Commercial & Development Hydroseeding in Denver, CO

Commercial and development hydroseeding in Denver covers the large, disturbed areas that every building project leaves behind: subdivision lots and common areas, commercial pads waiting for a buyer, detention and water quality ponds, utility corridors, road shoulders and the open space a project has to restore before it can close out its stormwater permit. Builders and general contractors call us when they need hydroseeding contractors who show up when the grading crew finishes and can work at the scale of acres, not square feet.

Why the stormwater permit drives the schedule

The City and County of Denver may require a Construction Activities Stormwater Discharge Permit for construction, including demolition, that disturbs one acre or more, for sites that are part of a larger development plan, and for sites with significant erosion potential. Grading changes that disturb more than half an acre also need an approved construction plan and drainage report. On those sites, bare soil is a liability until it is stabilized. We schedule seeding and mulching to follow grading closely so the site is not sitting exposed through a summer of afternoon thunderstorms.

Temporary and permanent seeding

Not every area is ready for its final cover. Stockpiles, future phases and pads waiting on a buyer often get temporary seeding and mulch to hold the soil for a season or two. Areas at final grade get the permanent mix the plans call for, which on Front Range projects is often a native dryland blend with grasses like blue grama and buffalograss, or an irrigated turf mix in landscaped common areas. We follow the seed mix and rates in your plan set or the specifications your engineer or landscape architect wrote.

Ponds, channels and rights-of-way

Detention ponds and drainage channels get the most water and the most erosion, so they usually need more than seed. We combine hydroseed with heavier hydromulch or erosion control blankets on side slopes and in channel bottoms, and we coordinate with whoever installs riprap and outlet structures. Along roads and utility corridors we work around traffic control and access limits.

Working with your crews

We can mobilize for a single large area or come back phase by phase as lots are finished. We keep records of what was seeded, where and when, which helps when an inspector asks or when you are documenting final stabilization. If a seeded area fails after a washout, we will come back and figure out why before we reseed. Among hydroseeding companies in the metro, that kind of follow-through is what keeps a project off the inspector's list.

Ground conditions

Much of the Front Range plains is loamy grassland soil that sheds water fast when it is compacted. The USDA notes runoff on the Ascalon series, a plains soil of large extent in eastern Colorado, ranges from low to high, and it turns alkaline with lime a foot or two down. Graded subsoil left at the surface on many sites is low in organic matter. Where specifications allow, a soil amendment or tackifier rate suited to the conditions improves the odds the seed takes.