[spiderlily]

How long can I expect it to take a 5 person crew to lay 26000 square feet of sod? Can this be done in a day?

Any advice on doing this efficiently?

[cutntrim]

I would think that you could do that in a day, depending on a few factors. I worked one summer before University laying sod and we'd knock off three trailer loads in a day sometimes. That was sixteen years ago so memory fades...but I think there were maybe eight or nine of us. The owner and the foreman didn't actually lay any of the sod though. The owner operated a bulldozer and graded ahead of us, the foreman drove the forklift to position the pallets and the rest of the time was spent yelling at us. So, the rest of us laid the sod. Maybe three would act as mules (me included), and the others would do the laying. After busting my butt for a month, they were satisfied I was a good worker and from then on I was usually the driver of the roller, which was a nice break. Everyone else was Portuguese except for the owner who was an angry Irishman.

Anyway, I can't remember how many skids were on a trailer, but if rolls were 9 sq.ft. and there were 75 per skid and 20 skids per trailer...then you'd be looking at 2 trailer loads. Like I said, we did three on many occasions. These were new subdivisions and fairly wide open areas that were often easily accessible.

[GLAN]

I can't answer that


I don't know what the site conditions are.

Is it preped ready to lay sod

configuration of the site

how much cutting

etc.



I would like to think it can be done in a day.........thought that would be a long day and I would be buying the crew lunch, water, etc......

To be safe and not push the crew beyond what would be reasonable.....I would try for 20,000 in a day.

[Paul]

.6 of an acre, wish I knew if it's a house or a soccer field?
Can it be done sure, can the customer water it?
It sounds like it's just a big area, you might be able to use big rolls. These are 30" wide by 25 yards long, you can rent the machines from most sod suppliers in your area. I would get two machines if I was doing it.

[agla]

Big rolls. I don't know if they are available in your area, but they are in mine. The cutters roll three strips around a pvc pipe and unroll it with the spider machine. I think they are 66' long. It still needs to be pulled together sideways, but it saves a ton of time. See if they are availabe in your area.

I would not expect each crew member to put down 578 rolls of sod in a day (especially nowadays). That is what it would take for a five man crew to spread 26,000 in a day (our rolls ar 9 SF).

If you have to do it by rolls, start with a long run down an edge and keep it ahead. Then follow along with a couple of other rows as you go. Teach your crew to pick up the roll with the flap edge hanging in front of them, so they can drop it with a push so it unrolls. I find it faster to have the guys do this one at a time right from the pallet rather than loading wheel barrows and unloading them and then unrolling them. Keep two guys down pulling pieces tight and three humpin rolls then rotate them. If they unroll them as they are dropped, the down guys will keep up with them with no problem.

Looks likes someone beat me to the big rolls.

[dan deutekom]

If conditions are average I always figure about 60 rolls of sod per man per hour including the finish grading, watering and a minimum of cutting to fit. So a long day would do it but I would budget for a Day and a half so that you can have a break and allow for some screw ups that always happen.

[VoodooChile]

You guys rock!

[Bamboo]

welp here it is.
500sq' per pallet
a semi with a trailer holds around 18 pallets.(with the fork lift)
have the sod runner spot the pallets in the turf area for you!
depending on your sod company, brain dead laborors, and the location I would figure a full day and a half. 5 people 12 hours streight. (split it up into 2 days)
This is a funny story, I had a client that was the football coach for the high school and he did a fundraiser for the team. We laid sod for four hours at his house! After we were done we had a bbq and the pool party! That was a fun job.
oh ya I remember yelling at the kids "stop throwing down the rolls! Your denting my perfect grade!!!"

[Bill Schwab]

Bamboo:

In California, for whatever reason, (I think it is for transport because the sod fields are in the desert) the growers fold it in half. In the midwest, they do it the right way, rolled so you can make some time laying it. Rather than flop a full slab down on the dirt, you cut stair steps in it, then all you do is drop a roll and kick it out. They also sell sod by the yard rather than the foot and they don't put that digusting piece of paper under the load to compensate for a cheaply made pallet. Also, it grows so thick they don't need nylon mesh in the loam as they do here. It is what it is, but frankly, they way they cut it drives me nuts. And if you have ever bought it from that Indian dude at Southwest Sod (Marathon brands) he tells you--- get this...They use a Ryan sod cutter....Walk behind sod cutter....Imagine loading 30 semis a day like that...IT HAS GOT TO BE CRAZY!!!!

Voodoo:

Big rolls are the best way to lay sod in quantity, after grading, you can lay 8000 sq yards in an 8 hour day with three guys, so long as you have a ball field space.

With small rolls, the best we did was 3 guys, small rolls, all grading and clean up was done the day before, 1000 sq yards in an 11 hour day. There was a small amount of cutting involved. I was sore after that. It was a factory in an industrial park with a slight grade and 12 trees through the design, so, fairly open.

[Stonehenge]

There is certainly a break point in efficiency between big roll and regular sod cut by the yard. What that is, I dunno, but a few years ago I saw our local grower laying some big roll in a 1/4 acre residential property - took them longer with big roll than it'd have taken us with small rolls - they had to constantly maneuver the machine around obstacles, stopping and starting....

But it goes lightning-fast in open areas.

[cutntrim]

Another option: sub it.

[Bamboo]

big roll , we cant get a roll unless its special orderd from the city. Santa rosa is closest, or redding. (they call it behind the redwood curtain.) no train to here.