Watering in new sod is the irrigation right after the grass is laid, and the repeats that follow while the roots take. The steps live on watering new sod. The goal of the first watering is to settle the sod onto the grade and wet the soil under the seams. The goal of the next two to three weeks is roots moving down, not a swamp and not a crack at every joint. We explain that before we leave. We do not stay to run the clock.
The site does not publish minutes per day. Sand, shade, and the hardware on the lot change the drink. Check the lawn. If a corner lifts and the soil under it is dry, it needs water. If the seams are soupy, it needs less. Morning water is the habit. A lawn that sits wet overnight invites fungus we do not treat.
What it looks like here
A watered-in lawn looks heavy and even the afternoon it goes down, then it should not glaze white at the joints by the next evening. On North Port sand that white joint shows up fast. Port Charlotte and Venice lots drain the same way. A hose can carry a small yard. A large yard with dead zones cannot. Say so before we order the grass. We do not re-plumb irrigation, add heads, or move a clock we do not own.
Stay off it. Kids and pets off the first week. Regular foot traffic about two weeks. Do not mow until the pieces are holding and the grass has grown enough to cut at the right height. Watering in is not permission to scalp Floratam in week two so it looks neat for a photo. St. Augustine stays at 3.5 to 4 inches when the mower finally comes.
What we do, and what you do
We do the prep and the lay. You do the watering in. That split is the job as it is sold. If you are not able to water, the install window is a bad one, and we would rather say so than leave a lawn that dies in the first dry stretch. Shade and a broken zone are not solved by a more heroic first hour. Fix the light or the water, or choose a bed, before the roll is blamed.
The range for the sod is $0.85–$1.75 per square foot installed. Watering in is not an extra crew-hour on that range, because the crew does not remain to do it. A range, not a bid. The homeowner steps are watering new sod.