I hired Mr. Wenninger to put sod in my tiny condo back yard. There were so many mistakes made that I need to list them instead of putting them in a paragraph. 1.) I told him that the yard was approximately 15 x 25 (it is actually a little smaller). He came out to check out; did he measure it to make sure the size was correct? No. (It seemed like he didn’t know how many square feet of sod is in a half pallet as he told me that all the extra could be used in the front of the house; he nearly ran out.) 2.) In doing some research, unfortunately ‘after the fact’, I discovered that the site needs to be prepared; leveled, and dug up at least 2 inches deep to support the new roots of the sod, and watered prior to laying the sod. Was any of that done? No. 3.) The sod pieces need to be laid staggered like laying patio blocks, and each piece needs to be installed very tightly next to the surrounding pieces. Was that done? No. (Now there are very obvious lines/gaps were the rows were not properly installed.) 4.) The grass started turning brown at one side of the yard, and within two days the brown area had more than doubled in size. I asked him to come back and check it, but he refused. His recommendation over the phone (not having seen the grass) was to fertilize it....even though the rest of it was still lush and green. He sent me to a store that sells only lawn and garden supplies and chemicals. I took photos of the yard with me and showed them to the senior expert. He immediately said the brown was not due to fertilization, but due to the bugs that needed to be sprayed for immediately after the sod was laid, and watered thoroughly. (In order to save money for the sod farm, they apparently stopped treating the sod for insects, especially army worms that are prevalent in the south this time of year, and expect that the landscaper will do that.) Was that done? No. When I first reported the issue and told Mr. Wenninger he did not give me the correct solution, and when I told him that it was figured out by someone else, he said that ‘we all make mistakes and are all learning’. HUH? The landscaper should know what the issues are and preemptively avoid them. It’s ridiculous to expect the homeowner to know what the problem is, or what to do to fix it. He should have come out and looked at the yard for himself. When I told him what the actual professional said, he said he was glad that I found the problem and fixed it. What kind of professional does that? So I fixed the (his) problem by getting the chemical and spraying it; that only stopped the infestation, but did not fix the problem of the dead grass. When I contacted him again about replacing the infected/dead sod, he immediately told me that he would have to pick up another 1/2 pallet of sod and that there would be a lot left over so it could be put in the front of the condo, and that he would give me a quote to do that. Seriously. When I asked if he thought that I was going to pay him to do part of the job over (hopefully correctly) he told me that it was not his fault. I also asked him to come out and look at it to see if it might be salvaged, and he refused to even do that. Instead, he told me to go back to the place where I got the bug spray and ask them for advice for next steps. Yes, he not only accepted NO responsibility for any of his mistakes, but sent me to figure out how to fix them. He told me that he would put a quote together for me to pay him to remove the grass that his negligence killed, pay for more sod, and pay him to install it. That’s who I was dealing with; no knowledge of site prep, no support after installation, no acceptance of any responsibility for work done incorrectly, no guarantee of work. And, after multiple requests, no proof of licensing. (Working on that issue with Angie’s List and the licensing board.) When you hire somebody to do work, make sure they provide a written contract, and that they will support the job if there are issues, that there work is insured, and that they are professionals with a valid license.