I hired Hooper's Landscaping & Nursery Inc. to install new sod after having a pool put in. Although he was one of the higher quotes that we received, I chose them because they were a local business and I felt they would stand behind his work.
When it got closer to the time I needed the sod I explained that I wanted the sod removed first and the soil prepared prior to having the new sod put down. Mr. Hooper told me that they were coming into their busy season and it was best to put the sod down right away. My old lawn was actually still being cut out when the truck arrived to deliver the new sod. Workers were removing, raking and placing new sod down on a Friday in March. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough sod and they returned the following Monday and completed laying all of the sod in my front yard. Two days later, we experienced a severe frost. I am surprised that a company in the landscaping business doesn't track the local temperature and weather in order to protect their product from becoming damaged. The sod did receive a shock and it took additional time to start rooting. In May, when portions of the lawn weren't growing properly, I contacted Quality First, a lawn care company recommended by Mr. Hooper. The gentleman showed us parts of my lawn which had pythium fungus. Pythium fungus is a root disease. I contacted Mr. Hooper and explained the situation. He acknowledged that pythium fungus can sometimes come with the new sod and he would give me pieces of sod so I could replace the bad ones. He did say that he would wait until he had a job which provided leftover pieces. It's the end of August and I have never received any sod.
Throughout the summer the pythium fungus spread and parts of my lawn started dying. You can actually see the tire tracks from where the heavy equipment drove on my lawn to get to the back yard. I took a sample of that area of my lawn to the Orange County Extension Education Center and delivered it to the plant clinic. They confirmed that I had pythium disease and that the soil was too compacted in the area due to the heavy equipment riding on it. They also said that the soil in that area should have been tilled prior to new sod being installed because the soil was too compacted and the roots could not grow properly. In addition, the heavy rains that we had this summer caused that area not to drain properly and remain saturated with water which also contributed to the pythium fungus. I hired Hooper's Landscaping & Nursery because I felt they were professional and knew their business. Unfortunately, I now feel that he just wanted to rush the job and not do it correctly just so he could collect the $7,100 for this job.
I contacted Mr. Hooper in August to tell him that I am now looking to replace parts if not all of my lawn and I wanted to see if he would do anything about it. He came by and looked at it and then contacted me. He acknowledged that some areas were hit pretty hard but that the sod only had a 30 day warranty. His workmanship and the improper prepping of the soil is the issue that I am questioning and I told him so. I feel that for $7,100 for a 9000 square foot lawn, I would expect Mr. Hooper to stand behind his work. I would not recommend Hooper's Landscaping & Nursery Inc. for your sod needs. read more
