New lawn, yellow turf...

[Sakura03]

I'm having my lawn returfed, the turf were laying on my pattio for a few days, the chap who is doing the job for me laid one half of the lawn which doesn't look too bad and then dug out the rest of the garden, laid new top soil and finally laid the rest today and it's yellow. I questioned it (but frankly I haven't got a clue other than it should be green surely🤔) he keeps saying give it a week and it will all be green, is he right???

I wouldn't expect a customer to pay for that!! It's awful. The turf has been left rolled up for far too long, most likely upwards of a week. If he's just bought it then he needs to complain to the turf growers and get his money back. It will green up where the grass is still there but not the bare patches. Don't pay the rest of the money until the turf is replaced.

Did you speak to the man today OP?

liquoricecravings yes I did, he is going to relay all of it, also the green turf as there are gaps and brown patches. Thank you everyone for your comments😊

Oh good. So pleased that he is going to relay it for you.

That’s the ideal solution and it’s good he’s seen sense and is doing it, it’s a terrible job. Sod should be laid within 24 hours. Ideally as soon as it arrives.

Oh good! I'm so pleased you'll have everything replaced and that he has accepted he needs to change it . Perhaps keep some money back until you see the new turf is as green and healthy as it should be when he lays it.

So the saga continues! The chap backtracked and said he'd replace all the turf on the half that were dead and take out the patches I had pointed out on the other part. When he came I was in an online meeting so could go out and check what he was doing. When I was done he'd gone but it looks like a different turf, it's dry and a lot darker. I've attached pictures, it's awful... I've just had enough😥 early on I made the mistake and paid him £300 cash for materials and then we agreed I would pay the rest by bank transfer, so as such I have no evidence that I've paid the £300... also the lid on the sandpit is so heavy he hasn't attached any handles which we agreed. What do I do? I just want rid of him but at the same time I can't see why I should pay the price he quoted mhe when it's such a rubbish job he's done

Forgot to attach pictures

Quote Bluntness100, liquoricecravings, any what would you do in my my situation?

I was hoping somebody would reply😞...
he is saying he’ll come back and relay the first half he put down as customer satisfaction is his main priority (it’s clearly not!) but that won’t resolve the problem...which I’ve stated in an email to him...

This guy is hilarious. Even in the last photo you posted, the joints of the turf rolls haven't been brought together and knitted - there's gaps. That will take weeks if not months to grow in, each roll of turf should be knitted with the roll next to it!

The different colour turf is because he's probably used odd rolls and offcuts, although I can imagine after a while it would all blend together. If not you've got an interesting mix of colours which I quite like!

I'd get him to properly knit together the rolls where there's gaps, replace any dead patches, and fit a handle as requested, wouldn't settle his bill beforehand. Oh and leave him a shit review.

Hi OP, though that is clearly a less than ideal job I wouldn't make to much fuss about the turf. It will all marry up faster than you think. One thing I can't stress enough is KEEP WATERING IT! don't stop just because it drizzled for an hour. It is better to soak it right thru to the soil (you can check by lifting a piece of turf at the edge) once every 3 days than to sprinkle it for 20mins every evening. Try not to walk on it until it's been down for a fortnight , though I appreciate that is hard with children that want to play. The aim is to get the roots to tie in to the soil underneath which is harder for them if they keep getting moved.
Definitely make sure he fits a handle to that sandpit lid. Is it one you Lift off or is it on hinges? It f the latter it could do with a soft close strut like on a car boot to stop it landing on the children unexpectedly.
What area of the country are you in? If your local I can help.

Hi

I put down my own turf yesterday. Prepared the ground on Thursday and then put topsoil and dampened the soil just before laying all the turf that was delivered at 2pm. Took a photo as soon as I had finished and it looks like the attached photo. Very different to yours :(

I plan on watering it three times a day if its hot, though today it has so far been drizzling all day which is good news for my grass 😀

Hi OP, I think it looks worrying because the turf is now uneven in height - some of it looks ready to cut soon and the new turf looks as it should do. If he will relay the 'old' turf that has started growing that will balance out the look of the whole lawn and should make you feel happier about the job. He will need to do that pretty immediately though for it to be resolved. Hold back the money until you're happy.

With regards to the lines between the turf rolls, that's normal and it will start to knit together soon. Our turf has been down for two weeks now and we can still see some of the lines but I'm not worried as it's less noticeable every few days.

We are watering ours for about 4 hours a day still and it seems to be making the progress we hoped for (we're not on a water meter which helps).

The positive for you is that the colour of the turf is healthy and it will knit together in time. I think it's just a matter of challenging him on how the lawn is now in two different stages as he didn't replace the whole lot when he said he would.

Admittedly, there are a few patches in our lawn that have grown quicker than others though. I will send some photos to show you.

Oh, and definitely insist that he puts a handle on the sandpit lid (great idea, by the way).

The first photo shows how some of the grass has grown more quickly in the middle of the garden. The second shows the join in the turf roll is still there two weeks on.

DH turfed our tiny front garden and a good chunk of the back after a good bit of googling. The edges should be pushed in together to knit and the lines will disappear with time. Yours does look improved in the most recent pictures but you do have a nice patchwork of green going on and that sandpit needs handles!

OP are you getting anywhere with chasing your man to put handles on the sandpit?
The lawn will right itself once it's had a first cut. Will he cut it the first time? We normally impress on customers that we will do the first cut and not to worry about the grass being too long for us. This is so they don't walk on it or try and chew thru thick new turf with a mower that is not up to the job. Also ours weighs 80kg with a roller on so just a good job of pressing the turf into the soil and leaves it stripy afterwards.

Hello everyone, sorry for the late reply but thanks to all you lovely people taking time to comment. I wrote to the guy and suggested that he collected his turf as I refused to pay up for a job that has not been done to a satisfactory level. I had to chase him up and he eventually came on Tuesday and removed it all. He did try to put a lot of pressure on me to keep it but I stood my ground and I’m so glad I did!

DaffodilsAndDandelions I’m in Cambridgeshire. One of my friends has done his own garden in the past and he is going to help me turf the garden and relay all the slabs for me. I will look online for a local turf supplier. Also with the sandpit because the cover is so heavy even if it had handles fitted I’ve decided to buy a wooden sandpit with a tie on rain cover and just put it on top of the lawn (or just turf around it).

@Sakura03

Hello everyone, sorry for the late reply but thanks to all you lovely people taking time to comment. I wrote to the guy and suggested that he collected his turf as I refused to pay up for a job that has not been done to a satisfactory level. I had to chase him up and he eventually came on Tuesday and removed it all. He did try to put a lot of pressure on me to keep it but I stood my ground and I’m so glad I did!

That's good news and I'm pleased he saw sense in the end. I hope the new approach gives you the look you're hoping for.