[Chellybean]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

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.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

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.

Originally Posted by graciegirl

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]

Originally Posted by 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 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