Lawn experts - what is a decent price for dethatch/seed?

[KK]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
whole sale price for that much of seeds going to cost more than $500, and then they have to soak/germinate the seeds, and hydroseeding it with mulch after the lawn has been sprayed & thatched.

You can cut the the cost a bit by going with dry seeding, but the seed will take longer to germinate during that time your lawn is more susceptible to weeds because it give the weeds more time to make a comeback.

The owner of the company isn't going to make much more than $500 after paying for everything. And, the choice is your to have dead lawn or a nice lawn.

Personally I would add more top soil (at least 2", but preferably 4" or more) then cough up the $$$ for a professional design under ground sprinkler system, then have it seeded or resod.

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
whole sale price for that much of seeds going to cost more than $500, and then they have to soak/germinate the seeds, and hydroseeding it with mulch after the lawn has been sprayed & thatched.

You can cut the the cost a bit by going with dry seeding, but the seed will take longer to germinate during that time your lawn is more susceptible to weeds because it give the weeds more time to make a comeback.

The owner of the company isn't going to make much more than $500 after paying for everything. And, the choice is your to have dead lawn or a nice lawn.

Personally I would add more top soil (at least 2", but preferably 4" or more) then cough up the $$$ for a professional design under ground sprinkler system, then have it seeded or resod.

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

KK is right. Just for the record, our guy used Tall Fescue.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: akshatp
We just got our 13,000 sq ft completely redone. The landscapers removed about 2-3inches off the top of existing turf/weed/clay/etc, then leveled what remained. They then brought in about 60 cu yds of fresh screened topsoil and graded the property with it.

Next day, seeded (not power), put down fert and then hay to cover. They also put a 2 ft section of mulch around the house and also along the property lines on the perimeter. Total cost = $2900

They did a great job. We water every day for 15 minutes at 5 am (sprinkler system) and in 2.5 wks we already have a thick beautiful lawn. Best on our street, which is 2 years old. There are some rogue weeds but they are hard to find and the landscaper told us we will see some now and then, but next year when we spray it will take care of them.

They are also coming back next week to "overseed" the property and re-fertilize prior to the cold weather.

All in all, I was skeptical of them at first, but they did a tremendous job. And at a price which was half of what others were charging.

I am trying to talk my wife into something like this. the front and back yard are nasty.

not to mention walking around on it is not fun. at times it hurts my ankles because its so damn lumpy.

just don't think i can sale her on it. $3-5k is a good chunk of money heh

 

[NoShangriLa]

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

I don't know what blend he is going for, but around here it cost a little more than $500 in seeds for an average lawn. The mistake most amateur landscaper/gardener in seeding is using the manufacture suggested coverage area. Seeding tend to take at least 50% more than the manufacture suggested number and sometime as much as 100% more if the seeds are old.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

I know.. I was getting quoted up to $250 PER stump... And some people were just going quoting to grind them down!!!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
but their the "experts", right?

they're

Jeez. You really think you had to post that grammatical correction??? I mean, did it really give you some sort of fulfillment of joy? Make your life complete, did it?

Is that how you got all of you're 25,000 posts?

No, but it's how he will remain a virgin for much longer.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
whole sale price for that much of seeds going to cost more than $500, and then they have to soak/germinate the seeds, and hydroseeding it with mulch after the lawn has been sprayed & thatched.

You can cut the the cost a bit by going with dry seeding, but the seed will take longer to germinate during that time your lawn is more susceptible to weeds because it give the weeds more time to make a comeback.

The owner of the company isn't going to make much more than $500 after paying for everything. And, the choice is your to have dead lawn or a nice lawn.

Personally I would add more top soil (at least 2", but preferably 4" or more) then cough up the $$$ for a professional design under ground sprinkler system, then have it seeded or resod.

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

Seed for my quote was 90% fescue, 10% rye.

I'm probably just going to get somebody to dethatch and powerseed given this time of year and lots of rain coming.

Thanks for the headcheck guys, the estimate seemed WAY out of line for the time/labor. We'll see if he bites on the counter, if not then he doesn't want the business.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

I don't know what blend he is going for, but around here it cost a little more than $500 in seeds for an average lawn. The mistake most amateur landscaper/gardener in seeding is using the manufacture suggested coverage area. Seeding tend to take at least 50% more than the manufacture suggested number and sometime as much as 100% more if the seeds are old.

OK, here's the breakdown....

Dethatch 10K sqft = 580
Powerseed 10K sqft = 1025
Removal of thatch = 100
---------
1705

That's freaking nonsense. Area is Louisville, KY. Medium cost area. I'll be offering 500 for that, 600 tops.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

I don't know what blend he is going for, but around here it cost a little more than $500 in seeds for an average lawn. The mistake most amateur landscaper/gardener in seeding is using the manufacture suggested coverage area. Seeding tend to take at least 50% more than the manufacture suggested number and sometime as much as 100% more if the seeds are old.

OK, here's the breakdown....

Dethatch 10K sqft = 580
Powerseed 10K sqft = 1025
Removal of thatch = 100
---------
1705

That's freaking nonsense. Area is Louisville, KY. Medium cost area. I'll be offering 500 for that, 600 tops.

A grand to powerseed?!?!?! No way, thats way too high.. We were getting quotes around $600 just to powerseed before we decided to scrap the yard and start over...

 

[StageLeft]

Look, I live in a new development and I can tell you that seeding by itself sucks. What's better is the machines that spray stuff down, but you know what is the BEST? Professional grade seed, which you can lay down (as long as you have a till or something to mince up the soil before hand) and then lay down a bunch of straw on top of the yard. Yes, it will look like a barnyard floor for a little bit. I have watched with great sadness two immediate neighbors this year TOIL over professionally set lawns for months on end, out there all the time with a sprinkler and then I watched two new houses built and people threw down their own seed with barnyard straw on top and bend me over and call me betsy I COULD NOT believe how quickly their lawns took. Start to finish of a quality yard in about two weeks (and no, it was not sod, these were seeds!). Materials are much cheaper. I don't know why professional companies don't do this more, I really don't. It may be worth googling. Honestly, if I ever had to turn dirt into lawn again and money was no object, I'd sod it. If money was an object, I'd do the seed + straw. The professional jobs people got done were about $1k-1500 just for the grass and some pre-tilling (or whatever they do). The quality seed and straw the other people did was about $500 and results were un-freaking-believable.

Your mileage may vary and I'm not convinced they are not witches, but heck they grew some grass.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

I don't know what blend he is going for, but around here it cost a little more than $500 in seeds for an average lawn. The mistake most amateur landscaper/gardener in seeding is using the manufacture suggested coverage area. Seeding tend to take at least 50% more than the manufacture suggested number and sometime as much as 100% more if the seeds are old.

OK, here's the breakdown....

Dethatch 10K sqft = 580
Powerseed 10K sqft = 1025
Removal of thatch = 100
---------
1705

That's freaking nonsense. Area is Louisville, KY. Medium cost area. I'll be offering 500 for that, 600 tops.

A grand to powerseed?!?!?! No way, thats way too high.. We were getting quotes around $600 just to powerseed before we decided to scrap the yard and start over...

Price also depends on your area.

It might be a good idea for the OP to field a few more bids before making the final decision, but around here the average price is $900-$1200 for an average lawn.

$600 is an excellent price for reseeding a lawn, and same as $700 to remove 8 large stumps.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

LOL all of them were... The biggest one was easily 20" around. Probably bigger.

That is a great deal

what type of seed is he putting down? Tall Fescue would be less than half that price, and bluegrass would be even less. It shouldn't cost anymore than 150 for the seed.

I don't know what blend he is going for, but around here it cost a little more than $500 in seeds for an average lawn. The mistake most amateur landscaper/gardener in seeding is using the manufacture suggested coverage area. Seeding tend to take at least 50% more than the manufacture suggested number and sometime as much as 100% more if the seeds are old.

OK, here's the breakdown....

Dethatch 10K sqft = 580
Powerseed 10K sqft = 1025
Removal of thatch = 100
---------
1705

That's freaking nonsense. Area is Louisville, KY. Medium cost area. I'll be offering 500 for that, 600 tops.

A grand to powerseed?!?!?! No way, thats way too high.. We were getting quotes around $600 just to powerseed before we decided to scrap the yard and start over...

Price also depends on your area.

It might be a good idea for the OP to field a few more bids before making the final decision, but around here the average price is $900-$1200 for an average lawn.

$600 is an excellent price for reseeding a lawn, and same as $700 to remove 8 large stumps.

I agree about the price for the stumps, that was a steal.

I am in Central NJ, hardly a low income area and probably at the upper end of pricing schemes based on geography, and I got similar quotes for powerseeding from big name national companies like Chem Lawn, Scotts, Lawn Doctor, etc.

I dont know, its all too confusing. This thread reminds me why it took us 3-4 months to decide on a landscaping company to do the work lol. We had the sprinkler system deposit paid in June, and didnt get it installed until September!

 

[alkemyst]

Yeah normal stumps here are about $100 min. For stumps over about 15-16" it adds about $10 per inch. That is for about 1' belong grade. If you want the stump pulled it's much much more. I did my own with a chain saw and digging about 3-4' below it. Weighed about 350lbs and took about 24 hours of time...I could have done it in less if I destroyed more grass.

I want to resod (St. Augustine doesn't get seeded)...I have a few patches of carpet grass and weeds due to the drought we are having and limited irrigation.

If you have time you there is a big cost savings in doing it yourself but taking a month or two of weekends rather than just having a crappy lawn one weekend to a finished lawn the next is well worth it to many to pay the price.