You’re building a new home or finally addressing that patchy, eroded mess in your yard. Either way, you need a lawn that establishes quickly, controls erosion, and doesn’t require you to become a full-time groundskeeper just to keep it alive.
Sod installation gives you an instant lawn the day it’s installed. Roots establish in 2-3 weeks, not months. You’re walking on it, letting the kids and dogs play, and hosting people outside while your neighbors are still waiting for seed to germinate.
But here’s what most people miss: sod only works if the ground beneath it is prepared correctly. Poor grading means water pools. Compacted soil means roots struggle. Skipped steps mean you’re replacing sections within a year. That’s where having excavation equipment and someone who knows how to use it makes the difference between a lawn that thrives and one that barely survives.
We’ve been operating since 1997, transitioning to full-time excavation work in 2020. We’re a family business—Josh runs jobs and is on-site for nearly every project, and his son joined as a partner in 2022.
We’re not a lawn-only crew. We handle full site prep for new home construction, which means we understand grading, drainage, soil composition, and how to move earth the right way. When you’re getting a backyard lawn installation in Hogtown, NY, that foundation work is what separates a lawn that lasts from one that fails.
You’re not getting a rotating crew of strangers. You’re getting people who plan to be your excavator for the long haul, which means we care about how the work holds up years from now.
First, we assess your site. If you’re dealing with a new build, we’re likely already involved in clearing and grading. If it’s an existing property, we evaluate drainage, soil quality, and any erosion issues that need addressing before sod goes down.
Next, we prep the ground. This means grading to the correct slope so water moves away from your foundation, not toward it. We remove rocks, debris, and old root systems. If your soil is compacted or poor quality, we address that too. This step is where most DIY jobs and cheap contractors fail.
Then we install the sod. We’re sourcing quality grass that’s appropriate for this region and your specific sun/shade conditions. Sod gets laid tight, staggered, and rolled to ensure good soil contact. Edges get tucked and secured so you’re not dealing with gaps or lifting.
Finally, we walk you through the watering schedule. Sod needs consistent moisture for those first few weeks while roots establish. Miss that window and you’re starting over. We make sure you know exactly what to do so the investment actually pays off.
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You’re getting full site preparation with excavation equipment, not just a crew with rakes and a truck full of sod. That means proper grading for drainage, soil amendment if needed, and a surface that’s ready to support healthy root growth.
The sod itself is selected based on your property’s conditions—sun exposure, soil type, and how you plan to use the space. We’re also equipped to handle flower bed installation and new flower bed design if you’re looking to frame the lawn with landscaping that actually complements the space. Tree planting service is available too, especially if you’re working with a blank slate on a new build.
Hogtown’s soil and climate mean timing matters. Spring and early fall are ideal for installation when temperatures stay between 55°F and 80°F. We’re not pushing jobs in mid-July when heat stress kills new sod, and we’re not laying grass on frozen ground in winter. You’re getting honest guidance on when to move forward so the work actually succeeds.
Roots typically establish in 2-3 weeks if you’re watering correctly and the ground was prepped right. You’ll know it’s rooted when you can’t easily lift a corner of the sod by hand.
During that first few weeks, you’re watering daily—sometimes twice a day if it’s warm and dry. The goal is keeping the soil beneath the sod consistently moist, not soaked. Once roots take hold, you can back off to a normal lawn watering schedule.
You can walk on it lightly during establishment, but hold off on heavy foot traffic, mowing, or letting dogs tear around until roots are fully set. Most people are using their lawn normally within a month of installation.
Sod costs more upfront—typically $0.90 to $1.80 per square foot installed, depending on grass type and site conditions. Seeding is cheaper initially, but it takes months to establish, requires more intensive care, and often needs reseeding in bare spots.
With sod, you’re paying for instant results and a much higher success rate. You’re also getting immediate erosion control, which matters if your property has any slope or drainage concerns. Seeded lawns are vulnerable to washout and weed invasion during that long germination period.
If you’re on a tight timeline—moving into a new home, hosting an event, or just tired of looking at dirt—the cost difference is usually worth it. You’re also saving time and frustration, which has value even if it’s harder to put a number on.
Yes, but the grading work beforehand is even more important. Slopes need to be stabilized and shaped correctly so sod doesn’t shift or create erosion channels when it rains.
We use our excavation equipment to regrade steep areas where needed, creating terraces or gentler slopes that hold sod better and manage water runoff. In some cases, we’ll recommend retaining walls or drainage solutions before the sod goes down.
Sod actually works well on slopes because it provides immediate ground cover and root structure that helps prevent soil erosion. Seeding a slope is much harder—seed washes away, and you’re fighting an uphill battle trying to get even coverage. If your property in Hogtown has elevation changes, professional lawn installation with proper site prep is the smarter move.
Spring and early fall are your best windows. You want daytime temps between 55°F and 80°F and reliable moisture—either from rain or your hose. Those conditions let roots establish quickly without stressing the grass.
Late spring through early summer can work if we avoid heat waves, but mid-July and August are risky. Hot, dry weather means you’re watering constantly and the sod is fighting to survive instead of thriving. Late fall is possible, but you’re racing against frozen ground and dormancy.
Winter is out. Frozen soil prevents roots from penetrating, and the sod just sits there until spring—if it survives at all. We’ll tell you honestly if the timing isn’t right for your project. Pushing a job in bad conditions costs you money and costs us our reputation, and neither makes sense.
Yes. If you’re putting in a new lawn, it usually makes sense to handle flower bed installation and tree planting service at the same time. We’re already on-site with equipment, the ground is being worked, and you’re getting a finished landscape instead of a lawn surrounded by nothing.
New flower bed design can frame your front yard lawn installation in Hogtown, NY and add curb appeal immediately. We’re not landscape architects, but we can create clean, functional beds that make sense for your property and give you space to plant what you want.
Tree planting is the same idea—if you’re working with a blank slate on a new build, getting trees in the ground early means they’re establishing while the lawn does. We handle the digging, placement, and soil prep so the trees actually have a chance to thrive, not just survive.
If sod fails, it’s usually one of three things: watering issues, poor soil contact, or ground that wasn’t prepped correctly. The first is on the homeowner. The other two are on the installer.
We make sure the ground is graded, leveled, and ready before any sod is laid. We’re rolling it after installation to eliminate air gaps, and we’re walking you through exactly how to water during that critical first few weeks. Most failures happen because someone skipped a step or rushed the process.
If something does go wrong on our end—bad sod from the supplier, a grading issue we missed—we’re coming back to make it right. We’re not a company that disappears after the check clears. Josh is local, on-site, and planning to work in Hogtown for years. Your lawn failing doesn’t just hurt you—it hurts our reputation, and we’re not interested in that.
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