Sod Rules

Peter and I met at Justin's place on Saturday morning to help him re-sod his front lawn. He had rented a machine from Home Depot that would cut up strips of his lawn and we would roll them up and dispose of them in a large bin that he also rented. After a breakfast of bacon and pancakes prepared by Justin we got started sometime around 11:30.

Since we didn't want to take a chance wrecking the machine Justin rented we decided he should work it the whole time. At first Peter and I took turns rolling the sod and bringing it to the dumpster ourselves. But then we decided to specialize our tasks. Peter would solely roll the old sod strips and I would carry them over to the dumpster and toss them. I think it was more efficient this way.

Still the work was hard. The weather wasn't bad. The temperature topped out at around 26C. Not as bad as the previous week when it was probably closer to 30C plus humidity. Still it would have been nicer if it were a little cooler. And not as sunny. We spent a good six hours in the sun. We were all pretty well toasted.

Gabe came a bit later. He was busy in the morning and early afternoon. He arrived at around 3:00. Just in time to help us clean up the last bits of the old lawn and start laying down the new sod - over 100 pieces (cut in lengths at 9-square-feet per piece).

Again we split our roles up. Gabe and I carried the pieces of sod from the pallets on the driveway over to where Justin and Peter lay them out across the yard. The middle part of the yard was easiest. It's around the edges and around objects such as trees where you have to do the most work. We had to cut certain pieces to fit snuggly around these items.

I believe we finished by around 6:00. Justin and Peter barbecued ribs that Justin had bought. Justin also made cornbread. And we enjoyed some cold beverages in the backyard afterwards. Our reward for a hard day's work.