Sammamish sits on a plateau above Lake Sammamish, and most of it was built out as subdivisions in the last thirty years. Under a thin layer of topsoil is glacial till, a hardpan that water barely soaks into, and many lots back onto tall stands of Douglas fir. No farm grows sod for the floor of a cedar grove. Laid there, it thins, mosses, and you have paid for a temporary green.
King County · ZIP 98074
Sod is the wrong product in deep shade
We will sod the open part of a wooded lot, the piece that gets real afternoon or morning light. Under the canopy we stop and talk about bark, ferns, and a smaller lawn. That is cheaper over three years than replacing sod.
Where light is marginal, we say so in the bid. If you still want sod, we prepare the soil and we tell you it is a shorter life. We do not pretend otherwise to win the job.
The ground in Sammamish
The till is the reason so many yards here stay soggy in winter and dry out fast in summer. Water sits on top of the hardpan, so a new lawn or patio needs drainage planned in from the start. We put in French drains, grade the yard away from the house, and build patio bases deep enough that they do not heave.
Many neighborhoods have HOA rules for fences, front yards, and plant choices, and we work to those standards. Lots along the greenbelts get heavy shade and needle drop, so we use shade-tolerant planting and bark where grass has given up. Larger backyards here are a good fit for a full redesign: a paver patio, a low retaining wall to level the slope, and irrigation on a timer for the dry months.
How we do the work
Sod is instant cover and a slow root. It dies when it is laid on compacted clay, on a moss mat, or in a low spot that stays wet. We strip or till, we fix the grade so water leaves, and we lay tight seams on soil that has been loosened a few inches down.
The first two weeks are water and no traffic. After that we want roots chasing soil, which means less frequent watering. A sod lawn that is sprinkled every day forever is a sod lawn that peels up in August.
We lay what arrives that day. Sod that sits on the pallet through a warm afternoon cooks in the roll, and we will not install it.
What we look at first
- What is under the old lawn
- Grade and where the roof water goes
- Access for the pallets
- Sun, because sod in deep shade is an expensive way to grow moss
The first two weeks
Water enough that you cannot peel a corner up by the end of week two. Stay off it. Mow the first time at three inches once it resists a tug. Then ease the water back so the roots leave the roll.
When seed is the better buy
Large areas, deep shade, and tight budgets that would force us to skip prep. Seed costs less and roots deeper if you can wait a month. Sod is for the yard you need to use, on soil we were allowed to prepare.
What is under the roll
A few inches of loosened soil and compost, graded to leave the house. Not the old lawn. Not landscape fabric. Not a sand bed that turns into a pan. If we cannot prep, we should not lay sod.
More from this crew
- Sod installation across the region
- Lawn seeding in Sammamish
- Lawn aeration in Sammamish
- Landscaping in Sammamish
- Lawn fertilization in Sammamish
- Sod installation in Mercer Island
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a King County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
