[JohnWW]

I and two of my neighbors need a recommendation for sod work.

First, why I said "not Chessari". I saw great reviews on this forum for Chessari, so we decided to choose them. Called them on 9/9/26. They answered immediately and arranged for an estimate between 10 and 11 for 9/11. When 11 AM passed and Alec didn't show up, I called. Second call was answered. He was running 10 minutes late. About 20 minutes later, he arrived - a little late, no big deal. He looked at the work, all were small jobs and we wanted to combine them hoping for a discount for same location, same day, coordinating it at our end. Two of us got quotes and requests for a contract via email immediately. Third neighbor wasn't home and he didn't have her email. She called him on Tuesday 9/15, as of 9/23 he hasn't returned her call. I called on Thursday 9/17 at 2:48, 3:00 and 3:11, finally leaving a detailed message for a complicated situation of coordinating the job. As of 9/23, no phone call has been returned to me either. I tried calling them on 9/21 and 9/23, again, no answer. Alec seems to be thriving (he said he has three trucks doing work now) and apparently has no interest in our small jobs. It's great that he's doing so well and probably does great work. Obviously, we've all found this experience with Chessari Sod to be frustrating; but, as a responsible Villager, I felt I should share my experience, especially since all I've found on here are glowing reviews for Chessari Sod.

We're back to square 1 and need a good sod person who
1) Answers their phone
2) Will do small jobs
3) Has quality sod and the knowledge to do proper soil prep, etc.

Is there anyone out there that can match three frustrated neighbors with a good sod person?

Thanks!

[Pondboy]

You could try Lilly’s.

I’ve not used them but they do advertise a lot on this site.

[Miboater]

I would recommend Outlook Lawn and Landscaping. They had a contract with my pool builder and did the sod and landscaping after the pool was completed and was happy with their work. I decided to replace my sod in my front lawn and had them do the work. I had an issue with the quality of the sod and the owner came out and agreed and replaced all the sod with no issues.

They are in Mt. Dora and their number is 352-223-4838.

[kschwi]

Originally Posted by Miboater

I would recommend Outlook Lawn and Landscaping. They had a contract with my pool builder and did the sod and landscaping after the pool was completed and was happy with their work. I decided to replace my sod in my front lawn and had them do the work. I had an issue with the quality of the sod and the owner came out and agreed and replaced all the sod with no issues.

They are in Mt. Dora and their number is 352-223-4838.

Did they work the soil before laying down the sod?

[Miboater]

Originally Posted by kschwi

Did they work the soil before laying down the sod?

They did level it out with rakes and then I had them put down a layer of peat moss. They said the peat moss is not needed but I read somewhere that it helps with the rooting. It did root quickly and established nicely.

[HIgolfers]

Originally Posted by Miboater

They did level it out with rakes and then I had them put down a layer of peat moss. They said the peat moss is not needed but I read somewhere that it helps with the rooting. It did root quickly and established nicely.

We recently used New Beginnings for a small sod job in our front yard. Very happy with them. Provided an estimate and then did the job when promised. Highly recommend. 352-933-3041 or [email protected]

[JohnWW]

We went with Alex H Landscaping. Communication was SO much better than Chessari. Came out on time, honored their price and used fresh cut sod. We had three small jobs: Me, my next door neighbor and the lady living kitty-corner to her. Alex was so flexible with dealing with that and offers a 90 day guarantee. You might find a slightly lower price with someone else, but in my opinion, it was worth it.

[Sparky99]

Lowe's or Home Depot.

[SuzSmith]

We had ours done by Oxford Lawn.The owner was very responsive and the work was first rate. We had to go out of town right after sod was installed, so they had one of the crew come by and monitor our irrigation to make sure all was in order. Our lawn looks amazing. They've now done a couple of our neighbors, and everyone is pleased. 352-446-3497

[rsmurano]

I had Chessari do my sod work, a large project 1st then the next year a much smaller 1, no problems at all using them.
All companies have to make sure it’s profitable for them, nobody should lose money. My smaller project, it was a more flexible schedule thing where they would get to me when they finished a bigger project and I would fill in with an hour or 2 worth of work

[Packer Fan]

Absolutely agree, you should not go with Cessari. They do not stand behind their work, and they don't call you back after the job is done. If you do have a problem, good luck getting a call back. It won't happen. They come in one day and strip, and they really don't rework the soil underneath. I had them lay down two yards of soil in an area, but that's all they did.

They did not really work the soil at all, and they did not really kill anything under the grass. I specifically had shown him an area where I had some Bermuda grass coming up that I wanted to replace. This 100 square foot area was only being replaced because of the Bermuda grass. They did nothing special in that area, and three weeks after the sod was laid, the Bermuda grass was back. I think I got to the point I was calling them every single day, by the time he called me back, it was past the warranty period. How convenient. They are cheap because they do a half-baked sod installation. Stay away

[kendi]

Originally Posted by JohnWW

I and two of my neighbors need a recommendation for sod work.

First, why I said "not Chessari". I saw great reviews on this forum for Chessari, so we decided to choose them. Called them on 9/9/26. They answered immediately and arranged for an estimate between 10 and 11 for 9/11. When 11 AM passed and Alec didn't show up, I called. Second call was answered. He was running 10 minutes late. About 20 minutes later, he arrived - a little late, no big deal. He looked at the work, all were small jobs and we wanted to combine them hoping for a discount for same location, same day, coordinating it at our end. Two of us got quotes and requests for a contract via email immediately. Third neighbor wasn't home and he didn't have her email. She called him on Tuesday 9/15, as of 9/23 he hasn't returned her call. I called on Thursday 9/17 at 2:48, 3:00 and 3:11, finally leaving a detailed message for a complicated situation of coordinating the job. As of 9/23, no phone call has been returned to me either. I tried calling them on 9/21 and 9/23, again, no answer. Alec seems to be thriving (he said he has three trucks doing work now) and apparently has no interest in our small jobs. It's great that he's doing so well and probably does great work. Obviously, we've all found this experience with Chessari Sod to be frustrating; but, as a responsible Villager, I felt I should share my experience, especially since all I've found on here are glowing reviews for Chessari Sod.

We're back to square 1 and need a good sod person who
1) Answers their phone
2) Will do small jobs
3) Has quality sod and the knowledge to do proper soil prep, etc.

Is there anyone out there that can match three frustrated neighbors with a good sod person?

Thanks!

I had a bad experience with Chessari as well but it was with his mother. We had planned some major landscaping and sod. Communication was very poor and she never followed through with the timeline that she promised. She drew up diagrams that did not include my input because she did not read my communication to her. Nor did I get any of my questions answered. Because they gave good reviews I gave her the benefit of the doubt for 6 weeks then finally fired her. Makes me wonder if the good reviews are from family and friends

[rjn5656]

Make sure you kill the old grass before you put the sod down.

[Stu from NYC]

Want to put in new sod but not happy with possible vendors.

First one we wanted to use had a bad habit of not returning calls before they started.

Was going to use Chessari but per this thread second thoughts.

Was going to consider Sod Lot but price very high and they require full payment with order. That is not going to happen.

Hopefully someone could put out a vendor they were happy with.