Frequently Asked Questions

Published national guides vary by source, putting residential hydroseeding somewhere between $0.06 and $0.35 per square foot. For a lawn of 5,000 square feet, HomeGuide lists about $1,000 to $1,750, and most companies have a minimum job fee of $300 to $500. Grading, topsoil, slopes and native seed mixes add to that, so we set each Denver price once we have walked the property.

For most yards larger than a few thousand square feet, yes. It costs far less than sod, protects the seed better than dry broadcasting, and lets us spray the exact mix your sun, water and elevation call for. Sod still makes sense for a small area you need finished right away.

No. By HomeGuide's numbers, laying sod costs $1 to $4 a square foot and hydroseeding $0.12 to $0.35, and Bob Vila's guide says hydroseeding typically runs 50 to 80 percent less than sod. The tradeoff is time: a hydroseeded lawn needs several weeks of careful watering before it is ready to use.

For Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season lawns, late August to early September is ideal, according to CSU Extension. Spring works with steady watering. Buffalograss and blue grama are warm-season natives and are usually seeded in May or June.

An irrigated bluegrass or fescue lawn needs regular water to establish and to stay green. Native mixes like buffalograss and blue grama are built for dryland conditions, but they still need moisture to germinate, so timing the seeding to rain or giving temporary water makes a big difference.

Yes, but the soil prep matters. We loosen the surface, work in compost or topsoil where needed, and make sure the grade drains away from the foundation, since the Colorado Geological Survey warns that irrigation water soaking in near a house is one of the ways swelling clay causes damage.

A normal homeowner lawn usually does not. Denver may require a Construction Activities Stormwater Discharge Permit for work that disturbs an acre or more, is part of a larger development plan, or has significant erosion potential. If you have one, we install and maintain the controls it calls for.

By HomeGuide's national figures, hydroseeding runs $0.12 to $0.35 for every square foot covered, or roughly $1,000 to $1,750 for a 5,000-square-foot lawn, with minimum job fees of $300 to $500 or more. Grading, topsoil and slope work add to that. We give you a written estimate after we see the yard.

Large areas are usually priced by the acre. LawnStarter puts hydroseeding at $2,136 to $4,897 per acre and Fixr at $2,000 to $4,000 per acre, so two acres would be roughly double that before any grading or prep. Larger jobs sometimes come in lower per acre because setup is spread over more ground.

Keep off it until after the first mowing, usually four to six weeks. Walking on it earlier pushes seedlings into the mud and leaves bare footprints.

Yes. It takes more water because it has to establish going into summer heat. CSU Extension says late summer is easier for cool-season grasses like bluegrass.

Wood or paper fiber mulch, colored so the crew can see coverage. It holds moisture against the seed and fades as the grass grows.

Yes. Builders, developers, general contractors and site managers who need seeding and stabilization on a schedule make up the bulk of our commercial jobs.

Yes. We follow the species, rates and mulch your plans or specifications list, and we will flag anything that looks off for the site, like buffalograss on ground above about 6,500 feet.

Depending on which guide you read, published figures for the seeding itself fall between roughly $2,000 and $4,900 an acre. Mulch rate, blankets, access, water and the number of mobilizations change the price, so we bid each project from the plans.

Yes, usually with heavier mulch or an erosion control blanket on the slopes, because those areas take the most water.

Gentle slopes with little water crossing them usually do fine with hydromulch. Steeper slopes, swales and anything that carries concentrated flow usually need a blanket or bonded fiber matrix.

Usually not. The straw or coir fibers rot away in place while the new grass roots through. Some products use plastic netting that outlasts the fibers, so where deer, other wildlife or a mower will cross the area, we can specify a blanket with biodegradable netting instead.

It is a sprayed-on mulch with a bonding agent mixed in, which cures into a porous, unbroken crust over the seed. It goes on like hydromulch but grips steep ground much better.

As soon as it reaches final grade, and before the spring and summer storm season if possible. Bare slopes in Denver take most of their damage between April and August.

If your project needs a Construction Activities Stormwater Discharge Permit, the stormwater plan will show the controls required. Denver may require one for sites that disturb an acre or more, among other triggers. Smaller jobs may still need controls if they could send sediment into the street.

It lasts as long as it is maintained. Sediment has to be removed before it builds up too high against the fabric, and damaged sections replaced.

Usually because the fabric was not trenched in, the fence runs downhill instead of along the contour, or too much water is reaching it. We fix the installation and look at whether a swale, wattles or a check dam should take some of the flow.

Yes, once the area is stabilized. We pull the fence and seed the strip of disturbed ground it leaves behind.

Yes, using devices that filter runoff without backing water up into traffic lanes.

The ground should fall away from the foundation so water cannot pond against it. Builders and local codes set specific numbers, and we check the grade on our site visit.

Not always. If the existing soil is workable, compost tilled in may be enough. If the surface is compacted subsoil or construction fill, topsoil gives the grass a much better start.

Usually, with regrading, swales and sometimes buried drain lines. We start by finding where the water comes from.

Yes. Grading and hydroseeding together is most of our residential work.

It needs water to establish. Once established it uses much less than bluegrass, though some summer water keeps it greener.

No. Buffalograss and blue grama are warm-season grasses that go tan after the first hard frosts and green up in late spring.

They grow on different schedules and need different water, so they usually do not mix well in one lawn. Many yards use bluegrass near the house and natives farther out.

CSU Extension says buffalograss is usually seeded in May or June, once the soil is warm.