Turf keeps dying

[HenryGregory]

Hi there,
I moved into my new-build in July 2018.

The lawn was in an awful state on the day I got my keys and had clearly not been looked after between my viewing the home and becoming the owner.

During the course of my time here, I have laid thousands and thousands of seeds, dug out some areas and filled with high quality pete and topsoil but still, the lawn is not growing in places. Wherever I dig, I am finding barely any soil just thick clay and flint.

The builders are finally taking some responsibility on this and have asked what I want them to do.
Can anyone suggest the best way forward with this. Not a lot I can do at this time of year other than put yet more seeds down.
I am wondering if I should get them back next year to pull it all up, get rid of some of the clay and put some decent soil and turf down, but not sure if this is the best way forward?

 

[sodthisforfun]

More often than not, builders bury all the rubble under the lawn and the grass as nowhere to establish strongly. For this reason, it may be worth starting again, as you mentioned. You need too to remove any rubble you find quite a few inches down as grass roots are quite long.

When you put the seed down before, did you water it every day out of interest? Shouldn't be allowed to dry out while trying to get it growing.

 

[HenryGregory]

More often than not, builders bury all the rubble under the lawn and the grass as nowhere to establish strongly. For this reason, it may be worth starting again, as you mentioned. You need too to remove any rubble you find quite a few inches down as grass roots are quite long.

When you put the seed down before, did you water it every day out of interest? Shouldn't be allowed to dry out while trying to get it growing.

Thank you for your post. By "start again", would that be:

1. Remove everything that is currently there.
2. Remove any rubble or flint.
3. Strip back some of the clay.
4. Install at least 100mm of topsoil as per 10.2.9 of NHBC Standards 2018 (as this house was built in 2018).
5. Lay fresh turf?

I need to go back to the builders with exactly what I want them to do so need to make sure I am saying the right things.

In answer to your question about watering the seed, yup, every single day, even if it had rained. The small patches of healthy grass are mainly my seed.

 

[sodthisforfun]

Yeah, I'd start again completely if there is evidence of rubble and your plan sounds about right.

Before the builders come, it may be worth digging and area down a fair few inches, to prove any rubble. Your lawn does look like a typical failure because of rubble, the way it's so patchy but you need to show them.

You may not be able to get them to remove clay and flint, as it's naturally occurring but they certainly should clean up their mess and not bury it. A general rule of thumb is to remove pieces that are much bigger than a matchbox a foot or so down as that's the good length for a grass root. I think you'll have a hard time getting them to do this though - a bit of a fight in your hands.

We laid our lawn this year and had two layers of rubble to clear out first, first was close to the surface and the second nearly a foot down. Some of it was from Victorian times, some from the 80's, which is when we think the garden last had any work done. We found huge pieces of broken cement, whole bricks, a dead dog and cat!

 

[Neilgriff63]

It looks very dry. Was it watered or over fertilised? Did you try aerating and removing plugs and filling holes with compost and topdressing!

I had same problem with my new build (Redrow). They essentially laid a few inches of topsoil on clay. Looked great for a few months until the rain just pooled on top. I got Redrow to install a French drain. Doing this messed up the lawn further but it needed to be done. There were a few bricks and pieces of wood but not too bad.

I ended up hiring a rotovator and turning it over. Then I mixed in Gypsum which will break down the clay together with some sharp sand and then after a few weeks some topsoil. I mixed this all in then laid the new turf.

The result is great, but I did make an error as I started getting dead spots which I later realised was because I was over fertilising. Now I have quite a lot of mushrooms because of the water, but that is a good sign of organics apparently.

If I were you I would get it rotorvated now and let the old turf decompose. Remove any stones etc. If you can’t increase the height, you may need to remove some fill and then make up with some quality manure and topsoil. Leave this a while then lay new turf in spring.

The downside doing it now in the rain will be that the clay will clump as you are working it.

 

[sodthisforfun]

Manure is fab for nutrients but it really has to be completely rotted down before laying turf and this can take some considerable time, up to a year with some. If its not rotted, the lawn can end up with little lumps and pits as it rots down under the turf, making it uneven.

Some people recommend using slow release lawn feed just under new turf.

 

[foxhole]

https://www.grass-direct.co.uk/arti...MIwPmenfOs5QIVTMDeCh0TmAndEAAYASAAEgJYSvD_BwE

 

[HenryGregory]

Hi everyone,
Just a followup,
I went back to the builders about the poor state of the turf in my new build property in October 2019.
With some help from you guys, I went back to them with the following:

I have looked into the state of the garden and taken into consideration a few pieces of information before suggesting a way forward:

1. The poor state of the grass the day I became owner of the property (as per our previous discussion and evidential photos).
2. If you look at the above photograph taken this morning in point one, it would show a very patchy lawn with under 50% green and healthy, however, the majority of these healthy patches are parts I have had to manually dig out, install bags of topsoil and re-seed earlier in the year. Had I left the lawn as it were, the only green areas would be towards the bottom of the garden where the shed and fence provide shade from the sun.
3. Upon further inspection of the ground, I have ascertained that there appears to be little or no topsoil below the grass turf. This will have contributed to the failure of this lawn surviving.
4. The above point can be further substantiated with the following evidence which I have taken from the (Resident Only Facebook page). This secure page is used for neighbours in this development to securely communicate issues, community based news etc. Please find attached evidence from fellow neighbours regarding their own lawn. These are issues I have found within the discussions pages. It confirms that I am not the only resident in this development to have similar issues. It is worrying to see that some people have had turf replaced more than once. There are several people stating how unsatisfactory their grass was.
5. And again, further to the point above, as I write this email, I can see a (Gardening Contractor) van laden with fresh turf, a palet on the ground with a very large amount of turf on it and two chaps replacing the rear lawn to number (xxx). I have taken a picture if you would like it to prove this. It is just another example to show that I am not the only resident facing these problems.
6. When replacing dead patches of grass earlier this year, I noted that there was barely any top soil and extremely thick and hard clay with pieces of sharp flint and some broken bricks in the ground. The clay was so thick, I actually did myself an injury by trying to dig into it to replace it with fresh topsoil.
7. Having read through the NHBC Standards 2018 document (screenshot of relevant section attached), I can see from section 10.2.9 - Garden Areas that "a minimum thickness of 100mm topsoil" is to be provided. This requirement has not been met. Furthermore, "similar obstructions" i.e. piece of flint and brick have been found within 300mm of the finished ground surface. They had not been removed which again is a requirement not met.
8. The lawn slopes off towards the back of the garden. It is not totally flat and is quite lumpy towards the back end of the garden. Having spoken with other neighbours, I have ascertained that I am not the only person with this issue.
9. (Gardening Contractor) visited my property on 9th August 2019 regarding issues with the fence. Both the contractors who attended on this day commented on the grass and stated that haunching should have been used between the grass edge and the patio slabs. Considering this is the company that (The Building Company) used to install and maintain gardens, I would expect these men knew what they were talking about.

Given the above points, I feel the best course of action moving forward would be total replacement of the existing lawn.

1. Removal of some of the clay material under the grass.
2. Ensuring no more obstructions are present in the ground.
3. Consideration be given to hanunching to be laid next to patio slabs to prevent grass dying in areas close to slabs.
4. Install of at least 100mm of topsoil to entire garden.
5. Rotavating to be undertaken to ensure water can drain successfully.
6. Ground levelling.
7. Followed by a replacement turf.

As you can see, I gave a substantial amount of detail and backed it up with guidelines from the NHBC Standards for 2018 which was the year this property was constructed.
The builders refused to speak to me, so the housing association I bought my property stepped in. Again, I presented them with the above on 21st October. I have had to chase and chase them. They got back to me on Christmas eve and basically said, we will not be doing anything, case closed.
No explanation, nothing.

Can anyone give me any advice on what I can do next. I should not be having to pay for this to be done, it is a brand new property and has not been done correctly. As I purchased from a Housing Association, I bought off-plan and they were the ones who signed it off. We also had to use their surveyor or they would not sell the property. Feeling really upset and frustrated as just shouldn't be having to deal with this.

 

[Nige F]

As you can see, I gave a substantial amount of detail and backed it up with guidelines from the NHBC Standards for 2018 which was the year this property was constructed.

Can anyone give me any advice on what I can do next. I should not be having to pay for this to be done, it is a brand new property and has not been done correctly. As I purchased from a Housing Association, I bought off-plan and they were the ones who signed it off. We also had to use their surveyor or they would not sell the property. Feeling really upset and frustrated as just shouldn't be having to deal with this.

Maybe get together with affected neighbours and get on to NHBC ?

 

[HenryGregory]

Maybe get together with affected neighbours and get on to NHBC ?

Hello,
Thanks for your post. The problem I have is that all of the neighbours outright bought their properties from the builder, where as mine is shared ownership.
When they bought theirs, they had to pay additional money for turf, so they have got far much more leverage as they clearly paid for it, whereas with my shared ownership one, obviously it had to come with turf, but I have not specifically paid for it.
Also, as far as builder is concerned, they sold it to Housing Association and not me so will not deal with me.
The Housing Association seems to be the most incompetent one in the country.

 

[Nige F]

Also, as far as builder is concerned, they sold it to Housing Association and not me so will not deal with me.
The Housing Association seems to be the most incompetent one in the country.

You have my sympathy - I used to work for a H.A back in the 80's We were directly employed tradesmen ( plumber). Then after I left c.87 the politics changed and Direct Labour Organisations were dissolved and " contractors" did the work. The Housing Officers and the Resident Wardens went too. This all coincided with " Care in the community" and closing institutions. All history now- I really can't offer you any help, I'm afraid.

 

[HenryGregory]

You have my sympathy - I used to work for a H.A back in the 80's We were directly employed tradesmen ( plumber). Then after I left c.87 the politics changed and Direct Labour Organisations were dissolved and " contractors" did the work. The Housing Officers and the Resident Wardens went too. This all coincided with " Care in the community" and closing institutions. All history now- I really can't offer you any help, I'm afraid.

Thanks for your post.
I didn't know at the time, but the housing association in question had to "buy back" a substantial amount of new build properties it sold in London due to them being substandard.
Unfortunately for me, it looks like the next step is going to be legal action. I am most likely going to need to borrow money to do this as obviously, all of my money went into the purchase of my home. I really shouldn't be having to do this. This organisations are there to help people get on in life, not cause them more problems.

 

[sodthisforfun]

Surely the fact that others have had their lawns replaced is an admission the job not done properly? An admission of guilt.

 

[plastic_peanut]

Frustrating situation for you but why not just put it right yourself?
This is going to be less hassle and a hell of a lot cheaper than chasing the builder.

If not surely both parties would need to pursue this together and is the ownership 50/50? This may be another issue of not, you are perhaps treated more like a tenant than an owner?

 

[sodthisforfun]

Yeah, as much as I hate people not being made to do their jobs properly, I'd be inclined to do it myself. Lot cheaper and gets the job done instead of it hanging around for months.