Ugh... Dead Grass...
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
g'day Rex, I don't know about over there, but over here that's fairly standard practice for builders to have one or two spots around the yard (usually near a corner) where they can bury some of their construction rubbish - this is often marked out on the plans. Anyway, I don't think you will have much luck getting the builder to rectify it, but good luck anyway... D.
------------------------------------------- Damian - Insert snappy one-liner here.
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
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g'day Rex, I don't know about over there, but over here that's fairly standard practice for builders to have one or two spots around the yard (usually near a corner) where they can bury some of their construction rubbish - this is often marked out on the plans. Anyway, I don't think you will have much luck getting the builder to rectify it, but good luck anyway... D.
------------------------------------------- Damian - Insert snappy one-liner here.
Yeah I've got 6 spots and it's not buried it's just sitting right on top of the ground. Right where it was dropped.
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
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:hugs:
Visit http://www.readytogiveup.com/[^] and do something special today.
Thanks! Tomorrow is supposed to be 106 (I think that's what I saw.) so I might need a fire extinguisher.:-D
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Yeah I've got 6 spots and it's not buried it's just sitting right on top of the ground. Right where it was dropped.
When I bought a house a few years ago I found all sorts of crap in the garden. I'm glad I don't have any kids or they could have seriously hurt themselves on some of it. It took a good couple of years before most of it was out.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ... * Reading: Developer Day 5 Ready to Give up - Your help will be much appreciated. My website
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When I bought a house a few years ago I found all sorts of crap in the garden. I'm glad I don't have any kids or they could have seriously hurt themselves on some of it. It took a good couple of years before most of it was out.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ... * Reading: Developer Day 5 Ready to Give up - Your help will be much appreciated. My website
Yeah, depending on the builders response I might be borrowing my dads metal detector. There's a lot of junk in there and it's frustrating. The shingles just blew me away.
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Good luck with the builder. I remember when I was a kid my father demolished the kitchen and bathroom, dug a big hole in the garden and buried the lot
You must have had my dad. :rolleyes:
Ðavid Wulff What kind of music should programmers listen to?
Join the Code Project Last.fm group | dwulff
I'm so gangsta I eat cereal without the milk -
So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
Hey at least you have 2 inches of soil... I found out the reason my front lawn was always in such a poor state was due to the fact the turf was laid right on top of an old 4-6 inch think reinforced concrete driveway. Now that was fun to break up. Still, at least we solved the problem with it becoming waterlogged in the winter...
Ðavid Wulff What kind of music should programmers listen to?
Join the Code Project Last.fm group | dwulff
I'm so gangsta I eat cereal without the milk -
You must have had my dad. :rolleyes:
Ðavid Wulff What kind of music should programmers listen to?
Join the Code Project Last.fm group | dwulff
I'm so gangsta I eat cereal without the milk -
So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
on the bright side, you'll have a nice crop of mushrooms once it all starts decaying
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
I think most construction companies assume you're going to haul in 2-4-6-8 inches of topsoil over their mess. I've dug up old 2x4s while trying to plant trees, and didn't think much of it until I dug up a circa 72 coke can, at which point I thought I hit a time capsule! Further digging yielded nothing but rocks :-) Rip out the shingles, replace with topsoil, sprinkle some grass seed, and water, water, water. You'll have your lawn back in no time.
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on!
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
code-frog wrote:
But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground.
About a decade ago I had a similar episode with my house then. It had been several years trying to grow something, anything, in the section of land between the curb and the sidewalk, which you are required to maintain as part of owning a home.... Now, mind you, this house was made in the 60's, we bought it in the 90's, so it had been there a while.... We finally got desperate trying to figure out why nothing would grow there, and were tired of complaints from the city for not doing so (and threats of fines, etc). So I dug it up... Try concrete! Now wood or shingles is one thing, but try pulling out 12 inch chunks, 4" thick of concrete from a tiny section of land less than two feet wide and the length of the house. Not sure who, but someone was using the area to dump either an old sidewalk or some other concrete slab and then just covered it up with dirt.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
Er... as it is wood... have you seen the film poltergeist? (http://spanish.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/[^]) Now, being serious... try to talk with him, who knows it can be that his/her workers are not clean, but normally if the workers are not clean is because the company owner is not clean... Let's hope that when you talk to the builder he will want to repair that... Regards Rex, and good luck with everything... :rose:
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
Reminds me of a friend who bought a house on a new development, the builder was still on site completing other houses, he found a full pallet of house bricks buried in his garden! As in the UK it was nearly bonfire night there was talk of the residents using the builder as the Guy!
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Goodman
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I think most construction companies assume you're going to haul in 2-4-6-8 inches of topsoil over their mess. I've dug up old 2x4s while trying to plant trees, and didn't think much of it until I dug up a circa 72 coke can, at which point I thought I hit a time capsule! Further digging yielded nothing but rocks :-) Rip out the shingles, replace with topsoil, sprinkle some grass seed, and water, water, water. You'll have your lawn back in no time.
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on!
Steve Echols wrote:
You'll have your lawn back in no time.
Yeah, sure. ;P
If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Blog - My Photos - ScrewTurn Wiki
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
My parents old house had a nice 120" urban garden with a bit of rubbish in it, at least that's what we thought when we moved in. 18 steel window frames, >100 house bricks, several square feet of intact reinforced glass, 1 bicycle frame 3 feet down, kids toys, >20 coins going back as far as 90 years, >1000 carpenters nails, half a dozen complete items of crockery, a dozen broken paving slabs a complete 1960s glass coke bottle, about 10 kilo of broken glass, several square metres of chicken wire, assorted items of cutlery and 15 years later we pretty much had it in shape shortly before they moved out. Life throws us these curve balls sometimes but it could be worse. We didn't find any bodies or toxic waste and we didn't even puncture a gas main getting that bicycle frame out ;) I hope in all seriousness your gardening woes are the worst thing that happens to you this year or in the future.
Nothing is exactly what it seems but everything with seems can be unpicked.
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So folks. This weekend I thought I'd try and ease back into life (after major back injury) and see why I have about 6 rather large and very dead spots in my lawn that is now in it's 2nd summer. So I spoke with a few experts who said to get a hand aerator and aerate my lawn first. They said the process will reveal one of two problems. Really hard soil that isn't absorbing water in which case the aeration will help or construction debris which is preventing the grass from growing down in the soil. So I started hand aerating and guess what I start finding. Huge chunks of wood siding, sections of shingle and other debris at most 2 inches below the surface.:wtf: So now I get to call the builder and see if he has enough class to come and fix the problem. I'm not hopeful as we bought from a "spec home" builder who hasn't been super helpful with other problems unless they were just blatant screw-ups on the construction side of things. But seriously... to find huge slabs of shingle less than 2" under your ground. What were they thinking to just roll sod right on top of that!?!?!?! GRRRR!!! It's a good thing I'm mostly sedated right now or I'd totally lose it on some poor defenseless farm animal right now.:eek: I wonder if the builder will have any class or not... Totally dreading the conversation...:sigh: Among the other issues this isn't helping.:((
It could be worse. There was a small hotel / pub on the piece of land next to our house, but it burned down about 3 years ago (well, it burned, but since it was brick with concrete, it stayed up mostly.) About 2 years ago, I watched a bulldozer dig a hole, maybe 2 or 3 meters deep, and push it in. Imagine buying that property and trying to dig holes for foundations or to put a swimming pool in. I reckon there were reinforced concrete beams 5 meters long under there.
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It could be worse. There was a small hotel / pub on the piece of land next to our house, but it burned down about 3 years ago (well, it burned, but since it was brick with concrete, it stayed up mostly.) About 2 years ago, I watched a bulldozer dig a hole, maybe 2 or 3 meters deep, and push it in. Imagine buying that property and trying to dig holes for foundations or to put a swimming pool in. I reckon there were reinforced concrete beams 5 meters long under there.
normanS wrote:
There was a small hotel / pub on the piece of land next to our house, but it burned down about 3 years ago (well, it burned, but since it was brick with concrete, it stayed up mostly.) About 2 years ago, I watched a bulldozer dig a hole, maybe 2 or 3 meters deep, and push it in.
Where I grew up, in Kempton Park, South Africa, there was once a fire that gutted a perfume factory. This close to 1981 or so, and the site still stands unusable. The heat was so intense the foundations were irreparably damaged, and the cost of removing them outweighs the value of the land. Now that I think about it, it was quite a fire. They bought in earthmoving equipment to damn up a small river, to provide enough water. We were at a school athletics meeting about 4km away when we saw the ball of fire mushroom up into the air. We went down on bicycles to go and watch the spectacle, and I bought a 1 litre coke on the way, from a shop 1km away from the fire, and on opening it it fizzed out gloriously from being shaken by the blast.
