Contractor Destroyed Yard

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#52
#52
BearCat204 said:
You in my yard? You have a clue what you are talking about or just babbling again.
Click to expand...

You posted the pictures. Looked like what you would normally see on a construction project... actually better than I would have expected. I mean, between Feb and May, you get showers/rain quite often. I'm sure that possibly played a role in that.

Interesting thing to me is that you ripped the contractor for this but didn't make any comments on the actual work you hired them to do, so you must have been pleased by that.
 
#53
#53
Rasputin_Vol said:
You posted the pictures. Looked like what you would normally see on a construction project... actually better than I would have expected. I mean, between Feb and May, you get showers/rain quite often. I'm sure that possibly played a role in that.

Interesting thing to me is that you ripped the contractor for this but didn't make any comments on the actual work you hired them to do, so you must have been pleased by that.
Click to expand...
If you hired someone to fix your car, but while doing so, they screwed up your interior with grease, would you just simply say no problem, you'll take care of it?
 
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#54
#54
I don't know why you have a problem with me paying a contractor to do a job and they tear up my front yard and me having a problem with that. Lawyering up in this case was speaking to my lawyer about my options....and that's it. If I pay you for a job and you tear up my yard, you're gonna fix it. You wanna spend time and effort fixing something a contractor screwed up, by all means go ahead guy.
 
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#55
#55
Yankee_Vol said:
For once, Rasputin actually has a halfway valid point.
Click to expand...

Halfway valid if you don't really give a crap about your yard.

A half hours work my azz. Heavy trucks repeatedly compacting soil result in a hardpan making it virtually impossible to have turf grass grow well or evenly. Been there done that getting three huge oaks down and hauled out in a big dump truck, and when had replacement windows and siding and roof after the big hail storm and the rubbish dumpster delivery and just the contractors dually parking there day after day. I told him it was OK. :(

Needs:

1: Power rake area with tines set to just touch top of soil and drag out old thatch along with the grass thats dead from the construction. Rake up the thatch and toss in your compost pile. If you don't have one, good time to start.

2: Deep aeration...The soil has to be damp so aerator tines get full penetration. Aerating dry clay soil only gets little choade plugs out, or no penetration at all and no satisfaction... (with turf renewal that is ;-) )

3: Top treat area with 1 to 2 inches MANUFACTURED TOPSOIL. Do not allow any other kind if you don't want to be fighting serious weed infestation and lots of chirt rock. Made that mistake myself. Still living with the consequences to my "barefoot yard".

4: Rake smooth, grab up any rocks you see. Chirren r good for this. Give 'em a bag and tell em you'll buy 'em a dip cone at DQ if they fill it. heh heh ... take em to DQ anyway.

3. Overseed with twice the recommended amount with with a modern tall fescue blend. Twice, because seed is cheap compared to the frustration of doing all this only to have some areas come up thin.

Put half of it down with a power seed slitter. Start with 1/4 amount in one direction, then 1/4 amount down at 90° to first application. Then, use a broadcast spreader and rake it in. All this so your yard doesn't come up in these little lines where the slitter worked well but seed didn't spread out, or the bin ran empty.

I like Mayo Seed Co. "Velvet Turf". ... It's a special four seed blend that's done well in UT's Landscaping Turf Grass trials. Mayo Seed is on Old Maryville Pike outside Knoxville. Another is "Grande" that's more generally available.

4. Rake lightly.

4. Spread starter fertilizer per bags sq. ft. recommendation. I do like Scotts. Used a bag of it to finish a job several years ago and the grass did much better there than with Home Depots generic turf starter.

5. Rent a yard roller. Bring home with barrel empty then add some water for weight and roll it down for good seed/soil contact.

5: A bale of "landscape straw". NOT HAY! Hay=weeds. Pick apart the bats well. Don't cover too heavily or you'll choke the new seed, but do get the bare spots covered well enough for the straw too help keep soil from drying out, or rain from washing out.

6. Water .. but not too heavily. Use a hose end fan sprayer (best) or multi nozzle set to shower. Get whole area wet. Wait a bit, the do it again. And again.

Put a pan down in the area and when about 1/2" is in it that's enough.

Do not allow to puddle because the seed will float up and congregate due to surface tension like cereal in a bowl, and you'll get bare spots.

Water in the mornings, watering at night promotes yard fungus like "dollar spot".

So you rent: 1. Power rake 2. Aerator 3. Slit seeder 4. Yard roller.

You buy: Seed, starter fertilizer, landscape straw.

Half hour my azz! And yeah. It is worth it. For your own enjoyment and especially the added value a 'mature' well manicured turf lawn adds to home value when it's time to sell.

Course, if where your at is, "If it's green an tall enough to mow I'm good". Then that's good for you.
 
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#56
#56
Rasputin_Vol said:
Rain is out of my control.
Driving in the backyard was necessary to do the job.
Rain + heavy equipment = tracks or damage to grass

How is any of that the construction companies fault? Maybe me and the OP should have just only allowed them to work on dry/non-rainy days.
Click to expand...

Driving in the back yard may not have been necessary. What if you knew he had the right equipment to pump the concrete back there (assuming he had another job closeby since yours was small) or buggy it, but decided not to use it for whatever reason?

I agree with your premise that the damage wasn't excessive, but the contractor should have done business the way he would want it to be done for him. Ended up he did it that way in the end.
 
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#58
#58
BC, glad you got it resolved. Looks like you take pride in your home and yard, as I do.

Some people in this thread say it didn't look that bad, they must live in a trailer park or have 5 cars parked in their yard.
 
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#59
#59
AirVol said:
BC, glad you got it resolved. Looks like you take pride in your home and yard, as I do.

Some people in this thread say it didn't look that bad, they must live in a trailer park or have 5 cars parked in their yard.
Click to expand...

What if all the cars run?
 
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#63
#63
AirVol said:
BC, glad you got it resolved. Looks like you take pride in your home and yard, as I do.

Some people in this thread say it didn't look that bad, they must live in a trailer park or have 5 cars parked in their yard.
Click to expand...

Getting a lawyer involved with that little bit of disturbance is I guess my main point. To me (and in my own personal case), it was reasonable to expect that cement truck would leave some ruts when it had rained the day before. Likewise, had I had another project in my backyard that required some construction, odds are that the crew will need their trucks to move around and what not to get the job done. Me telling them to only work on bright sunny days is not an option in my book because I know how construction work is. If you allow them to pull off one or two days on your job, they will possibly go to another to fill in the time and now you have what would have been a short job that stretches out over several weeks. Plus, if they are set up to do work, it is unreasonable to have them tear everything down and then set up again when it is convenient (sunny day). Again, keep in mind that the OP hasn't said anything about the quality of the work that he paid the guys to do. I would assume that since he hasn't complained about that is that he was satisfied. I think a reasonable expectation would be for them to clean up after themselves (paper, crates, trash, etc), minimize the amount of surface damage and to be as little of an inconvenience as possible.

The pictures the OP said they "destroyed" his lawn. Yet the pictures indicate that he actually had far less than what he proclaimed.
 
#65
#65
Rasputin_Vol said:
Getting a lawyer involved with that little bit of disturbance is I guess my main point. To me (and in my own personal case), it was reasonable to expect that cement truck would leave some ruts when it had rained the day before. Likewise, had I had another project in my backyard that required some construction, odds are that the crew will need their trucks to move around and what not to get the job done. Me telling them to only work on bright sunny days is not an option in my book because I know how construction work is. If you allow them to pull off one or two days on your job, they will possibly go to another to fill in the time and now you have what would have been a short job that stretches out over several weeks. Plus, if they are set up to do work, it is unreasonable to have them tear everything down and then set up again when it is convenient (sunny day). Again, keep in mind that the OP hasn't said anything about the quality of the work that he paid the guys to do. I would assume that since he hasn't complained about that is that he was satisfied. I think a reasonable expectation would be for them to clean up after themselves (paper, crates, trash, etc), minimize the amount of surface damage and to be as little of an inconvenience as possible.

The pictures the OP said they "destroyed" his lawn. Yet the pictures indicate that he actually had far less than what he proclaimed.
Click to expand...
I take pride in my yard and have worked hard to get it looking great. The actual work the contractor did was satisfactory, but that wasn't the issue. "Collateral damage" in this case, wasn't acceptable to me. You keep saying I got a lawyer involved, simply consulting with him to explore my options isn't really getting one involved. Like I said, if you're ok with a contractor screwing up something in the process of doing a good job on something else is acceptable to you, then that's your prerogative.....not mine.
 
#66
#66
Orangedogsrule said:
Halfway valid if you don't really give a crap about your yard.

A half hours work my azz. Heavy trucks repeatedly compacting soil result in a hardpan making it virtually impossible to have turf grass grow well or evenly. Been there done that getting three huge oaks down and hauled out in a big dump truck, and when had replacement windows and siding and roof after the big hail storm and the rubbish dumpster delivery and just the contractors dually parking there day after day. I told him it was OK. :(

Needs:

1: Power rake area with tines set to just touch top of soil and drag out old thatch along with the grass thats dead from the construction. Rake up the thatch and toss in your compost pile. If you don't have one, good time to start.

2: Deep aeration...The soil has to be damp so aerator tines get full penetration. Aerating dry clay soil only gets little choade plugs out, or no penetration at all and no satisfaction... (with turf renewal that is ;-) )

3: Top treat area with 1 to 2 inches MANUFACTURED TOPSOIL. Do not allow any other kind if you don't want to be fighting serious weed infestation and lots of chirt rock. Made that mistake myself. Still living with the consequences to my "barefoot yard".

4: Rake smooth, grab up any rocks you see. Chirren r good for this. Give 'em a bag and tell em you'll buy 'em a dip cone at DQ if they fill it. heh heh ... take em to DQ anyway.

3. Overseed with twice the recommended amount with with a modern tall fescue blend. Twice, because seed is cheap compared to the frustration of doing all this only to have some areas come up thin.

Put half of it down with a power seed slitter. Start with 1/4 amount in one direction, then 1/4 amount down at 90° to first application. Then, use a broadcast spreader and rake it in. All this so your yard doesn't come up in these little lines where the slitter worked well but seed didn't spread out, or the bin ran empty.

I like Mayo Seed Co. "Velvet Turf". ... It's a special four seed blend that's done well in UT's Landscaping Turf Grass trials. Mayo Seed is on Old Maryville Pike outside Knoxville. Another is "Grande" that's more generally available.

4. Rake lightly.

4. Spread starter fertilizer per bags sq. ft. recommendation. I do like Scotts. Used a bag of it to finish a job several years ago and the grass did much better there than with Home Depots generic turf starter.

5. Rent a yard roller. Bring home with barrel empty then add some water for weight and roll it down for good seed/soil contact.

5: A bale of "landscape straw". NOT HAY! Hay=weeds. Pick apart the bats well. Don't cover too heavily or you'll choke the new seed, but do get the bare spots covered well enough for the straw too help keep soil from drying out, or rain from washing out.

6. Water .. but not too heavily. Use a hose end fan sprayer (best) or multi nozzle set to shower. Get whole area wet. Wait a bit, the do it again. And again.

Put a pan down in the area and when about 1/2" is in it that's enough.

Do not allow to puddle because the seed will float up and congregate due to surface tension like cereal in a bowl, and you'll get bare spots.

Water in the mornings, watering at night promotes yard fungus like "dollar spot".

So you rent: 1. Power rake 2. Aerator 3. Slit seeder 4. Yard roller.

You buy: Seed, starter fertilizer, landscape straw.

Half hour my azz! And yeah. It is worth it. For your own enjoyment and especially the added value a 'mature' well manicured turf lawn adds to home value when it's time to sell.

Course, if where your at is, "If it's green an tall enough to mow I'm good". Then that's good for you.
Click to expand...

So what is your expectation from a contractor? Does he have to go in there and finish your work and you expect to still have manicured turf at the end of all of this?

And that is fine if you expect that, but how then would the contractor have to modify his method of getting material and equipment to and from the areas where the work is going on? Would you expect him to hand carry or wheel barrow as much as possible? If moving heavy equipment into the area is a necessity, how should the contractor address getting trailer/cement trucks/whatever from the street to your yard without disturbing or even minimally disturbing your manicured lawn?

Is this a conversation that you have with the contractor beforehand? Or, would you expect any contractor worth anything to be able to move construction equipment back and forth over grass with minimal to no disturbance? Would the contractor be out of line to modify his bid price if all of these considerations are involved?

And lastly, would you expect the contractor to repair said damage in the manner in which you outlined above? How will that affect the bid price?
 
#67
#67
I can't believe he didn't let you know up front that they would damage the yard. the people that I know that do this usually will give 2 prices, one to fix the yard and a cheaper price for the homeowner to take care of it on their own.
 
#68
#68
BearCat204 said:
I take pride in my yard and have worked hard to get it looking great. The actual work the contractor did was satisfactory, but that wasn't the issue. "Collateral damage" in this case, wasn't acceptable to me. You keep saying I got a lawyer involved, simply consulting with him to explore my options isn't really getting one involved. Like I said, if you're ok with a contractor screwing up something in the process of doing a good job on something else is acceptable to you, then that's your prerogative.....not mine.
Click to expand...

To me, moving heavy construction equipment on grass, it is almost expected to cause damage to the turf. I have never seen a case where this hasn't been. In your particular case, you got what I would typically expect to see after any kind of construction activity.

But if you are expecting aeration, double tall fescue reseeding, sifted topsoil and all of that other nonsense that Orangedogsrule highlighted, then that conversation should have been had BEFORE construction even started. If the contractor is going to have to make special accommodations to complete this project (buying grass seed, top soil, sod, whatever), then that would have to figure in to his price of doing the job because it is added time, labor and materials.
 
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#69
#69
AirVol said:
BC, glad you got it resolved. Looks like you take pride in your home and yard, as I do.

Some people in this thread say it didn't look that bad, they must live in a trailer park or have 5 cars parked in their yard.
Click to expand...

Yup, the end result satisfied me and I will use this contractor again. He wasn't really aware of the damage that his crew did to my yard and once he saw it with his own eyes, he immediately agreed to make it right.
 
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#70
#70
Rasputin_Vol said:
To me, moving heavy construction equipment on grass, it is almost expected to cause damage to the turf. I have never seen a case where this hasn't been. In your particular case, you got what I would typically expect to see after any kind of construction activity.

But if you are expecting aeration, double tall fescue reseeding, sifted topsoil and all of that other nonsense that Orangedogsrule highlighted, then that conversation should have been had BEFORE construction even started. If the contractor is going to have to make special accommodations to complete this project (buying grass seed, top soil, sod, whatever), then that would have to figure in to his price of doing the job because it is added time, labor and materials.
Click to expand...
He put new matching sod down........

Also, none of the potential damage was mentioned in the beginning with the contract. What was done would not have been considered normal wear and tear during the job.
 
#71
#71
BearCat204 said:
Yup, the end result satisfied me and I will use this contractor again. He wasn't really aware of the damage that his crew did to my yard and once he saw it with his own eyes, he immediately agreed to make it right.
Click to expand...

Did you tell him you consulted a lawyer?

I wonder if he would be as willing to come back and do work for you with that piece of info.
 
#72
#72
BearCat204 said:
He put new matching sod down........

Also, none of the potential damage was mentioned in the beginning with the contract. What was done would not have been considered normal wear and tear during the job.
Click to expand...

I'm happy that you got it all resolved. That isn't I guess my gripe with you in all of this. My gripe is that you admitted to running it by a lawyer, entertained the idea of running by the Better Business Bureau and vented on VN for what in the end could have been handled (and ultimately was handled) with a man to man/face to face discussion over something this trivial.
 
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#73
#73
malinoisvol said:
Be sure to take photos before and after he "pretties" it up.
Click to expand...

In fairness to the contractor, he should also post pictures of not only the "pretty things up" lawn repair, but of the work the contractor was actually paid to do.

He ran this contractor down by highlighting a negative, he could at the very least show the craftsmanship of the work they did. He did say he would use him again.
 
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