my builder layed my sod down about 10 days ago..I have been watering like crazy to make sure it takes...Everything looks good but the ground is starting to sink and settle...We didnt get alot of rain prior to the sod getting layed down so all the loose dirt didnt settle completely. My A$$hole builder said they would supply the dirt but I would have to level the ground on my own...I am a first time Homeowner and dont even want to attempt doing anything like that. should I wait till spring to repair the lawn or should I fix it now right after my sod has taken? Also anyone now a good landscaper to do it? Thanks for any input

 

I think I overwatered the sod and actually washed away some of the loam that was laid under the sod. I ended up with some low spots. Difference was that I had the sod put down in the spring so it was no problem to pull up the sod and lay in some fill.

In your case, I'm not sure I'd try to pull back up this late in the year. We could get a cold snap any day- this is Chicago after all. But if you wait until spring, you have to lay dirt over the top of the sod and then seed, which is probably what you wanted to avoid in the first place.

As point of reference, my next door neighbor's house is new construction (tear down of old home) and he had sod put down in April. Had drainage problems which caused low spots which caused water to pool (over zealous timing of sprinkler system?) and started to kill the grass in those areas. So in July (three moneths later) the contractor came back out, pulled up the sod, laid in fill, with some gravel for drainage, and just put back the original brown sod. Neighbor and I thought that was crazy, but by end of August, the sod was green again and stayed level. He has the nicest lawn in the neighborhood and makes the rest of us jealous.

Hope someone else with more direct knowledge can help you. But I think your builder is a jerk, and isn't standing behind his work. Did he do the sod or sub it out?

 

states anything about resodding or leveling the land...providing the dirt is the answer I was given...I have been very dissapointed with my builder...will probably never build a home again because of it. thanks for the info

 

Who is the builder?

 

Grass is overrated - in two years you wouldn't give a damn how it looks

 

William(we dont care)Ryan homes

 

Yes, that's how they react to that kind of issues calls.

It hapened to me as well, I had the same issue and the hole is still there in my front yard, about 6ft long and 3ft wide, and I had the same answer as you did. My s**ty builder was Concord Homes.

I worked on a builder company for over 3 years, and of course I asked about internally, they cover behing 2 main things, one, the work is subcontracted and they approve and pay the sub-contractor during the building time to the please of the builder's inspection, so usually at that time, everything looks well; at that point it becomes a builder's warranty, so the big 2nd cover comes along, unless you notice that during your pre-closing walk-through or actually any time before closing, it's their problem, once you sign the papers, the house is yours and THAT particular one is not covered under warranty of any type, just like the sod.

The sinking happens due (usually) rush of the subcontracting company not setting the land propertly, it sucks, but that's just one of the many ugly faces of residential builders.

The best solution for that is, to accept the dirt from them (whatever is neccesary) just have them to drop it off at your place, rent at ACE hardware or Home Depot, one of those heavy machines to settle the dirt, and cover the whole thing. You're in good position now because you can take the sod out and put it back w/o any harm. If they refuse to give you the dirt, many pre-constuction places, like the one on 75th st and Rt.59 in Aurora, offer free dirt (usually the black one wich is full of nutrients)

Hope it helps and congrats for the house anyways

 

is at at a3o deg angle the ground has sunk so much...my trees are nice and upright...so thats a plus

 

If the city gets on them they are going to have problems with permits in the future. I had a problem with my builder, called the city, city called them and told them "maybe you'd better go out and look at this" and within 2 days the builder was at my house fixing the problem no questions asked. Can't hurt!

 

my village replaces bad trees in front for free