Lawn Care Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Customer not happy with hydroseed job (that i didn't do)

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Expert Lawns

· Registered
Joined
·
2,848 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
I don't do hydroseeding at all. A customer of mine had someone come out and hydroseed her lawn. It rained hard the next day and washed it all out. The guy will not come back. She would like me to fix the trouble spots. She thought that if i "roughed up the soil" with a rake and laid down some seed and then put straw on top of it, that it would be fixed. What do you guys think? She doesn't want to pay someone else to come out and waste her money. She likes and knows i'm dependable. I told her I would look into it and get back with her.

There are only a few bad spots. Each spot is probably 30 feet in diameter. (they are both pretty much in circular form....for comparison sake)
 
#3 ·
The other guy ought to back up his own work. I do a lot of seeding and if it washes away you guessed it I am fixing it its not like it cost allot to fix a seeding job. The money I make isn't so much from seeding its the demolition of the trouble spots the top soil work and the prep work the seeding is often around only 10-20% of the job so its not a big deal to fix a small part of it.

If thereÂ’s some ruts fill them in other wise just scratch up the surface and put the new seed down put some starter fert and some hay and you ought to be good. If the soil is bare you can forget about these ridiculously low seed per sq foot rates you see some people recommend. Some say 3-5 pounds per thousand I prefer much heavier amounts 10-25 pounds depending on what type of seed I am using. I also charge 10 cents per foot so its fine with me to use allot I would rather not being doing the job twice thatÂ’s when it cost money.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
thanks guys

What type of seed do I need to buy? I'm not really sure what kind of grass it is. I also hear a lot of talk about warm/cool weather grass. I dont' want to put down the wrong stuff. I just want to make sure that the grass takes and starts growing. She has spent enought money with other people that I am really starting to feel her pain. I know it's not rocket science, but I want to get it done right. (i'm also missing out on mowing this yard cuz the dang hydroseed guy messed up)

Kelly's Landscaping - the guy that did the job came back and gave her some story about "there was only a 30% chance of rain for that day and it ended up raining all day, it's not my fault" He was rude to her and stomped off. VERY unprofessional and refused to come back. Like you said, he should have been back there to fix it. oh well
 
#5 ·
Grass seed type your going to have to make the call. It could be pure sun seed or maybe its a mix or perhaps the area is complete shade. Figure that out and the rest is rather easy the only hard part is where to buy your seed from and well I don't live there put a nursery or a fertilizer place may have what your looking for.
 
#7 ·
A mix of 60% kentucky blue 20% perenial Rye and 20% fescue or anything close to that mix will work fine. but for fixing those spots I would be charging at least a couple hundred $$$ she paid way more than that for the hydro seeding. Also I would have her call the guy and ask why he did not put in any tackifier to hold it in place, it cheap and most hydro guys add it to prevent this problem, That might get his attention that she is not completly ignorant of the hydro process.

Mac
 
#8 ·
Not knowing the details, just how long has it been since the hydroseeding was performed. You said the spots washed out in circular patterns?? Sounds more like the washed out areas are really low areas in the soil. If this is the case the grass planted might of just gotten buried a little deeper from the wash. It might come in yet. If there are rutts, well then you are going to have to fill them in and reseed. After filling rake smooth broadcast seed and starter fert, rake lightly to cover seed and mix fertilizer with soil and cover with straw.
The contractors mix will be a blend of several different types of seed. There are different contractor mixes for different areas of the country. The one sold in your area is one that was mixed for your part of the country. It is usually cheaper seed and will contain predomanetly prennial grasses with a small percentage of annual grass, usually annual rye, for a cover or nurse crop. I wouldnt use the 10 or 25 lbs per 1000 that was suggested. A recipe for disaster. 7 or 8 lbs will do just fine. Unless you are using K bluegrass and then i would drop back down to the 5 lbs per 1000.
You wont be using warm season grasses up where you are.
 
#9 ·
"I wouldnÂ’t use the 10 or 25 lbs per 1000 that was suggested. A recipe for disaster. 7 or 8 lbs will do just fine."

I don't know what disaster you are referring to of the nearly $50 thousand worth of seeding I did this spring all my lawns have come up think and lush. With little to no weak spots that you often find when you skimp on the seed. Can you get by with less seed yes are the results better no. And the reason I tend to use so much is I like to hand rake the seed in to the soil then I put a little on top before I hay typicaly I use around 15 per 1000. So no I do not have seed rotting on top. Just a personal preference but my results have been phenomenal.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
I only used the term "circular" to simplify it so you can visualize the size better. There are no ruts, so I do not have to worry about bringing in much soil.

You guys have been a tremendous help. I know pretty much all I need to know now except how to spread it. Do you recommend doing it by hand? I have a fert spreader, not a dedicated seeder or overseeder. What'dya think
 
#12 ·
Anybody else ever regret doing seeding work? It seems like there are always problems associated with it. Areas rutting out, customers leaving straw on too long, not watering it enough, etc. I'm going to start bidding this type of work higher. You can do seed work right to the book and you might not still get great germination rates. Just my two cents.
 
#13 ·
I agree totally geo, I do it buy the book and spare no expence and effort yet i have come to expect spotty results as being the norm when seeding from scratch. by spotty i mean it looks good from a distance but if you walk it there are areas where the turf is less thick. So 2 things,
1, im going to try seeding at the heavier rates that one member suggested, but darn i just did the calculation and at 15 lbs it will be Very expensive. I pay 2 $ a pound for top quality (Champion) P. Ryegrass mix. If i do a front lawn only (1 k sqr) My cost product wise could be as much as $30.00. yikes. (btw member how much should I apply using the straight P. Rye we use in Pacific N West?
2. Should you be able to achieve thick turf from one seeding?

OH, i just remembered reading a study that found there was a diminishing return with seed amount used that 10 lbs was better than 7 lbs but 15 lbs not better than 10. It was something to that effect. Oh well, im still going to do it and keep trying to get better, client watering still my number one prob. with success rates in seeding.
 
#14 ·
I have seeded hundreds of lawns and there is no secret to it. Proper preperation which means working the soil to a depth of 4-5 inches seeding at a rate of 7 pds per thousand putting down twice the rate of lesco starter fert and mulching with straw. The secret is making sure the customer does his part in keeping it watered and I found a real easy way of doing that. Its in my watering instuctions that they must sign a copy of. It states that if the lawn is allowed to dry out it will crust over and I will not honor the guarentee I provided. And I explain it to them as soon as they sign and then I take a picture of the lawn. I explain that any straw that is missing is becoase it was dry and blew off I tell them I will make periodical stops to make sure that it is being watered and as soon as I find it dry there on there own. I know I sound like a cruel rip off artist but when they relize that they have invested alot of money and if they don't do there part it will all be for nothing,they water religiously. Very seldom do I have to go back to correct any spots and then I just use the lesco renovator to slice in any spots. I'll take all the seed work I can get.

Mac
 
#15 ·
just remember in seeding more is not always better to much seed results in to many seeds germinating at once equals to many competing plants and is worse than not enough seed. one question if this guy hydroseeded this yard did he not spray any mulch. I own a finn T75 the new model they came out with this year. I spray mulch with every seeding job, sure I cut the mulch rate back on flat ground, but I hydromulched a dam with a 2 to 1 slope using pensacola bahia grass, brown top millet, and tempest turf type fescue. used 2000 pounds per acre rate of Terra Mulch, profile tacking agent 3. Thunderstorm popped up less than two hours after seeding, huge rain, worried me to death. Went back next morning to check, no erosion at alll looks perfect today. Might want to check on that guys hydroseeding practices but good luck anyway
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
The worst part about it is that I referred this guy to her and he comes out and does a job like this. never again; he is scratched off my referral list.

I went to the local Lesco dealer for seed and they're holding a 50 lb bag for me. He said it's mostly perenial and also said that it's mostly rye, fescue and bluegrass. Does this sound about right?

IT's going to work out pretty well for me. I paced off the area and calculated that it is just about 10,000 sq ft. One bag will spread that exact amount. Nice when things work out like that. How many bales of straw do you think I will need?
 
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
About this Discussion
21 Replies
11 Participants
Last post:
muddstopper
Lawn Care Forum
posts
7.2M
members
230K
Since
1999
A forum community dedicated to lawn care and landscaping professionals and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Lawn Mowing Pesticide & Herbicide Application 🔧 Mechanic and Repair Business Operations Lawn Mowing Equipment