Lawns - Do installers guarantee sod?

I asked one of the contractors that estimated my sod install project if they guaranteed that it would take, or what they would do if it didn't.

He said they did not guarantee anything and that if watered properly, there is no reason it shouldn't take.

Any experience on input on this?

Thank you.

After they lay the sod, everything is out of their control. I don't see how anybody could guarantee it. It is up to you to keep it watered and healthy.

Ok, I understand about the watering etc, but I guess I am thinking what if they install less than healthy sod, or diseased or (bad) bug infested sod?

I have never done this before, so I guess I wouldn't be able to tell to look at it if it were ok they day they installed etc.

Or is all sod safe and healthy?

Thanks--

Sod is all going to be good and healthy. They grow it on a farm (at least the ones do around here) and give it plenty of water, light, and food (fertilizer) to get good healthy grass.

As with anything, it is always good to get more than one bid on a job. If your worried about it maybe they have some references you can call or look at. You could also go to where they get the sod and see it in the field before they cut it.

BTW - it is my experience that sod only stake about a week to "take" (attach itself to the ground)

In my experience, sod will not all die. Usually what happens is there will be 1 or 2 rolls that die (for whatever reason) and the rest of the sod is fine. Over the years, I have never had a problem getting a contractor to replace a handful of rolls in my yard that died when the reast of it is good.

Just as an aside, in our specifications for our commercial projects we require that sod be guaranteed for 1 growing season. But we also will usually require that the contractor do maintenance for the first 30 days. Never had a problem.

Water is the main thing! I've even seen sod in fla that was left in the sun too long [dried out and brown] come back to life with sufficent watering.

I don't know how anyone could garuntee a sod job unless they also controlled the watering.