Lawn re-seeding cost

[nihal181]

My husband finished a big french drain job in the backyard and we need to put new lawn (old lawn is almost completely destroyed).

The area is about 2200 sqft, and we got an estimate for the job as follows:
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Preparation:
-spray to kill old grass and weeds
-aerate soil
-level
-compost
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$665

If we'll add Sod it will cost $1800 and the backyard will be usable in 2 to 3 weeks.
If we'll re-seed it will cost $300 and the backyard will be usable in 8 weeks.
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Taking into consideration we have a low spot that needs about 1 yard of soil to be leveled (I am not sure if that was included in the estimate though!).

So the total come to $965 (for seeding) OR $2465 (for sod)

I want to know if this estimate is reasonable in terms of time/cost (we live in old bridge, NJ); we were expecting it to cost around $500~$600 for the job (seeding option)

I have photos of the backyard if that would help,

Would appreciate your reply as we want to finish the job before the leaves start to fall.

[roccon31]

sounds reasonable, you may not realize how much work is really involved, as most homowners do not (no offense). post the pics of the lawn, im sure we are all curious. im in upper bucks county pa, and im certain there are several folks on this site from your area if you want a second or third opinion. from your description the price doesnt sound bad at all.

for example, im in the middle of a very similar job to yours. sod and reseeding alone was almost 3k for about 2300 sq ft. including grading, aeration, compost, lime and fertilizer. i bid this one pretty cheap. should have been about 3500-3700.

[Joeypole]

I'm in Middletown, NJ and did a lot of backfilling and such in my back yard beginning of the year. I backfilled about 10 tons of topsoil at $20 a ton plus a 3 $75 delivery fees cause I didn't estimate enough topsoil.

Preparation is very important and a pain in the butt. It takes a lot of racking and leveling and such. If its not leveled you get low spots which will create puddles when watered and no grass. I took some shortcuts and now I'm paying for it.

It will take a couple bags of seed at $60 a pop plus fertilizer and other stuff. The preparation will be worth it. If you don't do it right you will be fighting overseeding and getting it right like I am doing.

I think the quote is reasonable. Its a lot of work and not something that is done in 2 hours.


Just remember, if its not done right it will cost you more in the future.