Yard repair - advice needed

[Zero102]

On our rental property in Vernon, BC, we just finished evicting a tenant for not taking care of the place. During the 2 years she lived there she never once cut the grass or watered it. When she moved in there was a reasonably nice lawn all around the place, but now it is only a couple scattered patches of yellow/dead grass and is probably 75% weeds or empty dirt.

We have 10 days at the end of this month when we will be going out there to improve the appearance of the house for the purpose of selling it, and in my opinion one thing that is really bringing down the curb appeal of the house is this disaster of a yard.

So, what do I do to fix it?
My first guess was to manually yank all of the weeds, water the crap out of it and lay down tons of grass seed over what is left, hoping it will take in the 10 days we have.

My wife's parents insist I am an idiot for this, that I should rototill the entire yard and lay down sod, but I think this may be very expensive and I also thought sod took 1-2 months to properly root?

The yard is approximately 4000 square feet, and the street is on the north side with some trees and bushes on the south end of the yard. What is the best option? I know seeding is cheaper, but given the infestation of weeds am I just asking for future trouble?


On a side question, does anybody know what it would cost to install automatic sprinklers on the yard? We would do the work ourselves of course, and I think we would only probably need 6 or 7 sprinkler heads since they seem to cover about a 10-15' range from where they are located, but I don't really know all the pieces that would be involved to make a complete system or what they cost.

[kvg]

Originally posted by Zero102




My wife's parents insist I am an idiot for this, that I should rototill the entire yard and lay down sod, but I think this may be very expensive and I also thought sod took 1-2 months to properly root?



That will be the fastest way to fix the grass if its dead the other option is seed and fertilize and it should be good next spring.

Good luck

[masoncgy]

If time is a factor, the only thing you can do is have a bobcat come scrape off the top few inches weeds & dead grass, spread fresh topsoil and then lay sod and water the crap out of it.

10 days isn't enough time to pull/kill off the weeds and then re-seed...

If the house isn't in the best condition, just get some Killex and spray down the lawn... then get the mower out, clip everything down and start watering the crap out of the lawn. It won't be pretty, but it's a start and at least it's cost effective.

To be honest, the exterior of the house should be your last concern... it's getting the inside all spic & span that will attract the buyers. Just by getting the yard looking tidy, even if it's not perfect, should be sufficient.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Zero102

What is the best option? I know seeding is cheaper, but given the infestation of weeds am I just asking for future trouble?


On a side question, does anybody know what it would cost to install automatic sprinklers on the yard?

There isn't going to be a cheap way out, with only 10 days to do it in. Definately till (or bobcat), and sod.

I installed my front yard sprinkler myself (haven't done the back yet), I think I spent $300-$400 for a programmable timer, rain detector, 3 valves, 2 boxes, 10 heads, and all the plumbing necessary to get to my backyard, where the existing sprinkler plumbing entered the house (but hadn't been used since the 60's).

If your ground is soft, and not rocky, and not tree'd, you could probably do it in 2-3 days yourself, but having to dig through rocks and tree roots will really slow you down. You can rent trench diggers to help with that too though.

Oh, and make sure if you do underground sprinklers, make sure there's enough coverage with your water pressure/flow. I'm finding I don't have quiet enough, even though I followed all the instructions. Figure out what you need theoretically, then add a few more heads for safety.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by masoncgy
To be honest, the exterior of the house should be your last concern... it's getting the inside all spic & span that will attract the buyers. Just by getting the yard looking tidy, even if it's not perfect, should be sufficient.

We have taken the interior as far as we can. It isn't perfect but it is clean and tidy. Unfortunately, even though we are priced in the bottom 10-15% of our market segment we are getting 0 calls for viewings. We spoke to the neighbors and 2-3 times a week they have noticed people parking in the middle of the road, occasionally walking about the property, so I am certain people are interested, but I think they are seeing the outside and running away. The yard is bad. Hopefully between this and painting the house we will start getting people inside because we really need to sell the house.