor for shade and hybrid bermuda fair to poor, so bermuda belongs in open sun. Zoysiagrass is rated very good to good for shade with excellent sun tolerance, which makes it the most flexible choice on a wooded lot, at the cost of slow establishment. Tall fescue keeps its colour all winter and is well adapted to the Piedmont, but it is a cool-season grass carrying a Georgia summer, so it needs more water and often needs overseeding each fall.

When can sod be laid?

Warm-season sod goes down best from May through June, when soil temperatures are up and the grass has the whole growing season to root. Tall fescue sod is more flexible because it is a mature plant going in, and UGA notes fescue sod in winter is acceptable in Georgia. What UGA warns against is dormant sodding of warm-season grasses, where winter injury on zoysia and centipede has been observed against bermuda. If the schedule pushes a zoysia lawn into November, waiting until spring is usually the cheaper decision.

How much water does new turf need, and is that legal in a Georgia summer?

A lot at first, and yes. Georgia law limits outdoor irrigation for planting and maintaining plants to the hours between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., but the statute exempts irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed or turf during installation and for 30 days immediately after the date of installation. That 30-day window is the establishment period, and it exists precisely so that new sod is not being watered against the clock.

Can I seed instead of sodding?

For tall fescue, yes, and it is much cheaper. UGA puts fescue seed at 5 to 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet, sown September to October or late February to March. For warm-season lawns it is more limited. Hybrid bermudas are sterile and can only be established vegetatively, St. Augustinegrass cannot be seeded at all, and seeded zoysia cultivars exist but establish slowly. Seeding also asks the homeowner to keep a bare slope covered through the establishment period, which on a Piedmont grade is its own project.

Why does my lawn thin out every year in the same place?

Usually because the canopy grew. A lawn planted when the trees were smaller gets less light every season, and turf declines gradually rather than dying outright, so the thinning reads as a maintenance problem rather than a light problem. Counting hours of sun in leaf-on conditions settles it. Below about four hours, the area is a bed whether or not anyone has admitted it yet.