Frequently Asked Questions

There is no single national number, only ranges. HomeGuide pegs it at $0.12 to $0.35 per square foot, Angi says most pros charge $0.07 to $0.26, and LawnStarter reports $0.07 to $0.21. Prep work, topsoil and slopes are extra, and the quote we hand you after measuring is the amount you pay.

It usually costs more than spreading dry seed and much less than sod. In HomeGuide's numbers, sod comes to $1 to $4 per square foot and hydroseeding to $0.12 to $0.35. Expect a minimum charge as well: HomeGuide says contractors commonly set one at $300 to $500 or more.

It depends on the month. Late August through September is the most reliable window around Detroit, and spring works once the ground is dry enough to grade. After mid-October the average first freeze is close, and in midsummer new seed needs daily watering to survive.

Cool-season blends. Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass suit sunny lawns, fine fescues handle shade, and tall fescue holds up to wear and dry spells. We match the blend to how much sun the yard gets and how it is used.

In good conditions, seedlings typically show in 5 to 7 days and the lawn fills in over the next several weeks. The first mowing usually comes at about 4 to 6 weeks.

Yes, if the clay is prepared. Packed clay must be loosened, bare subsoil needs topsoil, and the grade must shed water. The mulch in the slurry keeps the surface from crusting while seed germinates.

Seeding an ordinary yard does not need one. Permits come into play when earth changes cover an acre or more, or when work is close to a lake, stream, drain or wetland, and the trigger varies by county. We can help you check which office covers your address.

Taken together, the national guides place the seeding alone between about $0.07 and $0.35 for each square foot, and HomeGuide's range for a 5,000-square-foot yard is $1,000 to $1,750. Prep, topsoil and grading are added on top. Once we have seen the yard, you get a price in writing.

If the surface is subsoil from a basement dig or packed fill, yes. Grass can start in poor clay but struggles to thicken. Where the existing soil is decent, loosening and grading may be enough.

For a full renovation we kill or remove the old growth and prepare the soil first. Spraying over a thick weed mat leaves most seed sitting on top of thatch.

Light, frequent watering, two to three times daily while it is warm, for roughly the first three weeks; after that, water less often but deeper. Keep the mulch damp, never soaked.

Keep traffic off until the first mow, usually four to six weeks after seeding, and go easy for the rest of that season.

Yes. Much of our site work comes from builders and site contractors who need lots stabilized as homes finish. We can bill per lot or per mobilization.

It depends on the enforcing agency. Oakland County describes permanent vegetation as 90 percent growth and 1 inch tall on every square foot of disturbed area. Ask your permit office for its standard and we will seed to it.

Yes. Basin slopes usually need a heavier mulch rate or erosion control blankets, and the seed mix has to handle wet and dry periods.

Seed may not establish before winter. We can apply mulch for temporary cover and reseed in spring, and silt fence stays in place until grass is established.

Yes. Send the spec with the plans and we will price to it.

On gentle grades, hydroseed with a good mulch rate is usually enough. Steep banks, swale bottoms and ditch lines where water concentrates are where blankets earn their cost.

A sprayed mulch with binders that dries into a continuous mat. It protects seed on slopes that are hard to blanket and goes on with the same equipment as hydroseed.

Usually because water is being concentrated onto it from a downspout, driveway or upslope yard, or because seed was spread without mulch. We fix the flow and use a heavier cover.

Work within 500 feet of a lake or stream often needs a soil erosion permit, and the trigger size varies by county. Check with your local enforcing agency before work starts; we can help you find it.

Straw blankets break down as the grass grows through them. Coir lasts longer and is meant to stay in place.

If the project falls under a soil erosion permit, the plan will almost always call for it. Oakland County's guidance for homeowners asks that a temporary silt fence be kept around the lot until vegetation is established.

Until the disturbed area is stabilized with vegetation, including through winter if grass is not yet established. Then it is removed and the strip is seeded.

The enforcing agency on your permit. In much of Wayne County that is the county; some cities and townships run their own programs.

Mostly installation: fence not trenched in, run up and down the slope, or placed across concentrated flow. Damaged fence also fails if no one repairs it after storms.

Yes. Inlet protection is chosen for the inlet type and traffic, and it is cleaned out when sediment builds up.

It depends on what is there. Where the surface is subsoil or fill, a few inches of screened topsoil makes a big difference. We measure and put the volume in the estimate.

Usually, by rebuilding the soil near the house so it slopes away, and sometimes by burying downspouts or adding a swale or yard drain.

Yes, for drainage: swales, downspout lines and yard drains. Larger excavation, like foundations or utility lines, is outside what we do.

Once the ground is dry enough to crumble rather than smear. Working wet clay compacts it, so we may wait a few days after rain.

Guides list leveling around $1 to $2 per square foot and fine grading alone from $0.08 to $1.00, but the real number depends on fill, hauling and debris. We give a written price after measuring.

Late summer to early fall, roughly late August through September around Detroit. Spring works, but crabgrass and pre-emergent weed control both get in the way.

On clay, usually yes. Core aeration relieves compaction and gives seed a place to land and stay moist.

Yes. Salt-burned soil often needs the top layer replaced before seed will grow, then the strip is reseeded.

Depending on whether aeration is part of the job, published guides put it at roughly $0.07 up to $0.25 a square foot. You get a written price once we have looked at the lawn.

Yes, especially on larger bare areas and slopes, because the mulch holds moisture and keeps seed from washing away.