drainage problem

[village dreamer]

well I called warrenty dept. to report about the side of my house dead brown grass ,thinking its a drain age problem and warrenty told me ,grass is only warrenty for 30days and to have a drainage problem water must stand for 48 hours.............wow.:confused::confused::confuse d: looks like its my problem:rant-rave::rant-rave::rant-rave:

[golfing eagles]

well I called warrenty dept. to report about the side of my house dead brown grass ,thinking its a drain age problem and warrenty told me ,grass is only warrenty for 30days and to have a drainage problem water must stand for 48 hours.............wow.:confused::confused::confuse d: looks like its my problem:rant-rave::rant-rave::rant-rave:

Look familiar???
Read my previous posts on lawn for the whole story, I feel your pain

[golfing eagles]

Here's a post so you don't have to search:


Went to contract Feb 2014 on a new home south of 466A and closed by mail in April. Immediately contracted with a top lawn service and homewatch person, who was immediately unhappy with the lawn and attentively adjusted the irrigation settings and met with the lawn service technician. It was felt much of the problem was that the lawn was new, but it seemed to be wet all the time. Saw it late May 2014 and it was horrible, dead patches, weeds, etc. Reported it to home warranty who still felt it was too new a lawn to comment on. No better in October and this April reported it again on a home warranty inspection to be sure it was under the 1 year limit.
I personally met with the owner of the lawn service and senior technician. They were concerned that there was improper grading and drainage, pointed out significant undulations between the house and street in front and golf course behind where water was accumulating and felt the dead patches were due to algae. Home warranty suggested I talk to the builder.
Met personally with the owner of the company that built the house, he blamed the lawn service and tried to switch me to his new best friend--a drywall contractor that just got into the lawn business 8 months earlier. I then met with the head of home warranty who blamed it on the irrigation and pulled neighbors records to compare, which was at best inconclusive.
Since then, I have talked with the Univ of FL agricultural liason to TV, who feels it is a soil compaction and pH problem. I have a soil test out awaiting results. I have, at my own expense, hired an irrigation expert to make sure there were no underground leaks, that the "irrigation computer" was working well, and the settings were correct, which they were. I also paid to have the lawn aerated to help reduce any compaction issues. Just this week was going to re-aerate and top dress, but it was too wet. Yes, we've apparently had rain, but the neighbors don't have this problem
I must say home warranty has been EXCELLENT in general, we had a punch list of 10-15 items that were all handled without issue. But the lawn seems to be another matter.
Still in a bit of a quandary as to the real cause, but there have been multiple houses in my neighborhood that have had French drains installed due to poor grading/drainage. I'd appreciated hearing from anyone who had these drains installed, what their problem was, and did they have a huge fight with warranty to get it done. Thank you.

Has anyone in the Lake Deaton/Hillsborough area had experience with a problem lawn, possibly due to a bad batch of sod or a drainage problem? After a year, I have the worst lawn in the area. It has been constantly maintained by one of the most reputable lawn services premium plan, the irrigation is adjusted weekly by my home watch person. The lawn service states it is a drainage and grading problem, the contractor states it is the lawn service, home warranty blames the irrigation settings. I have had an independent irrigation expert check the system and states it is perfect and believes it is a bad batch of sod. Several homes on my street have had to install French drains, but my neighbors on either side have essentially the same grading and drainage but no problem with their lawns. This has become a circular firing squad of who blames who. Meanwhile, I completely ignore my lawn in NY at a cost of $0 and it is lush and green. Any suggestions appreciated

And another picture

[graciegirl]

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/landscape-talk-129/landscaper-install-french-drain-82826/?highlight=french+drain+yard

[golfing eagles]

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/landscape-talk-129/landscaper-install-french-drain-82826/?highlight=french+drain+yard

Thanks GG. I have considered it but held off for 2 reasons:

1) Since it has been a problem since day 1, I think home warranty should take some responsibility for the problem, it is a fairly large expenditure

2) Invisible pet fence would have to be re-done

I have had the whole lawn core aerated and top dressed twice since April---showing some improvement. I will be getting new photos from my homewatch person in 2 days

[village dreamer]

im in lake deaton and my grass looks just like yours. but more weeds.

[golfing eagles]

im in lake deaton and my grass looks just like yours. but more weeds.

Here's a photo 2 weeks ago just after 2nd aeration---there is improvement along the property line, and the rest of the lawn is much better, so there is hope

[golfing eagles]

guess TOTV didn't like the photo, probably since I didn't hit upload

[golfing eagles]

At least it doesn't look like this anymore:

[JoMar]

It might soon be time for lawyers and lots of residents getting aggressive. I suspect the developer has the ultimate accountability since they chose the builder, the landscaper and the irrigation systems and installers.

[graciegirl]

It might soon be time for lawyers and lots of residents getting aggressive. I suspect the developer has the ultimate accountability since they chose the builder, the landscaper and the irrigation systems and installers.



French drains don't cost much. This part of the year is ultimately when one would discover they need to correct drainage. It rains every day in the summer.

[golfing eagles]

Really? I hope so. I investigated on-line (for what that's worth) and national average is $30-40/ linear foot, making this job just under 10K. Has anyone out there had it done and what is a ballpark cost?

[gomoho]

French drains don't cost much. This part of the year is ultimately when one would discover they need to correct drainage. It rains every day in the summer.

French drains shouldn't cost the homeowner anything if the problem is with initial grading. The Villages does a spectacular job moving vast amounts of water in most cases. Don't understand why they won't help out the homeowner that bought in good faith.

[village dreamer]

it s all about the money

[golfing eagles]

it s all about the money

I'm not so sure about that. I met personally with the head of home warranty, nice man, understood my concerns. He could not see that the grading and drainage failed Florida construction codes, so he could not force the builders hand at this time. He is going to revisit the site in October, which is why I've done everything else to improve the lawn to exclude other causes. I don't want TV to pay for a drain if it doesn't address the issue, and I'll pay for it myself if I could be sure it would fix it. They just need to tell me flat out that it is a drainage issue and they won't cover it, that's fine, I'll get it done in a week. Bottom line, I think he was genuine, but just unsure if a drain would fix this and did not have enough evidence to go to the builder. (Of course, since they're building another 2000 homes in Pine Ridge, I'm sure he still has some leverage)

[Chellybean]

I'm not so sure about that. I met personally with the head of home warranty, nice man, understood my concerns. He could not see that the grading and drainage failed Florida construction codes, so he could not force the builders hand at this time. He is going to revisit the site in October, which is why I've done everything else to improve the lawn to exclude other causes. I don't want TV to pay for a drain if it doesn't address the issue, and I'll pay for it myself if I could be sure it would fix it. They just need to tell me flat out that it is a drainage issue and they won't cover it, that's fine, I'll get it done in a week. Bottom line, I think he was genuine, but just unsure if a drain would fix this and did not have enough evidence to go to the builder. (Of course, since they're building another 2000 homes in Pine Ridge, I'm sure he still has some leverage)

well this is what i have found.
Drainage issues are all over the villages and the grade are done poorly and it usually takes one to two seasons to figure that out and the blame game in the villages runs rapid.
Mine was due to poor grading and putting the sod on white hard clay that couldn't possible grow grass.
I had to dig it out and re-sod 100', lets see whats next, which will be a lawsuit or hopefully a class action lawsuit.
They are responsible to grade properly, but when was the last time you seen them out with a transit to grade.
My two cents

[biker1]

If there is a drainage issue then they either didn't grade the land correctly, failed to install a french drain, or did install a french drain but installed it poorly. I know a couple that kept after warranty for a drainage issue. Eventually warranty agreed to address the drainage problem. The issue turned out to be a poorly installed french drain. When it was dug up and reinstalled correctly the drainage issue went away. I have seen a lot of french drains installed retroactively.


I'm not so sure about that. I met personally with the head of home warranty, nice man, understood my concerns. He could not see that the grading and drainage failed Florida construction codes, so he could not force the builders hand at this time. He is going to revisit the site in October, which is why I've done everything else to improve the lawn to exclude other causes. I don't want TV to pay for a drain if it doesn't address the issue, and I'll pay for it myself if I could be sure it would fix it. They just need to tell me flat out that it is a drainage issue and they won't cover it, that's fine, I'll get it done in a week. Bottom line, I think he was genuine, but just unsure if a drain would fix this and did not have enough evidence to go to the builder. (Of course, since they're building another 2000 homes in Pine Ridge, I'm sure he still has some leverage)

[biker1]

"Much" is a relative term. I know a couple that was told $16K to install a french drain to correct a drainage issue if they paid for it themselves. They did get warranty to do the right thing.

French drains don't cost much. This part of the year is ultimately when one would discover they need to correct drainage. It rains every day in the summer.

[golfing eagles]

If there is a drainage issue then they either didn't grade the land correctly, failed to install a french drain, or did install a french drain but installed it poorly. I know a couple that kept after warranty for a drainage issue. Eventually warranty agreed to address the drainage problem. The issue turned out to be a poorly installed french drain. When it was dug up and reinstalled correctly the drainage issue went away. I have seen a lot of french drains installed retroactively.

I'm still not sure it is all that simple. As you can tell from the posts, I've been dealing with this for 1 1/2 years. My first impression was the grading was poor, but that doesn't explain why my neighbors on both sides don't have this issue, other than in the swale between properties. Also, the building code specifies grading parameters which apparently are met--I've seen them out with transits in new areas many times. There is a high clay content to the soil south of 466A, which leads to compaction issues, and the pH also runs over 8 in places, empire zoysia likes 6.2. I have seen French drains being installed, even 1 or 2 down the block, but most lawns do not have this problem. It also does not explain the marked improvement after aeration and top dressing, as seen in the photos. So, for the time being, I'm going to let this play out, I'll have a better sense of it when I'm there full time. I really don't think home warranty is out to screw anyone, I believe they just want to be sure that the problem is a drainage issue that can be fixed by a French drain before they commit