In March of 2022, I contracted with Top Blade KC to reseed my backyard after a fall 2021 landscaping project (also completed by Top Blade KC). In all fairness, the landscaping project by Top Blade completed in 2021 was completed with complete satisfaction, and they did a good job. However, due to the landscape project in the backyard, the remaining grassy area was extremely damaged due to damp wet conditions and equipment running over it. I requested that Top Blade apply grass seed to the damaged grass area (1100 sq. ft.). That was satisfactorily completed, and I did get some positive results from that application. But the grass was thin and far from fully cultivated, and I was worried it would not survive the hot summer, and still have erosion issues, even with regular watering and fertilizing. Full disclosure. This grass area was on a slope, and partially in the shade, but fully irrigated, and no drainage issues. However, it did have adequate sunlight to grow sun/shade mix grass in that area. I contacted Joel Fiest (President) at Top Blade for recommendations. He suggested reseeding as previously completed or have liquid-sod applied for the best results. Mr. Fiest gave me an estimate for the project on 3/18/22 to apply the liquid sod. At first, I was hesitant to contract Top Blade due to the cost per square foot. But I agreed to purchase the application and pay the full price just wanting to get it applied as soon as possible, and before it got into the hot summer months (which would be much harder to get a good grass stand). Top Blade “subcontracted’ with Pro Landscaping, Inc. of Liberty. MO to apply the liquid sod since Top Blade did not offer that service. Top Blade came out and prepared the area for the sod to be properly applied. The original sod application (sun/shade mix) was put down on April 11, 2022, by Pro Landscaping. It seemed to do a complete and thorough job. It was discussed about the issue of the grass area was on a slope, and partially in the shade. Pro Landscaping assured me that it would not be an issue since the liquid sod application has natural wood-fibers and fertilizer in with the seed (that keeps the seed in place). Pro Landscaping left me an “instruction sheet” on how to care for the application, from the time of application until matured. There was no information given to me on what the results should or would be. Again, I did not sign a contract with Pro Landscaping, so there was no written documentation (warranty) as to what actual results should be, and what to do if the results did not meet expectations. The service contract with Top Blade did not outline expectations for this type of application either (since they do not provide this service). My expectations were that the project would result in a “full lush thick green grass” yard. Otherwise, I would have looked at getting real turf sod applied (even though it would have been more expensive), but at least I would have had a much better grass backyard. On April 23rd I expressed a concern (via email) to Joel at Top Blade that the application was not progressing as expected. Mr. Fiest replied on April 26th that these applications are just taking longer than normal to take hold, and he instructed me to continue attending it and give it more time. At that point, I continued to an attend to it diligently by watering and fertilizing as directed. I also personally purchased and applied a “quick-start” grass seed to help thicken up the area, which helped a little bit in a few spots. Still the end results were very disappointing. For the money charged, it was still less than satisfactory in my opinion. I sent an email to Mr. Fiest on Jun 26th stating the application has still not met my expectations or satisfaction, basically making a complaint. Basically, the complaint was that after more than two months, it had still not met my satisfaction and I was very disappointed with the end results. I asked Mr. Fiest for a review of the job to see what can be done to improve the issue or rectify it. On June 27th, Mr. Fiest replied to please sent him photos. I sent 8 or 9 photos of my backyard via text. On June 28th, Mr. Fiest answered back via email. Quote: “I received and reviewed the photos. A verticut/overseed application in September-October time frame will help with the few bare spots. We do not offer that service, but any lawn mowing/fertilizer company can.” So basically, without even coming out to my property to physically look (remember that photos do not always tell the full story), Top Blade KC said that there would be no further action to rectify my issue. The bottom line is that I do not feel I received full satisfaction for the project I paid for. As a result, I will need to contract another contractor, at further expense to me, to fix the problem. This does not seem right to me in my opinion. For any future projects of this type, I would recommend that a written/signed contract be obtained with full expectations for these types of sod applications, and thus provide a guarantee to the customer should results not meet their satisfaction.
