Tampa Sod InstallationSod requests · Tampa Bay, FL
Start My Sod Request
Stock photo: a home with palm trees and a green lawn
For Tampa Bay homeowners with a dead, bare or weed-choked lawn:

Dead Lawn? Sod Installation in Tampa Bay, From Tear-Out to Fresh Green Sod

Fresh green sod, with a written 30-day rooting guarantee. *Terms below

  • One local installer, not a list
  • Free to send, free on-site estimate
  • For whole front or back yards
Start My Sod Request

No street address needed.

How This Works

  1. Answer two questionsHow much lawn, and whether the old grass comes out.
  2. We pass your request onTo one independent local sod installer. Not a list.
  3. You and the installer take it from thereA free on-site estimate. Price and timing are between you and the installer.

What Your Sod Request Gets You

Here is what sending it gets you, worth having even if you never send the form.

One local sod installer, not a list

Why it matters: your phone does not ring with five companies. We pass your request to one independent local sod installer.

Your lawn size and tear-out go with it

Why it matters: the installer knows from the start whether it is a whole yard and whether the old grass comes out, so the first conversation is about your lawn.

Six questions to ask before sod goes down

Why it matters: Ask them of whoever you hire, before anyone lays sod in your yard.

A checklist for the written estimate

Why it matters: tear-out, grading and the grass you pick are priced separately, so they are where two estimates for the same yard can differ.

Start My Sod Request

Free to send. Nothing to sign.

Why New Sod Dies in Tampa Bay (and Why It Is Rarely the Grass)

You have seen it on your own street. A new lawn goes down green from edge to edge. A few months later there are brown seams, a dead corner by the driveway and weeds coming up through the gaps.

University of Florida lawn specialists put it plainly: without the right ground preparation and care afterwards, new sod can die almost as easily as any new planting. Here is where it goes wrong.

It goes down on top of the old lawn

Roots need soil. UF/IFAS advises removing as much of the dead grass as possible before planting, so the new roots touch the ground. Laid over the old lawn, the new roots meet dead grass first.

The ground was never prepared

Most Florida soils are sand with little organic matter, and yards around newer homes are often packed hard by construction traffic. UF/IFAS says plant roots may not be able to penetrate a compacted soil layer. The yard should also slope away from the house, about a half foot to a foot of fall every 50 feet.

It sat on the pallet

Cut sod is alive and it does not keep. In summer, UF/IFAS puts its life on the pallet at under two days. Sod that arrives before the ground is ready is already losing.

It dried out in the first weeks

New sod has almost no roots. UF/IFAS describes several short waterings a day for the first week to ten days, then once a day for about as long, then two or three times a week. It should be rooted in three to four weeks. Miss that first stretch and it dries out before it roots.

The grass did not suit the yard

Floratam, the most widely used St. Augustine in Florida, does not persist well with less than six hours of sun a day. Put it under an oak and it thins, whoever lays it.

Start My Sod Request

Two questions, ZIP and number.

What a Good Sod Job Looks Like

Use these to check the work while it happens.

Before

Old grass stripped out to sand. It should then be graded and raked smooth, with sod delivered once the ground is ready.

Laid

Pieces butted tight, no soil showing between them. Joints should be staggered like brickwork.

Finished

St. Augustine thick from edge to edge.

Stock photo: close-up of lawn grass blades
*

Whole-Lawn Replacement, Step by Step

This is how UF/IFAS lays out replacing a Florida lawn.

  1. Find out why the old lawn failed. Heavy shade, compacted soil, too much or too little water, the wrong mowing and foot traffic can all make a lawn perform poorly. If the cause stays, the new lawn goes the same way.
  2. Take out the old grass and weeds, along with debris, roots and rocks.
  3. Grade the yard so water runs away from the house.
  4. Test the soil. UF/IFAS says to get a soil analysis before planting and to correct the pH before the lawn goes in.
  5. Loosen and smooth the ground, and have it moist when the sod is laid.
  6. Lay the sod tight in a staggered brick pattern, then roll it so the roots meet the soil.
  7. Water it through the first weeks, and hold off mowing until the roots have pegged down, generally 14 to 21 days.
Start My Sod Request

Which Grass: St. Augustine, Zoysia or Bahia

These describe the grass, not any installer. Sun, shade and how the yard gets used usually decide it.

St. Augustine and Floratam

The most common lawn grass in Florida. Floratam, the St. Augustine most widely used, is coarse and dark green and grows fast in spring and summer. It wants six or more hours of sun, and chinch bugs are now a major pest of it. Some St. Augustine types handle shade better.

Ask about St. Augustine →

Zoysia

A dense lawn that crowds out weeds when it is well kept, with good tolerance of shade, salt and foot traffic. Its care is different from other Florida grasses, so ask how to look after it before you choose it.

Ask about zoysia →

Bahia

A low-upkeep grass with a deep root system that copes with poor, sandy soil and little water, and a good choice for large lots. It is not a carpet: it grows more open, sends up seed heads in summer and turns brown in long dry spells until it gets water again.

Ask about bahia →

What You Can Send a Request For

Whole lawns, front or back. We pass each request to one independent local sod installer.

Florida Sod, by the Numbers

From UF/IFAS:

6+ hrsof sun Floratam wants a day
< 2 dayscut sod keeps on the pallet in summer
3–4 wksuntil new sod should be established
14–21 daysbefore the first mow, generally

Where this form takes requests

Homes in the Tampa Bay area, including:

The form takes ZIP codes starting 335, 336, 337 or 346.

What Sending This Costs You: Nothing

  • It is free to send. You pay us nothing to use this page.
  • Sending it agrees to no work. Price and timing are between you and the installer.
  • It goes to one installer, not a list of companies.
  • Reply STOP to any text and we stop contacting that number, and we pass your STOP to the installer.

Ask for the price in writing, with the tear-out, grading and grass named, before any work starts.

Start My Sod Request

Six Questions to Ask Any Sod Installer

Ask these before anyone lays sod in your yard, whoever you hire.

What killed the old lawn?

If it was shade, water or mowing, new sod goes the same way unless that changes.

How does the old grass come out, and where does it go?

Local price guides list removal as its own line.

Will you grade the yard and check the soil?

Ask about the slope away from the house, and whether the soil is tested and loosened first.

When will the sod be cut and delivered?

In summer it keeps under two days on the pallet. The ground should be ready before it arrives.

Which grass, and why that one for my yard?

Hours of sun, shade from trees and how the yard gets used should all come into the answer.

What watering does it need in the first month?

New sod needs frequent short waterings at first, tapering off over several weeks.

Then get the estimate in writing

It should name the square footage, the grass and its variety, removal of the old lawn, any grading or soil work, and a start date.

Start My Sod Request

Sod Questions, Answered

When is the best month to lay sod in Florida?

UF/IFAS advises that in central and north Florida, you should try to avoid establishment during cold winter or hot, dry summer months, and that any warm-season grass roots fastest while it is actively growing. It also advises waiting if a freeze is forecast.

Can sod be laid over dirt?

Yes, as long as the dirt is prepared. UF/IFAS says to clear old grass, weeds, roots and rocks, loosen and rake the soil smooth, and have it moist when the sod goes down. Hard ground is the problem. Its quick test: push a screwdriver into moist soil. If it will not go 6 inches without real force, compaction will likely hold the roots back.

What drives the cost of new sod?

The size of the lawn, the grass you choose, whether the old lawn is torn out, and how much grading or soil work the yard needs. Local price guides list tear-out and grading as separate lines. Ask for a written estimate that names each one.

Will my information go to several companies?

No. We pass your request to one independent local sod installer, not a list of competing companies.

Is there a charge to send the form?

No. It costs nothing to send, and sending it agrees to no work. The installer gives a free on-site estimate.

Who is the installer?

An independent local sod installer. Ask for the business name when you talk, and ask for the scope and price in writing.

I only have a few bare patches. Is this for me?

This page is for replacing lawns: a whole front or back yard, or most of one. If yours is smaller, pick the smallest size. It goes with your request so the installer knows the job.

How do I stop calls or texts?

Reply STOP to any text, or email the address at the bottom of this page. We stop contacting that number, and we pass your STOP to the installer.

Start Your Sod Request

Two questions about the lawn, then your ZIP, first name and phone. Free to send, nothing to sign.

Step 1 of 2
About how much lawn needs new sod?

A yard 40 feet by 25 feet is 1,000 sq ft.

Does the old grass need to come out?

Free to send. Sending it agrees to no work. Privacy

*Terms. We pass your request to one independent local sod installer. The installer's guarantee, in writing: sod that fails to root within 30 days of installation is replaced at no charge if you follow their watering schedule. We pass requests only to an installer who gives it. Ask to see it first.